Continuing Professional Development
Respecting religious diversity at work
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This course is available for study in the countries shown. Fees may vary by country.
Summary
The practice of religion extends beyond private belief and life within the home into the public sphere. Across all sectors, professionals face the challenge of respecting and addressing the needs of different religious communities. The course offers an introduction to the issues surrounding the impact of religious diversity in both the workforce and the community that your organisation operates in. Setting your learning in your own work context, you will be encouraged to reflect on applying key issues as well as evaluating and gathering resources for future use. This course is suitable for all professionals who have to engage with religious diversity in the workplace and those with a general interest in the area.
Course content
This course explores the implications of religious diversity for those who interact with members of different religions on a professional or voluntary basis. It provides an introduction to characteristic patterns of religious diversity, taking a range of contemporary examples from the UK and other countries. The focus will rest on practical implications of diversity for the workplace. The course will also examine ways in which responsibilities for catering for a religiously diverse workforce have been defined in different legal and constitutional frameworks.
The course will provide an opportunity to:
- develop skills in analysing the issues that are central to addressing the needs of a culturally and religiously diverse workforce
- identify and evaluate resources that participants can use in their professional practice when responding to this increasingly important aspect of social and professional life.
Throughout the course you will be encouraged to reflect and plan to develop your skills further in the workplace. The work-based activity (WBA) is an important and integral part of the course. By completing the activities as you go you will both consolidate your learning and produce evidence for your Certificate.
You will learn
You will learn to:
- Understand and analyse issues that relate to working in a culturally and religiously diverse society.
- Appreciate the importance of knowledge about legislative frameworks, affecting behaviour at work in relation to religious diversity.
- Understand the practical ways in which religious belief and practice may affect your workplace.
- Identify and evaluate resources available for use when responding to this increasingly important aspect of professional life.
In this course there are activities that you can use to help you relate your learning to your organisation and your role within it. These should help you to assemble the final WBA, in which you focus on a real work situation where you are already, or will be, involved in recruitment. You are prompted to analyse this real work situation, using the ideas in the course to enable you to operate more effectively during the recruitment process.
The strong link between course learning and your work practice creates relevant, enduring and transferable outcomes. The course will take 30 hours to study and includes Web text, interviews, self-assessment questions and activities. The course contains a series of bite-size chunks, each devoted to both technical and managerial topics. Register online today and start tomorrow – no need to wait!
The course features the distinctive strengths of The Open University from its years of expertise in work-based learning:
- The convenience of accessing its clearly presented and sequenced materials, activities and support whenever suits you and wherever you have access to the protected course website – if you prefer, you can print key materials to work on them offline.
- The support of an expert learning adviser who can clarify course materials, answer questions and help you relate the course to your specific needs.
- A work-based activity helping you to connect the course to your individual and organisational context and needs. This is built up from short activities during the course, leading to a Personal Development Plan. At the end of the course you send this to the learning adviser, who provides personal feedback.
- Certification of completion from the OU for those who complete the course. You can use this to demonstrate your Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activity to your employer and/or professional body. (NB The course does not carry academic credit points.)
Entry
Although there are no formal academic requirements to study any of our CPD courses, you are expected to have some experience in the field and the course assumes a familiarity with the subject.
For each course you can register and begin at any time during the life of the course. You can study at your own pace and submit your WBA at any date before the final submission date for the course. Information about the final submission date is available when you register for the course.
If you have a disability or additional requirement
The course is delivered wholly online. Learners who use screen readers or who cannot use a mouse will not be able to access some course material or some course activities without assistance. Written transcripts of the audio interviews are available on the website. If you are a new learner with the OU, make sure that you have our booklet Meeting Your Needs. You can obtain a copy by contacting our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
Course materials
What's included
All learning materials, exercises, study support and work-based activity are delivered entirely online.
Computing requirements
This course includes online computer activities – you can access these using a web browser that can play Flash and Shockwave.
You will need internet access and a computer. If you have purchased a new computer since 2002 it should meet your course computing requirements. Check our Technical Requirements section if your computer is older than this or is otherwise unusual.
Learner support
Expert, confidential learner support is available when you need it from a learning adviser, who will respond to you direct within 24 hours. Other support is available via the course forum, library, StudentHome website and computing helpdesk.
Work-based activity
The work-based activity for this course is a written report and has been designed as an integrated ongoing activity that you submit at the end of your study. It will allow you to reflect on your learning and how to use it in your professional work.
Professional recognition
Successful completion of the course enables us to recognise your achievement of the course learning by issuing an OU certificate that you can use to document your commitment to continuing professional development in your personal portfolio, or to provide evidence to employers or professional body.
How to register
To register a place on this course return to the top of the page and use the Click to register button. For more information and advice about registration see OU Study Explained.
Study explained
- Special fee arrangements
- - the OU has relationships with many professional bodies, and as part of those relationships members may be entitled to special fee arrangements.
- Study explained
- - all you need to know about studying with the OU.
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