Demography

Presentation

The UC of Demography is a unit integrated in the 1st year of the degree in Social Work and aims to enable students to a global and cross-sectional reading about the problems of the population and the challenges they pose to the intervention of a Social Worker.

Part of this Programme

Social Work

Level of Qualification|Semesters|ECTS

| Semestral | 5

Year | Type of course unit | Language

1 |Mandatory |Português

Code

ULHT119-109

Recommended complementary curricular units

n.a.

Prerequisites and co-requisites

n/a

Professional Internship

Não

Syllabus

1. Object of Demography and main population issues today;
2. Population and its characterization processes (demographic data and their sources; data collection difficulties and information reliability);
3. Population Structures (ages and sexes; family and nuptiality; education, economic activity and employment);
4. Population Dynamics (fecundity; mortality; migrations);
5. Population Distribution (Population Density; Inland urbanization and desertification; Regional disparities and impacts on the competitiveness of regions);
6. Future of the world population (projections; growth estimates; demographic transition; aging and public social protection policies; population, poverty and development).

Objectives

It is intended to enable students with a set of theoretical knowledge and tools that allow them not only to analyze the main population issues and demographic trends, but also to understand their implications on the different forms of occupation of the territory and the challenges they pose to the Social Worker. At the end of this unit students should be able to identify the main demographic issues of today, their trends and implications (current and future). They should also be able to handle the main sources of demographic data, characterize and analyze the evolution of different population structures and their distribution.

Teaching methodologies and assessment

The teaching methodology is oriented towards a process centered on the students' competences and oriented towards the conceptual understanding and reflection of the themes, but also of its operationalization. The assessment will be continuous, valuing the participation of students in the learning dynamics. Thus, the following elements will be taken into account:
- 2 written tests, each corresponding to 30% of the final grade
- Group work, corresponding to 30% of the final grade
- Discussion / participation in class and practical exercises, representing 10% of the final grade

References

• Bandeira, M. L.; Pintassilgo, S.C (2018). Introdução à Demografia ¿ trabalhos práticos. Escolar Editora.

• Castro, Eduardo; Martins, José; Silva, Carlos (2015). A Demografia e o país, Lisboa, Ed. Gradiva.

• Fernandes, A. (2009). Questões Demográficas ¿ Demografia e Sociologia da População, Lisboa, Colibri.

• Carrilho, Maria José e Maria de Lourdes Craveiro (2015). ¿A Situação Demográfica Recente em Portugal¿ in Revista de Estudos Demográficos, nº54: 57-101.

• Marques, Teresa et al. (2016). ¿Nascer é envelhecer: uma perspetiva demográfica evolutiva e territorial na construção do futuro de Portugal¿ in GOT ¿ Revista de Geografia e Ordenamento do Território, nº10, pp. 207-231

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