From the course ICL 860 - Refugee Protection, write a reflective narrative in two parts:

Part 1

Describe the changes you observe in your skill set, considering where you started from at the beginning of the course.

1. Where did you see the most change in the nine Skills and Values from your initial self-assessment? Address one or two of the skills on the list of nine that you feel you made the most progress in during this course. Remember, it is not about immigration knowledge you gained, but about your growth in those one or two skills through your participation in the Engagement activities. For me here are the two competences areas I learn to use the most: Competence 9: Collaborate with peers and other professionals to meet client needs. Demonstrate leadership in practice-based settings and Competence 7: Utilize self-awareness and understanding of cultural bias to provide culturally competent services to clients from diverse ethno-cultural and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. Frankly, prior to to taking this course, I knew little about the legal complexities involving refugees in both international and national laws. I believed refugees were merely making claims and then suddenly having them. As an immigrant whose family immigrated here as refugees, I must admit that this is all new to me, and I do appreciate the understanding of refugees in both contexts. I don't know what the future holds, but hopefully, I can be a help to someone in need of my services after successfully graduating and obtaining a license to practice Canadian immigration and citizenship laws.
2. What specific Engagement activities led to or fostered that change? I learned a lot from the group discussion board, the small breakout room with colleagues and the Q&A with the prof.
3. What was it about your experience with those elements that created growth? (Keep in mind that failures as well as successes contribute to growth and the development of competency.) I think it is more of an enabling platform created for us, especially the mutual respect and constructive feedback.

Part 2

Identify those skills areas where growth did not occur or where further growth is necessary. Outline a concrete plan to initiate or advance further growth in those areas.

1. What competencies are still developing for you? What skills are they related to? For me, I need to develop more in legal analysis of the client file on a case-by-case basis
2. What did you observe that made you aware of your areas of weakness? As someone with a financial background, it will take some time to hone my legal skills perfectly. In assignment 1, I delivered little on analyzing and legally mapping out the claimant's basic claim (BOC).
3. Where did you hope to see change, but it didn't materialize? I believe it will involve a thorough legal analysis of the client's claims, considering both international and Canadian laws.
4. What could you do differently? What is your plan for effective future growth in those areas? I plan to review this competence again, especially analyzing key issues, as well as do more practice on cases involving refugee claims

Think of questions 1 to 3 of Part 2 as necessary "pre-work" for question 4. You need to identify the skills you want to work on before you can plan how to address them. Question 4 is the ultimate focus of Part 2.

Course Content:

Module 1 - Introduction to Refugee Law

Module 2 - Refugee Protection Claims in Canada

Module 3 - Inclusion (Part 1)

Module 4 - Inclusion (Part 2)

Module 5 - Exclusion: Articles 1E and 1F

Module 6 - Trauma-Informed Client Service

Module 7-Proceedings before the Immigration and Refugee Board

Module 8-Resettlement and the Rights of Refugees

Nine Competencies Levels:

1. Use legal terminology to interpret and apply case law, legislation, regulatory and policy instruments.

2. Synthesize and apply legal principles to analyze the facts and issues in a client's case using sound legal reasoning.

3. Conduct case-related legal research on primary sources of law and legal commentary.

4. Demonstrate facility in critical thinking and problem solving by applying these skills to execute a client- specific case strategy.

5. Communicate and advocate effectively in person and in writing.

6. Reflect on and assess one's own developing capabilities; create a concrete plan for

continued personal and professional development.

7. Utilize self-awareness and understanding of cultural bias to provide culturally competent services to clients from diverse ethno- cultural and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.

8. Integrate ethical decision making and professional behaviours in all areas of IC practice.

9. Collaborate with peers and other professionals to meet client needs. Demonstrate leadership in practice-based settings.

Word Count for both parts: in 400 words (plus or minus 50 words)