Understanding Social Policy (10 credit points)

Pre-requisites for enrolment

No prior knowledge is necessary.

Content of Course

1. Introduction: Needs, rights and responsibilities.

This session introduces the main themes of the course; how major debates about welfare and society are constructed, and contested, around concerns with needs, rights, and responsibilities

2. Needs (1): Introducing Needs.

This class will look at how the concept of 'need' is used in debates about social policy. It will explain why 'need' is such a contested concept and examine some of the different ways in which it is invoked.

3. Needs (2): Recognising and Assessing Needs.

An examination of poverty and an analysis of the introduction of child benefit and family allowances

4. Needs (3): Needs and Unemploment.

This class takes a look at unemployment and its social construction

5. Rights (1): Introducing Rights.

Do moral, rights, social rights and human rights exist? This session will explore key definitional distinctions and typologies of rights, including: moral versus legal rights; social, political and civil rights; and the theoretical basis for human rights.

6. Rights (2): Can children have Rights?

In this class students will be asked to consider whether or not children can have rights. The UNCRC will be our main tool for learning.

7. Rights (3): The right to participate and to work.

This week examines work, compulsion and benefits.

8. Responsibilities (1): Introducing Responsibilities.

This session will discuss the recent attention to ‘responsibilities’, as alternatives or counterweights to claims based on needs and rights. It will consider the relationship of responsibilities to needs and rights

9. Responsibilities (2): Communities.

This session will analyse and examine contentious issues such as child curfew and ASBOs.

10. Responsibilities (3): Parenthood.

This week concentrates on divorce, teenage motherhood and child support.

Teaching method(s)

Lecture based with class discussion.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Think critically about some of the main social issues and problems facing societies;

• Acquire some of the skills that are integral to studying social policy, such as understanding and assessing arguments and evaluating evidence;

• Demonstrate awareness of the social values and institutions that shape our lives, and of the choices which we have to confront as socially aware members of society.

Sources

Core Readings

Essential:

• Alcock, P., May, M. and Rowlingson, K., eds., 2008. The Student’s Companion to Social Policy. 3rd ed. Oxford: Blackwell.

Recommended:

• Alcock, P., 2003. Social Policy in Britain: Themes and Issues. 2nd ed. Basingstoke: Macmillan.

• Blakemore, K. and Griggs, E., 2007. Social Policy: An introduction. 3rd ed. Buckingham: Open University Press. Hill, M. and Irving, Z., 2009. Understanding Social Policy. 8th ed. Oxford: Blackwell.

• Lister, R., 2010. Understanding Theories and Concepts in Social Policy. Bristol: The Policy Press.

Web Sources

http://www.vts.intute.ac.uk/he/tutorial/social-policy

http://www2.rgu.ac.uk/publicpolicy/introduction/pol.htm

http://www.globalwelfarelibrary.org

http://www.uclan.ac.uk/facs/health/socialwork/socialpolicy/links/welcome.htm

http://www.policylibrary.com

http://www.lse.ac.uk/library/pamphlets/SocialPolicy/social_policy_pamphlets.htm

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=5748&More=N

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/welfarestate/page/0,9143,442876,00.html

Many journals are available online if accessed from the University of Edinburgh. The Main Library's list of online journals is at: http://www.lib.ed.ac.uk/lib/resources/collections/serials/ejintro.shtml

In particular, the Journal of Social Policy is available from 1997 free online if it is accessed from the University of Edinburgh; just follow the links from the library website. The Journal carries articles on all aspects of social policy in an international context. For more information check: http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=JSP

Other journals which focus on social policy issues can be found in hard copy at per.36 and include:

Critical Social Policy (online)

Social Policy & Administration (online)

Social Policy & Society (online)

Social Policy Review

Class Handouts

PowerPoint lecture notes will be available as a handout. A class reading will be available for download on a weekly basis.

Assessments

10 credit courses have one assessment. Normally, the assessment is a 2000 word essay, worth 100% of the total mark, submitted by week 12. To pass, students must achieve a minimum of 40%. There are a small number of exceptions to this model which are identified in the Studying for Credit Guide.

Studying for Credit

If you choose to study for credit you will need to allocate significant time outwith classes for coursework and assessment preparation. Credit points gained from this course can count towards the Certificate of Higher Education.

Queries

If you have questions regarding the course or enrolment, please contact COL Reception at Paterson's Land by email COL@ed.ac.uk or by phone 0131 650 4400.

Student support

If you have a disability, learning difficulty or health condition which may affect your studies, please let us know by ticking the 'specific support needs' box on your course application form. This will allow us to make appropriate adjustments in advance and in accordance with your rights under the Equality Act 2010. For more information please visit the Student Support section of our website.