Pre-requisites

SS501 Introduction to Sociology

Co-requisites

None.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, the student will be able to:

• Assess the goals, values and aims of social policy from Christian worldview, theoretical and practical perspective

• Apply skills to deconstruct social policies and programs

• Investigate relevant social policy research, literature and media

• Determine which practice models manage the complexity, inter-relationships and cross-disciplinary nature of social policy

Unit Description

This unit offers students an introduction to social policy as an academic discipline and as a substantive area of research and practice in the social sciences.

The unit introduces students to the major substantive policy areas, institutions, and analytical approaches in social policy.

We will also examine social policy systems. These include the political and historical context of welfare states, comparative social policy provision and competing social policy discourses and traditions.

The unit acknowledges that there is a close interplay between worldview, social theory and applied social policy. You will be able to develop existing interests and expertise and engage in assessment that is professionally relevant.

Topics

• Introduction
• Sociology of social problems
• The history of Australian social policy
• Welfare states
• Power and policy
• Discourse of Governmentality
• Street level Bureaucracy
• Human rights in policy
• Neoliberalism and policy
• Risk as a policy initiative
• New paternalism
• Review

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Unit offerings

Please note

The Unit Offerings listed above are a guide only and the timetable for any year is the final authority. The College may vary offerings based on demand, regulatory requirements, continual improvement processes or other conditions.

This unit may be available in different modes of delivery i.e. online and face-to-face as listed above. The unit content will not differ between these modes of delivery. There will possibly be a difference in the schedule and/or the prescribed assessment tasks, however both will cover and assess the same content.