The Making of Social Policy

Description

Overview: The Making of Social Policy (MSP) second-year module in the Social Policy programme introduces students to the main themes and principles of the policy analysis and policy-making literature from the perspective of the institutions and practices of political systems. MSP is particularly concerned with analysing welfare policy and practice issues which cross the remits of different levels of government (local, nation-state, supranational, international). The module provides a framework for a discussion of the mechanisms and policy processes of government, and the analysis of political systems at multiple levels of governance. It aims to equip students with applied knowledge of policy-making, and will also enable students to build a critical understanding of the degree of value of general models and concepts for understanding the policy-making process. Finally, the module will also bring together academic expertise and practical experience, by inviting policy practitioners to present case studies on issues of policy or administrative concern. Syllabus: The L5216 syllabus will be made available via the module handbook at the beginning of the module. Learning Outcomes: L Out 1: Enhance students' ability to acquire and process information in lectures L Out 2: Enhance students' ability to obtain and process information in seminars and to contribute to seminar discussions L Out 3: Enhance students' ability to obtain and process information from written sources L Out 4: Enhance students' capacity for independent learning and personal organisation by following a structured reading programme, preparing for lectures and seminars and completing coursework by set deadlines L Out 5: Enhance students' capacity for independent research and analysis through essay preparation L Out 6: Enhance students' capacity to retain and use information in order to respond flexibly to unseen examination questions L Out 7: Enhance students' writing skills, through the preparation of an assessed essay and in response to unseen examination questions Assessment: Students will be advised of the assessment structure at the start of the module.