Exploring Social Policy & Social Justice - SPY00020C

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Module will run

Occurrence	Teaching period
A	Autumn Term 2022-23 to Summer Term 2022-23

Module aims

The aims of this module are:

· To explore key concepts that underpin the analysis and practice of social policy and their relationship with social, economic and political change

· To enable the development the conceptual thinking skills required to undertake critical analysis of current social problems in their societal context.

· To enable students to actively engage in problem-solving processes in the exploration of social policy and society, furthering understanding of different ways of researching and understanding the social world.

· To develop group work skills and build experience in the presentation of material to an audience.

Module learning outcomes

Having successfully completed this module students will:

• Understand how concepts and evidence are brought together and applied to the critical analysis of social policy and society
• Be able to present arguments in relation to the development of social policy with reference to different types of theoretical and empirical evidence, and understand the strengths and limitations of these sources.
• Have a knowledge of the historical development of social problems and social policy responses and an understanding of both continuity and change
• Working independently and collaboratively, be able to synthesise and communicate complex material effectively for presentation to an audience and in written form.
• Develop an understanding of academic integrity skills and the ethical values in all activities related to learning, teaching and research

Module content

Indicative topics covered in this module include concepts such as: social justice and inequality; needs and rights; vulnerability; citizenship as well as substantive issues such as Migration, demography and labour markets.

 

Indicative assessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	40
Essay/coursework	40
Groupwork	20

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	100

Module feedback

Students will receive regular feedback on their understanding of core concepts through seminar work as well as written feedback on final assessment tasks.

Indicative reading

Alcock, P. et al (eds) (2016) The Student’s Companion to Social Policy, Oxford:Wiley Blackwell.

Spicker, P. (2014) Social Policy: Theory and Practice, Bristol: Policy Press