Foundations of Social Policy

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2016:

170 Hours

Sociology at undergraduate level.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

The subject engages with contemporary theories of social inclusion and capital with an emphasis on networks and their role in community strengthening, community building and regional economic development. The subject also engages in the role these strategies have in larger projects of social policy reform such as the Third Way, the Partnership movement and "joined-up" government. The subject will engage in specific social policy issues (health, housing, welfare, employment etc) as a means to investigate the use of social capital and network analysis techniques.

On completion of this subject students should:

• understand the theories of social inclusion and social capital formation as they apply to social policy issues in income support, employment, health, education, culture, housing and community care;

• understand social and economic development as an integrated process from the perspective of both the social policy literature and the development literature;

• understand the analytical implications of different social policy frameworks such as social inclusion and social capital;

• understand the theories and strategies of 'joined up' government and the role of networks in social governance;

• have a sound understanding of the use of comparative perspectives.

• An essay of 1000 words (20%) due in week 3.
• A take home paper of 1500 words based on weekly seminar material (30%) due in week 6.
• A 2500 word project (50%) due in mid-May.

Hurdle requirement: Students must attend a minimum of 80% of classes in order to pass this subject. All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject.

A key text will be available.

•Mark Considine, Enterprising states: The public management of welfare to work, Cambridge University Press, 2001.

•R,E Goodin (ed) The theory of institutional design, Cambridge University Press, 1996.

•Jan Kooiman (ed) Modern Governance: New Government-Society Interactions, Sage, 1993.

•Robert Putnam, Making Democracy work, Princeton University Press, 1993.

•Steven Smith and Michael Lipsky, Non-profits for Hire: The welfare state in the age of contracting, Camb. Mass., Harvard University Press, 1993 K. Walsh Public services and Market Mechanisms: Competition, Contracting and the new public management, Houndsmills, Macmillan, 1995

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

On completion of this subject students should:

• be able to apply research skills and critical methods to a field of inquiry;

• be able to develop persuasive arguments on a given topic;

• be able to communicate oral and written arguments and ideas effectively and articulately.