SOCI 2010 - Politics, Policy & Citizenship

North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2017

The course examines social policy and citizenship in Australia from the perspective of the social sciences. It focuses on the historical and contemporary constructions of Australian citizenship and how these constructions both are shaped and impacted by social policy. A key focus will be the representation of contemporary public issues within a social policy framework drawing attention to the ways different knowledges of the social sciences understand public issues and how these issues are in turn constructed in policy. The course also examines emerging debates on the social, political and economic definitions and re-definitions of citizenship. Current debates in the broad areas of power relations, political and social rights and the future of welfare policy in an era of globalisation and economic uncertainty are examined. A selection of case studies drawing on current research will be used to provide a framework for understanding social policy and citizenship dimensions in Australian society. This course has an applied focus through which students study the policy process and develop policy analysis skills.

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Course Details

Course Code	SOCI 2010
Course	Politics, Policy & Citizenship
Coordinating Unit	Sociology, Criminology and Gender Studies
Term	Semester 2
Level	Undergraduate
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Up to 3 hours per week
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Prerequisites	At least 12 units of Level I undergraduate study
Incompatible	GWSI 2016, GWSI 3016, GWSI 2103, GSSA 2103
Assessment	Essay (1000 word) 20%, Group work activities 30%, Research paper (2700 word) 50%

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Dr Nadine Levy

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Course Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this course students will be able to:

	Develop an understanding of social policy, critical reading and analytical writing
	Locate, access and evaluate a range of resources available to support critical policy research and writing
	Apply social policy to critical discussions relating to society on a local and global scale
	Confidently engage with social policy in the public domain
	Demonstrate a critical approach to ethical issues in the context of public policy about contemporary issues and debates
	Demonstrate productive and respectful engagement with their peers through structured group work
	Prepare and deliver coherent and logically argued written texts

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Deep discipline knowledge informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1 accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)	2,3,4,5
Critical thinking and problem solving steeped in research methods and rigor based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment	1,2,3,4,5
Teamwork and communication skills developed from, with, and via the SGDE honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning	6
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	1,2,3,4,5,6,7
Intercultural and ethical competency adept at operating in other cultures comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges	1,3,4,5
Self-awareness and emotional intelligence a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate	4,5,6

Learning Resources

Required Resources

The course reader: Politics, Policy & Citizenship can be downloaded online or purchased at Image and Copy Centre.

Online Learning

Additional materials will be made available online.

Learning & Teaching Modes

This course integrates lectures, workshops and students’ independent and collaborative study to facilitate engaged learning in critical dialogue, problem-posing and the sociological imagination. Lectures will introduce new content in historical and contemporary contexts, highlighting the issues, policy responses and impacts on citizenship. Students will be required to read and comment on the texts in their writing and group work. Students will experience in practice the way policy is considered, critiqued and reformulated in a ‘work setting’. Students will be provided with opportunities to learn new skills in collaborative projects.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

WORKLOAD - STRUCTURED LEARNING

TOTAL HOURS

1 x 1 hour lecture (or equivalent) per week

12 hours per semester

1 x 2-hour seminar (or equivalent) per week

24 hours per semester

WORKLOAD - SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING

TOTAL HOURS

5 hours reading per week

60 hours per semester

3 hours assignment preparation per week

36 hours per semester

2 hours research per week

24 hours per semester

Learning Activities Summary

WEEK	LECTURE TOPIC
1	Introduction to the course & historical background to the field
2	Understanding social policy & citizenship
3	Institutional context of policy making
4	Understanding how social policy is made part 1: Values, language, concepts
5	Understanding how social policy is made part 2: Think tanks and ‘special interest’ groups
6	Historical context of Australian social policy
7	Policy in practice: Actors and Agents
8	International context for Australian social policy
9	Challenges for the 21st century – where is Australian social policy heading?
10	Structure of the report
11	Critical reflection
12	Conclusion

Small Group Discovery Experience

The SGDE in this course is run in the seminar time each week with groups of 4-5.
The seminar leader acts as a mentors facilitating group discussion in seminars.
Each small group chooses a policy area to focus on. Groups are required to work together to create a ‘policy brief’. This includes finding information, critically analysing the information, synthesis of information, investigation and reporting of findings.
Each group much present their findings to the class at the end of semester.
All students in the course attend other group members’ presentations and are encouraged to ask questions after each presentation.

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

ASSESSMENT TASK	TASK TYPE	WEIGHTING	COURSE LEARNING OUTCOME(S)
1000 word essay	Formative and Summative	20%	1,4,7
Group work activities (inc papers & presentations)	Formative and Summative	40%	1-7
2000 word research project	Formative and Summative	40%	2,3,5,6,7

Assessment Related Requirements

Students are required to complete all assessment tasks to be eligible to pass this course.

Assessment Detail

1000 word essay – students will be required to respond to an essay question on the ways social policy and social citizenship are understood – 20 per cent weighting.

Group work activities – students will be required to develop a policy brief, provide evidence of group meetings and deliver a group presentation to the class - 40 per cent weighting.

2000 word research report – students will be required to submit an individual research report on a policy area of their choosing– 40 per cent weighting.

Submission

No information currently available.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
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Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator