Welfare, Ideology and the State

The main purpose of Welfare, Ideology and the State, is to familiarise students with a selection of major theoretical and ideological perspectives on social policy. This is intended to show that there are different, and competing, ways of thinking politically and making political arguments. Ultimately, the debate about community education theory, policy and practice should be understood as part of this broader process.

The course is taught in the second semester and has a rating of 20 credit points.

On completion of this course participants will be able to:

To examine a selection of major theoretical and ideological perspectives on the politics of welfare.
To recognise the ambivalence and contradictions inherent in social policy.
To consider some of the dilemmas of choice implicit in social policy.
To encourage students to think about the relationship between ideology, policy and politics.
To consider the contemporary debate about citizenship and democracy, with particular reference to the new Scottish state.

Ken McCulloch is the Course Organiser for Welfare, Ideology and the State

Ken says:

"Welfare, Ideology and the State explores the politics of social policy from a UK perspective. The main 'strands' of political debate and their distinctive approaches to social and particularly educational policy are explored and students are encouraged to identify similarities and differences between, for example, traditional conservative, socialist, third way, feminist and green approaches. The course uses a mixture of lectures, discussions and prescribed reading."

You can find out more about Ken's work and publications at the departmental webpage.

Learning and Teaching Strategies

The course will be taught by a combination of lectures and guided group discussion. Students will be expected to complete 22 hours of class contact time, approximately 20 hours work on structured study tasks including assessment and approximately 60 hours of self-directed study.

Assessment

Assignment:

What is social policy for, and why does it matter? Select 2 theoretical and ideological perspectives in order to compare and contrast different ways of answering this question.

Length: 2000 words

CUE has been developed at the University of Edinburgh by John Bamber and Clara O'Shea as part of the Student Recruitment and Admissions 'Transitions' Project in 2006/7. For further information on CUE and on CUE: Community Education contact: John Bamber, Department of HIgher and Community Education, Moray House School of Education, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 8AQ, Tel.: +44 - (0)131 - 651 6116, E-mail: john.bamber@ed.ac.uk

Website updated: June 19, 2008