Inclusive Policy Development (SOCI90012)

Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)

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Overview

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April
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This unit of study will provide students with an introduction to contemporary approaches to the development and evaluation of social policy. The unit will use social, community, human and health services policy as case studies, with a particular emphasis on contemporary social policy as it relates to older adults and service provisions. The seminars will include case studies of programs and policies in supporting adults in later life, as well as with insights from industry experts from community services and government agencies. Students will be expected to contribute to seminars based on both their own research conducted as part of the unit and, wherever possible, from their own experience of social policy development and implementation.

Intended learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this subject should be able to:

  • Have enhanced skills in research: through competent use of advanced information sources and retrieval of appropriate information
  • Identify, and retrieve international, national, and state social policy, together with supporting documentation, relevant to a given topic of inquiry
  • Summarise and catalogue international, national, and state social policy, together with supporting documentation relevant to a given topic of inquiry
  • Developed critical and theoretical thinking: through presentation of research papers, conceptualising theoretical problems, forming judgements and arguments from conflicting evidence, and by critical analysis
  • Critically evaluate international, national, and state social policy relevant to a given topic of inquiry, together with any supporting evidence used as the basis of the policy, and any evidence by which its effective implementation might be evaluated
  • Formulate recommendations for the review and enhancement of international, national, and state policy relevant to a given topic of inquiry
  • Developed time management and planning: through managing and organising workloads
  • Establish a social policy development and evaluation framework, that maximises stakeholder involvement (e.g., co-production), and with attention to time and resource allocation
  • Have enhanced skills in team work: through small group discussions
  • Communicate convincingly with others by means of a presentation concerning a contemporary social policy, its development, implementation, and evaluation
  • Facilitate and support a critical discussion concerning a contemporary social policy, its development, implementation, and evaluation.

Generic skills

Students who successfully complete this subject should be able to:

  • Demonstrate problem-solving skills and the confidence to tackle unfamiliar problems; applied to the development of policy with the older adult population
  • Demonstrate analytic skills; applied to the evaluation of policy with populations involving those with complex social, legal, and clinical support needs
  • Demonstrate improved skills in written communication; applied to the preparation of policy consultation, development and dissemination material
  • Design and plan individual work activities and to work as a team member; exemplified in the role of a policy maker working in collaboration with persons with complex social, legal, and clinical support needs.

Last updated: 4 March 2025