Social Policy Flashcards
(14 cards)
Social Policy
a govern initiative central / local that aims to meet the welfare needs to the pop
gen by govs pol parties pressure groups - varies by party in power
m research carried out by gov agencies ge dep for edu - some done by charities eg joseph rowntree found
govs use quan stat soc research to discover basic soc trends eg levels of pop growth m indepth qual can give reasons for
Social Problem
an area of concern in soc that causes pols media/gen public to think something needs to be done
Mills (1970)
argued socio should not be simply the acumulation of facts
should explain soc probs
Giddens (2001)
iden ways in which social pol relates to socio
1. socio can inform pol makers
2. socio research can assess the results of pol initiatives
3. socio may gen greater self understanding - can lead to formation of pressure & protest groups
Giddens (1998, 2007)
= influ in pol making
work on third way pols seen as manifesto for new labour
‘theoretical ideas can therefore be seen as setting the pol agenda for pol making
The Economic & Social Research Council
Middeltone et al (2005)
looked at pilot schemes to test pols which could be introed to inc ptp in edu post 16
initial research showed EMA inc ptp by 6% - set up as nat pol 2004
Greg et al (2007)
Centre for Social Exclusion
used a group of 6000 children born in & around Bristol 1991-2 - consider various categories of development eg school performance, IQ & sefl esteem
= analy in rela to parental income & behavs eg depression, food eaten, reading to children & physical environ
Gregg (continued)
by 7 children in WC fams doing worse in edu had low self esteem & inc risk of obesity
car ownership of MC discour ptp of physcial activity
long hrs in childcare children 3/4 gen inc behav probs in affluent fams
proposed pol intervens must recog impact of income in dif ways - need multi faceted approach
Sociological Research gives insight inot poverty & inequality
creation of welfare state created illusion in late 60s that pov = eradicated
empirical evi from Townsend & Mack & Lansley showed = hidden prob - did m research to find why ppl vul to pov - soc dems blamed on inad welfare NR on reliance - this uided soc pol
Weber
believed shouldn’t make value judgements - shouldn’t tell pol makers how to fix soc - can tell whether pol will have desired result & soc costs - pol makers should make pol 1st then socios find ways to do it best
good meth NB to give m useful info to pol makers
crits say pol should come after evi gathering = danger evi for better pol may be ignored
Postmodernism
Baumann (1990) socio should inform soc research - worries soc will get worse if socio theories about poverty & welfare X listened to - PM consumer soc = marginalising Welfare state
Lyotard = worried ‘sci’ meths could be used to create oppressive metanars - sees mod metanars as leading to strict doctrine & oppression
Marxism
socio too closely intertwined w/ cap system to make dif to soc - cap = inherently flawed & oppres - socio research used as a tool to justify unjust social pol
RC interests control research - means X used to change to socialism = bought - funding comes from state & indust
Feminism
disagree over whether improves women’’s lives
Libs - socio research & analy has influ govs & had beneficial results - EPA
Rads - can’t make much dif bc soc = inherently patri - Firestone (1971) patri soc must be dismantled b4 improv
Link = Weak
govs take account of research but = constrained by other factors:
1. seek pol that = pop w/ electorate if X clear vote winners X implemented
2. some groups may = marg so X vote in large nums - even if research focuses on them = neglected if don’t have electoral power
3. consider £ implis if too expensive no matter how persuasive the research is it isn’t going to be impl - make voters worry about tax
