My aim in this essay regarding social policy, and it’s relevance to me as a social care worker, is to give you a better understanding of not only the definition of social policy, but also the importance of social policy both in society and in education. I hope that after you’re reading of this essay, you will better understand how social policy affects us all in our everyday lives, and also how it affects social care workers in their studies and in their work. There are two main ways in which social policy is considered. The first being social policy and its real life application in the world. The second being the academic study of Social Policy by students of many disciplines. Social policy, both as a real life topic and an academic study
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The subject of Social Policy, once known as social administration, uses knowledge from other subjects such as economics, history, psychology and sociology, in order to meet what is sometimes known as the big five (Spicker, 2008). The big five refers to the main needs that need to be met, in order to look-after human well being. These five needs are the need for housing, social security, healthcare, education and social work. While both students and masters of social policy are not completely different from experts such as sociologists, anthropologists or political scientists, there are a few ways in which they are set apart. The most relevant being the fact that students of social policy claim to not only study the theory of society and its policies but also how these policies are put into practice within society. While other areas of social studies are not completely unlike the study of Social Policy, another way in which they are set apart is the fact that social policy is “based on a distinct empirical focus – support for the well-being of citizens provided through social action” (Alcock, …show more content…
The first of which is the quantitative method. The quantitative method involves the use of statistics and theoretical knowledge. The second, and more commonly used method is that of a qualitative basis. The qualitative method involves interviewing people who rely most on the welfare state, such as those on a very low income (Ferguson, 1996). By using the qualitative method, more accurate results can be achieved. For what better way to learn how policies affect those who rely on the state, than by simply asking them first hand? Students of social policy, overall, concentrate more on the bigger picture, the overall causes of problems and the measures that need to be introduced in order to fix those problems, rather than trying to fix the problems on a more short-term basis. I feel that the following story that Saul Alinsky once told is an excellent example of the focus of Social Policy students. A man was walking by the side of a river when he noticed a body floating down along the stream. A fisherman saved the drowning person. The cycle keeps repeating itself as more and more bodies float down the river. Eventually, when another body floats past, instead of helping them, the fisherman runs up along the bank of the river. When asked why he wasn’t saving the drowning person, he replied “This time I’m going up stream to find out who the hell is pushing these poor folks into the water”. This story perfectly
The subject of Social Policy, once known as social administration, uses knowledge from other subjects such as economics, history, psychology and sociology, in order to meet what is sometimes known as the big five (Spicker, 2008). The big five refers to the main needs that need to be met, in order to look-after human well being. These five needs are the need for housing, social security, healthcare, education and social work. While both students and masters of social policy are not completely different from experts such as sociologists, anthropologists or political scientists, there are a few ways in which they are set apart. The most relevant being the fact that students of social policy claim to not only study the theory of society and its policies but also how these policies are put into practice within society. While other areas of social studies are not completely unlike the study of Social Policy, another way in which they are set apart is the fact that social policy is “based on a distinct empirical focus – support for the well-being of citizens provided through social action” (Alcock, …show more content…
The first of which is the quantitative method. The quantitative method involves the use of statistics and theoretical knowledge. The second, and more commonly used method is that of a qualitative basis. The qualitative method involves interviewing people who rely most on the welfare state, such as those on a very low income (Ferguson, 1996). By using the qualitative method, more accurate results can be achieved. For what better way to learn how policies affect those who rely on the state, than by simply asking them first hand? Students of social policy, overall, concentrate more on the bigger picture, the overall causes of problems and the measures that need to be introduced in order to fix those problems, rather than trying to fix the problems on a more short-term basis. I feel that the following story that Saul Alinsky once told is an excellent example of the focus of Social Policy students. A man was walking by the side of a river when he noticed a body floating down along the stream. A fisherman saved the drowning person. The cycle keeps repeating itself as more and more bodies float down the river. Eventually, when another body floats past, instead of helping them, the fisherman runs up along the bank of the river. When asked why he wasn’t saving the drowning person, he replied “This time I’m going up stream to find out who the hell is pushing these poor folks into the water”. This story perfectly