Youth Allownce
Order Description
The feedback proforma is available on your learnonline course site. It can be accessed via the Feedback Form link in the Course Essentials block.
Assessments
Assessment #1 – Policy analysis paper 1
STUDENTS TO SELECT ONE (1) SOCIAL POLICY FOR IN-DEPTH AND CRITICAL ANALYSIS FOR ASSIGNMENTS 1 & 2 from the following:
Policy topics / area
1. Housing
Homelessness
Public Housing
2. Health –
Private Health Insurance
Mental Health
3. Child / Youth –
Youth Allowance
4. Aged
Aged Care
Aged Pensions
HACC
5. Indigenous.
Indigenous Health
Indigenous Welfare
Further Course Information
Students will be required to work in small groups of 3 or 4 throughout their tutorials to analyse a specific policy chosen by the group. The group will work on the same policy throughout the study period.
Essentially students in consultation with their tutor, choose a policy focusing on specific populations and/or socio-demographic factors. Assignments will:
Map how governments – federal and state – respond to the policy issue
Analyze the social, political, ideological constructions of the policy/policy issue(s) utilizing the selected frameworks.
Analyzing consultation, coordination, implementation and evaluation of the policy
POLICY ANALYSIS PAPER 1 – 2000 WORDS – 45% WEIGHTING – DUE FRIDAY 18 SEPTEMBER 5.00PM
POLICY ANALYSIS PAPER 1 is an analysis of the policy formation linked to policy ‘problem’ representations and problematisation of key issues and issue drivers.
* It should provide a clear, succinct history of the selected policy as a precursor to the analysis utilising :
* the Althaus POLICY CYCLE – The conventional analytical framework
* the Bacchi WHAT’S THE PROBLEM REPRESENTED TO BE? – The alternative analytical framework. The framework utilises the following questions:
1. What is the problem?
2. What presuppositions or assumptions underline the problem
3. How has the representation come about?
4. What is left unproblematic in this problem representation?
4.1 Where are the silences?
4.2 Can the problem be thought about differently?
5. What effects are produced by this representation of the problem?
6. How / where has this representation of the problem been produced, disseminated, defended? How could it be questioned?
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Key resources :
Althaus et al., Australian Policy Handbook, 2012, 5th edn.
Bacchi, 2009, chapters 1 & 2
Guidelines
1. Policy Formation
(a) Policy history and outline
(b) Identifying issues and problem representations – how are the issues framed?
(c) Issue drivers – what policy principles and values are at stake
(d) Media portrayal of the policy – issues, clients etc.
2. Policy analysis Althaus – (especially the toolkit)
(a) Economic framework
(b) Social framework
(c) Political framework
(d) Legal framework
3. Critique the rationale, assumptions, (especially contradictions and inconsistencies) using Bacchi’s framework below
(a) Assess the impact on relationships between stakeholders
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For seeking sources of policy information and scholarly critique students are encouraged to view– policy statements and programs, reports, discussion papers — are available through government departments, ministerial websites, Senate committee and Hansard debate, government and non-government agencies, peak bodies, community organisations, research institutes, UniSA Library databases for academic journals analysing the policies and programs, and the NewsBank database for media commentary.
Important: For both papers -The analysis should provides critical and analytical discussion, rather than just descriptive discussion. The analysis is focussed on the policy response to the social issue, not an analysis of the social issue.