To inform your reflection, complete the following:
Read Gamble (2012) and Vaalavuo (2013).
Gamble (2012) is arguing that well-being has to be constructed using a global perspective which includes an economic and environmental awareness. Vaalavuo (2013)is commenting on a social investment approach to social welfare in which social opportunities are the focus rather than income redistribution.
Write out a summary integrating the ideas in both papers, focusing on the modern social welfare perspective within a global context.
Identify how these approaches are different from the previous residual and institutional models of social welfare.
Learning Activity 2.1: Identify a Social Problem
Identify one social “problem” that is of interest to you (e.g. violence against women, child poverty, homelessness).
What are some of the social and economic indicators of this problem? Review the section on defining and measuring social problems in Chapter 2 of your text book for the meaning of social and economic indicators. You will need to use some other resources, either found on the Internet, or from government reports, or in other chapters of your text to identify data on the indicators. Finding the indicators will require some Internet searching.
Identify and discuss the major groups and organizations (including governments) that should be consulted and/or are working towards a solution to your identified social problem.
Explore the challenges in resolving the issues. (Learning activity has been adapted from Hick, 2014, p. 25.)
Learning Activity 2.2: Citizen Engagement – Institutional Participation and Citizen Empowerment
Read Woodford and Preston, (2013), Strengthening citizen participation in public policy-making: A Canadian perspective
A challenge to citizen engagement is that, although it provides a venue for citizens to have input into policy-making, it runs the risk of failing to affect policy outcomes. Woodford and Preston argue that citizen consultation and engagement are a means for citizens to inform policy-makers’ decision-making, that is to have a say; however, the rhetoric of engagement does not necessarily guarantee an increase in citizen influence on policy decision and therefore it is ill-advised to equate citizen engagement with citizen power. What do you think of this argument?
Woodford and Preston argue that strategies such as institutionalizing participation and promoting government accountability are ways of ensuring more meaningful citizen engagement.
How do you understand the concepts of institutional participation and government accountability?
What are the relative merits (or drawbacks) of these strategies to have participatory democracy in social policy?
What are some of the structural and cultural barriers to meaningful participation?
Assignment 1: Preparation
To inform your reflection, complete the following:
Read Phillips & Eichenberg (n.d.).
As you are reading Phillips & Eichenberg’s discussion paper on the National Children’s Agenda, think about the questions below and the stages of social policy development outlined in Chapter 2 of your textbook.
What are the social problem and issues identified? (Remember that social problems have both an income security and a social service aspect.)
What is the social knowledge about the problem or issue?
What evidence is there of consultation, and how have the federal/provincial responsibilities been managed?
Is there any evidence of policies that have been implemented from this agenda?
Is there any evidence of the evaluation of the effectiveness of these policies?
From an inclusion lens does this discussion paper indicate inclusivity? Refer to p. 56 of text and “An Inclusion Lens: A workbook for looking at Social and Economic Exclusion and Inclusion”. Which populations may be excluded?
Assignment 1: Critical Reflection
2.1 Critical Reflection – National Children’s Agenda Analysis
Write 200–450 words analyzing the National Children’s Agenda discussion paper from an inclusion lens perspective. Think of the three key questions:
Who is being excluded (or included) and from what?
How are people being excluded (or included)?
Who benefits from the exclusion (or inclusion)?
In your response, consider an at-risk population (such as Aboriginal peoples, immigrants, people with disabilities, francophones, people living in poverty, seniors, women, youth, members of visible minority groups, rural residents, or LBGT people).
Assignment 1: Preparation
To inform your reflection, complete the following:
Review the Alberta Social Policy Framework and the Alberta College of Social Workers Policy Framework.
Consider the SUFA’s principles of citizen engagement, accountability, and transparency. Do these documents reflect these values?
Consider the arguments Woodford and Preston put forward. Are these evident in the development of these two documents?
How do you think these framework documents might be helpful to you
As a citizen?
As a social worker?
As a social welfare policy analyst?
Assignment 1: Critical Reflection
2.2 Critical Reflection – Alberta Social Policy Framework
Write 200–450 words describing your perspective on how the two documents from Alberta––the Alberta Social Policy Framework and the Alberta College of Social Workers Policy Framework––reflect SUFA’s principles of citizen engagement, accountability and transparency, and Woodford and Preston’s ideas.
Identify how you think these framework documents are helpful to you:
as a citizen
as a social worker and
as a social welfare policy analyst
