Students

SOCI8075 – Policy Ideas in Focus: Framing Policy Problems

2021 – Session 1, Weekday attendance, North Ryde

Notice

As part of Phase 3 of our return to campus plan, most units will now run tutorials, seminars and other small group activities on campus, and most will keep an online version available to those students unable to return or those who choose to continue their studies online.

To check the availability of face-to-face and online activities for your unit, please go to timetable viewer. To check detailed information on unit assessments visit your unit's iLearn space or consult your unit convenor.

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Associate Professor and Unit Convenor
Shaun Wilson
shaun.wilson@mq.edu.au
Contact via Email
Room C344, Level 3, 25C Wally's Walk
By email appointment or Zoom
Associate Professor & Lecturer
Ben Spies-Butcher
ben.spies-butcher@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to MPSP or MPASR or GradCertPASR or GradDipPASR
Corequisites Corequisites
POIR8090 and SOCI8080
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

Policies embody ideas about what governments can and should do, and how. These ideas 'frame' the problems policies address and how those problems will be solved. Policy ideas vary between policy domains and between countries and they change over time. Policy ideas are mobilised and contested by policy actors seeking changes that align with their own interests or those of their constituencies. When new ideas enter the policy process, they may offer genuinely novel solutions to old problems or renew the attractiveness of discarded approaches. New ideas can also function as solutions in search of problems. In this unit, students study policy documents and research resources to gain a critical understanding of how ideas can frame the definition of policy problems and their solutions. Because policy ideas travel, the unit considers the mechanisms and actors involved in what researchers call policy transfer or policy mobilities. Following an introduction to the role of ideas in policy, the unit is taught in three modules, each exploring the history, contours and impacts of a 'big idea' that has come into public and social policy in recent decades. Ideas in focus may include a subset of: brain and mind sciences, New Public Management, big data and governance by algorithm, social investment and asset-based social policy, user choice, sustainability, resilience, and well-being.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Demonstrate understanding of theory and debates about the role of ideas in shaping policy.
  • ULO2: Demonstrate understanding of the history, contours and impacts of some important policy ideas.
  • ULO3: Develop a critical appreciation of alternative ways policy problems can be framed.
  • ULO4: Apply theoretical and substantive knowledge to analyse policy documents.
  • ULO5: Communicate research findings and views accurately and effectively using a variety of written and spoken techniques.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Policy theory reflection 20% No Tuesday 6 April at 9pm
Policy idea analysis 20% No Tuesday 27 April at 9pm
Policy idea analysis 20% No Tuesday 25 May at 9pm
Policy idea analysis 20% No Tuesday 15 June at 9pm
Active participation 20% No Throughout the Semester

Policy theory reflection

Assessment Type 1: Reflective Writing
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: Tuesday 6 April at 9pm
Weighting: 20%

Critical reflection on theories of the role of policy ideas in policy development and change
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate understanding of theory and debates about the role of ideas in shaping policy.
  • Communicate research findings and views accurately and effectively using a variety of written and spoken techniques.

Policy idea analysis

Assessment Type 1: Case study/analysis
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: Tuesday 27 April at 9pm
Weighting: 20%

Apply theories in analysis of a policy idea and/or document
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate understanding of theory and debates about the role of ideas in shaping policy.
  • Demonstrate understanding of the history, contours and impacts of some important policy ideas.
  • Develop a critical appreciation of alternative ways policy problems can be framed.
  • Apply theoretical and substantive knowledge to analyse policy documents.
  • Communicate research findings and views accurately and effectively using a variety of written and spoken techniques.

Policy idea analysis

Assessment Type 1: Case study/analysis
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: Tuesday 25 May at 9pm
Weighting: 20%

Apply theories in analysis of a policy idea and/or document
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate understanding of theory and debates about the role of ideas in shaping policy.
  • Demonstrate understanding of the history, contours and impacts of some important policy ideas.
  • Develop a critical appreciation of alternative ways policy problems can be framed.
  • Apply theoretical and substantive knowledge to analyse policy documents.
  • Communicate research findings and views accurately and effectively using a variety of written and spoken techniques.

Policy idea analysis

Assessment Type 1: Case study/analysis
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: Tuesday 15 June at 9pm
Weighting: 20%

Apply theories in analysis of a policy idea and/or document
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate understanding of theory and debates about the role of ideas in shaping policy.
  • Demonstrate understanding of the history, contours and impacts of some important policy ideas.
  • Develop a critical appreciation of alternative ways policy problems can be framed.
  • Apply theoretical and substantive knowledge to analyse policy documents.
  • Communicate research findings and views accurately and effectively using a variety of written and spoken techniques.

Active participation

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: Throughout the Semester
Weighting: 20%

Do reading preparation for seminars, engage with online materials, contribute to online discussions, actively participate in on-campus class activities.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate understanding of theory and debates about the role of ideas in shaping policy.
  • Demonstrate understanding of the history, contours and impacts of some important policy ideas.
  • Develop a critical appreciation of alternative ways policy problems can be framed.
  • Communicate research findings and views accurately and effectively using a variety of written and spoken techniques.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Welcome to this Unit -- it will run into multi-mode format that will provide access and information to all students depending on their circumstances. 

I will cover this in clear detail in my first day session on Friday 12 March, which will also be recorded. 

Shaun Wilson

Unit Schedule

SOCI/X 8075 Schedule of teaching this Semester
Module number  Day-long lecture/ seminar topics Date and times 
One Introduction to basic concepts (we cover why ideas matter in policy and how they are framed and include illustrations)  Friday 19 March 10 am to 5pm
Two  Choice as a policy idea (analysis of Australian social policy and the role of choice in framing, policy design, and service delivery) Friday 26 April 10am to 5pm
Three Value and social investment as policy ideas (how 'values' are measured and how those decisions affect policy. Broad benefit of a social investment model focused on wellbeing). Lecturer is  A/Prof Ben Spies-Butcher  Friday 14 May 10am to 5pm
Four  Welfare to work as a policy idea (a close look at the ideas promoting work over welfare dependence and their long-term consequences for welfare and employment) Friday 4 June 10am to 5pm
  All sessions recorded on Zoom   

 

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

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Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

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If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

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Unit information based on version 2021.02 of the Handbook