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Sociology and Social Policy - Coggle Diagram
Sociology and Social Policy
Giddens
- Claims the Study of Sociology Gives
4 Practical Benefits
An
understanding
of the world
A heightened awareness of the needs of
individual groups
An assessment of
"what works"
(evidence-based policy)
An increased
personal knowledge
of ourselves and others
Social Policy
is the Area of
Government
that Tries to
Help People
Social policies
are
government
policies that deal with the
well-being
of
citizens
- pensions, health, education, etc
Social policy
has also become the name of the
academic subject
that
studies
this area of government
New ideas for social policy are generated by
governments, political parties
and
pressure groups
Social policy
varies with the
party
in power - in the UK most likely either
Labour
or the
Conservatives**
Most
research
into social policy issues is carried out by
government agencies
such as the department for
education
and
health
, but some is done by
charities
such as the
Joseph Rowntree Foundation
and
university departments
Governments use
quantitative statistical social research
to
discover
basic
social trends
, e.g. levels of population growth, unemployment and income
More in-depth,
qualitative social research
can give governments an
insight
into the
causes
of social problems such as
poverty
and
crime
, and can
help
in the search for
policies
to tackle them
The link between sociology and social policy was particularly close in the case of the sociologist
Frank Field
Between 1997 and 1998, he was
minister
and
policy-maker
in the Labour government
Sociological Research
- Gives
Policy-Makers
Insight into
Poverty
and
Inequality
The creation of the
Welfare State
after the Second World War gave many the
impression
in late 1960s that
poverty
had been largely
eradicated
from the UK
However,
empirical evidence
from
Peter Townsend
(1979) and
Mack and Lansley
(1985) showed that poverty was a hidden problem
Sociologists then did more research to come up with theories of
why
certain groups were
more vulnerable
to poverty
Social Democrats
blamed an
inadequate
welfare system, the
New Right
(e.g.
Marsland
(1989)) blaimed
reliance
on an over-generous welfare system, and
Third Way
thinkers emphasised
citizenship
(two-way responsibility between the citizen and the state)
These theories, plus
empirical data
, guided
social policy
about welfare, overly and inequality
Weber
- Believed
Sociology
Shouldn't Tell Decision-makers
How
to
Fix Society
Believed that sociology
shouldn't make value judgements
It shouldn't tell policy-makers
how to fix society
Argued that sociological research can
tell
decision-makers whether a particular policy is likely to have the
desired result
, and what
social costs
the policy will incur
Thought that the
policy-maker
should come up with the
policy first
, and
then
the researchers should go away and
find evidence
to work out the
best way
of doing it
Thought it was important to have
good methodology
to give the most
useful information
to policy-makers
Critics of the view say policy should could come
after evidence gathering
, not before
There's a danger that only evidence which
backs up
the policy will be found
Evidence which might suggest a
much better policy
might be ignored
Postmodernists
have
Diverse Views
on the Link between Research and Policy
Bauman
(1990) believes sociology
should
inform social research, and worries that society may
get worse
if sociological theories about
poverty
and
welfare
aren't listened to
He argues that
postmodern consumer society
is
marginalising
the Welfare State, and believes this to be a bad thing
However,
Lyotard
is worried that
'scientific'
methods of sociological research could be used to construct
oppressive metanarratives
Lyotard
sees
modernist metanarratives
as leading to
struct doctrine
and
oppression
Marxists
- Think Sociology is
Too Close
to the
Capitalist System
Believe that sociology is
too closely intertwined
with the
capitalist system
to make a difference to society
Since Marxists believe
capitalism
is inherently
flawed
and
oppressive
, they suggest that sociological study is a
tool
used to
justify unjust social policy
Believe that research is
controlled
by
RC interests
, which prevents it from being used to change the system to socialism
They point to the amount of
funding
for sociological research which comes from the
state
and from
industry
- they claim sociology is being
bought
Some Feminists
- Believe Sociologists
Can't
Affect
Gender Inequality
Disagree
about whether or not sociological research can
improve
the lives of women in a
patriarchal society
Liberal feminists
believe that sociological research and analysis has
influenced governments
and had
beneficial results
for women's lives
E.g. The UK has developed social policy designed to improve the status of women and make them equal in all spheres of social life including employment and benefits
Radical feminists
argue that liberal feminist sociology can't
make much difference
to the lives of women because society is
inherently patriarchal
Radical feminists such as
Firestone
(1971) believe that patriarchal society must be dismantled before women's lives can ever be improved
Socialist feminists
claim that social policy
oppresses
women in particular
They argue it
undervalues women's labour
(e.g. in the voluntary and informal welfare sectors) and assumes they will bear a
dual burden
of work and housework
Social feminists propose
changes
to social policy based on their own research and ideology
The
Link
between
Sociology
and
Social Policy
Isn't Very Strong
Governments take account of research, but they're
constrained
by
other factors
Governments often seek to implement social policy that's
popular
with the **electorate
It's argued that policies which aren't clear
vote-winners
don't get implimented
Some groups in society may be marginalised because they
don't vote
in
large numbers
Even if sociology focuses on these groups, they may still find themselves neglected if they don't have
electoral power
Governments must consider the
financial implications
of any policies they introduce
If a policy is
too expensive
, then no matter how persuasive the sociological research is, it
isn't going to happen
Also,
expensive policies
tend to make
voters worry
that
taxes
might have to
increase
to pay for them
Sociologists try to solve
sociological problems
Sociological problems
are issues that need
explaining
, even if they don't have negative consequences
E.g. which toys boys choose to play with
Social problems
are defined by
Worsley
(1977) as issues that cause
'friction'
or
'misery'
and **need solving
E.g. why boys don't achieve as well as girls in education
If a
sociological problem
is
also a social problem
, the research will be
useful
for policy-makers
But if it's
not
also a social problem, the research
won't be relevant
to policy-makers