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Unit of Study POL20001 - Analysing Policy Problems (2018)

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Unit Snapshot

  • Enrolment information

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Unit description

Provides students with practical skills in policy analysis and critique using an approach that explores how policy ‘problems’ are constructed. Enables students to analyse problem representations and apply these to policy case studies. Encourages students to think critically about how governing occurs and the implications for those being governed.

Unit content

1. Policy 'problems' and problem representations
2. Analysing assumptions in problem representations
3. The discovery of problem representations
4. Identifying limits to problem representations
5. Identifying effects of problem representations
6. Governmentality: thinking about how conduct is governed
7. Rethinking policy analysis
8. Case studies in welfare, ‘youth’ and unemployment
9. Case studies in health, wellbeing and dangerous consumption

Availabilities

Location Domestic International
Online Session 1 Session 1

Learning outcomes and graduate attributes

Unit Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a unit. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes. The unit learning outcomes and graduate attributes are also the basis of evaluating prior learning.

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

GA1: Intellectual rigour, GA2: Creativity, GA3: Ethical practice, GA4: Knowledge of a discipline, GA5: Lifelong learning, GA6: Communication and social skills, GA7: Cultural competence
Learning outcome count Learning outcome description GA1 GA2 GA3 GA4 GA5 GA6 GA7
1 describe how to analyse problem representations
2 undertake an analysis of a problem representation
3 discuss the contribution of governmentality to policy analysis and critique
4 apply an analysis of a problem representation to critically discuss a policy, including the implications for those being governed.

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

  1. describe how to analyse problem representations
    • GA1:
    • GA4:
  2. undertake an analysis of a problem representation
    • GA1:
    • GA4:
  3. discuss the contribution of governmentality to policy analysis and critique
    • GA1:
    • GA4:
    • GA6:
  4. apply an analysis of a problem representation to critically discuss a policy, including the implications for those being governed.
    • GA1:
    • GA4:

Prescribed learning resources

Prescribed Texts
  • No prescribed texts.

Prescribed Learning Resources may change in future Teaching Periods.