Social Welfare to Students - Research Proposal Example

Social Welfare to Introduction Social welfare policy s are included in the Undergraduate social work curriculum. These are meant to be providing the students with the initial skills in the analysis of regional, national, and federal policies or programs which have an impact on the citizen welfare. Such courses allow for the enhancement of a student's appreciation regarding the creation of the policy, its execution, and assessment and for increasing their capability and self-assurance in molding or altering policies so that they fulfill the people's requirements. Nevertheless, several of the undergraduate students consider social welfare policy to be disinteresting (Popple & Leighninger; Woik, Pray, Weismiller & Dempsey). Some of the students like working only with people and families and are not interested in macro-level issues. Some others do not have enough experience in tackling with the major troubles, thus they have to be striving with the thinking of incompetence to comprehend social welfare policies. Still others find that it is difficult to apply policy structures to the political, economic and socio-cultural complications which are a part of the social welfare troubles. Research Problem There is a theory that by using experimental styles for teaching students about the social welfare policy, they would be able to attain more knowledge and skill regarding their work on social and economic justice matters. In this study a comparison of two kinds of ways will be presented. One way is by teaching about social welfare policy as a service learning course while the other incorporates social welfare policy into the learners' class experience. Research Question The aim of the study has been mentioned above. Thus the research question happens to be: Are the methods effective enough in teaching students about the concepts regarding the social welfare policy Motivation This study has been undertaken in order to provide the teachers and students with the information regarding the methods of teaching about the issue at hand. This was the motivation. Through this they can discover the ways of teaching effectively. Literature Review Many know about the students' disinterestedness in matters regarding social welfare policy. Several of the teachers have seen this for themselves and have noticed how such feelings may rise to such heights that they do not allow the learner to absorb the new information, employ logical structures, and reflect on the probabilities for social action. Although these troubles are troubling a survey for the graduates revealed that they feel that their education did not help them as much in social welfare policy as it did for doing direct service (Anderson & Harris, 511-512). Service learning is being noticed a lot in social work partially because of the experimental pedagogy of service learning is congruent to the social work's feasible focus, and both stress on the requirement of addressing the social difficulties. Initiating at the position at which the patron is a hallmark of social work practice which is strengthened in service-learning programs prerequisite that the society and not the leaner is the one defining the difficult and the actions which they would carry out so as to tackle with it (Jacoby & Associates; Weigert). Likewise, service learning modules, for example social work, are defined through a meaning of reciprocity and empathy in people's relations (Enos & Troppe; Eyler & Giles; Rhoads). Furthermore, service learning stresses on consideration together with the act so as to allow the students to raise their consciousness and to challenge their rulings concerning the social troubles like poverty, tyranny, and communal prejudice. This system promotes the stress of social work on morals explanation and its augmented dedication to tackle the issues of communal and monetary unfairness. In spite of there existing a match between service education and social work, there are not many social welfare policy modules that attribute to the service learning standard. Several of the undergraduate social welfare policy modules consist of essays wherein the students are supposed to assess a social welfare policy during the whole semester, and complete the main essay in around three or four sections. The first section would concern the history of the issue studied, the second would be on the principles that are the reason of the issues, section three would explain the policy which is intended for solving the issue, and the last section would be for an analysis of the policy. Mainly the students obtain the information through the library and increasingly through the Internet, while the regulatory systematic structures serve to guide the procedure. The linear problem-solving example wherein the communal troubles are explained, the offered options thought about, issues prioritized, interventions chosen, and assessments made is supposed to function for persons, families or societies just as well as it does for the analysis of policy. Nevertheless, students are right in their discovery that this is not easy when it comes to application in the area of social welfare problems (Kelly & Maynard-Moody). Furthermore, such a model might not prove to be efficient in assisting the students to "connect individual suffering to larger social problems," neither would it "challenge [them] to consider how they might contribute to social change" (Rhoads, 201), and these two happen to be the aims of an undergraduate policy module. Community-based research stresses on cooperation between the learners the society individuals involved in the research procedure, plus it aims at bettering the lifestyle of the society people (Strand, 85). Community based research comprises of the patrons in the explanation plus the assessment of the issue. Additionally, it needs that the learners not simply assess the trouble but also work with the patrons and assist in its solving. Hypothesis From the literature researched it is to be seen and concluded at that the students are not being taught the right way which does not allow for them to be gaining the right kind of information for applying themselves in the social welfare policy sector. Methodology In this case there were two primary methods that were used for collecting and analyzing the required data. The students' journal entries concerning social welfare policy would be analyzed and this would allow for gaining an insight regarding the students' knowledge and the incorporation of ideas related to this matter. The second way would be to mail a survey relating to this topic to the students which would allow for getting to know about the students' values, capability and involvement in social policy activities. List of Variables The variables that are to be collected include: The student's journal entries The questionnaires Both would be concerned with social welfare policies. Econometric Strategy In this case quantitative as well as qualitative research would be conducted. Qualitative would be when the journal entries are collected and analyzed so as to obtain the students' views. The questionnaire survey would form the quantitative part of the research. The responses obtained would have to be categorized accordingly and a trend would have to be found among them. This would be done through making tables, graphs and charts. The responses from the questionnaire would be made into a table, similar to the following: Teaching Method 1 Teaching Method 2 Importance of Policy-related activities Cohort Mode Cohort Median Cohort Mode Cohort Median Voting Being a member of a professional organization Keeping up with issues that affect client Keeping up with issues that affect neighborhoods Keeping up with issues that affect school districts Keeping up with issues that affect state Keeping up with issues that affect nation Table of Contents The final dissertation would include the following topics: Abstract Introduction Background Solutions Purpose of the study Research questions Significance of study Definition of terms Literature review Methodology Limitations Data analysis Conclusions References Chronology Aim Research Proposal Ethics Approval Literature Review Conference Paper Methods Chapter Collect Data Data Analysis Journal Article Write Up Results/Analysis Conclusion Introduction Editing Work Cited Anderson, D. K. & Barbara, M. H. (2005). "Teaching social welfare policy: A comparison of two pedagogical approaches." Journal of Social Work Education, 41.3 (2005): 511-526. Enos, S. L., & Troppe, M. L. "Service-learning in the curriculum." In B. Jacoby & Associates, Service-learning in higher education: Concepts and practices (pp. 135-155). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. (1996). Eyler, J., & Giles, D. E., Jr. Where's the learning in service-learning San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. (1999). Jacoby, B. & Associates. Service-learning in Higher Education: Concepts and Practices. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. (1996). Kelly, M., & Maynard-Moody, S. "Policy analysis in the post positivist era: Engaging stakeholders in evaluating the economic development district's program." (1994). In J. D. White & G. B. Adams (Eds.), Research in public administration: Reflections on theory and practice (pp. 197-212). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Popple, P R., & Leighninger, L. The Policy-Based Profession: An Introduction to Social Welfare Policy for Social Workers. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. (1998). Rhoads, R. A. Community Service and Higher Learning: Exploration of the Caring Self. New York: State University of New York Press. (1997). Strand, K. J. "Community-based research as pedagogy." Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning 7 (2000): 85-96. Weigert, K. "Academic Service Learning: Its Meaning and Relevance." (1998). In R. A. Rhoads & J. P. F. Howard (Eds.), Academic Service Learning: A Pedagogy of Action and Reflection (pp. 3-10). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Wolk, J. L., Pray, J. E., Weismiiler, T., & Dempsey, D. "Political practica: Educating social work students for policymaking." Journal of Social Work Education 32 (1996): 91-100. Read More