Sociology and Social Policy
- Created by: sjglatzhofer
- Created on: 10-05-17 11:18
View mindmap
- Sociology and Social Policy
- Influence of sociology on policy
- Electoral Popularity
- Research findings might point to a policy that would be unpopular with voters.
- Ideological and policy preferences of governments
- Researcher's value-stance/ perspective is similar to the political ideology of the government, researcher stands a chance of influencing its policy
- Interest Groups
- Pressure groups seek to influence government policies in their own interest. E.g. business can persuade to not raise the minimum, even if this doesn't reduce poverty.
- Globalisation
- International organisation such as the EU can influence social polices. With Brexit, this can change.
- Critical sociology
- Sociologist who are critical towards powerful groups, e.g. Marxist, are seen as too extreme, won't influence the government.
- Cost
- Researcher's findings not have sufficient funds to create a policy.
- Funding sources
- Policymakers recruit sociologist who share the same views to help them justify the policy.
- Electoral Popularity
- Perspectives on social policy.
- Positivism/ functionalim
- Durkheim and Comte.
- Early positivists, seeing sociology as a science, part of the Enlightenment project.
- Durkheim's analysis led his propose a meritocratic education system.
- Functionalist see that state serving interests of society as a whole, producing policies for the good of all.
- Both see the sociologist's role is to provide the state with scientific information. They are seen more like the medical researcher.
- Value social policies which tackle one specific issue at a time.
- Durkheim and Comte.
- Social democratic perspective.
- Favour redistribution of wealth and income from the rich to the poor, to make it fairer.
- Townsend (1979) should research in social problems and make policies to eradicate them.
- Marxist criticises them, as it is capitalisms fault for these problems, abolishing capitalism will stop this.
- Marxists
- See the state benefiting the ruling class, allowing what polices to go out, making the working class feel benefitted, when they are actually exploited.
- Feminism
- Radical feminist influenced Women's Aid Federation, funded by the government. This is because R.F favour separatism.
- Influenced educational policies, e.g. learning materials that promote more positive images of females to avoid gender bias.
- Policies benefit parchiarchy
- The New Right
- Not to be heavy on society, as it makes people independent.
- Murray(1984) generous welfare benefit act as 'perverse incentives' that weaken the family's self-reliance.
- Positivism/ functionalim
- Worlsey (1977): defines Social and Sociology.
- Social: Social behaviour that causes public fiction and private calls for collective action to solve. E.g. underachievement
- Sociology: Any patterns of relationship that calls for explanation. E.g. why people underachieve.
- Influence of sociology on policy
Comments
No comments have yet been made