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When Less is More: The Dominance of Subject-Content in the Teaching of Undergraduate Social Policy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 January 2005

Zoë Irving  and
Pat Young
Zoë Irving
Affiliation:
SWAPltsn/Sociological Studies University of Sheffield E-mail: z.m.irving@sheffield.ac.uk
Pat Young
Affiliation:
SWAPltsn/University of the West of England E-mail: pat2.young@uwe.ac.uk
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Abstract

This article explores the implications of expanding content in undergraduate Social Policy. Although the problem of curriculum content is not unique to Social Policy, particular features exacerbate the issue. These include the relationship of the subject to other disciplines, and to wider political and social issues. Dominance of content is argued to limit the aims of teaching, squeezing out skills development. It also restricts the methods employed. Content dominance also contributes to the development of a deficit model of students. The article is based on data drawn from semi-structured interviews with 46 lecturers working in universities across the UK.

Type
Articles
Information
Social Policy and Society , Volume 4 , Issue 1 , January 2005 , pp. 1 - 9
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2005

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