Introduction to Social Policy
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Course code
STP6001.YK
old course code
STP6001
Course title in Estonian
Sissejuhatus sotsiaalpoliitikasse
Course title in English
Introduction to Social Policy
ECTS credits
5.0
Assessment form
Examination
lecturer of 2023/2024 Spring semester
Not opened for teaching. Click the study programme link below to see the nominal division schedule.
lecturer of 2024/2025 Autumn semester
Not opened for teaching. Click the study programme link below to see the nominal division schedule.
Course aims
Compulsory core subject. The course is intended to contribute to the students’ understanding of the general overview of social policy, its main problems, principles, developmental logic, methods and approaches and areas of activity; and to the students’ practical skills of critical analysis of social policy.

Brief description of the course
Terms and main conceptions, different contexts and models, social policy, welfare and welfare state, objectives of social policy and means of achieving them. Development of social policy (reforms, crises). Values that social policy is based on (human rights, social justice). International social policy (the role of international organisations and associations in social policy, comparing the social policy of different countries, social benefits).
Learning outcomes in the course
Upon completing the course the student:
- orients in the main approaches to social policy, knows objectives and means of social policy, can assess the possibilities of welfare society and state in supporting the coping and welfare of its population;
- can analyse critically the actual social risks and problems of Estonian society and assess the possibilities of social policy in reducing them;
- is aware of the factors that have influenced the development of Estonian social policy and the current situation, can assess the future perspectives of Estonian social policy and individual social policies by generalising the aforementioned experiences;
- understands the role of social policy in social work.
Teacher
Lektor Zsolt Bugarszki
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