Social Policy Project Guidelines
For this project, students will choose a social
policy/program that affects children, adolescents, and/or families and
summarize, analyze, and provide recommendations for extensions/ amendments to
the policy. Ideally, the policy/program will link to the service learning
placement site in which the student is enrolled; however, this is not required.
The project will 1) summarize the program/policy, 2) report previous research
findings related to the efficacy of the current policy/program, 3) using
qualitative/anecdotal data from the service learning experience and required
course novels, analyze and critique the current policy/program, 4) provide
recommendations for ways to either extend the current policy/program or amend
it, and 5) identify challenges for implementing this policy/program in the
current social climate.
Final Paper. Students will write and submit an 8 – 10 paged,
double-spaced paper on their project. Papers should be in APA format (7th
edition), with at least 5 references provided. Three of these references should
be peer-reviewed research articles. Per APA formatting, provide a title page, use
in-text citations, and use the following headings for the paper in line with
the sections described above:
Summary of the Current Policy/Program (0.5 – 1
page)
Summarize
the current policy/program, including the history that influenced it
and, if
applicable, the evolution of the policy; how it operates in terms of funding;
and the population it targets.
Research on the Current Policy/Program (1 – 1.5
pages)
Provide a brief literature review
using in-text citations for the research related to
the effects of the social policy and/or the efficacy of the
program in question.
Analysis/Critique of the Current Policy/Program
(2-3 paragraphs)
Provide an analysis/critique
of the current policy/program, citing personal experiences from your service
learning site, background, development, work, and readings from the course.
Recommendations (2 – 3 pages)
Propose recommendations for change
to the current program/policy. You should
include
detailed information on the changes, rationale for the changes (the best way to
do this is to cite research showing how this change has been effective for
other programs, policies, populations, etc.), how you propose to obtain/funnel
funding for the changes, and how you will address the way(s) in which history
has influenced the current policy/program.
Challenges (1 – 2 pages)
Identify challenges you foresee in
implementing your new policy/program. In
class, we have discussed several (e.g., making programs
accessible, avoiding
discrimination/targeting marginalized groups for negative
consequences,
underlying values of the U.S. mainstream culture). Provide
suggestions on how
you might address these challenges.
The page limits
listed in parantheses are suggestions/guidelines and do not
have to be strictly followed; however, you should plan to make the
“Recommendations” and “Challenges” sections the focus of the paper. The 8 – 10 overall
page limit should not include the title page or references section. Writing
mechanisms (i.e., spelling/grammar) will be graded in addition to content.
