Social Justice, Social Policy and Social Problems

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to

• Plan and propose tactics and strategies to empower service users, promote social justice and advocate social change
• Analyse the relationship between private troubles and public issues, and the development of social policy responses to social problems over time
• Critically evaluate contemporary social justice and human rights issues in Aotearoa New Zealand including the rights of Tangata Whenua as indigenous people

Course content includes

• Concepts of social justice in Aotearoa New Zealand
• Contemporary social justice and te Tiriti o Waitangi 
• Private troubles and public issues
• The social policy process and the role of local and national government
• Social justice and human rights: global, national and local perspectives
• Processes and procedures for policy review and change
• Social development, partnership and empowerment
• Brokerage, advocacy and campaigning for social change
• Skills to critically appraise research including ethical and cultural considerations

Assessment

This course is 100% internally assessed

Textbooks

There is a textbook required for this course. Email socialwork@openpolytechnic.ac.nz for more information.

Computer and internet requirements

This course is delivered online, so you will access your course material and submit assessments online. Our online courses may include reading, videos, quizzes or activities, and you may need to download content.

For online learning you need:

• Access to a laptop or desktop computer
• Reliable internet and data plan.  

If you are unsure if your current computer, Windows or internet access will allow you to study online, please contact us before applying to enrol. 

Find out more about online learning 

How to enrol

Before enrolling in this course you need to:

• choose the qualification you will study the course under
• check the order that courses in the qualification should be studied in the Qualification Structure table. This is in the Choose courses and apply tab on the qualification page.