One-Day Conference organised by the Social Policy Association - Teaching Social Policy for the Future, 20 April 2012, University of Edinburgh
Social Policy, as an academic subject and a series of policies and practices, is facing challenging times, and yet has never been more relevant and important. In the wake of severe public spending cuts following the global financial crisis, dramatic demographic change and fundamental shifts in labour markets and family life, traditional assumptions about the role and purpose of social policy are open to new interpretation. As higher education enters a new era of high student fees, new expectations and agendas on employability and skills, the teaching of social policy deserves new scrutinity. How new generations of students are taught, what they are taught and the skills they will need to acquire are of great concern if social policy is to make a convincing case for its growing relevance in UK higher education.
This one-day conference gives social policy academics a chance to consider the state of the discipline and what may need to be done to ensure that the subject increases its attraction for undergraduate and postgraduate students. It will present results from a recent survey on social policy teaching in the UK commissioned by the Social Policy Association and address key issues such as research methods teaching; new subject benchmarks; work placements and employability; the 'how and what' of teaching social policy. The conference is designed to stimulate thought and discussion through break-out sessions, and is intended to act as initial stimulus for a series of workshops across the UK over the next eighteen months.
Conference Fee
There is a conference fee of £25 for SPA-members and £40 for non-members. The event is free of charge for postgraduate students (registration is required).
Registration
Registration opens January 25th from this link. The registration deadline is 6th April 2012.
Venue
The conference is being held at:
School of Social and Political Science
Chrystal Macmillan Building
15A George Square
Edinburgh EH8 9LD
A Venue map is available here.
Chrystal Macmillan Building is located in the central university area, in walking distance to Edinburgh Waverley Train station and a 20 minutes taxi ride from Edinburgh airport.
Contact
For any inquiries please contact:Caitlin McLean.
Looking forward to meeting you soon!
Ingela Naumann
Convenor, Teaching & Learning Group
SPA Executive
ingela.naumann@ed.ac.uk
Conference programme
The conference programme is available to view here.
