Question 2.
Compare and contrast policy approaches to one area of social policy/social welfare in at least two countries, one of which can be a country within the United Kingdom.
Learning Outcomes
To successfully complete this assignment, students will have to address learning outcome 3, and either of learning outcomes 4 or 5.
Assignment Guidance
For this question, you can compare one country within the UK with another country outside of the UK.
You must make it clear in your title and in your introduction what countries and what area of social policy/social welfare you are covering in your essay. Your assignment title should be checked with the Module Leader before you begin writing the essay. You can do this by email or in person at the end of a lecture. The introduction is important as it enables you to structure your discussion effectively.
You should provide a contemporary analysis of policy/policies for your chosen area and countries. Remember this is not a history essay! Focus your reading and research on the past ten – fifteen years to do this piece of work.
You are expected to provide some analysis of policies, so do not reproduce too much detailed description. Just presenting a list of legislation could result in a fail. Remember that social policies include strategies, approaches, guidance, and agreements or conventions, as well as legislation.
At this level, you should be presenting evidence drawn from academic literature and research to support your discussion. You should also use statistical evidence where available to illustrate your discussion.
Your main task with this question is to compare and contrast policies in at least two countries, but you should also refer to the global context where relevant and appropriate to ensure that you address either learning outcome 4 or 5. This can be done concisely. For example, policies within EU member states are often determined at the EU level. Or, national policies are influenced by global agendas, for example, on human rights, the environment, or migration. Or policies can also be influenced by changes in attitudes and values, as with changing gender roles, or attitudes towards disabled people. A final example is the way that the global economic recession has impacted on social policies within countries.
Structure/Order
When comparing two countries, it is most logical to do one, then the other, then compare and contrast. Do not hop between countries within a sentence, or do this repeatedly within paragraphs, as your discussion will become confusing and lack a logical structure. Always make it clear which year or period of time you are writing about, and which country (or government you are discussing).

Question 2. Compare and contrast policy approaches to one area o...