SWK 325.01 - Social Welfare Policy Andrew T. Nilsson, Ph.D., LCSW
Eastern Connecticut State University Summer Session A, June 1 – July 9, 2009
ECSU SOCIAL WORK PROGRAM MISSION
The Social Work Program of Eastern Connecticut State University prepares effective generalist social
workers who advance human well-being, draw upon client strengths in practice, empower the oppressed, and
are committed to the promotion of social justice.
SWK 325 - SOCIAL WELFARE POLICY
ON-LINE COURSE SYLLABUS
(This syllabus is summarized from Summer, 2009. The course schedule and content will be modified to conform to the
shorter winter session. Not counting Sundays and New Year’s Day, the course will cover 21 days but the material presented
will be substantially the same as described below.)
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
SWK 325 offers students an overview of the issues surrounding the development, implementation, and
evaluation of social welfare policies. Within this course the term "social welfare policies" includes decisions
made about how social problems should be addressed and the desired outcomes of those efforts.
This is an on-line three credit course scheduled June 1 through July 9. This is not a self-paced course.
Not counting Sundays and July 4, there are 33 days to cover the material. Though some flexibility is built into
the course schedule, there are fixed dates for assignments, on-line discussion sessions, quizzes, and tests which
must be met. Careful adherence to the course schedule will be essential to success in the course.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of this course, each student will be able to:
1. Describe the historical roots of social welfare policy and the influence of traditional American values on
social welfare policy today.
• Demonstrate understanding of the influence of the Protestant work ethic, rugged individualism, and the
conservative, liberal, and radical political perspectives on social welfare policy
• Demonstrate understanding of the influence of capitalist ideals and free market economics on current
social welfare policies.
• Describe alternatives to current U.S. social policies such as provision of universal health care in
Canada and Britain, the universalistic social welfare policy approaches taken in the Scandinavian
countries and other modern welfare states, and utopian perspectives such as those described by
Bellamy in Looking Backward.
2. Demonstrate understanding of our political and judicial systems and their roles in social welfare policy
formation and implementation.
• Demonstrate understanding of the impact of inequalities in power and influence and of the relationship
between dominant and subordinate groups on policy formation.
• Demonstrate awareness of political and other strategies for influencing the policy formation process
and/or for bringing about policy change.
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