SD3S06 - Social Policy and Young People 01 Sep 2024 - 31 Aug 2026 | Version 3

Associated Module Information

Module Code: SD3S06
Module Title: Social Policy and Young People
Faculty: Faculty of Business and Creative Industries
Faculty Group: Leadership and Public Services
Faculty Sub Group: Leadership and Public Services
Module Leader: Howard Williamson
Module Team: Wendy Booth, Paul Lewis
First Intended Intake: SEP 2024 Final Year of Intake:
Date Closed:
Credit Value: 20 Credit Level: 6
Language: English
Percentage of Module Taught in Welsh: 0
Equivalent Module:
HECOS codes: 100505 - sociology
HECOS Code Weighting: 100

Document Version Information

Version 3
Valid From 01 Sep 2024
Valid To 31 Aug 2026

Module Aims

The module will provide students with an historical, theoretical and applied knowledge and understanding of social policy as it affects the complex and changing lives of young people in the UK, Europe and the wider world. 

The objectives of the module are to:  

  • Discuss different and sometimes competing methodologies for studying childhood and the lives of young people 

  • Develop a detailed understanding and critical appreciation of the changing transitions of young people, over generations and through both international and national perspectives 

  • Critique each of the five key ‘youth policy’ domains – education, training and employment, health, housing and crime 

  • Engage in interactive debates arising from ‘provocations’ led by students on youth policy topics of their choice 

  • Recognise that ‘youth policy’ cascades through numerous levels of governance and guidance, from the United Nations to municipalities/local authorities 

  • Consider the practical and cultural obstacles and barriers to effective youth policy implementation

Content Summary

The Social Policy and Young People module represents and reflects a journey for students – from the personal to the political, from global to local governance, and from research, through policy, to practice – through the lens of the key social policies that shape (both positively and negatively) the transitions of young people from childhood to adulthood

Learning and Teaching Methods

Activity Type Hours
Seminars 40
Independent Study 88
Directed Study 72
Total Hours Selected 200

Learning Outcomes

# Learning Outcome
LO1 Discuss the extent to which ‘evidence’ lies behind the formulation of policies affecting the lives of young people
LO2 Distinguish between the rhetorical claims of policy expression and aspiration and the grounded realities of the experiences of youth policy enactment

Module Requisites

N/A

Assessment Criteria

Assessment Category Assessment Type Description Duration Word Count Weight (%) Best of? Pass Mark
Asynchronous Assessment Essay 1 A written evaluation of the research evidence behind a selected youth polic 0 2000 80 No 40
Synchronous Onsite Oral Assessment Oral Assessment (Internally assessed, Onsite) 1 Individual exchanges on three generations of youth transitions. Evidence of preparation required. 15 N/A 20 No 40

Assessment Matrix

Assessment Type Learning Outcomes
LO1 LO2
Essay 1 ✔ ✔
Oral Assessment (Internally assessed, Onsite) 1 ✔ ✔

Reading List

Ndiaye, S. A. R. (2020). Giving Youth A Seat At The Table: Considerations From Existing Frameworks of Youth Participation In Public Policy Decision-Making. Youth Voice Journal. 

Smith, A., and McBride, J. (2021). ‘Working to live, not living to work’: low-paid multiple employment and work–life articulation. Work, Employment and Society, 35(2), 256-276. 

Van, W. (2020). Conclusion: The next decade of family policy research. The palgrave handbook of family policy, 683. 

Allen, M. and Ainley, P. (2010), Lost Generation? New Strategies for Youth and Education, London: Continuum 

Arnett, J. (2004), Emerging Adulthood: The Winding Road from the Late Teens through the Twenties, New York: Oxford University Press 

Ball, S., Maguire, M. and Macrae, S. (2000), Choice, Pathways and Transitions Post-16: New youth, new economies in the global city, London: Routledge Falmer 

Banks, M. Bates, I. Breakwell, G. Bynner, J. Emler, N. Jamieson, L. and Roberts, K. (1992), Careers and Identities, Milton Keynes: Open University Press 

Beckett, L. (2023) Child poverty in Wales?: exploring the challenges for schooling future generations. 1st ed. Cardiff, Wales: The University of Wales Press. 

Bochel, C. and Bochel, H. (2004), The UK Social Policy Process, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan 

Bynner, J., Chisholm, L. and Furlong, A. (eds) (1997), Youth, Citizenship and Social Change in a European Context, Aldershot: Ashgate 

Carnegie Young People Initiative (1996), Years of Decision, Leicester: Youth Work Press 

Catan, L. (2004), Becoming Adult: Changing Youth Transitions in the 21st Century, Brighton: Trust for the Study of Adolescence 

Côté, J. (2014), Youth Studies: Fundamental Issues and Debates, London: Palgrave Macmillan 

Davies, B. (1986), Threatening Youth: towards a national youth policy, Buckingham: Open University Press 

France, A. (2007), Understanding Youth in Late Modernity, Berkshire: Open University Press  

Furlong, A. and Cartmel, F. (1997), Young People and Social Change, Buckingham: Open University Press 

Giugni, M. and Grasso, M. (eds) (2021), Youth and Politics in Times of Increasing Inequalities, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan 

Jones, G. and Wallace, C. (1992), Youth, Family and Citizenship, Milton Keynes: Open University Press 

Jones, G. (2002), The Youth Divide: Diverging Paths to Adulthood, York: Joséph Rowntree Foundation 

Jones, G. (2009), Youth, Cambridge: Polity Press 

MacDonald, R. (ed.) (1997), Youth, the ‘Underclass’ and Social Exclusion, London: Routledge 

Miles, S. (2000), Youth Lifestyles in a Changing World, Buckingham: Open University Press 

Mizen, P. (2004), The changing state of youth, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan 

Nico, M. and Caetano, A. (eds) (2021), Structure and Agency in Young People’s Lives: Theory, Methods and Agendas, Oxon: Routledge 

Pearson, G. (1983), Hooligan: A History of Respectable Fears, London: Macmillan 

Wallace, C. and Kovacheva, S. (1998), Youth in Society: the Construction and Deconstruction of Youth in East and West Europe, London: Macmillan 

Williamson, H. (1997), Youth and Policy: Contexts and Consequences, Aldershot: Ashgate 

Williamson, H. and Côté, J. (2022), Advanced Introduction to Youth Studies, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar 

Wyn, J. Cahill, H. Woodman, D. Cuervo, H. Leccardi, C. and Chesters, J. (eds) 2020), Youth and the New Adulthood: Generations of Change, Singapore: Springer