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SPOL10020

Academic Year 2026/2027

Contemporary Irish Welfare State (SPOL10020)

Subject:
Social Policy
College:
Social Sciences & Law
School:
Soc Pol, Soc Wrk & Soc Justice
Level:
1 (Introductory)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Dr Matthew Donoghue
Trimester:
Spring
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

This module provides an introduction to the main areas of contemporary Irish social policy. This includes the 'four pillars' of the system (social protection; health; education; and housing) but also an overview of key aspects of social work as they relate to social policy. The module presents an overview of current policy in each of the areas and students are required to think analytically about each of the key policies, assessing their performance relative to particular goals. Students are introduced to key data sources (mainly on-line) to enable you to draw on readily available sources of information to update your knowledge and assessment of various social policy schemes and programmes.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module, you should be able to: Outline the main components of the Irish social policy system (including social work) and describe how they operate. Find more detailed information on particular social policy programmes and use that information to describe and assess those programmes.

The United Nations identified seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as core to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UCD contributes in general to SDG 4 Quality Education. Further SDGs explored within this module if relevant are listed below. A scale of 1 - 5 indicates the extent to which the SDG is covered.


 

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Specified Learning Activities

40
Autonomous Student Learning

38
Lectures

22
Tutorial

4
Computer Aided Lab

4
Total

108

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Lectures; active/task based learning; peer and group work; critical reading and thinking.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations
Learning Requirements:

None

Learning Exclusions:

None


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade Component repeat (in-module) Offered
Exam (Take-Home): Take-home exam, available for a set period, administered through Brightspace Week 14 Standard conversion grade scale 40% No
80
 No
Quizzes/Short Exercises: MCQ based on selected media Week 4 Standard conversion grade scale 40% No
5
 No
Quizzes/Short Exercises: MCQ based on selected media Week 6 Standard conversion grade scale 40% No
5
 No
Quizzes/Short Exercises: MCQ based on selected media Week 8 Standard conversion grade scale 40% No
5
 No
Quizzes/Short Exercises: MCQ based on selected media Week 11 Standard conversion grade scale 40% No
5
 No

As part of UCD's student support, under the Additional Consideration policy, extensions may be available for the following assessments in the module: Assignment (including essay/poster), Portfolio, Reflective Assignment, Report(s), and Individual Project.


Carry forward of passed components
No
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn Yes - 1 Hour
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Peer review activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

The continuous assessment component is conducted in tutorials and peer review feedback and group feedback from tutor given in the tutorials.

Name Role
Michael Colaiaco Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Dr Sarah Morton Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Dr Nat O'Connor Lecturer / Co-Lecturer

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Spring Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 32, 33 Mon 16:00 - 16:50
Spring Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Wed 14:00 - 14:50
Spring Tutorial Offering 3 Week(s) - 21, 31 Tues 14:00 - 14:50
Spring Tutorial Offering 4 Week(s) - 21, 31 Tues 10:00 - 10:50
Spring Tutorial Offering 5 Week(s) - 21, 31 Wed 09:00 - 09:50
Spring Tutorial Offering 6 Week(s) - 21, 31 Wed 13:00 - 13:50
Spring Tutorial Offering 8 Week(s) - 21, 31 Thurs 11:00 - 11:50
Spring Tutorial Offering 10 Week(s) - 21, 31 Fri 11:00 - 11:50
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