public servicesdepartment of politics and philosophy proposed major modification public services...

Department of Politics and Philosophy Public Services

Proposed Major Modification

Public Services Level 4


Current Framework

• Public Services Environment (40 credits)• Elements of English Law (20 credits)• Introduction to Politics for Public Services (20

credits)• Media Power and Politics (20 credits)• Learning and Employability (20 credits)

12 elements of summative assessment, no formal formative assessment


Objectives

• To create four 30-credit units, individually compliant with EQAL criteria, that together constitute an integrated programme with diverse learning opportunities and assessment

• To ensure that workloads are consistent across units, criteria for assessment are clear and appropriate, and provision is made for timely individual and collective feedback

• to integrate personal tutoring, employability and graduate skills fully into the curriculum

• To build into the programme regular scheduled engagement with Careers, Library and other relevant services

• To make appropriate use of new learning technology • to provide potential applicants and incoming students with clear,

concise and integrated information regarding the programme, in handbooks and online


Proposed Changes

• to discontinue Media Power and Politics,• to replace Learning and Employability with a new unit,

Professional Development, fully compliant with the new Employability Curriculum Framework and fully embedded into the rest of the programme

• to amend and reallocate current content and introduce new content reflecting developments in the public services and the contexts in which they operate in three further units: Public Services in the 21st Century, Public Services in the Community, and Law and Government for Public Services.

• to embed these units in a Public Services Graduate Skill Set based upon the MMU Graduate Outcomes, and a stage framework consistent with the Core Statement of Threshold Standards


Programme Objectives

• to equip graduates with a good understanding of the structure, management, funding and delivery of public services in the UK and the political context surrounding them

• to enable them to develop and demonstrate the skills appropriate to graduate-level employment in those services or related areas of professional activity


Stage Four Objectives

• to provide an introduction to the range and diversity of public services and the legal and political context in which they operate

• to map their structure, delivery, management and funding, with a focus on national and local levels, and state, private and third sector delivery

• to examine the impact of the coalition government that took office in May 2010 and in particular its strategies to engage citizens and communities

• to enable students to build and demonstrate the basic elements of the graduate skill set defined for the programme


Public Services Graduate Skill Set• find, evaluate, synthesise and use information from a variety of

sources• express ideas effectively and communicate information

appropriately and accurately using a range of media including ICT

• develop working relationships using teamwork and leadership skills, recognising and respecting different perspectives

• apply skills of critical analysis to real world situations, in particular those involving the structure, funding, management, delivery and use of public services

• articulate an awareness of the social, legal, political and community contexts within which public services are delivered

• manage their professional development reflecting on progress and taking appropriate action and

• demonstrate a high degree of professionalism in terms of practice, responsibility, initiative, discipline and enterprise


Public Services in the 21st CenturyOn successful completion of Public Services in the 21st Century, students will be able to:

1. explain the role, origins and features of contemporary public services and assess the benefits and drawbacks of alternative ways in which they can be delivered

2. assess how the public services are funded and alternative options in planning financial cutbacks and outsourcing, privatization and co-production in public services

3. examine the genesis and role of the contemporary UK welfare state and the pressures it currently faces in terms of an ageing population and government cutbacks and promotion of non-state welfare provision

4. extract information from paper- and web-based sources and produce graphs, charts and tables to display it

Assessment: outcomes 1 and 2 will be assessed by examination (50%) and outcomes 3 and 4 by a briefing report (50%)


Public Services in the Community

On successful completion of Public Services in the Community, students will be able to:

1. analyse and critically assess the Big Society concept and its relationship to the future of public service delivery

2. demonstrate and apply knowledge of a range of public service institutions, including local government, social firms, co-operatives and voluntary organisations

3. discuss and critically evaluate models of community engagement

4. make effective use of web-based learning tools to create portable and dynamic multi-media portfolios

Assessment: outcomes 1 and 2 will be assessed by essay (50%) and outcomes 3 and 4 by a web-based portfolio (50%)


Law and Government for Public Services

On successful completion of Law and Government for Public Services, students will be able to:

1. explain the role of the political institutions and processes of the British State in constitutional, ideological and socio-economic context

2. identify and analyse the language of politics, weigh evidence against opinion, and construct sound evidence-based arguments

3. understand the organisation of the legal system in England and explain the role of different courts, tribunals and institutions such as the Probation Service and the Youth Justice Service

4. locate and assess information from a wide range of secondary sources and utilise and reference such information accurately in study-based assessment

Assessment: outcomes 1 and 2 will be assessed by examination (50%) and outcomes 3 and 4 by an essay (50%)


Professional development

On successful completion of Professional Development, students will be able to:

1. demonstrate competence in the use of the MS Office suite (Word, Excel, Powerpoint) in written work and oral presentations

2. work effectively in a group to plan, research and deliver an oral presentation

3. arrange, make and report on a visit to a court, council or equivalent session

4. demonstrate engagement and professional development in a portable paper-based portfolio

Assessment: all outcomes assessed by a portfolio assembled over the year, to include inter alia class exercises in Word, Powerpoint and Excel, copies of assessed work with feedback and reflective response, reports on group work and court/council visit, and PDP end-of-year report and reflection (100%)


Additional Features

• Dedicated Programme Board• Programme Forum once a term • Employers’ Reference Group• Feedback sessions embedded and

timetabled in all units• Day-long Careers and Employability event in

Spring Term• Scheduled talks from employers and former

graduates

public servicesdepartment of politics and philosophy proposed major modification public services...

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