21184 Government and Community Sector

Subject level: Undergraduate

Handbook description

This subject familiarises students with the ways governments operate, and relations between community organisations and governments are constructed and conducted.

Subject objectives/outcomes

At completion of this subject, students will be able to understand and explain:

1. the formal structures of government in Australia
2. what is meant by 'politics'
3. the theoretical debates over 'power' and the way the different theories affect the selection and interpretation of evidence and of policy practice
4. the way the sectors interact in practice
5. recent changes in the role of the government in welfare, and the role of the community sector in this change
6. start considering what role you, as a community manager, might be able to play in influencing the future relationships between governments and community sectors.

Contribution to graduate profile

In the subject, students will formalise and expand their knowledge of governments and the relationships between governments and community organisations. This will encompass both government regulations and government funding. Given the importance of governments to the community sector, it is appropriate to devote an entire subject to this topic.

Teaching and learning strategies

Students will learn through a combination of set readings, lectures, workshop exercises, case studies and written assignments requiring them to apply concepts to their own work environment. Where appropriate, students will also be expected to conduct their own research in order to complete set assessment tasks.

Students will be encouraged to be active rather than passive learners. Each subject will feature three block sessions through the semester, which may include a selection of the following teaching and learning strategies:

• full lectures or mini lectures (possibly including guest speakers)
• large group discussion
• practical group exercises
• small group discussion
• student presentations (individual or group projects)
• workshops on specific practical skills
• role play

Students are also required to maintain a regular reading schedule which may include a textbook, a prescribed set of readings and/or some selected key references. In some subjects there will also be an expectation that students will pursue their own research in areas relevant to their assessment tasks.

Central to the teaching and learning philosophy of this subject, is the integration of work based learning through assessment tasks that require students to apply theory to practice and reflect on this process in the context of their own communities and community organisations.

Specific details of teaching and learning strategies to be used in this subject will be provided during the relevant block sessions.

Content

• The formal structures of Australian government
• The meaning of 'politics'
• Theories on power
• The interaction of the sectors
• The debate over the incorporation of community organisations as part of the welfare state and some of the consequences for community managers

Assessment

Assessment item 1: Assignment 1

Assessment item 2: Assignment 2

Indicative references

Subject readings

The following readings are provided in a separate reader for this subject and will be referred to in block classes during the semester. Your lecturer will provide further explanation of when specific readings should be read in preparation or follow up to specific classes. These readings are an essential part of your learning in this course, so you should ensure that you do read them and are prepared to discuss your reading in class.

Note that further readings relevant to specific topics may be supplied by your lecturer during the semester.

Ryan, N, et al, 1999, 'Public institutions of governance', Chapter 6 in Government, Business and Society. Prentice Hall, Sydney.

Singleton, G, et al, 1996, 'Politics in Australia', Chapter 1 in Australian Political Institutions, 5th edn, Addison Wesley Longman, South Melbourne.

Maddox, G, 2000, 'The concept of power', Chapter 2 in Australian Democracy in Theory and Practice, 4th edn, Pearson Education Australia, Sydney.

Colebatch, H and Larmour, P, 1993, 'Models and Sectors', Chapter 8 in Market, Bureaucracy and Community: Pluto Press, London.

Pixley, J, 2000, 'Welfare, Poverty and social inequality: the economic fundamentals of social policy', Chapter 16 in The Politics of Australian Society, Borcham, P (ed), Pearson Education Australia, Sydney.

Harris, P, 1999, 'Public welfare and liberal governance' Chapter 2 in Poststructuralism, Citizenship and Social Policy Petersen A (ed), Routledge.

Orchard, L. 2001, 'Market, state and civil society: the search for a new balance', Chapter 3 in Business, Work and Community Dow, G and Parker, R, (eds), Oxford University Press, South Melbourne.

Muetzelfeldt, M, 1992, 'Economic rationalism in its social context' Chapter 8 in Society, State and Politics in Australia Muetzelfeldt, M. (ed), Pluto Press, Sydney.

Cass, B and Brennan, D, 2002, 'Communities of support or communities of surveillance and enforcement in welfare reform debates'. Australian Journal of Social Issues, vol 37, no 3, August, 247–262.

Smith, SR and Lipsky, M, 1993, 'Non-profit organisations and community', Chapter 2 in Non-profits for Hire: the Welfare State in the Age of Contracting, Harvard University Press.