Theory and Methods- Sociology and Social policy
Debate over whether sociology should inform social policy
Worsley- nature sociology is not always connected to social issues and therefore can exist without the purpose of informing social policy. e.g. research into identity and family.
Brewer- sociology should address social problems and interventions by sociologists should inform the construction of social policy.
However, within this debate there are also reason why sociology is not used by governments.
Theoretical approaches
Functionalism- Durkheim- purpose of sociology is to be able to analyse social issues and provide solutions, enabling social institutions to make changes to ensure the harmonious running of society, however, later functionalists thought there should be less intervention in order to not threaten traditional values.
Marxism- Suspicious of the role of the state in maintaining the status of the elites at the expense of the working class, despite believing that sociology should change society. Purpose of laws is to protect the elites.
Feminism- Radical feminism- social policies serve that look like they protect women actually reinforce traditional gender roles and patriarchal interests. E.g. maternal leave, leading women to believe they should take on the expressive role.
Liberal feminism- used existing legal and social structures to make positive changes for women. E.g. Equal Pay Act, Sex Discrimination Act.
Realist theories- Realist theories look to use sociological research to inform practical actions that can be taken by governments to inform their policies, particularly on crime.
New Right- State intervention should be minimal in the lives of individuals and the economy, however promotion of traditional conservative social policies has had impacts on society. E.g. Education- marketisation and privatisation and Welfare- reduced state benefits and decrease in taxation (neo-liberal).
Social democratic approaches- New Labour heavily influence by ideas of Giddens- “filling the gaps” as part of third way policies, combining social and economic development. E.g. EMA.
Why doesn’t sociology inform social policy?
Clash of ideologies- Critical approaches such as Marxism often clash with more moderate, conservative ideologies/ governments.
Costs- sociologists look at ideal solutions that might not be practical. E.g. black Report ( looked at health inequalities in the UK) recommendations too costly to implement..
Methodologies- interpretivist methods are often too small- scale to be implemented by governments that looks for big impact policies to ensure public support. Too niche of a group to imply a policy to benefit them won’t allow government to win enough support. E.g. reducing taxation creates more support.
Think Tanks- often government policy is influenced by groups of experts in specific fields that propose ideas of social policies and these often have closer connections to serving ministers than sociologists.
Impacts of globalisation- role of international governmental organisations such as the IMF, the World Bank and the World Trade Organisation influence social policy, particularly on social spending and the economy. E.g. Brexit.
Examples of sociology informing social policy
Left and Right Realism influencing how to tackle crime. E.g. zero tolerance policy.
New Right ideologies influencing education and health care policies.
Gidden’s influence on New Labour.
Government funding for universities, charities and groups to conduct social research often based upon social needs of society.
Indirectly informing social policies.