Syllabus
Part I
Social policy and its basic framework: Social problems, critical situations in the life of the people. The individual, the family, the society and other subjects and objects of social policy. The relation to other branches of science 1.2. Genesis of European social policy: The development of ideas and development of institutions. The Czech school and its contribution in the period between the wars. 1.3. Current social policy: Social reform after 1989. Social doctrine
Semminar: Social policy as practice: Main objectives, functions and principles of social policy.. Instruments of social policy. Social security as the core of social policy.
Part II 2.1. Values and ideology: Freedom, (In)equality and social justice as the basic values from which the approach to social policy ensues. 2.2.Introduction to the problems of poverty. Poverty and social exclusion, causes, roots, social exclusion 2.3 Poverty and the system of social protection. Poverty line. Social assistance
Semminar: Loss of employment as social event. Unemployment as social problem and individual experience Labour market, policy of employment. European strategy of employment and the Czech Republic.
Part III 3.1 Re-distribution as the main instrument of social policy: problems of equality and inequality in incomes and richness and question of social justice. Measurement of income inequalities. Income differentiation in the Czech Republic after 1989. 3.2 Financing of social policy in the Czech Republic. Sources and ways of financing 3.3 Institutional securing of social policy. Social administration
Semminar:
Age and ageing as social event. Demographic ageing of the population.
Systems of security at old age. Pensions, pensions reform in the CR
Illness and invalidity as social event. Instruments of social protection in illness and invalidity .
Annotation
It is the basic course the objective of which is to make the students acquainted with the history of social policy, with theoretical and ideological conceptions that are applied in the analysis of social policy, with methodology and instruments of social policy. Attention is paid to international context of social policy, especially, to the institutions influencing social policy in Europe and to the place of social policy in European integration processes.