This course has four modules, or foci. The first is to understand the categories of social welfare—populations, income, earnings, and assets— and some related concepts that play a very large role in shaping policy decisions: unemployment, inflation, and the minimum wage. The second deals with the central institution of social welfare—the labor market, which largely determines how many resources a person has. The labor market also establishes hierarchy, both through meritocracy and through categories of privilege. The third is poverty: the differing ways we define who is poor, and how effective U.S. anti-poverty efforts have been. The final module looks directly at federal decision making, the political organization of ideas, the structure of U.S. government, and the legislative process that shapes much of our social policy. This course addresses issues of power, oppression, and white supremacy.
This course is part of the Social Policy for Social Services & Health Practitioners Specialization
Offered By


About this Course
Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?
Try Coursera for BusinessWhat you will learn
Understand the the US population: age, family structure, education and race/ethnicity to interpret where US social policy is being pushed.
Explain poverty & inequality in the US that results in differing levels of privilege, and opportunity to address the needs of those left behind
Describe the policy process – legislative, executive, judicial and voluntary – to act to improve US social policy
Honors: Report on research of practices on the ground in preparation for a professional policy analysis.
Skills you will gain
- - Distinguish the values inherent in each social policy initiative
- - Critique components of a social policy based on their effectiveness at meeting the goals stated in the initiative
- - Develop social welfare policy analysis and reform proposals
- - Differentiate alternative approaches to social policy problems
- - Formulate practice strategies to overcome the historic biases in social welfare programs
Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?
Try Coursera for BusinessOffered by
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Populations, income, poverty and policy
Causes of Poverty and Discrimination
Gender, Race and oppression
Formulating social policy in the U.S.
Reviews
- 5 stars85.60%
- 4 stars12.87%
- 3 stars1.51%
TOP REVIEWS FROM POVERTY & POPULATION: HOW DEMOGRAPHICS SHAPE POLICY
Very well done. I gained solid base knowledge from this course.
Highly informative and skill enhancing course on demographic considerations in policy development
It is an amazing course. It is changing my life.
Thank you Columbia, school of social work and coursera!
I love this class. The instructor makes it easy to understand. Topics are so interesting!
About the Social Policy for Social Services & Health Practitioners Specialization

Frequently Asked Questions
When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
Is financial aid available?
More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.