I’ve written previously about the Policy Analysis Unessay assignment in my Social Welfare in Canada course and how it has morphed and changed over time. This year I taught the course in the fall and winter semester and there were some excellent examples of student work that I received permission to share.
Mark Cook PWD Collages
For his Unessay, Mark (he prefered that I keep his name public with the assignment) created these incredible collages with text and images that illustrate how Persons With Disabilities policy impacts people who rely on it for income security.
Link to policy: https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/265_2002
Pharmacare Story
The next exemplar is a non-fiction autobiographical story about a student and how her own life has been impacted by Pharmacare policy (or the lack of).
Link to Policy: https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/bill/C-340/first-reading
This assignment could be improved by adding in-text citations to the references throughout the story anytime the student included a quote, factual information, or information about Pharmacare and its social and historical context.
SSW-122-Policy-Analysis-Unessay-Pharmacare-Story_RedactedIndian Act Food Menu
In the next student exemplar this student took a very difficult and sensitive topic and used his skill to create a food menu that is both creative and at the same time acknowledges the deep harm caused by the Indian Act and residential schools.
Link to policy: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/i-5/
This assignment could be improved by adding more detail under each food item about what it is and what it is referring to in the Indian Act, as well as in-text citations right on the Food Menu. The student could also use design and creativity to make it look more like a real menu.
Policy-Analysis-Unessay-Food-Menu_Redacted
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