Ideologies and Analyzing Social Policies

Social construction approach
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Question 1
Different contexts determine how we shape our social policies and our perception of social problems. Social policies are designed to meet the needs of the citizenry and to support the social order. Thus, they often have the dual purpose of alleviating social problems and maintaining social control. In fact, a society’s view of a situation depends on if there is a policy developed at all in regard with the situation (Stam, 2001).
Social constructionism approach for developing social policy posits that knowledge about reality is socially constructed. This suggests that, personal beliefs and group consensus shape what a group of people considers to be real at a given time. According to social constructionists, ideas and notions seem natural and obvious among people who agree with them but may not characterize reality.
Therefore, the meaning attached to a situation is shaped by the observer’s way of perception. Thus, social problems are classified as so because of the observer’s interpretation which means that they are rather constructed than inherent (Stam, 2001). A single case could be interpreted in different ways depending on the observer’s interpretation of the observations he made.
There are various social issues that fall under different categories due to such interpretation. For instance, teenage pregnancy provides different constructs depending on the values held by a particular individual. Some people may see teenage pregnancy as a failure in morality. Another may see the situation as for example lack of sex education among other things. Faced with these competing factors the society will, therefore, not be in agreement on the causes of pregnancy.
Such views are socially constructed because most of the perceptions we make as observers are heavily influenced by our values and the ideologies that w...