Example social policy dissertation topic 10:

The inclusion of Traveller children in education to age eighteen: An assessment of policy assets and deficiencies.

Precise numbers of children from Traveller families attending school in the UK are difficult to ascertain, and estimates range wildly from 15,000 to 300,000. Many such children report discrimination from other children, teachers, administrative staff and local authorities; this paper assesses the extent to which this is a perception rather than a reality. Additionally, it presents the benefits and disadvantages of present policy in achieving higher numbers of Traveller children in education to – and past – GCSE level, acknowledging the government targets for full-time education for children aged up to eighteen years. Including extensive primary research among Traveller families and educators, as well as a thorough literature review, the paper finally offers recommendations to maximise inclusion in education for Traveller children.

Suggested initial topic reading:

• Bhopal, K. (2004). ‘Gypsy Travellers and education: Changing needs and changing perceptions’, British Journal of Educational Studies, Vol. 52, pp. 47-64.
• Cudworth, D. (2008). ‘There is a little bit more than just delivering the stuff: Policy, pedagogy and the education of Gypsy/Traveller children’, Critical Social Policy, Vol. 28(3), pp. 361-377.
• Milbourne, L. (2002). ‘Unspoken exclusion: Experiences of continued marginalisation from education among ‘hard to reach’ groups of adults and children in the UK’, British Journal of Sociology of Education, Vol. 23(2), pp. 287-305.