Competence and social policy

Abstract

The concept of competence in social policy has come into more common use in the sphere of social policy and education without being fully operational as a concept and a term. The view to civil competence offered in this article is similar to D. Raven's approach and begins by providing a fuller definition of the term, especially with a reference to Post-Soviet Russia, where there is a particular need to improve the overall level of social and civil competency. Then an overview of the main methods of raising competence is given and the basic steps for competency of decision-making are discussed. Competent decisions at different levels of social policy are not the same on the levels of the state and the individual client. This is especially true at the level of social work clients who can receive benefits. One concept that is revealed to be relevant to the Russian case is the idea of an ‘incompetent citizenry’; citizens who are, in the majority of cases, not adequately aware of their civil duties and obligations. Thus the social contract is violated not just by an ineffective state but a poorly prepared citizenry. The idea of incompetence on the side of the state is discussed with reference to an overly ambitious social policy and national projects that fail to take into account realities on the ground. The balance of the rights and duties of citizens is also analysed in situations of gender-sensitive decision-making. The conclusion is reached that social competences can be developed if socially vulnerable groups can gain more access to social resources and the interactions between social policy, welfare state and activity of citizens are promoted more systematically. At the heart of this is education at high school level, raising the political consciousness of the average citizen to the point where they support the idea that every person can take control of their own life.