Tusla Traveller Reforms: SO6041 Youth and Community Development Management Week 7 Task: Short Critical Paper on Tusla’s Traveller strategy
SO6041 Youth and Community Development Management Week 7 Task
| Module | SO6041 Youth and Community Development Management |
| University | University of Limerick (UL), Department of Sociology |
| Level | Postgraduate (Masters) |
| Assessment | Week 7 Task: short critical paper on Tusla’s Traveller strategy |
| Length | 500 words maximum |
| Deadline | 2 November 2026, 1pm |
| Referencing | Harvard (UL Cite it Rite) |
The SO6041 Week 7 task moves from mediation to child protection: students critically examine how Tusla plans to rebuild trust with the Traveller community through its 2025 strategy On The One Road, setting the strategy against a history of mistrust between Travellers and state institutions.
Assignment Task
Historically, the relationship between Irish Travellers and state institutions has been characterised as one of mistrust, fear and intimidation.
Critically examine how Tusla proposes to structurally reform its child welfare and protection practices to foster trust and strengthen connections with the Traveller community, by referring to Tusla’s strategy document On The One Road: Our journey towards strengthening Tusla-Traveller connections (2025).
Week 7 readings supplied: On The One Road (Tusla, 2025), the ITM Review of the Commission on Itinerancy, and Boyle, Flynn and Hanafin (2018) From Absorption to Inclusion: The Evolution of Irish State Policy on Travellers.
Feedback: grade plus individualised comments.
Grading Criteria
- Presentation, style and structure
- Understanding of key conceptual issues and of the key issues of concern to the question
- Ability to apply understanding of concepts to substantive areas
- Evidence of engagement with relevant literature and sources
- Ability to illustrate critical analysis of material
- Clarity of written communication
- Referencing: bibliographic and in-text references
| Comprehensiveness of research | 20% |
| Comprehension of key concepts/theories | 25% |
| Focus | 20% |
| Argument | 25% |
| Presentation | 10% |
Students must show evidence of reading relevant books, book chapters and journal articles; internet sources may only supplement academic sources. Relevant theories or concepts must be built into the argument, the paper must stay focused on the question, and it should be argumentative rather than descriptive, taking a position supported by empirical and theoretical literature. Considering contradictory evidence is credited.
Presentation and Submission Rules
- Maximum 500 words; words over the limit will not be corrected, so use the full count to engage with the material.
- 1.5 or double line spacing, justified text, Times New Roman size 12; headings are recommended.
- Wikipedia, online dictionaries and ChatGPT-style tools are not acceptable sources.
- Harvard referencing as set out in the UL library guide Cite it Rite, with a complete bibliography.
- Submit electronically via the SO6041 course site on Brightspace with the signed plagiarism declaration cover page; papers without it are not marked.
- Department of Sociology late policy: 5 percentage points are deducted for the first day late and work received after 24 hours receives zero. Extensions must be requested in writing at least 24 hours before the deadline
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