Sociology

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Is this course for me?

Sociology offers insights into social and cultural issues. It is relevant to the society that you live in, so you are bound to enjoy learning about topics that are relevant to your everyday life.

Have you ever wondered why society has developed the way it is? If so, this is the subject for you. You will develop a multi-perspective and critical approach to understanding issues around culture, religion, crime, childhood, family structure, education and social power. You discover how to think about the issues surrounding these topics yourself and learn to look at the world in a new way.

The Basics…

We follow the AQA specification.

You will learn the transferable skills of investigation, analysis and using evidence to support your arguments. Useful for many other subjects, university courses and careers.

What will I learn?

  • Education – different perspectives on the role of the education in society and who benefits from it; why some pupils achieve more than others; how pupils experience schooling; what the impact of laws and policies are on education.
  • Families & Households – different aspects of family life such as: Are husbands and wives today equal? How far have our attitudes to childhood changed? Why do we see increased diversity in family types today? What impact have policies and laws had on families?
  • Theory & Methods – different methods used by sociologists, discuss the usefulness of different sources, and the theoretical, practical and ethical issues influencing choice of topic, method and the conduct of research.
  • Beliefs in Society – You will explore sociological explanations for the role of religion, how it can be a force for social change, debate the future of religion, and examine the causes of religious fundamentalism & conflict.
  • Crime and Deviance – Why are some groups more likely to be rule breakers? How does society react to rule breaking? How and why do some acts become defined as crimes and not others?

Anything else I need to know?

You will carry out investigations both independently and as part of a group to allow you to explore the topics we will cover and to experience what it is like to conduct research as a sociologist. Sociology is an evidence based subject so opinions and theories must be backed up using evidence from research.

Future careers:

  • Advice worker
  • Community development worker
  • Further education teacher
  • Higher education lecturer
  • Housing manager/officer
  • Marketing executive
  • Advertising executive 
  • Journalist
  • Police officer
  • Teacher
  • Social researcher
  • Human Resources 
  • Youth worker
  • Lawyer.

Year 12 Sociology Curriculum

Year 13 Sociology Curriculum