Exam Board: AQA
Level: 2

Course Overview

GCSE Sociology helps students to gain knowledge and understanding of key social structures, processes and issues through the study of families, education, crime and deviance and social stratification. Students will develop their analytical, assimilation and communication skills by comparing and contrasting perspectives on a variety of social issues, constructing reasoned arguments, making substantiated judgements and drawing reasoned conclusions.

Assessment: 100% examination to be assessed in the final year of the course.

Exam Board: AQA
Level: 3

Course Overview

Sociology is the study of society and looks at how everyday experiences shape our lives. In particular, students will study patterns of behaviour within social groups and how social institutions can have an impact on behaviour.  The focus of the course will be on UK issues, but there will also be a strong emphasis on societies and issues across the globe, for students to develop a critical awareness and respect for social diversity and social issues within society.

Assessment: 100% examination.

Term 1:

Introduction to sociological theories: how do different sociological theories explain or understand society?

Families: Is there still a "normal" type of family, and does family diversity exist globally?

Research Methods: How do sociologists turn a big idea into a safe, fair, and practical research plan?

Term 2:

Families:  Why did classic sociologists like Parsons believe families protect us, while Marxists and Feminists argue they harm us? Have modern marriages become completely equal, or do women still carry the heaviest load?

Research methods: How do sociologists choose the right research methods, and how do the strengths and weaknesses of these tools change depending on the topic?

Term 3:

Families: How did the Industrial Revolution change the relationship between parents and children? Why have British divorce rates climbed so high since 1945, and who handles the fallout?

Research methods: How do sociologists choose the right research methods, and how do the strengths and weaknesses of these tools change depending on the topic? When should a researcher gather their own fresh evidence versus relying on data that already exists?

Term 4:

Families: How well do modern families cope with wider social pressures, from raising teenagers to caring for the elderly?

Education: What is the real purpose of school, and who does it actually benefit?

Research methods: How do we read between the lines of data to prove a sociologist's findings are actually true and reliable?

Term 5:

Education: Why did classic sociologists like Durkheim and Parsons believe schools are essential for society? How do different types of schools across Britain change a student's experience of education?

Term 6:

Education:How do different types of schools across Britain change a student's experience of education? Should school be compulsory, or are there better ways for young people to learn?

Term 1:

Crime and Deviance:What is the difference between breaking a social rule and breaking the law? Why do people commit crimes?

Term 2:

Crime and Deviance: Why do people commit crimes? How does society decide what counts as "criminal" behaviour, and who gets to make these rules?

Term 3:

Crime and Deviance: Do criminal statistics tell the truth about who commits the most crime? Is prison the best way to stop crime, or do we need better alternatives?

Social Stratification: Is unequal wealth and status necessary for society to work, or is it just unfair? How much does your socio-economic class dictate who you are and what you can achieve?

Term 4:

Social Stratification:Why do some groups in modern Britain have a better chance at a long, successful life than others? Is poverty caused by a flawed system or by the choices and culture of individuals?

Term 5:

Social Stratification: Who holds the real power in everyday relationships, and how is it used to control others?

Revisions/ exam preparation

Term 1:

Introduction to sociology:How do competing sociological theories explain how society works, and do they see individuals as products of social structures or free agents?

Education: Is education a meritocratic ladder for social mobility, or does it reinforce inequalities of class, gender, and ethnicity? How do internal school processes and external government policies shape a student's identity and achievement?

Methods:How do practical limits, ethical rules, and theoretical beliefs force sociologists to compromise when planning their research?

Term 2:

Education: How do internal school processes and external government policies shape a student's identity and achievement? What unique practical, theoretical, and ethical challenges do sociologists face when investigating the hidden realities of life inside the education system?

Methods: How do sociologists pick the right tool for the job when designing a research project? Do Positivists and Interpretivists use completely different methods because they disagree on what society actually is?

Term 3:

Methods in context: What are the  strengths and limitations of a specific research method (e.g., interviews, observations) when applied to educational context? Why is it so hard for a single research method to be highly reliable, deeply valid, and fully representative all at once?

Family and Households: Who is really in charge of our family choices: the government and global trends, or us? 

Term 4:

Family and Households:Is the decline of traditional marriage proof that the family is breaking down, or just that we are freer to define 'family' for ourselves? Has the modern home become a place of genuine teamwork, or are women still getting a raw deal? 

Term 5:

Family and Households:Has childhood actually gotten better, or are modern kids more controlled and stressed than ever? 

Term 6:

Family and Households:Is the UK's ageing population a ticking time bomb for families, or a hidden blessing?

Media: Has the rise of new media truly democratised contemporary society?

 

Term 1:

Crime and Deviance:Does the justice system actually protect everyone equally, or is it a tool used by the powerful to monitor and control certain groups?"

Media:Has the rise of new media truly democratised contemporary society?

Theory and Methods: How useful are traditional structural theories in explaining our lives today, or do we need social action and postmodern perspectives to understand a fragmented world?

Term 2:

Crime and Deviance: Why do some victims of crime get massive public sympathy and justice, while others are ignored or blamed for what happened to them?"

Media:Who controls global media, and has the 'new media' democratised popular culture or just boosted corporate dominance? Is the media a neutral mirror of reality, or a social construct that reinforces stereotypes of specific social groups?

Theory and Methods:Is sociology most useful when it operates as an objective, value-free science, or when it actively takes sides to shape social policy and drive change?

Term 3:

Crime and Deviance: Has the digital age and globalised world changed crime forever, or are the media just making us more panicked about new types of harm?

Media:Is the media a neutral mirror of reality, or a social construct that reinforces stereotypes of specific social groups? Does the media directly manipulate audience behaviour into criminal deviance, or are audiences active agents?

Term 4:

Crime and Deviance:Are people driven to crime by a lack of values and poor choices, or are they pushed into it by their social class, gender, and ethnicity?

Media: Does the media directly manipulate audience behaviour into criminal deviance, or are audiences active agents?

Term 5:

Revision/ exam preparation

• AQA Sociology: Sociology for AQA Volume 1: AS and 1st-Year A Level, 5th Edition written by Ken Browne
• Sociology for AQA Volume 2: 2nd-Year A Level, 3rd Edition, written by Ken Browne
• AQA A Level Sociology Student Book 1 (Collins AQA A Level Sociology) by Steve Chapman
• AQA A Level Sociology Student Book 2 (Collins AQA A Level Sociology) by Steve Chapman

• https://www.thesociologyteacher.com/

A Level revision will take place at lunch times and after school throughout the year.