Sociology
Among the topics you will study are families and households – this will include looking at questions such as: Are children becoming part of the adult world too quickly?
Research methods will also be studied, such as covert observation, which could be used to study criminal gangs or football hooligans. Religion and crime also form an interesting part of the course. You will study criminal gangs, look at why girls are outperforming boys at school, why people join religious cults, and the media’s role in creating moral panics about child killers.
These topics will help you to develop a critical awareness of how the world really operates.
We provide many opportunities to broaden and enhance students understanding of subject areas to support learning in class and to take the learning experience beyond the specification.
Depending on demand, students may also have the opportunity to take part in a variety of excursions such as visits to the Manchester Police Crime Museum, the annual revision conference for A level Sociology students and attending a true life conference hearing from real criminals on why they committed crime.
Sociology is an academically demanding subject regarded as an acceptable A level by all universities. A qualification in Sociology can lead to a wide variety of careers. Some of the more popular choices include: Law, the police, teaching, journalism, personnel management, nursing and marketing.
Education with Theory and Methods – Exam Paper – 33% of marks
Topics in Sociology: Beliefs in Society, Families & Households – Exam Paper – 33% of marks
Crime and Deviance with Theory and Methods – Exam Paper – 33% of marks
Summary
Education
• The role and history of the education system and policies: how has the education system changed and does this benefit every member of society?
• Differences in achievement between social groups in society: why are boys and working class groups more likely to underachieve in education?
• How processes inside the school affect achievement, such as teacher labelling: which social groups are teachers more likely to label, how does this affect student performance?
• How sociologists conduct research into the education system: sociologists study society, its members and their behaviour – how do you measure people’s behaviour?
Research methods
• The different types of methods sociologists use to study human behaviour including interviews, participant observation and questionnaires.
Beliefs in society and families and households
• Changing patterns of families and family life in society: it used to be 2:5 children as the “ideal family”, but many families don’t fit this mould.
• The changing roles of women within the family and society: from housewife, to worker to the triple shift – have women achieved equality?
• The position of children in society: children once worked but are now seen as dependants – is this the same cross culturally?
• Religious organisations in society: from cults, to sects, to denominations and churches, who belongs to what?
Crime and deviance
• The social distribution of crime and deviance by ethnicity, gender and social class: who is more likely to be a victim or perpetrator of crime in society?
• The media and crime: is the public’s perception of crime real or has the media created these figures to create panic in society?
• Crime control and prevention: what makes people conform to societies rules? What can be done to stop them from deviating?
Theory and methods
• Sociology and science: is sociology a science? Can we measure society and the behaviour of its members in a scientific manner?
Recommended text books and lesson activities can be found at https://napierpress.com/
Educationforum.co.uk also gives students a good insight into what studying A level Sociology is all about.
Britsoc.co.uk provides an outline of opportunities in sociology and future careers.
Study Level
A Level
Exam Board
AQA
Contact Details
Mr A Logan
Head of Department
logan_a@sjd.ac.uk
