LINEAR A-LEVEL COURSE CONTENT
During Year 12, students will study Families and Households and Research Methods, followed by Education with Methods in context. The Families and Households unit enables you to understand the diversity of society, and how family life is structured and is changing. The Research Methods topic allows you to develop your sociological investigation skills, and assess how sociological studies and research are carried out. Education with methods in context, develops an understanding of the education system in the UK and how success can be shaped by your gender, class and ethnicity – and analyses how best sociologists can study schools, lessons and students’ views.
Year 13 has two more units - Beliefs in Society, and Crime and Deviance with theory and methods. The first unit, Beliefs in Society, explores why people join religious groups and why there is a worldwide decline in mainstream religion but an increase in fundamentalism, and looks at the role and impact of religion within our society. The last unit, Crime and Deviance, will examine the issues which arise in society when people fail to follow the rules, and explores the reasons which may lie behind criminality. This section also involves looking at Research methods in context, and the potential difficulties in studying crime for Sociologists.
WHERE DO I GO TO FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION?
Visit the AQA website, www.aqa.org.uk. As this may be a new subject for you, research what Sociology is all about – there are hundreds of websites out there, for A Level students.
Faculty Leader: Mr D Ratcliffe (d.ratcliffe@finhampark.co.uk)
Subject teacher: Mrs C Baker (c.baker@finhampark.co.uk)
WHAT DO I NEED TO DO THIS COURSE?
GCSE 5 grades 9-4 plus GCSE English at Grade 5 or above.)
WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT THIS SUBJECT?
Sociology is the systematic study of society. It is about all types of social relationships people share with each other; in families, communities, schools and the work place. Sociology is a respected discipline with a long academic tradition and although enjoyable to study it also has the potential to mess up your whole view of the social world.
WHAT SKILLS WILL I DEVELOP?
The course provides students with an opportunity to conduct independent research and make conclusions about the world around you. You will develop critical evaluation and problem solving skills as well as working to deadlines and develop essay writing skills. There will also be opportunities to cultivate communication and discussion skills.
IS THERE ANY COURSEWORK OR CONTROLLED ASSESSMENTS?
No
WHAT MIGHT STUDYING THIS COURSE LEAD TO?
Sociology is a subject which allows you to look at the society you are part of in different ways. This is particularly useful for many professions including medicine, education, the media and business where knowledge of society is required.
HOW MANY EXAMS DO I HAVE TO TAKE AND WHEN DO I TAKE THEM?
Exams will take place at the end of Year 13, though mocks will take place towards the end of Year 12 as well. In Year 13, there will be three examinations.
- Paper 1 – will be on Education
- Paper 2 – will be on Families and Households, and Beliefs in Society
- Paper 3 – will be on Crime and Deviance
There will be questions in all three papers on research methods.