Sociology

SUBJECT overview

Sociology enables students to gain knowledge and understanding of key social structures, processes and issues through the study of families, education, crime and deviance, social stratification, religion and beliefs. Students will develop their analytical and communication skills by comparing and contrasting perspectives on a variety of social issues, and by studying Sociology, they will gain skills towards how to: investigate facts and make deductions, develop opinions and new ideas on social issues, analyse and better understand the social world.

Rationale for Sequencing

Year 13 content is introduced afterwards (Sociology of Beliefs) as it constitutes half of the content for A Level Paper 2, the other half being, Families. This will allow us to consider the structure of examinations and assess students with mock exams that have reasonable validity. Crime and Deviance is the 5th topic of study. This topic requires a very detailed knowledge of sociological perspectives, and thus it is very helpful to teach it towards the end of the course, when students are very familiar with the differences between schools of thought.

Finally, questions of Sociological Theory are revisited and developed concomitantly with Crime and Deviance from January. This topic requires an overview of the history and development of Sociology and a deep knowledge of all previous topics in order to synthesise the information and consider the principles of sociological enquiry, hence it being taught at the end of the course.

Unit overview – autumn term

Subject: Sociology of Beliefs
Skills	Analysis skills – as applied to various types of religious organisations Analysis and application of sociological knowledge as linked to sociological literature (i.e. studies by Popper, Kuhn etc.) Evaluation of sociological perspectives – as to various functions of religion (Functionalism, Marxism, Feminisms, Postmodernism etc.) Essay writing skills Debate skills as applied NRM and NAM? Analysis and interpretations of various types of graphs and visual information Extended writing skills – as applied to exam questions Examination of various religious organisations (churches, denominations, sects, cults)
Knowledge	Types of school in the UK Alternative Education (De-schooling, Homeschooling) Perspectives on the educational system (Functionalism, Marxism, Feminism, New Right) Achievement is school Factors outside of school that affect achievement (class, gender, ethnicity) Factors within school that affect achievement (class, gender, ethnicity) Educational Policy in the UK
Rationale	Students will consolidate their knowledge of the main methodology of sociology as it relates to a topic (beliefs). Students will develop an understanding of the historicity of sociology with discussions of pre- / post-enlightenment society. Students are expected to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key sociological theories by reading and responding to extracts (detailed sociological studies) which illustrate the different views of sociologists. They should be able to critically analyse and evaluate how these sociologists have interpreted the issues. For each topic area, students are expected to demonstrate an understanding of relevant methods and methodological issues and critically evaluate issues with presented studies. This topic is linked specifically with contemporary issues like Religious Fundamentalism and the rise of New Age Movements. Written and oral debates will be used to foster an understanding of sociology as a discipline predicated on perspectives. An introduction of the link between sociology and history (religion and social change)

Unit overview – spring term

Subject: Crime and Deviance
Skills	Classification of forms of social control Analysis skills – as applied to the distinction between crime and deviance, explanations for crimes Analysis skills applied to sociological literature (i.e. studies by Lambrosso, Becker, Merton, etc.) Evaluation of sociological perspectives – as to various views of the causes of criminal behaviour Critique of various explanations for criminal behaviour Essay writing skills Debate skills as applied to biological vs psychological vs sociological theories of criminal behaviour Analysis and interpretations of various types of graphs and visual information regarding crime rates Extended writing skills – as applied to exam questions and written debates
Knowledge	Crime vs deviance Social order and social control The distribution of crime and deviance by social class The distribution of crime and deviance by gender The distribution of crime and deviance by ethnicity Globalisation and crime The media and crime Human rights and state crime Punishment and victimology
Rationale	Students will apply the already developed sociological knowledge to a more abstract topic in sociology – hence final year study. Based on previous content and skills, students will focus on contemporary society and foster the development of critical and reflective thinking with a respect for social diversity. Students will require a great familiarity with the contemporary world with discussions of postmodernity and globalisation at the forefront of this topic. Throughout this topic, an emphasis is placed on defining the key concepts relating to crime as specific to sociology. These will be compared with definitions of crime from other disciplines (biology, psychology), resulting in a deeper understanding of the specificity of sociology. Students are expected to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key sociological theories by reading and responding to extracts (summaries of sociological studies) which illustrate the different views of sociologists. They should be able to critically analyse and evaluate how these sociologists have interpreted the issues. For each topic area, students are expected to demonstrate an understanding of relevant methods and methodological issues and critically evaluate issues with presented studies (AO3). Written and oral debates will be used to foster an understanding of sociology as a discipline predicated on perspectives.

Unit overview – summer term

Subject: Sociological Theory
Skills	Classify all contemporary sociological perspectives Analysis skills – as applied to various types of sociological research Analysis skills as to sociological literature (various sociological studies) Evaluation of sociological methods – qualitative, vs quantitative, primary vs secondary Analysis and interpretation of various types of graphs and visual information Extended writing skills – as applied to exam questions Design specific research methodology – qualitative and quantitative methods – as applied to various sociological questions
Knowledge	Types of Methods and Data Primary research methods and data Secondary research methods and data Research design Factors that impact research design Social theories (Functionalism, Marxism, Feminism, Symbolic interactionism) The nature of sociology (sociology as science) Sociology and policy
Rationale	Students will critically evaluate the methodology of sociology (this permeates and draws from all other topics (hence the last topic covered) Students will evaluate the sociological methods and conceptualise why none of them are perfect. The Step-by-Step guide for conducting research is designed to foster an understanding of the decision process all sociologists make. Students will develop a link between sociological perspectives and methodology.

Knowledge Organiser

A knowledge organiser is an important document that lists the important facts that learners should know by the end of a unit of work. It is important that learners can recall these facts easily, so that when they are answering challenging questions in their assessments and GCSE and A-Level exams, they are not wasting precious time in exams focusing on remembering simple facts, but making complex arguments and calculations.

We encourage all pupils to use them by doing the following:

Quiz themselves at home, using the read, write, cover, check method.
Practise spelling key vocabulary
Further researching people, events and processes most relevant to the unit.