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Sociology

Staff within the Department:

Miss L. Douglas - Head of Department
BA Sociology

Ms M. Harper - Sociology Teacher
BSocSc Sociology with History

Ms L. Palton - Sociology Teacher
BA Sociology

Mr P. Jarvis - Sociology Teacher
BA Sociology and Education

At Ellen Wilkinson we offer sociology at both GCSE and A-Level. It is a popular choice at both key stages with many students relishing the opportunity to study a subject that they have not experienced before. We have a long history of excellent results at both levels with pupils achieving significantly above the national average.

Sociology is the study of society, we look at how and why individuals learn to act the way they do and why there are inequalities in our society. Key issues covered include:

  • How different institutions in society influence our behaviour including the family, education and the media
  • Theoretical perspectives on the influence of society including debates from Functionalism, Marxism and Feminism
  • Debates surrounding inequalities including sexism, racism and ageism
  • Methodology used by sociologists to carry out their research

KS4

Students can take sociology from year 9 as one of their options. After studying for three years they will take two exams to achieve a full GCSE in sociology.

 

Autumn Term

Spring Term

Summer Term

Year 9

Studying society

Key sociological terms

The family

Education

Crime and deviance

Year 10

Mass Media

Power and politics

Research methods

Year 11

Social inequalities

Revision

Revision


We follow the AQA GCSE sociology specification. You can find out more information here –

http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/sociology/gcse/specification-4190

Enrichment activities to do at home

If students are keen to progress in their sociology education outside of school, the following would be useful:

  • There are constantly useful television documentaries dealing with sociological issues. Look out for programmes addressing issues such as sexism, racism, the benefits of being rich, the impact of the media and politics.
  • Carry out a piece of sociological research using methods preferred by sociologists such as designing a questionnaire or interview – consider the pros and cons of this method.
  • Use Fronter to access the GCSE revision guide. Start to make revision resources to help you learn the many key terms needed for the exams.
  • Use AQA to find practise exam papers to try to answer exam questions in timed conditions.

KS5

Students can choose to take sociology for A-level from year 12. They do not have to have studied sociology at GCSE.

 

 

Autumn

Spring

Summer

Year 12

Family

 

Culture, socialisation and identity including class, age, gender, ethnicity, nationality, disability and sexuality

 

Research Methods

 

Gender and class inequalities – patterns and trends and theoretical perspectives

Revision

 

Age and ethnic inequalities

Year 13

Globalisation and the digital world

 

Education

 

Revision for year 12 units

Revision for year 13 units

 

We follow the OCR A-Level sociology specification. You can find out more information here –

http://www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/as-a-level-gce-sociology-h180-h580-from-2015/

 

 

Enrichment activities to do at home

If students are keen to progress in their sociology education outside of school, the following would be useful:

There are many fiction and non-fiction books which cover sociological issues. These are a few examples:

  • Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
  • Polly Toynbee - Hard Work
  • Kate Fox - Watching the English
  • Malcolm Gladwell - Outliers
  • Ellen Wilkinson - Clash
  • Kathryn Stockett - The Help
  • Wendy Bottero - Stratification
  • Catherine Hakim – Honey Money
  • Observe a place where people gather, e.g. a doctor’s waiting room, the dentist’s, supermarket, sports event, party etc. Take note of the gender, class, ethnicity, age of the people in the place. Do you notice any trends/ links between the place and the people?