Sociology

Sociology

Head of Department: Mr Matthews

Sociology studies how society works. It will help you to understand how individuals fit into a wider social network and encourage you to question beliefs about society which you may have previously taken for granted. Sociologists are interested in why society works in the way that it does and the extent to which our behaviour and opportunities can be shaped by our social class, age, gender and race.

Sociology is about analysing groups of people based on what they have in common and what differences there are. For example, studying people in terms of culture, common territory, gender, race, disability, ethnicity and age.

Sociologists conduct experiments and observations to try to understand why groups of people act the way they do. They use this understanding to create useful applications to help society to run smoothly. Sociology will provide you with many key skills, including logical thinking, planning, research and negotiation – all of which can be used in a variety of careers.

The nature of Sociology makes the subject an ideal choice for a range of careers and higher education. For example, many sociologists go into journalism, recruitment, management, government, human resources, business, sales, social work – community projects, charity work, civil service, prison officers, police, teaching … anywhere you interact with people!

GCSE Sociology is a linear qualification which is taken over two years. It is assessed entirely by exams – no coursework. It offers a thorough introduction to the subject.

Course Content

Paper 1: The sociology of families and education

The sociology of families

The sociology of education

Sociological theory and methodology

Paper 2: The sociology of crime and deviance and social stratification

The sociology of crime and deviance

The sociology of social stratification

Sociological theory and methodology

Assessment

Written exams taken at the end of the 2 year course.

Students sit Paper 1 and Paper 2 exams, which are 1 hour 45 minutes each.

There are 100 marks on each paper and each paper is worth 50% of the GCSE.

The questions in each paper are a mixture of two multiple choice questions followed by a range of short and extended responses.