Criminology

Developing Moral Capital

In Criminology we allow students opportunities to understand why crime occurs in society and reflect themes of morality. We explore the reasoning behind crime, as well as why crimes are underreported and the reasoning behind criminal investigations and why victims may not receive the justice they deserve. We look sensitively at a variety of crimes, the impact of crimes on the community and this helps to develop students' own morality; identifying what is right and wrong and raising awareness of why criminality exists.

Developing Social Capital

In Criminology we aim to increase students' self-awareness and help them understand how they can impact the community by reporting and reducing criminality in society. They’re encouraged to develop relationships with each other and their teacher to discuss and debate issues surrounding criminality, so that they can formulate their own opinions around criminal behaviour, as well as being able to identify how criminality affects their own community. Group work and paired work is used frequently to build discussion around important issues within the subject and students are encouraged to share their opinions to build their confidence and resilience. 

Developing Cultural Capital

Criminology naturally gives opportunities to develop students' understanding of crime and the impact of culture on criminality. Students will learn how crime and legislation can change between time, place and cultures using key examples of historical investigations which highlight the impact of culture on crime, especially cases of honour crime. The subject also lends itself naturally to discuss how culture can affect individual criminality; understanding who is most likely to commit crime from different cultures and the reasoning behind this. But it also gives students the opportunity to understand the most common crimes that exist within their own culture and this enables them to reflect on their own community and understand factors within culture that can influence individual criminal behaviour. 

Developing Knowledge Capital

Our Criminology curriculum is designed for all students to succeed as it combines all forms of assessment to adequately measure students knowledge and understanding. Students will learn skills and concepts such as drawing conclusions from crime statistics and applying knowledge of theories to explain cases of criminal behaviour. This subject usually enables students to develop an interest around the criminal justice system and issues within the system and explore ways of how this could be addressed, however some students can delve into this area of interest through crime documentaries, exploring unusual case studies and identifying how their knowledge can be used to understand current criminal issues. This subject therefore allows students to enhance their critical thinking skills, their verbal and written communication through discussion and debates, as well as develop knowledge of their own morality by discussing sensitive topics relating to criminal activity. 

Developing Community Capital

Within Criminology students learn to accept and respect cultural differences, as well as different cultural values in relation to behaviour and learn the importance of cultural beliefs and values within their community. Students are encouraged to develop their self-awareness of their behaviour in the community and how criminal activity occurs in their community and what to do if this occurs. They learn about the impact of crime, but they also build a sense of community within the classroom by discussing their own views and opinions with their peers which allows them to grow in confidence about using their own voice for the good of themselves and others.