SOCIOLOGY A-LEVEL

Exam Board: AQA A-Level Sociology 

What are the benefits of the course?

• Studying sociology offers insights into social and cultural issues. It helps you develop a multi-perspective and critical approach to understanding issues around culture, identity, religion, crime, families and social power. 

• This course will help you to make sense of the society we live in and identity issues which affect us all. It is relevant to the society you live in so you are bound to enjoy learning about topics which are relevant to your everyday life.

What will I study?

In Year 12 

• Education with Theory and Methods: the role and functions of the Education system, differential educational achievement of social groups, relationships and the processes within schools, the significance of educational policies; applied to sociological research methods.

• Topics in Sociology: Families and Households: the relationship of the family to the social structure and social change, changing patterns of marriage, cohabitation, separations, divorce, childbearing, gender roles, domestic labour and power relationships within the family, the nature of childhood and changes in the status of children in the family, demographic trends in the UK since 1900: birth rates, death rates, family size, life expectancy, ageing population and migration and globalisation. 

In Year 13 

• Crime and Deviance with Theory and Methods: crime, deviance, social order and social control, the social distribution of crime, globalisation and crime in contemporary society, crime control, surveillance, prevention and punishment, victims and the role of the criminal justice system.

• Topic in Sociology: The Media: the new media and their significance for an understanding of the role of the media in contemporary society, the relationship between ownership and control of the media, the media, globalisation and popular culture, the process of selection and presentation of the content of the news, media representations of age, social class, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and disability, the relationship between the media, their content and presentation and audiences. 

How will I be assessed?

• Paper 1: Education with Theory and Methods- 2 hours (33.33%)

• Paper 2: Topics in Sociology- 2 hours (33.33%)

• Paper 3: Crime and Deviance with Theory and Methods- 2 hours (33.33%)

What does it lead to?

Sociology is a great choice of subject for people who want a career in social work, nursing or medicine. But the subject is also useful in a number of other careers, like marketing, advertising, PR, Journalism, law or teaching. 

It will also help you to develop a range of skills that will benefit you, whether you decide to go on to further study or the working world, including: the use of evidence to support your arguments, how to investigate facts and use deduction, critical thinking, making reasoned arguments, developing opinions and new ideas on societal issues, the ability to analyse and better understand societal issues. 

Entry Requirements: 

Grade 6 in GCSE English or History

Staff Contact: 

Miss D Bunkell, Head of Humanities & Social Sciences

dbunkell@brakenhale.co.uk