The Guardian newspapers Careers Office state that Sociology students are found in a multitude of occupations including Social Services, Criminal Justice, Government and Counselling.
The UK Quality Assurance Agency states sociological skills include the ability to judge and evaluate evidence and understand complex situations. An excellent subject for professional careers.
“I didn’t know a great deal about Sociology before I started the course, however, finding out about what education really does and about how I am influenced by my family has been really interesting. The course helps me to understand so much about what the world is really all about including what religious beliefs can really offer and why and how, crime affects the world in the way that it does. I have also found it interesting learning just how human behaviour is actually studied.”
Year 13 student
A LEVEL
Students studying the subject at A Level follow the AQA Spec. During the course the following topics are covered.
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Year 12
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Year 13
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For A Level Sociology, students follow the specification from AQA.
Over the duration of the course students complete units;
Education
- Different attainment of working and middle class students
- Different attainment of students from ethnic minority backgrounds
- Different attainment of girls and boys
- Sociological perspectives with regard to education
- Education and Government policy
Families and Households
- How the family adapts to social structure and social change in relation to the economy and state policy
- Patterns relating to marriage, co-habitation, divorce and children
- Gender roles within marriage
- Childhood and it’s changing nature
- Demographic trends in the UK since 1900
- Media
- The relationship between ownership and control of the media
- The process of selection and presentation of the news
- Media representations: age, class, gender, ethnicity, sexuality
- Media effects models and the violence debate
- Impact of globalisation on popular culture
- The impact of the new media
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Crime
- Sociological perspectives on crime
- The relationship between class, power and crime
- Patterns of crime with regards to gender and ethnicity
- Crime in the media
- Global, green, state crime and human rights
- Control, punishment and victims
Theories and Methods
- Quantitative and qualitative methods
- The relationship between sociology and science including objectivity and values
- Sociological perspectives from functionalism, Marxism, feminism and action theories
- Sociology and globalism and post-modernity
- Sociology and social policy
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The course is assessed at the end of Year 2 in three, 2-hour exams.
Paper 1: Education with theory and methods
Paper 2: Families and Media
Paper 3: Crime with Theory and methods |
For more detailed information about the course content and assessment requirements, please refer to the examination board website.
