GSCE Sociology 

Board: AQA

GCSE Sociology helps students to gain knowledge and understanding of key social structures, processes and issues through the study of families, education, crime and deviance and social stratification.

 Course Content:

Students study key ideas of classical sociologists including Durkheim, Marx and Weber, referencing their view of the world and their contribution to the development of the discipline.

Students will also learn how to apply various research methods to different sociological contexts. They will be introduced to sociological terms and concepts concerned with social structures, social processes and social issues.

Subject content areas

• 3.1 The sociological approach
• 3.2 Social structures, social processes and social issues
• 3.3 Families
• 3.4 Education
• 3.5 Crime and deviance
• 3.6 Social stratification
• 3.7 Sociological research methods

Mode of Assessment:

Students will sit two final written papers at the end of Year 11 of 1 hour 45 minutes each. Both papers are equally weighted at 50%:

• Paper 1:

The sociology of families, the sociology of education and relevant areas of social theory and methodology

• Paper 2 

The sociology of crime and deviance, the sociology of social stratification and relevant areas of social theory and methodology

The papers have a range of assessment of multiple choice answers, source-based answers and extended answers.

A Level Sociology

Level of Course: Level 3

Aim of Course:

Sociology is the study of Society and how people interact with each other. It builds knowledge and a critical understanding of the social pressures and structures in the world as well as an appreciation about the different theories and concepts on how people view life. Studying Sociology enables students to reflect their own experience of life in an academic context.

Course Content:

The core themes of study are:

• Socialisation, Culture and Identity
• Social Differentiation, Power and Stratification
• Social Structure and Social Mobility
• The Role of Values
• Research Methods

The structure of the course is broken into three equally weighted papers of 2 hours each. They are:

Paper 1: Education with Theory and Methods

Paper 2:  Families and Households & Mass Media

Paper 3: Crime and Deviance and Theories & Methods

Mode of Assessment:

All 3 papers are worth 80 marks each and each represent one third of the total marks.

All questions are a mixture of short answer questions plus extended answers. Students are tested on the ability to be able to do the following:

• Demonstrate knowledge with evidence
• Apply sociological theories to issues
• Present arguments, make judgements and make conclusions.