Curriculum - Sociology

Mrs Susan King with students

Intent

The sociology curriculum is both academic and ambitious. Students will:

  • acquire knowledge and a critical understanding of contemporary social processes and social.
  • appreciate the significance of theoretical and conceptual issues in sociological debate.
  • understand and evaluate sociological methodology and a range of research methods through active involvement in the research process.
  • develop skills that enable individuals to focus on their personal identity, roles and responsibilities within society.
  • develop a lifelong interest in social issues.

Implementation

Students will be taught to:

  • Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
    • sociological theories, concepts and evidence.
    • sociological research methods.
  • Apply sociological theories, concepts, evidence and research methods to a range of issues.
  • Analyse and evaluate sociological theories, concepts, evidence and research methods in order to:
    • present arguments.
    • make judgements.
    • draw conclusions.

Key Themes/Concepts

All students study:

  • education
  • methods in Context
  • theory and methods
  • crime and deviance

and at least one from each list below:

culture and identity

families and households

health

work, poverty and welfare

beliefs in society

global development

the media

stratification and differentiation

Links to KS4:

Sociology is not taught at BFS prior to embarking on the A Level course. However, knowledge and skills from history, geography and PSHE/citizenship are useful.

The A level course provides excellent preparation to further study of the subject in higher education.

Extra-Curricular

Examples include:

BFS: Students in Year 13 will have the opportunity to undertake a day trip to London where they will spend the morning touring the houses of parliament. In the afternoon, they will take a trip to the Old Bailey where they will be able to sit in for a segment of courtroom activity on a criminal case.

BKS:

  • Karl Marx Walking Tour
  • Museum of Childhood and investigation at Roman Road Market
  • Sociology student conferences
  • Speakers: Police, researcher from YouGov