Teacher 1 - Students will begin by studying some of the main sociological theories to get an introductory knowledge, which will help them throughout the rest of their sociological studies. These will include: functionalism, Marxism, feminism and the New Right. Students will then begin learning the 'Education' unit, starting with 'The role of education'. This involves considering the functionalist, Marxist and New Right perspectives of the function of education in society.
Teacher 2 - Students will begin studying the topic ‘Research Methods’. They will study how sociologists research key issues in sociology using the research methods: questionnaires, interviews and observations. Students will also study some classic pieces of sociological research which have used these methods.
Students will be assessed with 4 assessments. One short answers assessment on the introduction to sociology theories, one essay set for homework on 'questionnaires' and two timed 10 mark questions.
A list of pre-set questions which tend to use mainly pre-coded answers.
A method of gathering information by asking questions orally, face to face or by telephone. These involve pre-set, standardised and closed ended questions.
A method of gathering information by asking questions orally, face to face or by telephone. Unlike structured interviews, these are like a guided conversation and use open ended questions.
A primary research method in which the sociologist studies a group by taking a role within it and participating in activities.
A primary research method where the observer records events without taking part in them.
A sense of community and togetherness.
An agreement among a majority of members of society that something is good and worthwhile
The state of not being aware of our true identity as exploited workers.
Unfairness in the way that wealth is distributed between different social classes.
Feminists use this term to describe a society based on male domination; a system or ideology of male power over women.
Students will have regular opportunities to work with other students to discuss and debate differing view points on the purpose and functions of the education system.
Students will be introduced to the ideas of social class and influences on culture and hertitage.
Teacher 1: Students will continue with the 'Education' topic beginning with looking at the issues of gender and educational achievement, differences in subject choice between boys and girls and the impact that education has on gender identity. Students will then move on to class differences in educational achievement, and consider why those from poorer backgrounds do less well in education. Students will examine sociological reasons for this including material and cultural deprivation.
Teacher 2: Students will continue the Research Methods unit by learning how sociologists use experiments, official statistics and other secondary sources to research a range of sociological issues including the strengths and weaknesses of each of these methods. Students will then begin to study the third key unit of ‘Families and Households’. Students will consider the role of the family and the functionalist and Marxist, feminist and personal life perspectives.
Students will be assessed by fortnightly timed assessments. Some will be short (up to 10 marks) while others will be longer and involve a full paper reflecting the real exam of 50 marks.
An educational or social system where everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed and where individuals rewards and status are achieved by their own efforts rather than ascribed by their gender.
This includes all the things that are learnt in education without being formally taught and often acquired simply through the everyday workings of the school.
Bowles and Gintis' concept describing the way that the organisation and control of schools mirrors or 'corresponds to' the workplace in capitalist society.
A lack of basic necessities such as adequate diet, housing, clothing or the money to buy these things.
Lacking the basic values, attitudes and skills that are needed for educational success, such as language, self-discipline and reasoning skills.
Quantitative data collected by the government.
A test carried out in controlled conditions in an artificial setting, where both the independent variable is manipulated and extraneous variables controlled.
A test carried out in a natural setting where the IV is manipulated.
The capacity of a research method to measure what it sets out to measure; a true or genuine picture of what something is really like.
A piece of research is reliable if it produces exactly the same results (a replica) when repeated using identical methods and procedures.
Through studying different types of families and their functions students will have the opportunity to reflect on their own experiences.
A close examination of gender and class in education will enable students to develop an appreciation for different social groups and their differing experiences in society.
Teacher 1: Students will complete their studies on class differences in educational achievement, with a focus on in-school factors such as labelling. A study of ethnic differences in educational achievement and school experience follows; this will involve considering why some ethnic groups do better than others with a particular focus on external (out of school) factors.
Teacher 2: Learning will then be focused on ‘Couples’. This involves looking at debate of the division of domestic tasks in the household between men and women and whether this is now equal or not. Students will also look at the issue of power and domestic violence in the household. Students will then begin to study the topic of ‘Childhood’. This will involve considering different historical and cultural views on how ‘Childhood’ should be defined and experienced. This will lead into a debate on whether childhood has improved over the last 100 years.
Students will begin the term with their first set of formal assessments. There will be a large timed assessment involving research methods and education worth 80 marks. Students will then be assessed by fortnightly timed assessments. Some will be short (up to 10 marks) while others will be longer.
To attach a meaning, definition or stereotype to an individual or group.
A predicition that comes true simply by virtue of it having been made.
A group of pupils who share similar values and behaviour patterns They often emerge as a response to the way pupils have been labelled and in particular as a reaction to streaming.
This exists when the routine ways an organisation operates have racist outcomes regardless of the intentions of the individuals within it.
Seeing or judging things in a biased way from the viewpoint of one particular culture.
A two generation family of a man and woman and their dependent children, where the woman fulfills the expressive role and the man the instrumental role.
The breadwinner or provider role in the family, traditionally fulfilled by the male in the family.
The caring, nurturing, 'homemaker' role in the family, traditionally performed by the female in the family.
Where the couple shares tasks such as housework, and childcare and spend their leisure time together.
Where the couple have separate roles: a male breadwinner and a female homemaker/carer. Their leisure activities also tend to be separate.
Students will reflect on their own experiences both in the education system and throughout their childhood and develop social skills by discussing these issues with others.
Through the examination of class differences in education and childhood over time, students will develop an awareness of different life experiences and cultural diversity within Britain itself.
Teacher 1: Students will complete the study of ethnic differences in educational achievement with a particular focus on internal (in-school) factors. Students will then study the last section of the education unit which is about educational policy. Students will learn about the history of the education system and impact of policy changes with a focus on 1988 onwards.
Teacher 2: Students will then study the topic of ‘Changing family patterns’. This involves looking at trends in marriage, divorce, singlehood, childbearing, and same sex relationships. We will assess the sociological reasons put forward for these changes including changes in law and social attitudes. Students will then study ‘Demography’, looking at changes in the UK population including birth and death rates, the ageing population and migration.
Students will continue to be assessed fortnightly by completing some 10 mark questions and some full exam style papers worth 40 marks for Families and Households and 50 marks for Education.
Part of the 1944 Butler Education Act which means that all students would be selected and allocated to one of three types of schools, supposedly according tho their aptitude and abilities (identified by the 11+ exam).
Introduced from 1965 onwards and replaced the tripartite system. Children attend a comprehensive school for children of all abilities within their local area.
'Rule by parents'. The concept is associated with a marketised education system where parents have choice about which school their child attends.
The transfer of industries or services previously owned by the state (public sector) to ownership by private businesses (the private sector) who run them to make profit.
The idea that the world is becoming increasingly interconnected and barriers are disappearing, e.g. as a result of instantaneous communication systems and global media and culture.
The decline of religion; the process whereby religious beliefs, practices and institutions lose their importance or influence.
Unmarried couples in a sexual relationship living together.
Any group of kin (people related by blood, marriage or adoption) extended beyond the nuclear family. The family may be extended vertically (grandparents) or horizontally (aunties, uncles, cousins).
A step family, in which one or both partners has children from a previous relationship.
The belief that the individual is more important than the group or community.
Throughout the families unit, students will be encouraged to reflect on their own beliefs (religious or otherwise) and develop respect for those who have different values or beliefs about family types.
Through the study of educational policy, students Britain's democratic parliamentary system, and how changes in parliament and those in power, have affected the education system over many years.
Teacher 1: Learning will then focus on the final aspect of year 1 which is ‘Methods in Context’. This involves looking back at students learning of research methods in term 1 and refreshing knowledge from the education unit in terms 2 and 3. Students will learn to apply the research methodologies to studying educational issues. They will develop the skill of application by considering the strengths and weaknesses of each method in relation to studying education.
Teacher 2: Learning will focus on the topic of ‘family diversity’; looking at how the shape and size of families have changed in the last 100 years or so. Students will then complete the 'Families and Households' unit by examining social policy in relation to families and households.
Students will continue to be assessed fortnightly by completing some 10 mark questions and some full exam style papers worth 40 marks for Families and Households and 50 marks for Education.
Where the subjects of a research study know they are being studied and begin to behave differently as a result thereby undermining the study's validity.
The proportion of those people included in a social survey who actually reply or respond to the questions asked.
Bias, lack of objectivity, where the individuals own viewpoint influences their perception or judgement.
Over-identifying with the group you are observing and becoming biased.
The average number of children women will have during their fertile years
The number of live births per thousand of the population per year.
The number of infants who die before their first birthday, per thousand babies born alive, per year.
The relationship between the size of the working part of the population and the size of the non-working or dependent part of the population.
How long on average a person born in a given year can expect to live.
The difference between the numbers of immigrants and the numbers of emigrants, and is expressed as a net increase or net decrease due to migration.
Through the study of family diversity, students will develop knowledge of and respect for different people's faiths, feelings and values.
Through students' learning of social policy in relation to families and households, students will develop their knowledge and awareness of the democratic parliamentary system and how changes in government affect families and households.
Students will prepare for and sit their end of year in exams in this term. Following this, both teachers will focus on 'Theory in sociology'.
Teacher 1: Students will learn how the theories of functionalism and Marxism that they they are already familiar with, consider society as a whole.
Teacher 2: Students will consider the differing feminist views of society as a whole followed by the study of the relationship between sociology and social policy.
Students will sit their end of year exams in this term. For sociology, this will be a full paper 1 - Education with Methods in Context (2 hours) and half of paper 2 - Families & Households (1 hour).
The means by which society tries to ensure that its members behave as others expect them to. Control can be formal (e.g. the law) or informal (e.g. peer pressure).
The process by which an individual learns or internalises the culture of society.
An agreement among a majority of members of society that something is good and worthwhile
The state of not being aware of our true identity as exploited workers.
A sense of normlessness. Durkheim argues this arises when there is rapid social change, because existing norms become unclear or outdated.
Where an individual or group feels socially isolated and estranged because they lack the power to control their lives and realise their true potential.
Feminists use this term to describe a society based on male domination; a system or ideology of male power over women.
The caring, nurturing, 'homemaker' role in the family, traditionally performed by the female in the family.
The breadwinner or provider role in the family, traditionally fulfilled by the male in the family.
A radical feminist idea that women should organise to live independently of men as the only way to free themselves from patriarchal oppression.
Students will develop a sense of enjoyment and fascination when learning about the world around them and how society is structured.
Students will continue to develop their social skills as they take part in class discussions and debates about differing sociological perspectives on society.
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