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- Sociology Curriculum Overview
"The function of sociology, as of every science,
is to reveal that which is hidden"Pierre Bourdieu
The course is designed to create lifelong learners by challenging student thinking and developing their understanding about how social processes and structures in society work and how societies influence us and shape our lives.
Students will develop transferable skills including how to investigate facts and make deductions; develop opinions and new ideas on social issues and analyse and better understand the social world. Throughout the curriculum, students are also explicitly taught the disciplinary knowledge required to become an articulate scholar within the field of Sociology.
Impact
- Learners develop the ability to contemplate how they acquire their individual identity. They will enhance their awareness of the social world and conduct their own research and draw conclusions.
- Learners will be encouraged to explore and debate contemporary social issues to enable them to challenge taken-for-granted assumptions and to question their everyday understanding of social phenomena.
- Develop the ability to think sociologically in relation to their experience of the social world around them so that they are able to play a positive, active and informed role in society.
Implementation
Year 9
Students are given the opportunity to consider how human beings acquire their identity and examine the process of passing on culture from generation to generation in a diverse setting. Students will also be encouraged to contemplate how they acquire their individual identity.
Students will enhance their awareness of the social world, conduct their own research and draw conclusions using sociological theory. Students are introduced to a wide range of T2 and T3 vocabulary as well as positive reading behaviours. Students develop skills such as the ability to outline, describe and explain sociological phenomena.
Students build on skills developed in the sciences and humanities, and enable progression into a wide range of other subjects; for instance the impact of feminism throughout history and the changing influence of religion and beliefs today.
Year 10
Learners will be encouraged to explore and debate contemporary social issues to enable them to challenge taken-for-granted assumptions and to question their everyday understanding of social phenomena. Students will develop their ability to think sociologically in relation to their experience of the social world around them so that they are able to play a positive, active and informed role in society. Students at this stage will develop exam skills, explore command words and become knowledgeable on how to apply them successfully in exam questions. There is a particular focus on analysis and evaluation which requires deeper thinking. Students will draw on perspectives such as Marxism, functionalism and feminism to establish synoptic links between theory and institutions such as the family and education system. They will acquire a continued and developed use of T2 and T3 vocabulary and use reading strategies such as skimming.
Year 11
Students are required to analyse and evaluate sociological theories, concepts, evidence and methods in order to construct arguments, make judgements and draw conclusions.
The course follows the WJEC Eduqas syllabus with students studying the core topics of Crime and Deviance and Social Stratification which are underpinned by key theoretical perspectives and research methods, exploring issues such as inequality, the distribution and use of power and experiences of different social groups in society. Throughout the specification students are expected to be able to critically evaluate different methods of sociological research/data which requires students to think like and act like a ‘sociologist’.
Academic Journey - KS3
Year 9 |
|
| Half Term 1 | Half Term 2 |
|
Key Concepts: Key sociological concepts and processes of socialisation |
Research Methods: Process of research |
| Half Term 3 | Half Term 4 |
|
Research Methods: Planning research |
Social Stratification: Factors which may influence access to life chances and power, Research Project |
| Half Term 5 | Half Term 6 |
|
Research Project: Write up and presentations |
Crime and Media: Patterns of criminal behaviour by - social class, ethnicity, age and gender |
Academic Journey - KS4
Year 10 |
|
| Half Term 1 | Half Term 2 |
|
Key Concepts Family & Households: Key sociological concepts and processes of socialisation, Family diversity and different family forms in the UK and within a global context, Methods of research and the usefulness of different types of data, Research Methods: Methods of research and the usefulness of different types of data |
Family and Households: Social changes and family structures and family structures, Sociological theories of the role of the family, Research Methods: Methods of research and the usefulness of different types of data |
| Half Term 3 | Half Term 4 - 5 |
|
Education & Research Methods: Patterns and factors that impact on educational achievement and processes in the school, Methods of research and the usefulness of different types of data |
Education & Research Methods: Sociological theories of the role of education, Methods of research and the usefulness of different types of data |
| Half Term 6 | |
|
Methods of research and the usefulness of different types of data |
|
Year 11 |
|
| Half Term 1 | Half Term 2 |
|
Social Stratification: Sociological theories of stratification, Different forms and sources of power and authority |
Social Stratification: Poverty as a social issue |
| Half Term 3 | Half Term 4 - 5 |
|
Crime and Deviance: Social construction of concepts of crime and deviance and social control, Patterns of criminal and deviant behaviour, Sociological theories and explanations of deviance and criminal behaviour, Sources of data on crime |
Exam Preparation and Revision |
Academic Journey - Sixth Form
Year 12 |
|
| Half Term 1 | Half Term 2 |
|
Education: Differential educational achievement of social groups by social class, gender and ethnicity in contemporary society Perspective theories on the role of education |
Education: Perspective views on the role of education Significance of educational policies |
| Half Term 3 | Half Term 4 |
|
Research Methods: Sources of data The theoretical, practical and ethical considerations influencing choice of topic, choice of method(s) and the conduct of research |
Family and Households: Gender roles, domestic labour and power relationships within the family in contemporary society The nature of childhood, and changes in the status of children in the family and society Demographic trends in the United Kingdom since 1900 - birth rates, death rates, family size, life expectancy, ageing population, and migration and globalisation |
| Half Term 5 | Half Term 6 |
|
Family and Households: The relationship of the family to the social structure and social change, with particular reference to the economy and to state policies Changing patterns of marriage, cohabitation, separation, divorce, childbearing and the life course |
Family and Households: Personal life and diversity |
Year 13 |
|
| Half Term 1 | Half Term 2 |
|
Crime: The social distribution of crime and deviance by ethnicity, gender and social class |
Crime: Globalisation and crime in contemporary society The media and crime Green crime - human rights and state crimes Crime control, surveillance, prevention and punishment, victims, and the role of the criminal justice system and other agencies. |
| Half Term 3 | Half Term 4 |
|
Beliefs in Society: The relationship between social change and social stability and religious practice |
Theory and Methods: The relationship between positivism, interpretivism and sociological methods; the nature of ‘social facts’ |
| Half Term 5 - 6 | |
| Exam Preparation and Revision |
