GCSE Sociology

Introduction

During the course of the GCSE students will study:

The Sociological Approach and research methods

Students will explore different sociological perspectives on social structures, social issues and social processes. This will include understanding how feminism, functionalism, interactionism and Marxism influence sociological thought. This module also covers how to use sociological research methods and how they apply in the specified contexts ie families, education, crime and deviance, social stratification.

Families

Students will be able to identify, describe and explain the different functions of the family, while applying a variety of sociological perspectives. This part of the course will also give students the opportunity to explore the changing nature of family, the conjugal role of relationships and the criticisms of family. These tie into themes of identity, idealisation, the status and role of women and marital breakdown.

Education

Students will examine the different views of the role and function of education. Students will study the Durkheim functionalist perspective and Parsons on the achieved status and meritocratic principles. This module will also direct students to look at the relationship between education and capitalism from a Marxist perspective, comparing and contrasting the sociological perspectives. Students will then spend some time studying the factors affecting educational achievement in relation to class, gender and ethnicity.

Crime and Deviance

The crime and deviance module will give students insight into the social construct of these two ideas. Students will examine them both the functionalist and interactionist perspectives. This will encourage students to examine crime and deviancy as a relative concept rather than an absolute. Students will be encouraged to apply various sociological theories and principles to crime and deviancy and the causes of crime.

Social Stratification

Social stratification refers to a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy such as the contemporary class system. By the end of the module students will be able to describe key theories in relation to social stratification including feminism and Marxism. Students will also look at issues such as poverty, and whether poverty is an inevitable consequence of stratification.

How is the course examined?

Paper 1: 1 hour 45 minutes

• Families
• Education

(+ methods applied to families and education)

Paper 2: 1 hour 45 minutes

• Crime and Deviance
• Stratification

(+ methods applied to crime and stratification)

How is the course graded?

The course is graded with GCSE grades 1 to 9.

Equipment

Text books are provided in class

Students may wish to purchase revision resources such as:

GCSE Sociology revision (published by Collins)

Homework

Regular and varied homework tasks are set. These include (but are not limited to):

• Exam style questions
• Preparation for assessments
• Research tasks

Sociology ‘drop-in’ sessions

Learning outside of the classroom