Sociology tries to understand the changes occurring in modern society.  By doing this, it helps us to understand how our own lives are shaped and influenced by the social world around us.

Sociology promotes imagination and criticism.  Through an introduction to a variety of ways of looking at societies, it challenged our taken-for-granted assumptions of how things are.

The topics you will study are:-

AS

• Families and Households - including the way childhood, marriage, and gender roles are changing.
• Education - here we analyse reasons why ethnicity, class and gender influence achievement.
• Sociological methods (applied to education)  - here you will learn about the ways sociologists investigate society.

A2

• Crime and deviance - sociologists are interested in how laws are made and who breaks them and why
• Beliefs in society - this unit examines different belief systems, from cults and sects to science and politics
• Research methods (applied to crime and deviance) and sociological theory - this is a continuation of the methods unit at AS but includes an analysis of theories as well.

At AS there is a one hour exam on Families which is worth 20% of the total A level, and a two hour exam on education and methods worth 30% of the total A Level.  At A2 you will  have a one and a half hour exam on beliefs worth 20% of the total A level, and a two hour exam on crime and deviance worth 30%.

There is no coursework requirement—assessment is by examination only.