SOCIOLOGY A LEVEL

Ashbourne’s Humanities Department

The department is led by Dennis Fulcher. Dennis has vast experience, spanning more than twenty years, and as Head of Humanities, he has a strong command of several subject areas. Originally a graduate in sociology, Dennis has also completed a Masters in Government and Political Studies, a Post Graduate Certificate in Education and a Diploma in Print Journalism. Dennis joined Ashbourne nine years ago and has headed the department for the past seven. The department has enjoyed an outstanding record of success under Dennis’s stewardship. Dennis has taught in both the state and the independent sectors at all levels including graduate and post-graduate levels. Undertaking the Sociology teaching is the hugely experienced Roderick Gordon who holds a BA hons from Swansea, an MA from the LSE and a PGCE from Reading. Rod also teaches History.

Examination Board

Ashbourne follows the AQA specification for Sociology, because it is felt this offers the broadest approach and allows sufficient flexibility of choice in selecting areas for study. The specification we follow has been approved by the QCA for first teaching from September 2008.

Unit 1 SCLY1 Culture and Identity; Families and Households; Wealth, Poverty and Welfare

Culture and Identity

Different conceptions of culture, including subculture, mass culture, high and low culture, popular culture, global culture. The socialisation process and the role of the agencies of socialisation. Sources and different conceptions of the self, identity and difference.

The relationship of identity to age, disability, ethnicity, gender, nationality, sexuality and social class in contemporary society. Leisure, consumption, and identity.

Families 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, child-bearing and the life- course, and the diversity of contemporary family and household structures.

The nature and extent of changes within the family, with reference to gender roles, domestic labour and power relationships.

The nature of childhood, and changes in the status of children in the family and society.

Demographic trends in the UK since 1900; reasons for changes in birth rates, death rates and family size.

Wealth, Poverty and Welfare

Different definitions and ways of measuring poverty, wealth and income. The distribution of poverty, wealth and income between different social groups.

The existence and persistence of poverty in contemporary society.

Different responses to poverty, with particular reference to the role of social policy since the 1940s.

The nature and role of public, private, voluntary and informal welfare provision in contemporary society.

Unit 2 SCLY2 Education; Health; Sociological Methods

Education

The role and purpose of education, including vocational education and training in contemporary society.

Differential educational achievement of social groups by social class, gender and ethnicity in contemporary society.

Relationships and processes within schools, with particular reference to teacher/pupil relationships, pupil subcultures, the hidden curriculum, and the organisation of teaching and learning.

The significance of educational policies, including selection, comprehensivisation and marketisation, for an understanding of the structure, role, impact and experience of education. The application of sociological research methods to the study of education.

Health

Health, illness, disability and the body as social and as biological constructs.

The unequal social distribution of health and illness in the United Kingdom by social class, age, gender, ethnicity and region, and internationally. Inequalities in the provision of, and access to, healthcare in contemporary society.

The sociological study of the nature and social distribution of mental illness.

The role of medicine and the health professions.

The application of sociological research methods to the study of health.

Sociological Methods

Quantitative and qualitative methods of research; their strengths and limitations; research design.

Sources of data, including questionnaires, interviews, participant and non-participant observation, experiments, documents, and official statistics; the strengths and limitations of these sources.

The distinction between primary and secondary data, and between quantitative and qualitative data.

The relationship between positivism, interpretivism and sociological methods; the nature of ‘social facts’.

The theoretical, practical and ethical considerations influencing choice of topic, choice of method(s) and the conduct of research.

Unit 3 SCLY3 Beliefs in Society; Global Development; Mass Media; Power and Politics

Beliefs in Society

Different theories of ideology, science and religion, including both Christian and non-Christian religious traditions.

The relationship between religious beliefs and social change and stability.

Religious organisations, including cults, sects, denominations, churches and New Age movements, and their relationship to religious and spiritual belief and practice.

The relationship between different social groups and religious/spiritual organisations and movements, beliefs and practices.

The significance of religion and religiosity in the contemporary world, including the nature and extent of secularisation in a global context.

Global Development

Different theories of development, underdevelopment and global inequality.

Globalisation, aid and trade, and their influence on the cultural, political and economic relationships between societies.

The role of transnational corporations, non- governmental organisations and international agencies in local and global strategies for development.

Development in relation to industrialisation, urbanisation, the environment, war and conflict.

Employment, education, health, demographic change and gender as aspects of development.

Mass Media

The relationship between ownership and control of the mass media.

The mass media, globalisation and popular culture.

The processes of selection and presentation of the content of the news.

Media representations of age, social class, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and disability.

The relationship between the mass media, media content and presentation, and audiences.

The new media and their significance for an understanding of the role of the media in contemporary society.

Power and Politics

Different theories of the nature and distribution of power.

The role of the contemporary state.

The nature of, and changes in, different forms of political participation, including voting behaviour, political action and protest, and membership of political organisations and movements.

The role of political parties, pressure/interest groups, new social movements and the mass media in the political process.

The significance of globalisation for an understanding of power and politics in the contemporary world.

Unit 4 SCLY4 Crime and Deviance; Stratification and Differentiation; Theory and Methods

Crime and Deviance

Different theories of crime, deviance, social order and social control.

The social distribution of crime and deviance by age, ethnicity, gender, locality and social class, including recent patterns and trends in crime.

Globalisation and crime in contemporary society; the mass media and crime; green crime; human rights and state crimes.

Crime control, prevention and punishment, victims, and the role of the criminal justice system and other agencies.

The sociological study of suicide and its theoretical and methodological implications.

The connections between sociological theory and methods and the study of crime and deviance.

Stratification and Differentiation

Different theories of stratification, including stratification by social class, gender, ethnicity and age.

Dimensions of inequality: class, status and power; differences in life-chances by social class, gender, ethnicity, age and disability.

The problems of defining and measuring social class; occupation, gender, and social class.

Changes in structures of inequality, and the implications of these changes.

The nature, extent and significance of patterns of social mobility.

The connections between sociological theory and methods and the study of stratification and differentiation.

Theory and Methods

Consensus, conflict, structural and social action theories.

The concepts of modernity and post-modernity in relation to sociological theory.

The nature of science and the extent to which sociology can be regarded as scientific.

The relationship between theory and methods.

Debates about subjectivity,

objectivity and value freedom.

The relationship between sociology and social policy.

Possible University Degree Programmes Suited to A-level Sociology

Candidates can opt for a number of degree courses following the successful completion of A –level Sociology. These include Anthropology, Social Anthropology, Cultural Studies, Economics, Business Administration, Humanities, Government and Politics and History amongst others. Sociology can sometimes be combined with Languages.