Sociology
Our vision
The vision of studying sociology at King Ecgbert School is to enable students to acquire the knowledge and skills to analyse society in the United Kingdom in the 21st century. Students will also gain an understanding of the theories and concepts that form a key part of the current debate about contemporary society and the critical changes taking place.
What is Sociology?
Sociology is the scientific study of human society through the investigation of social behaviour: indivduals, groups and cultures. By studying these relationships and behaviours we can better understand the world in which we live, and develop solutions to the problems that exist therein.
The questions that we address in Sociology at King Ecgbert School include:
- What is the role of the media in influencing our perception of society?
- Is social class still relevant? Is your class obvious? How does it effect your opportunities?
- How has globalisation affected our national identity?
- Do we develop our own cultural identity or has it been imposed on us?
- What makes people commit crime?
- Why do girls do better at school?
- Racism/ageism/sexism - how does it affect society?
- How should we deal with criminals?
- How can we create safe communities?
- Are western countries restricting the development of countries in Africa?
- How may your digital footprint affect you in the future?
- Is anything that we do secret anymore?
Our curriculum
We currently follow the AQA specification.
Yr 12
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Autumn Term 1 September – October |
Introduction to sociology Introduction to the main sociological theories Functionalism Marxism, Feminism, Social Action theories and Postmodernism. |
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October – Half term |
Culture and Identity Concepts such as the socialisation process |
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Half term |
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Autumn Term 2 November - December |
Culture and identity Concepts such as globalisation and consumerism. |
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Christmas Holidays |
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Spring Term 1 January – February |
Education The role and function of the education system. The different educational achievement of different social groups. Influences within and external to schools. The significance of educational policies.
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Half Term |
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Spring Term 2 February - March |
Research Methods Evaluating the research methods used by sociologists, questionnaires, interviews, observations and experiments. |
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Spring holiday |
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Summer Term 1 April - May |
Education with methods in context Evaluating the use of different research methods to research the education system. |
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Half Term |
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Summer Term 2 May-July |
Theory and Methods The sociological theories in more depth. Whether sociology can be considered a science. The methods used by different types of sociologists. The influence of sociology on social policies. |
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Summer holidays |
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Yr13
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Autumn Term 1 September – October |
Crime and Deviance Theories of crime. The social distribution of crime between social groups.
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Half term |
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Autumn Term 2 November - December |
Crime and Deviance Globalisation and crime including the media, green crime and state crime. The role of the criminal justice system in punishment and control of crime. |
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Christmas Holidays |
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Spring Term 1 January – February |
Media The new media and its impact on society, popular culture and globalisation. The representations of different social groups in the media.
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Half Term |
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Spring Term 2 February - March |
Media The relationship of the ownership and control of media content. The impact on the media on audiences. Revision |
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Spring holiday |
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Summer Term 1 April - May |
Revision Weekly timed essay and feedback practice |
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Half Term |
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Summer Term 2 May-July |
Exam Leave |
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Summer holidays |
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Why Sociology?
Sociology prepares students for a variety of courses at higher education and is useful in many different careers. Many undergraduate degree courses have a sociology element and any work involving people will have sociological relevance. The vision of the sociology course is then to prepare students for the wider world to be interested, reflective and appreciative of our diverse society.
The skills and knowledge developed in sociology are useful for a variety of careers including:
- Law
- Journalism
- Social Work
- Media
- Advertising and Marketing
- Human Resources
- Youth Services
- Politics
- Social Policy Planning
- Criminology
- Teaching
- Academic Research
- Police