Subjects Sociology GCSE

Course description:

Photograph of a human eye Sociology is the study of society and behaviour. The GCSE course aims to help students study and understand the way we behave and live together in a society. The main areas of study are:

Sociological terms and concepts
Gender Socialisation
Work, leisure and unemployment
The family Methodology
Demography Mass media
Stratification
Education Power and politics Religion
Crime and deviance

Sociology is concerned with finding out about people and so is useful for students who have an interest in the world around them.

Course structure:

The GCSE course has five hours of lessons per fortnight. Some revision sessions can be arranged in Year 11, if appropriate.

Homework:

Homework is set every week, usually a piece of work which should take approximately 45 minutes. The homework can cover a range of approaches, sometimes answering questions, doing individual research, revision, reading or other appropriate tasks.

Assessment, weighting and timings of assessments:

Sociology has one piece of assessed coursework. It is an individual research project which accounts for 20% of the final grade. The subject must relate to the Sociology syllabus but is of the student’s own choosing. The coursework is registered with the exam board in the December of year 10 and students begin research in the summer term of Year 10. The completion deadline is the end of September in Year 11. The rest of the course is assessed through 2 exams, accounting for 40% each of the final grade.

Books, equipment, materials and resources recommended / needed:

The school provides all essential resources for the study of GSCE Sociology, but it is useful for students to read a quality newspaper regularly and to boost their general knowledge of current affairs when possible.

Opportunities for study beyond Key Stage 4:

Study of Sociology at GCSE can obviously lead to the study of Sociology at Advanced Level at Blatch 6 but can also provide a basis for study in other social sciences, e.g. Psychology, Politics.

Career opportunities supported by this subject:

Careers which will be aided by studying Sociology could be any career which involves working with people. Previous students have gone on to work in: teaching, social work, law, media, personnel, journalism, nursing and many others.