Curriculum Intent and Rationale

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The purpose of the sociology curriculum is to equip students with the ability to critically analyse the society around them. They will develop detailed knowledge of social and political theories and ideologies, such as Marxism and feminism. This will allow them to evaluate social structures such as religion, education, the legal system and the media. Alongside side, students will be given lots of opportunities to debate social issues, with the goal to always applying knowledge to contemporary social issues as they occur. Keeping up-to-date- with the news and current affairs is vital for success in sociology. Sociology is a humanities/social science, and as such students will need to be confident in their essay writing skills. Examinations will comprise of multiple essays, which students will practice frequently during lessons. 

 

Throughout this two-year course students will also develop an appreciation of how to conduct sociological research. Often the work of sociologists goes on to influence government policy, and as such it is important that students are aware of the methodological issues surrounding large scale studies on humans, and how to resolve them. As such, sociologists make great researchers, and can often go into roles where collecting and analysing data is integral.

 

Other pathways from sociology are into government, social policy, human resources and managements, health and social care, teaching, criminology and law.