what is A level sociology ?
A level Sociology examines social behaviour from a variety of perspectives: how it originates and then develops, and the ways people are organised into groups according to distinctions such as class, gender and race. A level Sociology also looks at the institutions and forces which shape and are shaped by groups within a society, such as the media, religion and education.
A level Sociology focuses on contemporary society, providing an awareness of the importance of social structure and actions in explaining social forces and issues. Some questions A level Sociology covers include:
- Why do boys underachieve in the education system?
- Why are black people five time more likely to be stopped and searched?
- Why are women more religious when religion oppresses them?
A level Sociology helps you to develop knowledge and understanding of the essential sociological theories and methods (such as Functionalism, Marxism and Feminism) with which sociologists make sense of the diversity of societies, and of the forces which have and will continue to shape social change.
Sociology will help you to think about society in a new and critical light, questioning the status quo and developing a sophisticated understanding of the real issues that affect the society we live in. It is an excellent subject for showing you how society works and for making you aware of the range of conditions that individuals within society experience. Students often comment that they didn't realise how varied the human experience can be and how powerfully group identity shapes a person's future.
A level Sociology is offered by OCR, WJEC and Edexcel, but the most popular option is offered by the AQA exam board as it provides an interesting range of option topics teachers can choose from. Topics include one from Culture and Identity, Families and Households, Health, Work, Poverty and Welfare, and one topic from Beliefs in Society, Global Development, The Media, Stratification and Differentiation .
All the exam boards cover core areas of Sociology, which include:
- Knowledge and understanding of contemporary social issues and changes
- Understanding and evaluating key sociological theories and perspectives
- Understanding and evaluating the methods of sociological research
- Developing students' interest in the social, political and economic issues that affect society
What sort of work is involved?
Through studying A level Sociology you will learn to think critically and independently about society and the diversity which its citizens experience. You will also develop an informed understanding of our rapidly changing world, as well as your place within it.
Sociology is an essay-based subject, so it involves a lot of reading and writing, strengthening your ability to develop an argument both in class and on paper. The subject requires you to debate issues for which there are several different but well-accepted explanations, and to become critical of different viewpoints. By analysing the strengths and limitations of all perspectives studied, you learn not to take things for granted, or to accept assertions at face value!
Key words:
A level sociology exam practice (67)
A-levels (69)
ageing population (4)
Agencies of development (8)
Aid, trade and debt (17)
Alternatives (2)
America (5)
audience effects (8)
Beliefs in Society (25)
Big data (9)
blogging (2)
Book summaries (68)
Careers and alternative careers (9)
Childhood (18)
Colonialism and Neo-Colonialism (1)
Consumerism (2)
Contemporary Sociology (18)
content analysis (3)
Countries (10)
Crime and Deviance (156)
crime control (5)
Culture and Identity (15)
data visualization (3)
Demography (13)
digital education (4)
Digital nomads (1)
Digital sociology (1)
education (187)
Education Policy (23)
Emotions (1)
Environmental problems and sustainable development (6)
Essay plans (25)
Ethnicity (21)
Exams and revision advice (117)
experiments (9)
Families and Households (128)
Family diversity (16)
Feminism (29)
Functionalism (20)
Fundamentalism (3)
Gender (7)
Global Development (131)
Globalisation (58)
Health (3)
Health (11)
In-school factors (3)
India (3)
Indicators of development (10)
Industrialisation and urbanisation (4)
inequality (5)
Key Sociology Concepts (3)
Longitudinal studies (3)
Marriage, Divorce and Cohabitation (13)
Marxism (29)
Media (75)
methods in context (15)
migration (4)
Millennials and Youngers (1)
Moral Panic (3)
Neoliberalism and The New Right (21)
New Age (2)
new media (4)
New Right (3)
news values (8)
ownership and control (5)
participant observation (3)
positivism (3)
Postmodernism and Late Modernsim (32)
Pot Luck (43)
private documents (2)
quantitative research (2)
Race and Ethnicity (14)
Religion (52)
religious organisations (10)
representations (9)
research methods (96)
Revision (6)
right and left realism (9)
secondary data (2)
secularization (5)
Sex and gender (54)
Social Action Theory (Interpretivism and Interactionism) (12)
social change (1)
Social class, wealth and income inequalities (42)
Social media (5)
social mobility (2)
Social Policies (18)
social problems (2)
Social Theory (A2) (78)
Sociological concepts (90)
Sociology and science (3)
Sociology in the News (32)
Sociology on TV (18)
Sociology soundtrack (3)
sociology teaching resources (6)
South Korea (1)
state crime (5)
Statistics (19)
subcultures (1)
Suicide (1)
surveys (3)
teaching and learning theory (17)
technology (6)
Theories of development (23)
Transnational corporations (12)
War and conflict (13)
Work (9)
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Sociology, A Level
This course can also be studied if you are an adult aged over 19 years old. Sociology is the study of society - how people interact in groups. A level Sociology examines social behaviour from a variety of perspectives: how it originates and then develops, and the ways people are organised into groups according to distinctions such as class, gender and race. A level Sociology also looks at the institutions and forces which shape and are shaped by groups within a society, such as the media, religion and education.
This course will help you acquire knowledge and a critical understanding of contemporary social processes and social changes. You will have the opportunity to develop a broad set of desirable key skills, including the ability to analyse and formulate clear, logical arguments with scope for extensive evaluation from a range of theoretical perspectives.
Developing strong critical thinking skills and being able to consider issues with a global outlook will be of huge benefit to you moving forward, whether this is in further education, the workplace or society in general. By studying Sociology, you will develop lots of transferable skills, including communication, teamwork, working to deadlines, making reasoned arguments and thinking creatively. Having a good understanding of human relationships can be a bonus in a range of careers.
The course is supported by access to online textbooks, a fully resourced virtual learning environment and an experienced academic tutor who is available for one-to-one tutorials.
Subjects covered
- Knowledge and understanding of contemporary social issues and changes
- Understanding and evaluating key sociological theories and perspectives
- Understanding and evaluating the methods of sociological research
- Developing interest in the social, political and economic issues that affect society
Assessment method
All units are assessed via examination.
Progression opportunities
Successful completion of this course enables you to progress to higher education courses. The knowledge and skills you acquire on this course are valued by employers in many different industries.
Additional support
Preparing learners for the future is an integral part of everything we do at Weston College. Whether you want to bolster your employment prospects, upskill or change careers, our friendly careers staff are committed to helping students get on the right career path.
As an adult learner at Weston College, you will have access to our specialist, highly qualified careers advisors who are on hand to assist you with making those important decisions about careers and course choices. Whether you need support with developing your employability skills, or you are investigating your future options, we’ll be there to help you through the process.
You can also use our free-to-access Career Coach programme to provide yourself with a detailed careers assessment, which you can then talk through with one of our advisors, as well as the assessment directing you to certain courses that will help you on your career journey. As a Microsoft College all students and apprentices are given FREE access to LinkedIn Learning – an online educational platform that helps individuals discover and develop business, technology-related, and creatives skills through expert-led course videos.
Entry Requirements
5 GCSES or O levels at 4 to 9 or A-C including English Language or Literature. We will consider individuals without these requirements if they have specific work-related experience. All applicants will need to complete a literacy and numeracy entrance test.
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General Certificate of Secondary Education
The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales,[1] and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private schools in Scotland may choose to use GCSEs from England.
Each GCSE qualification is offered in a specific school subject (English literature, English language, mathematics, science, history, geography, art and design, design and technology, business studies, classical civilisation, drama, music, foreign languages, etc).
The Department for Education has drawn up a list of preferred subjects known as the English Baccalaureate for England on the results in eight GCSEs including English, mathematics, the sciences (physics, chemistry, biology, computer science), history, geography, and an ancient or modern foreign language.[2]
Studies for GCSE examinations take place over a period of two or three academic years (depending upon the subject, school, and exam board), starting in Year 9 or Year 10 for the majority of students, with examinations being sat at the end of Year 11 in England and Wales.[a]
History
Previous qualifications
Before the introduction of GCSEs, students took CSE (Certificate of Secondary Education) or the more academically challenging O-Level (General Certificate of Education (GCE) Ordinary Level) exams, or a combination of the two, in various subjects. The CSE broadly covered GCSE grades C-G or 4–1, and the O-Level covered grades A*-C or 9–4, but the two were independent qualifications, with different grading systems. The separate qualifications were criticised for disadvantaging the bottom 42% of O-Level entrants who failed to receive a qualification, and the highest-achieving CSE entrants who had no opportunity to demonstrate higher ability.
In its later years, O-Levels were graded on a scale from A to E, with a U (ungraded) grade below that. Before 1975, the grading scheme varied between examination boards, but typically there were "pass" grades of 1 to 6 and "fail" grades of 7 to 9. However the grades were not displayed on certificates.
The CSE was graded on a numerical scale from 1 to 5, with 1 being the highest, and 5 being the lowest passing grade. Below 5 there was a U (ungraded) grade. The highest grade, 1, was considered equivalent to an O-Level C grade or above, and achievement of this grade often indicated that the student could have taken an O-Level course in the subject to achieve a higher qualification. As the two were independent qualifications with separate syllabi, a separate course of study would have to be taken to "convert" a CSE to an O-Level in order to progress to A-Level.
There was a previous attempt to unite these two disparate qualifications in the 1980s, with a trial "16+" examination in some subjects, awarding both a CSE and an O-Level certificate, before the GCSE was introduced. The final O-level/CSE examinations were sat in 1987.
Introduction of the GCSE
GCSEs were introduced in September 1986[3] to establish a national qualification for those who decided to leave school at 16, without pursuing further academic study towards qualifications such as A-Levels or university degrees. They replaced the former CSE and O-Level qualifications, uniting the two qualifications to allow access to the full range of grades for more students. However, the exam papers of the GCSE sometimes had a choice of questions, designed for the more able and the less able candidates.
Upon introduction, the GCSEs were graded on a letter scale, from A to G, with a C being set as roughly equivalent to an O-Level Grade C, or a CSE Grade 1, and thus achievable by roughly the top 25% of each cohort.
