This document provides an introduction to the sociology course for students at Richard Rose Sixth Form. It begins by welcoming students and acknowledging the difficulty of the transition to A-Levels. Time management, communication, and asking for help when needed are emphasized as crucial to success. The document then outlines the course content, including what sociology is, the course structure, career opportunities, what makes a successful sociology student, recommended resources, and a learning contract. Overall, the document orients new sociology students to the course expectations and requirements.

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Mrs C Vaughan-Denny Sept 2010
sociology
Course Handbook

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Mrs C Vaughan-Denny Sept 2010
Introduction
First of all a very warm welcome to sociology at Richard Rose Sixth Form!
You have chosen to study a modern and challenging AS/A2 Level course
and I hope that for you it will be both enjoyable and successful.
This short guide has been provided both as an introduction to the subject
and a brief guide to how it is organised.
Congratulations on getting over the first great educational hurdle - your
GCSEs! The fact that you are here to embark upon AS/A2 -levels means
that you have met the required standard - so well done! However, be
under no illusions that the transition to A-level is easy. Not only is the
course content harder to understand than anything you have experienced
at GCSE level but many of the questions involve more interpretation and
evaluation - skills which are a little more difficult to develop. The
important thing to remember is that past students have faced the same
initial situation and go on to be extremely successful!
Time-management and communication are crucial to your success here.
You will need to listen to and act upon advice. Successful communication,
however, implies a two-way process. If you are having difficulties or
need help in any way, please do not hesitate to ask.
Self assessment will be an important aspect of your course. You will be
asked to think about your own achievement throughout the year. In
addition, you will be given a chance to discuss your predicted grade and
your progression to A2 sociology.
This booklet should now be placed at the beginning of your file.
CONTENTS
 What is Sociology?
 Course Outline
 Career Opportunities
 What Makes a Successful Sociology Student
 Internet Resources
 Reading Materials
 Learning Contract

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WHAT IS SOCIOLOGY?
Everybody is part of society. Importantly, this society has helped to shape
who you are and your experiences in life so far. But how much about it do
you understand? There is, perhaps, more of a
need than ever to understand the world we live
in. Just think about the endless public debate
there is on issues such as knife crimes, ‘binge
drinking’ teenagers, boys’ underachievement in
school, the reasons and effects of single-
parenthood and births outside of marriage,
questions of racial and sexual equality, the
effects of the media on violent behaviour ....... and so many more. They
are the subject matter of countless views and opinions, many of which
may be ill-informed or prejudiced. Many views are expressed simply from
personal (and often very limited) experience.
This is where Sociology comes in - because they are all SOCIAL issues.
The literal meaning of the word ‘Sociology’ is the ‘science of society’. The
interaction of people, ourselves, as members of society is what Sociology
is about. Social events and changes do not occur by accident. Sociology
attempts to bring a systematic understanding to our knowledge of what
goes on around us - locally, nationally and even internationally. Using a
variety of models and theories and applying recognised research methods
the Sociologist sets off to try and understand our human condition a little
better. This can be a demanding task - but an interesting and rewarding
one!
In a sense ‘doing’ Sociology is a continuous series of debates with and by
. . . . Sociologists! We spend most of our time studying what sociologists
have found out and how their conclusions are debated, argued and
disagreed with by other people who may have other ideas and see things
quite differently. Throughout the course we will debate, among other
things, questions such as:
 Why do some people commit more crime than others?
 Why are girls now out-performing boys in school?
 Will divorce continue to rise? If so, what are the consequences?
 Do children need fathers?
 Does the media cause violence?
 Are the police racist?
 Is society less religious?
 Does your IQ determine how well you will do in school?

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Sociology, then, is the study of people in society. It is concerned
with human associations and relationships in the institutions that affect
our lives. Such institutions include the family, education, the
police/judiciary, the media, religion and politics. In particular, Sociology is
often characterised with describing and explaining patterns of inequality,
deprivation and conflict, which are a feature of almost all societies.

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AQA Sociology
Course Structure at a glance
AS EXAMINATIONS
UNIT 1: Culture and Identity
 40% of AS, 20% of A level
 Written paper 1 hour
 Each question consists of five parts.
UNIT 2: Education; Health; Sociological Methods
 60% of total AS marks, 30% of total A Level marks
 Written Paper, 2 hours
 Candidates choose one topic (Education or Health) and answer:
o one question on the chosen topic. This question consists of
four parts
o one question on sociological research methods in the context
of the chosen topic. This question consists of one part.
 In addition, candidates answer one question on free-standing
research methods. This question consists of four parts.
A2 EXAMINATIONS
UNIT 3: Beliefs in Society; Global Development; Mass Media;
Power and Politics
 20% of total A Level marks
 Written Paper, 1 hour 30 minutes
 Candidates choose one topic from four and answer one
compulsory question and one question from a choice of two.
 The compulsory question consists of either two or three
UNIT 1 + UNIT 2 = AS

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parts and the optional question consists of one essay.
UNIT 4: Crime and Deviance; Stratification and Differentiation;
Theory and Methods
 30% of total A Level marks
 Written Paper, 2 hours
 Candidates choose one topic (Crime and Deviance or Stratification
and Differentiation) and answer:
o one question on the chosen topic. This question consists of
two parts
o one question on sociological research methods in the context
of the chosen topic. This question consists of two parts.
 In addition, candidates answer one question on theory and
methods. This question consists of one essay.
AS + A2 = A LEVEL

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CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
Sociology is an extremely valued subject for higher education entry and
future careers. It is a popular combination for students who do History,
English, Philosophy, Psychology, Media, Business
Studies and Politics AS/A2 Levels.
In terms of higher education entry, you gain the
advantage of writing on your university entry
forms how you’ve developed valuable analytical
and practical skills, particularly through
managing your time, unsupervised, undertaking
independent research.
Sociology students are particularly in demand for ‘people centred
occupations’ and professions that demand a rigorous analytical approach
based upon weighing up evidence and arguments to reach considered
conclusions.
Hence sociology students have gone on to careers as wide ranging as
media research, law, journalism, teaching, social and welfare
work, personnel work, business analysts, civil service and local
government policy making, advertising, nursing, medicine and
market research.

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What makes a successful Sociology Student?
 AN INTEREST IN SOCIAL ISSUES. A general awareness of what
is happening socially and politically can help to motivate you
throughout the course. Try to look at quality newspapers at least
once per week.
 AN ABILITY TO WRITE COHERENTLY AND ACCURATELY. Often
poor English lets down an otherwise good student. The basic rules
of grammar and sentence construction, reasonable spelling, and
well organised work are required. This is especially important in a
subject that relies upon coherent and logical argument.
 A WILLINGNESS TO DEBATE AND ENGAGE IN GROUPWORK.
Not an absolute must, but good quality discussion helps to improve
your evaluation skills as well as developing confidence in your own
ability to express yourself.
ORGANISATION
 From the start, get a wide RINGBINDER file and keep all your
work in order. Then you must bring this file with you to all
lessons, otherwise you will not be coming prepared to the class
and may not be able to do the work planned for that lesson.
 It cannot be stressed enough how important it is for you to keep
your work in the order in which it is delivered to you. If you
don’t do this, it will simply not make sense.
 A HIGHLIGHTER PEN is particularly useful to highlight the key
points in a handout.
 If you have missed a class, it is your responsibility to find out what
work you have missed. If you do not do this, you may well find
questions appearing in your exams which cover work done in class
when you were absent!
ATTENDANCE
 You are required to attend all classes.
 If you know you are to be absent, you must arrange this beforehand
and find out what work you will be missing.

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PUNCTUALITY
 To be late for a lesson means that you miss the important re-cap of
the previous lesson and the introduction to the
day’s learning objectives. It is simply disrupting to
the majority of the rest of the students who have
had the organisation to arrive on time

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Sociology Internet resources
1) General Sites
Web site name URL (Internet Address) What the site offers
ATSS Good Sites
for Sociologists
www.le.ac.uk/education/centr
es/ATSS/atss.html
Excellent link to a host of useful
sociological sites. The most
comprehensive and up to date
site which is the place to start
your search.
A Level Sociology
Site - “Hewett
School”
www.hewett.norfolk.sch.uk/curric/s
oc/index.htm
Extremely useful resources for A
level Sociology organised by into the
different topics.
Esociology www.esociology.co.uk/ Notes, Worksheets and TESTS! Very
easy to navigate.
Sociology online www.educationforum.co.uk/sociolo
gy_2/a1a2.htm
Access to loads of resources, quizzes
etc…..
Ruth’s sociology www.ruthssociology.com/ A teacher’s site with a regular blog
that is interesting to read. Loads of
notes and helpful resources.
Oldham sixth
form college
www.sixthsense.osfc.ac.uk/sociolog
y/index.asp
Lively site written for their own
students but good fun.
A Level Sociology
Site - “Dave
Harris’ Home
Page”
www.arasite.org Organises links into the A Level
topics e.g. Theory & Methods, Crime
& Deviance etc. Quite difficult
essays on original texts so be
prepared to be stretched!
Tamara O’Hara’s
site
www.quia.com/pages/sociologytam
ara.html
A really excellent teacher’s page that
is written for her own students but
has some great stuff and is very
easy to use.
Sociology Central www.sociology.org.uk An excellent site aimed at A Level
students and again broken down by
topic.
Government
Statistical
www.statistics.gov.uk Another excellent site that allows
you to number crunch facts on all

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Service areas of social life
MORI (Market and
Opinion
International)
www.mori.com Select Search from the menu and
type in a key word. This offers you
public opinion on a wealth of issues.
News film online www.newsfilm.bufvc.ac.uk/ This is a brilliant site. You can watch
news footage on many historical
events that are relevant to
sociology. Check out the ‘society’
section.
Guardian
Searchable
Newspaper
Archive
www.guardian.co.uk The best internet newspaper search
available at present. Search for topic
by clicking on ‘Archive’ under
Guardian logo.
BBC www.bbc.co.uk Useful for all topics
The Times
newspaper
www.timesonline.co.uk A quality newspaper to search for
relevant studies

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READING & RESOURCES
Sociology is an open-ended subject - there is always something new
being written about any topic area within the subject.
Visit the Library and familiarise yourself with the sociology books on offer.
The following are particularly interesting:
 Webb et al. ‘AS level Sociology’.
 Haralambos and Langley ‘Sociology in Focus AQA AS level’
 Haralambos and Holborn ‘Sociology: Themes and Perspectives’
(7th edition)
 Carolyn Jackson ‘Lads and Ladettes’.
 O’Donnell and Sharpe ‘Uncertain Masculinities’
Sociology Magazine
Finally, you are encouraged to read the Sociology Review Magazine in the
Study Centre- a quarterly magazine aimed at A Level Sociology students.
And finally, good luck with your studies.
I hope you enjoy learning AS Sociology!
Contact
If you need any help or advice, don’t wait until lessons, you can email
me:

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Learning Contract
Expectations of the student:
o To be punctual (wherever possible)
o Complete homework/ assignments on time
o Ask if you do not understand/ don’t leave until you do understand
o Ensure you are fully prepared for the lesson
o Behave in an appropriate manner
o Contribute to lessons
o Bring ideas to lessons
o Be attentive in lessons and fully take part
Expectations of the teacher:
o To be punctual (wherever possible)
o Listen to students
o Make sure work is understandable
o Provide feedback on assignments explaining how to improve
o Ensure feedback is given regularly
o Ensure lessons are varied and interesting
o Help students when they need it
Signed_________________________________(student) Date________

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Signed_________________________________(teacher) Date________