Why study sociology at The Purbeck School?

• Sociology allows you to question and understand the world around you. It deals with key questions. Do you shape the world, or does the world shape you? Are we corrupted by money? Are men and women equal? What causes crime? Is religion dangerous? Is education effective? How has the structure of the family changed over time?
• We will look at both research and theory, and we also attend conferences where possible (we usually attend a conference where we meet with criminals to discuss their time in prison and why they committed crime).

How is sociology taught?

• Sociology is only taught at Key stage 5, you will be in mixed ability classes and have 9 hours of timetabled contact per fortnight.
• We will use a variety of methods such as presentations, typed notes and research. All our teaching is centred on the skills of blooms taxonomy which will allow you to secure your knowledge before moving on to analysing or evaluating it.
• Comprehensive revision packs are provided for you

Rationale and ambition for The Purbeck School sociology curriculum:

• The sociology curriculum will develop an analytical mind. Sociologists don’t see statistics as facts – they will look much deeper – for example, we will look at the difference between reported crime and the ‘dark figure of crime’ (the undeclared cases – trying to figure out why these haven’t been included).
• Sociology also fosters a sense of cultural awareness. For example, we will look at why religiosity is so much more common in American culture than our own. We will also seek to understand how different cultures value the same thing (or person) in different ways. For example, in India the national flag is sacred and on the island of Tanna there is a belief that Prince Philip is their God.
• Students will also develop their skills of enquiry, asking questions about things they may have always simply accepted. In Year 12 we will spend the year questioning the education system itself as well as the structure of the family in Britain. As Terence Copley states “every culture and society inducts it’s young into its beliefs and values and provides them with a worldview – their unquestioning assumptions about life and values – of which they may remain unconscious throughout their life while at the same time being profoundly influenced, even moulded, by it”- and in sociology we will aim to develop our consciousness of the world views we are given by our society.

Key concepts:

The concepts that The Purbeck School sociology curriculum aims to support student progression in are:

• A knowledge and understanding of different sociological interpretations of the world including functionalism, Marxism and Feminism.
• An ability to analyse the effectiveness of sociological research and studies.
• An ability to apply sociological research and theory to four key topic areas (the family, education, crime and religion).
• An ability to assess multiple sources of information in order to present coherent and well-structured arguments.