Sociology
Back to Subjects MenuWhat is it to be a Sociologist at BCHS?
At BCHS, Sociology aims to broaden students’ minds, helping them to see the world from different perspectives and in new thought-provoking ways.
Sociology will give students a chance to develop their appreciation of diversity, writing and study skills and knowledge, based on human behaviour, social organisation, culture, and social change.
Sociology helps us look more objectively at our society and other societies. It directs attention to how the parts of society fit together and change, as well as makes us aware of the consequences of that social change
KS 4 Overview
Year 10 overview
Students begin their study of GCSE Sociology by exploring the basics. Students learn about the norms and values that make up culture and receive a brief introduction to the key perspectives of Functionalism, Marxism, Interactionism and Feminism. We move onto explore research methods, both primary and secondary that Sociologists use the explore society in order to uncover trends and patterns.
Once the basic grounding has been established, we are able to move onto the first topic for Paper 1 which is the Sociology of the Family, where the skill of applying sociological perspectives begins. In the Summer Term, Year 9 Students begin the second topic for Paper 1: Sociology of Education. This involves looking at different types of educational provision and considering differential educational achievement with an emphasis on social class, gender and ethnicity. This leads onto policies that the government have put in place to address inequalities and changes in the educational system over time. Following this Unit, student progress onto the first Paper 2 topic of the Sociology of Crime and Deviance. This includes exploring punishments and effectiveness of these and searching for sociooical explanations for why different groups of people commit crime. Students will also learn about how crime statistics are recorded and evaluate their usefulness. We complete Year 10 sociological study by embarking on our final unit: Social Stratification.
Year 11 overview
For the final part of the course, students will continue with the final Paper 2 topic of Social Stratification. This involves us exploring the inequalities that exist on the basis on social class, gender, ethnicity and age in particular. We consider why inequality exists and attempt to explain this using sociological theory. Perspectives of Feminism, Marxism, Functionalism, Interactionism and Weberian Theory are used.
The course content is complete by February Half Term and after this, we follow a Revision Scheme of Learning until the final summer examinations.
Enrichment
All GCSE students are invited to attend a trip to the Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green and this also gives us the opportunity to visit Roman Road Market where students conduct their own active research study into the diverse community in Bethnal Green.
Students are also part of the Mini-TED talks that are run by the Sixth Form Team. These include talks by the Metroplitan Police, a social researcher from YouGov and a Gang Youth Worker.
Students are encouraged to explore ‘living, breathing’ Sociology, outside the classroom and bring what we learn in class to life by searching for examples
How do we contribute to PHSEE, British Values and SMSC?
Our Sociology curriculum provides the ideal opportunity to reinforce British values and promote Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural education.
Whilst continuously reflecting on our progress using feed-forward sheets, we also promote discourse through structured debates including ‘Is private education better?’ and ‘Are prisons effective’. These opportunities allow for our Sociology students to debate with respect and consider all perspectives. Sociology explores culture and british values in most lessons as the GCSE course explores life in the contemporary UK.
What careers does Sociology support?
Studying Sociology opens up a wide range of careers in areas such as welfare, education, social research, journalism, law, marketing and local and central government. We are proud that many of our Sociology students go onto study Sociology-related courses at degree level. Students should Look for volunteering or work experience opportunities with organisations and businesses that they are interested in working for, or that will help them develop the skills relevant to their career interests. For example, volunteering opportunities exist in schools, community education and social work departments, or with groups including young people, victims of crime or homeless people.
