Year 13 Sociology Curriculum Plan

Overview

Sociology deals with the social world and all the relationships; interactions and events that happen when people meet people. Sociologists try to understand the processes involved.

The curriculum in Year 13 prepares students for the AQA A2 Sociology examination. The options studied are:-

  • Module 3 Power and Politics.
  • Module 4 Stratification and Differentiation; Theory and methods.

Assessment for Module 3 is by examination - 90 minutes.

Assessment for Module 4 is by examination - 120 minutes.

The marks for the two AS modules are added to these marks to give a full A2 grade.

Past papers, mark schemes and examiners reports can be viewed on the AQA Sociology site.

General links to explore for Sociology AS and A2:

Module 3 Power and Politics

In this module the following topics are studied:

  • Explanations of the nature and distribution of power.
  • Different theories of the nature and distribution of power.
  • The role of the modern state.
  • The nature of, and changes in, different forms of political participation, including voting behaviour, political action and protest, and membership of political organisations and movements.
  • The role of political parties and movements, pressure / interest groups, new social movements and the mass media in the political process.
  • The significance of globalisation for an understanding of power and politics in the contemporary world.

Resources for Module 3

Module 4 Stratification and differentiation; Theory and Methods

In this module the following topics are studied:

Stratification and differentiation

  • Different theories of stratification, including stratification by social class, gender, ethnicity and age.
  • Dimensions of inequality: class, status and power; differences in life chances by social class, gender, ethnicity, age and disability.
  • The problems of defining and measuring social class; occupation, gender and social class.
  • Changes in the structures of inequality, and the implications of these changes.
  • The nature, extent and significance of patterns of social mobility.
  • The connections between sociological theory and methods and the study of stratification and differentiation.

Theory and Methods

  • A revision of research methods studied in Module 2, demonstrating a wider range and greater depth of knowledge and understanding, and more highly developed skills of application, analysis, interpretation and evaluation.
  • Consensus, conflict, structural and social action theories.
  • The concepts of modernity; and post-modernity in relation to sociological theory.
  • The nature of 'science' and the extent to which Sociology may be regarded as scientific.
  • The relationship between theory and methods.
  • Debates about subjectivity, objectivity and value freedom.
  • The relationship between Sociology and social policy.

Resources for Module 4