Sociology

RWSCurriculum Transparent

Intent and Vision

In Sociology, we have the Ravens Wood vision at the heart of our curriculum planning and it has informed the learning journey of our students. Our vision in Sociology is for all students to have a rich understanding of the social world in which they live and the impact social changes have on their lives and the lives of others around them. By studying Sociology, students will address issues such as disadvantage, discrimination and inequality and be able to understand how these impact people’s lives and theoretical explanations for their existence. Exploring contemporary sociological topics will develop the students’ intellectual curiosity and create learners who never shy away from asking ‘why?’.

Key Concepts that Underpin the Curriculum

Norms, values and culture
Socialisation.
Social control
Demographic changes
Conflict theories
Consensus theories
Micro approaches
Social inequalities

Key Features of Learning

In order to nurture sociological understanding and intellectual curiosity, our lessons capture the imaginations of students by using materials and resources that inspire awe and wonder. All our lessons are well resourced and use up to date material in order to best illustrate the patterns and trends of social behaviour. As well as well-resourced lessons, our lessons are largely dialogic in nature to incentivise students to share their ideas so that their beliefs can be challenged and knowledge constructed. In order to ensure a deep and rich understanding of the social research process, students run their own sociological research focused on families in British society and present their findings to their peers.

How Does our Curriculum Shape Learners?

Learners are encouraged to develop a critical awareness of sociological concepts and issues in contemporary society including social inequalities, research methods and crime and deviance. Our lessons are designed to foster the development of critical and reflective thinking with a respect for social diversity; and to encourage an awareness of the importance of social structure and social action in explaining social issues.

The Learning Journey: End Points for Each Academic Year

Year 13

By the end of Year 13, students will have a broader understanding of sociological debates having revisited content from Year 12 as well as exploring new topics such as Crime & Deviance, Religion & Society and Globalisation & the Digital Social World. Within each of these topics, students will have studied social inequalities, looking at the impact social class, gender and ethnicity has on people’s ability to participate in these areas of social life. Students will be able to draw comparisons between different sociological concepts and make synoptic links between the topics they have been taught, enriching their understanding and critical evaluation further. The new scope of understanding will facilitate improved critical evaluation in the student’s written work, allowing them to write fully developed, academic essays in preparation for the public exams.

Year 12

By the end of Year 12, students will have acquired an understanding of the core concepts necessary to understand sociological material. They will also be able to use sociological material (theories, studies, concepts and statistics) in order to inform, shape and support their own arguments. Students will understand the differences between consensus, conflict and micro theories and their theoretical explanations of sociological phenomena. In particular, students will have developed a deep understanding of identity, families and social inequalities, the current sociological debates surrounding each concept and the influence each has on a person’s life chances. With regards to exam technique, students will have become comfortable using sources in their exam answers and applying their knowledge to and from sources. They will also have begun to critically evaluate theoretical explanations of social inequalities and the family, with the view of developing this skill further in Year 13.