GCSE Sociology
Introduction
•What is sociology?
•Course structure
•Some key terms

Learning Outcomes
At the end of the session you will be able to:
• Describe the features of a sociological
approach to social issues.
• Recognise the difference between
sociology and other social sciences.
• Discuss the potential impact of
sociological research on people who
introduce social policies.

Sources
• AQA GCSE Sociology (2009)
by Grahame Coates et al Nelson Thornes
• Sociology GCSE for AQA (2010)
by Wilson, P. & Kidd, A. Collins

What is Sociology?
• Sociology is the study of the
society in which we live.
• It examines how we are
influenced and shaped
through being members of
groups and organisations.
It concentrates on:
• the way we make society
what it is, and
• the way society makes us
what we are.

Sociology
• Very few of us live our lives on
our own – we are all in regular
contact with other people and
we interact with other people
in groups and in various
organisations.
• Take two minutes to list all the
people, group you come into
contact with.

Sociology
• We are all members of groups such as
families, peer groups and friendship groups
and we will come into contact with
organisations such as the:
– school/college
– workplace
– church
– legal system
– political system
– mass media

Sociology...
...examines the ways in which these forms of
social structure:
– groups,
– organizations,
– communities,
– social categories (such as class, sex, age, or race),
– various social institutions (such as family, economic,
political, media or religious)
...affect human attitudes, actions, and
opportunities.

Is asks us to question...
For example:
• Why is the number of years you can expect to live still
associated with your occupation?
• The way that your gender, religion, and ethnic
background open up or close down opportunities in your
life?
• What kinds of spiritual faith do people have in Britain
today?
• How far do the media affect how personal lifestyle
choices are viewed by wider society?

Question
• Is it just gossip in a modern form?
• Is it that it provides endless, easily obtained
content for our multiplying TV channels,
newspaper pages and magazines?
• Could it be both?
• Or even something much more profound
about the class system of modern Britain?
Do you wonder what
fuels our apparent
fixation with celebrity?

Sociology isn’t journalism!
• Journalists ask similar questions to the
ones we’ve just discussed – and like
sociologists they carry out research;
however sociology is different from
journalism as:
– Journalists’ research is less systematic
– They are often biased or one sided in
their reports
– Sociological research is subject to
peer review.

Sociology isn’t psychology!
• Psychologists also study people, drawing on key
concepts such as personality or aggression and
using research techniques and experiments.
• However, while psychologists focus on the
behaviour of individuals, sociologists focus on
group behaviour, social structures and social
processes that influence us.

Sociology is a Social Science
• Sociologists try their best to be objective in
the work they do. They develop theories,
do practical research, collect and analyse
data.
• In this way sociology is seen as a social
science.

Social Policy
• The work that sociologists do helps to ‘bring into
the open’ some of the serious social issues that
are challenging our society at any particular
time.
• They sometimes result in political discussions
that lead to the development of social policy
and sometimes to new laws that affect everyone.
• Can you recall any changes in social policy that
have taken place in the last few years?

Example
• Debate, discussion and social
research could consider the
importance of good parenting.
• This might lead to changes in
paid maternity and paternity
leave or might lead to changes
in the tax and benefits system
for families with young children.

Summary
• Social science: the systematic study of
society and of human relationships within
society.
• Social policy: important decisions made
by the government that aim to improve the
conditions of people living in their society.

Course Structure
GCSE Sociology - Full Course

Unit 1 Exam Jan 2012: 1hr 30mins
1. Studying Society
– culture, values, norms, roles, laws,
socialization, social structures, research
2. Education
– Why we have schools, measuring
success/failure, different types of schooling,
hidden curriculum, social class
3. Families
– Different family structures, marriage and
divorce, roles, social class

Unit 2 Exam June 2012: 1hr 30mins
1. Crime and Deviance
– Difference between the two terms, measuring
crime, explaining behaviour (biological/
psychological/ sociological), control.
2. Mass Media
– What is it? Who owns it? How do we use it?
Stereotypes. Impact.
3. Social Inequality
– Social stratification, class societies, slavery,
life chances, social mobility, gender and racial
barriers, poverty.

Some Key Terms
1.1 Studying Society

Culture
• Being a member of a society means that
we all have something in common, and
that common thread is our culture
• It includes the laws, norms, values,
roles, customs, beliefs and languages of
a society.
Culture is not the same everywhere and you can often
see this by looking at food and diet
For example, roasted guinea pig is enjoyed as a delicacy in
Ecuador, while they are kept as family pets in the UK.

Laws & Norms
• Our everyday behaviour is shaped and
guided by a set of:
– formal, written rules (laws)
– and informal, unwritten rules (norms)
...that are special to our particular culture.
• Breaking a law would lead to punishment;
breaking a norm would be disapproved of.

Roles
• We all perform a number of roles in our
society.
• These are special patterns of behaviour
expected of people in different situations.
• A teacher in front of a class will take on a
completely different role from when she is
interacting as a mother with her own
children.
• A group of students will behave differently
when they are in the classroom, out with
their friends or at home with their parents.

Values
• To feel a part of the society in
which we live there are likely to be
a set of values that are shared by
most members.
• We all have beliefs about what is
right and wrong, what is good and
bad, what is important and not
important and these form the basis
of our values.

Activity
• Work through the task on
– “Living with the British”

Activity
• With a partner, agree on and note down
four norms that apply when:
1. Getting on a bus
2. At a party
3. In a doctor’s surgery
4. In a classroom

Class Contracts
• What will be the norms and values of this group?
– Be punctual
– Attend
– Respect – listen to each other, don’t speak over others, treat
people the way you want to be treated
– No eating or drinking
– Manners
– Don’t be stereotypical / don’t use stereotypical language
– It’s OK to have your own opinion but it’s important to share it in a
way that doesn’t offend others
– Appreciate each others’ opinions or views
– Be patient
– Don’t use mobile phones / keep them on silent
– Please speak up if you don’t understand something or if you
don’t agree with something.

Homework
• Questions – relating to content from
Nelson Thornes textbook.