Exam Board – WJEC
The course focuses on the importance of social structure in explaining social issues. Students will be encouraged to explore and debate contemporary social issues to enable them to challenge taken-for-granted assumptions and to question their everyday understanding of social phenomena. By following this course, learners will develop their own sociological awareness through active engagement with the contemporary social world.
There are two components to the qualification, each one assessed in separate exams.
Understanding Social Processes – Culture, Family, Education and Research Methods
Students will consider how human beings acquire their identity and examine the process of passing on culture from generation to generation and in diverse settings. They will be encouraged to contemplate how they acquire their individual identity. This theme is continued through a detailed study of two agents of socialisation: families and education, which will provide learners with a deeper, more theoretical understanding of the social world and an awareness that the process of socialisation is contested.
Understanding Social Structures – Social stratification, Equality and Crime and Deviance
Learners will enhance their awareness of the social world through an examination of social structures and their influence on human behaviour. They will also develop an understanding of the nature and extent of inequality and will examine competing theories on the causes of inequality through a study of the ideas of the classical sociologists, and a more detailed study of crime and deviance.
Skills
Both components require students to demonstrate essential skills developed through their study of sociology; that is, the ability to show their knowledge and understanding of key concepts and issues in the context of sociological theory and methodology. They are also expected to select, interpret, evaluate and apply their knowledge and understanding in a range of theoretical and practical contexts.
Component 1: Understanding Social Processes Written examination: 1 hour 45 minutes 50% of qualification 100 marks
Component 2: Understanding Social Structures Written examination: 1 hour 45 minutes 50% of qualification 100 marks