Sociology

WHAT IS THE INTENT OF THE SOCIOLOGY CURRICULUM?

The intent of the Sociology curriculum is to enable students to participate in our interconnected world with understanding and humanity, and the higher-level skills needed for the knowledge-based economy. Sociology is exciting, interesting, and relevant to students' lives. It helps students develop a wide range of knowledge and understanding about society at a local and global level and how sociologists’ study and understand its structures, processes, and issues.

The aim of the Sociology curriculum at the Marsh Academy is to equip students with appropriate knowledge and skills needed to understand and explain the causes of global human interaction and the impact this has on local community involvement to wider society in terms of all facets – political, legal, educational, cultural, – amongst others. The subject is planned to provide students with the exciting opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the world around them and reflect on social issues that are often relevant to their own social experiences. Students not only acquire worldly knowledge but a critical understanding of contemporary society and social changes that impact their own and the lives of millions like them.

By studying Sociology, learners are taught to be able to think analytically, establishing connections in their learning to ensure logical conclusions are reached in all applied and non-applied contexts. This embeds itself within our life-long learning goal to ensure our learners are inspired and motivated to fulfil their potential no matter what. Our curriculum in sociology supports the ethos statement of the school constantly challenging students to work collaboratively and think independently when engaging in all lessons and respect in class others’ opinion, having confidence in their own ability to step out of their comfort zones with the ultimate goal of a successful outcome through personal development is important in all that we teach.

The curriculum at A Level is sequenced logically from building on sociological vocabulary, through to A Level topic where students are challenged to debate the relative values of different theoretical perspectives and how sociology can be applied to enable social change.  Students will study topics and areas which are initially familiar to them but through the theories and perspective of a range of sociologists.  This will enable students to approach these topics with a deep knowledge of these perspective and to improve application of knowledge as well as evaluating it.  These skills can then be transferred to a range of other subjects but also to many situations in life.