Sociology

Sociology

Access to HEFC Higher Education
This course offers the opportunity to study selected areas of Sociology whilst developing the skills of analysis, investigation and evaluation to the standard of Advanced Level and university entrance. Sociology is a dynamic and powerful theoretical and empirical discipline. It seeks to understand why people organise themselves into families, institutions, groups and wider communities. This module begins to describe and develop this understanding, with direct application to modern day living patterns. It introduces sociology theories and key concepts to help students understand contemporary social issues and where appropriate potential solutions and their policy initiatives.

Students considering the course do not need to have studied any of the social science disciplines before. Instead, what they bring to the course in terms of maturity, enthusiasm and a wide range of experience is equally valuable.

The aims of this unit are

• to encourage students to study in a critical and systematic way their own and other societies
• to make students aware of the nature of different sociological approaches to the study of various aspects of social life
• to make students aware that the methods of carrying out such a study are diverse and are part of a continuing endeavour
• to develop the study techniques appropriate to this level

Course Content
The course consists of two units of equal weighting. Four subject areas are studied, with two substantive topics covered in each unit.

Topic Areas

Unit 1

• Family
• Education

Unit 2

• Crime and Deviance
• Mass Media

Assessment

Unit 1

• Essay of 1500 words (Education topic) - 60% of marks
• End test (Family topic) - 40% of marks

Unit 2

• Essay of 2000 words - 60% of marks
• Examination - 40% of marks

This is an evening course - Monday 6.30 - 9.30pm.