AQA A-level sociology specification content at a glance

I think it’s useful to have the specification laid out in one easy to access to place – so here you go:

With Families and Households and Global Development as the ‘options’ on paper 2

Please click here for a PDF Version of the above (probably better for both viewing and printing!): AQA sociology specification content at a glanceI

Core themes (run through all exam papers)

social differentiation, power and stratification.
the significance of conflict and consensus, social structure and social action, and the role of values.
the focus of study should be on UK society today, within its globalised context.

Education (paper 1)

the role and functions of the education system, including its relationship to the economy and to class structure
differential educational achievement of social groups by social class, gender and ethnicity

relationships and processes within schools: teacher/pupil relationships,
pupil identities and subcultures, the hidden curriculum, and the organisation of teaching and learning
the significance of educational policies, including policies of selection, marketisation and privatisation, and policies to achieve greater equality of opportunity or outcome, for an understanding of the structure, role, impact and experience of and access to education; the impact of globalisation on educational policy.
Methods in Context – students must be able to apply sociological research methods to the study of education.

Theory and Methods (papers 1 and 3)

quantitative and qualitative methods of research; research design
sources of data, including questionnaires, interviews, participant and non-participant observation, experiments, documents and official statistics

the distinction between primary and secondary data, and between quantitative and qualitative data
the relationship between positivism, interpretivism and sociological methods; the nature of ‘social facts’
the theoretical, practical and ethical considerations influencing choice of topic, choice of method(s) and the conduct of research

consensus, conflict, structural and social action theories
the concepts of modernity and post-modernity in relation to sociological theory
the nature of science and the extent to which Sociology can be regarded as scientific

Families and Households (option on paper 2, section A)

the relationship of the family to the social structure and social change, with particular reference to the economy and to state policies
changing patterns of marriage, cohabitation, separation, divorce, childbearing and the life course, including the sociology of personal life, and the diversity of contemporary family and household structures

gender roles, domestic labour and power relationships within the family in contemporary society
the nature of childhood, and changes in the status of children in the family and society
demographic trends in the United Kingdom since 1900: birth rates, death rates, family size, life expectancy, ageing population, and migration and globalisation.

Global Development (option on paper 2, section B)

development, underdevelopment and global inequality
globalisation and its influence on the cultural, political and economic relationships between societies

the role of transnational corporations, non-governmental organisations and international agencies in local and global strategies for development
development in relation to aid and trade, industrialisation, urbanisation, the environment, and war and conflict
employment, education, health, demographic change and gender as aspects of development.

Beliefs in Society (option on paper 2, section B)

ideology, science and religion, including both Christian and non-Christian religious traditions
the relationship between social change and social stability, and religious beliefs, practices and organisations

religious organisations, including cults, sects, denominations, churches and New Age movements, and their relationship to religious and spiritual belief and practice
the relationship between different social groups and religious/spiritual organisations and movements, beliefs and practices
the significance of religion and religiosity in the contemporary world, including the nature and extent of secularisation in a global context, and globalisation and the spread of religions.

The Media (option on paper 2, section B)

the new media and their significance for an understanding of the role of the media in contemporary
society
the relationship between ownership and control of the media

the media, globalisation and popular culture
the processes of selection and presentation of the content of the news
media representations of age, social class, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and disability

the relationship between the media, their content and presentation, and audiences.

Crime and Deviance (paper 3)

the social distribution of crime and deviance by ethnicity, gender and social class, including recent patterns and trends in crime
globalisation and crime in contemporary society; the media and crime; green crime; human rights and state crimes
crime control, surveillance, prevention and punishment, victims, and the role of the criminal justice system and other agencies.

Sources:

Modified from the AQA’s A-level Sociology Specification from 2015 onwards (7191-2) – which can be accessed in all its glory here: