Unit 1 Exam: Thursday 17Th May, Am

Unit 1 exam: Thursday 17th May, am

Unit 2 exam: Friday 25th May, pm

Easter Revision: tbc

AS Syllabus: AQA Sociology GCE (new specification)

Unit 1: Families and Households (SCLY1)

Worth 40% of your AS and 20% of your final A Level
Written paper, 1 hour
60 marks available

Unit 2: Education with Research Methods (SCLY2)

Worth 60% of your AS and 30% of your final A Level
Written paper, 2 hours
90 marks available

Timetable

Use your revision checklists to draw up a timetable for revision leading up to the exam. Make sure you cover everything, but make sure it is manageable – you can’t spend every minute working, so allow yourself some time off, both short breaks and occasional days or half days.
Try

Resources

Handouts and powerpoints from lessons are available on the shared drive and on the VLE.
Additional revision resources will be available to download from the VLE
Use the list of websites in this pack to help you identify other useful revision resources

AQA SCLY1

Unit 1: Families and Households

There are 3 sections – choose the CORRECT one, Families and Households (should be section B), and answer all the questions from that section.

Time allowed: 1 hour

Maximum marks: 60

Time per mark = max 1 min.

Questions carrying 24 marks should be answered in continuous prose and you will be marked on your ability to use good English, to organise information clearly and to use specialist vocabulary where appropriate.

Possible Question outlines / Marks / Timing
06 / definition of key term, e.g. ‘primary socialisation’ / 2 marks / <2 mins
To get full marks for this question, you need to explain the term and give a supporting example.
Possible questions:

Explain what is meant by ‘primary socialisation’ (Item 2A, line 7). (2 marks) (specimen paper)
Explain what is meant by the ‘expressive role’ (Item 2A, line 5). (2 marks) (January 2009)
Explain what is meant by ‘serial monogamy’ (Item 2A). (2 marks) (June 2010)
Explain what is meant by ‘net migration’ (Item 2A). (2 marks) (January 2011)
Explain what is meant by the ‘social construction’ of childhood (Item 2A). (2 marks) (June 2011)

07 / 2 examples of a particular idea or reasons for a change, e.g. two ways in which childhood has become ‘protected and privileged’ / 4 marks / <4 mins
To get full marks you need to explain two things, supported by examples that highlight change or increase, if this is specified in the question.
Possible questions:

Suggest two ways in which childhood has become .a specially protected and privileged time of life. (Item 2A, lines 4 . 5). (4 marks) (specimen paper)
Suggest two ways in which ‘family life may have a harmful effect on women’ (Item 2A, lines 6 – 7). (4 marks) (January 2009)
Explain the difference between a family and a household (Item 2A). (4 marks) (June 2009)
Suggest two reasons why lone-parent families are more likely to be headed by a female. (4 marks) (June 2009)
Suggest two reasons why women might delay having children (Item 2A). (4 marks) (January 2010)
Suggest two ways in which the position of children could be said to have improved over the last one hundred years. (4 marks) (January 2010)
Suggest two reasons why there has been an increase in cohabitation (Item 2A). (4 marks) (June 2010)
Suggest two reasons why people may migrate to the United Kingdom, apart from thatreferred to in Item 2A. (4 marks) (January 2011)
Suggest two ways, apart from those mentioned in Item 2A, in which government policies and/or laws may shape the experiences of children today. (4 marks) (June 2011)

08 / 3 reasons for something e.g. change in divorce rate / 6 marks / <6 mins
To get full marks you need to explain three things, supported by examples that highlight change or increase, if this is specified in the question.
Possible questions:

Suggest three reasons for the increase in the divorce rate since 1969. (6 marks) (specimen paper)
Suggest three reasons for the decrease in the death rate since 1900. (6 marks) (January 2009)
Identify three ways in which childhood may not be a positive experience for some children. (6 marks) (June 2010)
Identify three ways in which greater ethnic diversity has contributed to family diversity (6 marks) (January 2011)
Identify three reasons why the birth rate has fallen since 1900. (6 marks) (June 2011)

Questions 06, 07 and 08 may be any combination of marks, adding up to a total of 12.
09 / essay question / 24 marks / 4min plan
20 min
To reach the higher level marks, you need to demonstrate accurate sociological knowledge and understanding, and apply it directly to the topic in the question. Support your answer with evidence and demonstrate how this answers the question.
Possible questions:

Examine the ways in which social policies and laws may influence families and households. (24 marks) (specimen paper)
Examine the ways in which childhood can be said to be socially constructed. (24 marks) (January 2009)
Examine the reasons for changes in birth rates and family size since 1900. (24 marks) (June 2009)
Examine the ways in which government policies and laws may affect the nature and extent of family diversity. (24 marks) (January 2010)
Examine the reasons for, and the consequences of, the fall in the death rate since 1900. (24 marks) (June 2010)
Examine the reasons for changes in the patterns of marriage and cohabitation in the last40 years or so. (24 marks) (January 2011)
Examine the reasons for changes in the divorce rate since 1969. (24 marks) (June 2011)

10 / essay question with reference to item / 24 marks / 4min plan
20 min
To reach the higher level marks for this question, you have to successfully interpret material and apply it to answering the question, and explicitly refer to the item, make it clear how your discussion is answering the question. It is acceptable to repeat key language from the question and item when doing this, however, don’t simply make statements such as and this shows that the it no longer makes sense to talk about the patriarchal family. This is not good enough, you must explain how your discussion of relevant evidence answers the question.
Refers to Item X, but on this occasion you are asked to use Item X in your answer, you must do this, to get the full marks.
Possible 11 questions

Using material from Item 2B and elsewhere, assess the view that it no longer makes sense to talk about the patriarchal family. (Item 2B). (24 marks) (Specimen paper)
Using material from Item 2B and elsewhere, assess the view that the nuclear family is no longer the norm. (24 marks) (January 2009)
Using material from Item 2B and elsewhere, assess the view that gender roles and relationships have become more equal in modern family life. (24 marks) (June 2009)
Using material from Item 2B and elsewhere, assess the Marxist view that the main role of the family is to serve the interests of capitalism. (24 marks) (January 2010)
Using material from Item 2B and elsewhere, assess the view that, in today’s society, the family is losing its functions. (24 marks) (June 2010)
Using material from Item 2B and elsewhere, assess the view that the modern family hasbecome more child-centred. (24 marks) (January 2011)
Using material from Item 2B and elsewhere, assess the contribution of feministsociologists to an understanding of family roles and relationships. (24 marks) (June 2011)

Revision Checklist Unit 1: Families and Households

1 Changing patterns of marriage, cohabitation, separation, divorce, child-bearing and the life-course, and the diversity of contemporary family and household structures

Marriage: fall in number of marriages, later age of first marriage.

Cohabitation: growth of cohabitation, greater acceptability of cohabitation, types (e.g. trial marriage, long term partnership).

Separation and divorce: legal position, increase in divorce after 1969, reasons for divorce; remarriages and reconstituted families.

Child-bearing: number of children, age at which women have first child, changes in parenting practices; lone parent families; beanpole families.

Life course: consideration of range of possibilities, including living alone (singletons), grandparents.

2 The relationship of the family to the social structure and social change, with particular reference to the economy and to state policies

Functionalist views: the importance of the nuclear family, the universality of the family, changing functions, how the nuclear family ‘fits’ modern society.

Marxist views: the family as part of the ideological state apparatus, as an agent of social control.

Feminist views: patriarchy; liberal, radical and Marxist feminism.

Foucault: surveillance of family life, internalisation of norms.

The New Right: decline of the family, demonisation of single parents, fatherless families, uncontrollable children; Murray’s view of the underclass; need for a return to ‘traditional’ family values.

Some key government policies affecting families, with more detail on the most recent (post-1997).

Post-1997 government policies assessed in relation to the theories.

Current policy positions of the main parties assessed in relation to the theories.

3 The nature and extent of changes within the family, with reference to gender roles, domestic labour and power relationships

Gender roles within families: functionalist, feminist, New Right and other views.

The domestic division of labour – changing nature of housework and home-related activities related to changing roles of men and women and to masculinity and femininity, both in and beyond the home.

Decision-making and power relations within households.

Consequences of unequal power: the ‘dark side of the family’, domestic violence, child abuse, mental illness.

4 The nature of childhood, and changes in the status of children in the family and society

The social construction of childhood: how childhood differs over time and between cultures; ways in which childhood is marked as separate from other stages of life.

Children and (paid) work: legal situation in UK; comparison with other countries.

Children as actors within families; the rights and responsibilities of children today.

5 Demographic trends in the UK since 1900; reasons for changes in birth rates, death rates and family size

For each of the three areas of change (birth rates, death rates and family size) students should be aware of the trend, of possible reasons for it and of some cross-cultural/global comparisons.

Birth rates (and fertility rates): falling - availability of contraception/family planning; children more likely to survive; cost of raising children; later age of marriage; women giving priority to work, etc.

Death rates: falling - higher life expectancy; better health care, protection and treatment for life threatening illness, etc.

Family size: falling - reasons similar to birth rate but focus on decisions on individual reasons.

AQA SCLY2

Unit 2: Education with Research Methods

There are 2 sections – choose the CORRECT one, Education (should be section A), and answer all the questions in that section.

Time allowed: 2 hours

Maximum marks: 90

Time per mark = max 1 1/3 min.

Questions with more than 12 marks should be answered in continuous prose and you will be marked on your ability to use good English, to organise information clearly and to use specialist vocabulary where appropriate.

The paper has five questions: You are advised to spend 50 minutes on Questions 01 to 04

You are advised to spend 30 minutes on Questions 05

You are advised to spend 40 minutes on Questions 06-09

No / Possible Question outlines / Marks / Timing
01 / definition of key term, e.g. ‘hidden curriculum’ / 2 marks / <2 mins
Possible questions:

Explain what is meant by the term ‘compensatory’ education. (2 marks) (specimen paper)
Explain what is meant by the term ‘cultural capital’. (2 marks) (January 2009)
Explain what is meant by the term ‘ethnocentric curriculum’. (2 marks) (January 2010)
Explain what is meant by the term ‘vocational’ education. (2 marks) (June 2010)
Explain what is meant by the term ‘cultural deprivation’. (2 marks) (January 2011)
Explain what is meant by the term ‘immediate gratification’.(2 marks) (June 2011)

02 / Explain 3 factors
e.g. 3 reasons for boys’ underachievement / 6 marks / <6 mins
Possible questions:

Suggest three material factors that might cause working-class educational underachievement. (6 marks)(specimen paper)
Suggest three reasons for gender differences in subject choice. (6 marks) (January 2009)
Suggest three ways in which Marxists see school as being similar to the world of work. (6 marks) (January 2010)
Suggest three reasons for boys’ educational under-achievement. (6 marks) (June 2010)
Identify three educational policies that may have contributed to social class differencesin achievement.(6 marks) (January 2011)
Identify three policies that may promote the marketisation of education.(6 marks) (June 2011)

03 / Outline some reasons for something
e.g. gender differences in subject choice / 12 marks / <12 mins
Possible questions:

Outline some of the reasons why different pupil subcultures exist in schools. (12 marks) (specimen paper)
Outline some of the policies introduced by governments to create an education market in the United Kingdom. (12 marks) (January 2009)
Outline some of the ways in which the labelling process may lead to educational under-achievement for some pupils. (12 marks) (January 2010)
Outline some of the ways in which cultural deprivation may lead to educational under-achievement for working-class pupils. (12 marks) (June 2010)
Outline some of the ways in which factors outside the education system have resulted in improved educational achievement for girls. (12 marks) (January 2011)
Outline some of the functions that the education system may perform.(12 marks) (June 2011)

04 / Essay question:
Using material from Item A and elsewhere…
e.g. assess the claim ‘the main function of education…’ / 20 marks / <30 mins
Possible questions:

Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the claim that ‘the main function of education is to maintain a value consensus in society’ (Item A, lines 7 – 8). (20 marks) (specimen paper)
Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the claim that ‘ethnic differences in educational achievement are primarily the result of school factors’ (Item A, lines 5 – 6) (20 marks) (January 2009)
Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the claim that gender differences in educational achievement are primarily the ‘result of changes in wider society’ (Item A, lines 6 – 7). (20 marks) (January 2010)
Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the claim that the main aim of education policies in the last 25 years has been to create an education market. (20 marks) (June 2010)
Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the view that the education system exists mainly to select and prepare young people for their future work roles.(20 marks) (January 2011)
Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the view that factors and processes within the school are the main cause of differences in the educational achievement of different social groups.(20 marks) (June 2011)

05 / Methods in context
Using material from Item B and elsewhere…
e.g. Assess the strengths and limitations of one of the following methods (observation / official statistics) for investigating teacher attitudes towards minority ethnic group pupils / 20 marks / <30 mins
Question 05 requires you to apply your knowledge and understanding of sociological research methods to the study of a particular issue in education. You will need to read Item B and answer the question / questions that follow.
Question 05is worth 20 marks and uses the functional word assess, you will need to carefully read Item B, and identify the ‘hooks’, clues written into the Item about material to include in your answer.
To get full marks for this question, you have to successfully interpret material and apply it to answering the question, and explicitly refer back to the question, make it clear how your discussion is answering the question. It is acceptable to repeat key language from the question when doing this, however, don’t simply make statements such as and this shows how useful observation is for investigating teacher attitudes. This is not good enough, you must explain how your discussion of relevant evidence answers the question.
Possible questions:

Using material from Item B and elsewhere, assess the strengths and limitations of one of the following methods for investigating teachers’ attitudes towards minority ethnic group pupils:

EITHER participant observation OR questionnaires. (20 marks) (specimen paper)

Using material from Item B and elsewhere, assess the strengths and limitations of one of the following methods for investigating boys’ underachievement:
EITHER (i) official statistics OR (ii) unstructured interviews. (20 marks) (January 2009)
Using material from Item B and elsewhere, assess the strengths and limitations of one of the following methods for investigating the effect of material deprivation on educational achievement:
EITHER (i) unstructured interviews OR (ii) offi cial statistics. (20 marks) (January 2010)
Using material from Item B and elsewhere, assess the strengths and limitations of one of the following methods for investigating anti-school subcultures:
EITHER (i) group interviews OR (ii) non-participant observation. (20 marks) (June 2010)
Using material from Item B and elsewhere, assess the strengths and limitations of one of the following methods for investigating the role of parents in pupils’ achievement:
EITHER (i) questionnaires OR (ii) unstructured interviews.(20 marks) (January 2011)
Using material from Item B and elsewhere, assess the strengths and limitations of one of the following methods for investigating truancy from school:
EITHER (i) official statistics OR (ii) participant observation.(20 marks) (June 2011)

06 / Definition of key term, e.g. ‘triangulation’ / 2 marks / <2 mins
For these questions, you can draw examples from any area of sociology with which you are familiar.
Possible questions:

Explain what is meant by the term ‘triangulation’. (2 marks) (specimen paper)
Explain what is meant by the term ‘longitudinal’ study. (2 marks) (January 2009)
Explain what is meant by the term ‘hypothesis’. (2 marks) (January 2010)
Explain what is meant by the term ‘secondary’ data. (2 marks) (June 2010)
Explain what is meant by ‘primary’ data.(2 marks) (January 2011)
Explain what is meant by ‘validity’ in sociological research.(2 marks) (June 2011)

07 and 08 / Evaluation of methods
e.g. 1 advantage and 1 disadvantage of using official statistics / 4 marks / <4 marks
This question requires you to evaluate a method. Explaining the method or identifying the advantage / disadvantage is not sufficient; make sure you give an example and fully explain the advantage / disadvantage.
Possible questions:

Suggest one advantage and one disadvantage of a longitudinal study. (4 marks) (specimen paper)
Suggest two disadvantages that sociologists may find when using unstructured interviews. (4 marks) (specimen paper)
Identify two sampling techniques used in sociological research. (4 marks) (January 2009)
Suggest two disadvantages of using media reports in sociological research. (4 marks) (January 2009)
Suggest two advantages of using official statistics in sociological research. (4 marks) (January 2010)
Suggest two problems that researchers may face when actively participating in the group they are studying. (4 marks) (January 2010)
Suggest two factors that may influence a sociologist’s choice of research topic. (4 marks) (June 2010)
Suggest two problems of using personal documents in sociological research. (4 marks) (June 2010)
Suggest two disadvantages that sociologists might find when using structured interviews.(4 marks) (January 2011)
Suggest one advantage and one disadvantage of using laboratory experiments in sociological research. (4 marks) (January 2011)
Explain the difference between a sampling frame and a sample.(4 marks) (June 2011)
Suggest two problems of using documents in sociological research.(4 marks) (June 2011)

09 / Essay question:
e.g. Examine some of the problems sociologists may find in using experiments / 20 marks / <30 mins

Possible questions: