Sociology Subject Overview

The Sociology curriculum aims to equip students with the appropriate knowledge and skills needed to be able to understand and explain the causes of human behaviour and the impact of this behaviour on wider society. At St. Mary’s we aim to create young Sociologists who evaluate the world around them. Our curriculum goes far beyond what is taught in lessons, for whilst we want students to achieve the very best examination results possible, we believe our curriculum goes beyond what is examinable. Students are encouraged to research widely and to keep abreast of current affairs, always questioning why the people they meet and hear about behave the way they do. The pandemic has provided numerous opportunities to discuss sociological concepts and to apply the theories to everyday situations. Students’ thinking will be challenged in developing their understanding about how social processes and structures in society works. In addition to learning about society’s infrastructure, students will develop theoretical, practical and analytical understanding of how sociologists carry out their investigation using a range of research methods.

As a knowledge based curriculum we believe that knowledge underpins and enables the application of skills. Content is delivered to students and then built upon through a variety of practice questions, with regular quality feedback being given to support student progress. The knowledge acquired then allows students to develop their analytical and critical thinking skills. Our intentions for sociology students at St. Mary’s are that they will finish the course with an undeniably confident understanding of the ethical, moral, social, political and economic changes that affect individuals and different social groups in society.