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Sociology A Level

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Getting Ahead

Sociology A Level at Havant Campus

Sociology is all around us. Studying Sociology is a transformative experience and will help you to see the world differently. It makes us question and explore the realities of the world around us. Events in the news can reveal a lot about the society we live in. For example, the impact of Covid-19 on Education and the Grenfell Tower fire in London.

We have put together the following ‘Getting Ahead’ work to help prep you for your course over the summer.

We look forward to you starting College with us soon.

Did you know? In 2019 there were over 63,225 more girls than boys at university / Over 40% of male young offenders are Black or Mixed Ethnicity / Homosexuality is illegal in over 70 countries and in at least six it is punishable by death / In 1972, women were allowed to compete officially in the Boston Marathon for the first time.

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Sociologists are interested in how cultures develop and change over time.  ‘Culture’ can be defined as the ‘shared way of life of a particular group and is made up of norms and values’.  Norms are the ‘unwritten rules of behaviour for a particular social situation’, such as offering someone a cup of tea when they are upset.  Values are ‘beliefs that are seen as important and worthwhile in a particular society’, such as achieving educational qualifications.  Sociologists study how these norms and values (i.e. cultures) can shift. A recent example of this would be the cultural shift that occurred during the covid pandemic. 

  • Task 1:  Identify five norms (i.e. rules/behaviours) that emerged during the first UK lockdown.
  • Task 2:  Choose one of your examples and explain how it became part of our culture, i.e. how did we learn that it was important to follow that rule?
  • Task 3:  Not everyone in society followed these norms.  How were people viewed/treated by the rest of society when they did not follow the norms?  (If possible, use an example to illustrate your point).
*This is a representation of your learning space and may not be the exact room you will be using

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I overcame a couple of barriers by working really hard to get the top grades. My experience was really good, with the course and the lecturers, the residentials and activities, together it was all really good. I had really great teaching support, I could always go to the lecturers and speak to them if I needed to.

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Everyone at the College was really helpful, and there’s lots of facilities, meaning it’s very easy to get your work done on time, and get good grades. The teaching and support was excellent, they were always on top of it, and made sure you got work done on time and you were challenged. Everyone is friendly and its really diverse, meaning you can get involved in lots of different things.

Conor Ward, BTEC student