A Level Sociology Distance Learning CourseAL617

Course Info

Distance Learning Support

At Start Learning we pride ourselves on our friendly and supportive tutors. Your tutor support will start as soon as you receive your course and will be valid for 18 months. All our tutors are highly qualified with extensive experience in supporting distance learning students. You contact your tutor via email and they are responsible for marking assignments answering your questions and guiding you through the course.

Entry Requirements

Basic English reading and writing skills are required. We recommend you have general skills and knowledge associated with a GCSE course or equivalent.

At Start Learning we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to expand their knowledge and study further, so we try to keep our entry requirements to a minimum.

Recommended Hours of Study

It is recommended that 200 hours of your time should be allocated towards study for the AS and A2 examinations.

Course Contents

Students are strongly recommended to familiarise themselves with the AQA specification for A-level Sociology (A). The document can be downloaded as a pdf file, alongside further student support and assessment materials from the AQA website.

The AQA A-level is divided into four units as follows:

AS: 2 units

A2: 2 units

Below is a more detailed breakdown of the units studied for AS and A2.

Advanced Subsidiary (AS):

Unit 1 – SCLY1 – Culture and Identity; Families and Households; Wealth Poverty and Welfare

In this section, we invite you to examine all three topics; however, you will be required to select one of the three topics for the assessment question, which will consist of five parts.
Throughout your exploration of Unit 1, you should consider each topic (especially your chosen topic!) in relation to the above mentioned core themes. You should also begin the process of linking these topics to one another and with any other areas of sociology that you may have already studied.

You should examine both evidence of, and sociological explanations for, the content listed under each of the three topics below:

Culture and Identity

The socialisation process and the role of agencies of socialisation.

Different conceptions of culture, including subculture, mass culture, high and low culture, global culture and popular culture.

Sources and different conceptions of the self, identity and difference.

How identity is shaped by age, ethnicity, disability, gender, nationality, sexuality, and social class in contemporary society.

Leisure, consumption and identity.

Families and Households

The way in which social structure and social change impacts the family, with emphasis on the impact of economic trends and state policies.

The diversity of contemporary household structures and families: changes in patterns of marriage, cohabitation, separation, divorce, child-bearing, and the life-course.

How gender roles, domestic labour and power relationships may change and/or shape contemporary families, and to what extent.

The status of children in society and in the family and the nature of childhood in general.

Shifts in demographic trends: reasons for changes in birth rates, death rates and family size in the UK since 1900.

Wealth, Poverty and Welfare

How to define and measure poverty, wealth, and income.

How poverty, wealth, and income is distributed between different social groups.

The existence and persistence of poverty in society today.

Social responses to poverty—specifically, the role of social policy since the 1940s.

The role and nature of welfare provision (public, private, voluntary and informal) in contemporary society.

Unit 2—SCLY2– Education; Health; Sociological Methods

In this section, you are invited to examine all topics and must choose one topic— either Education or Health—on which you will be assessed with one, five-part question. Additionally, you will answer one question on sociological research methods in context and one question on research methods.

Again, as in Unit 1, you should relate the following topics to the two core themes listed above (socialisation, culture and identity and social differentiation, power and stratification). You should continue to draw links between these topics and other topics already studied. Also, you should try to apply examples from your own experience with small-scale social research throughout the following sections.

You must also examine both evidence of, and sociological explanations for, the content listed in the three topic areas below.

Education

How education functions in contemporary society; the roles and purposes of education (vocational education and training).

Correlations between social classifications—class, gender and ethnicity— and differences in educational achievement.

What goes on in schools—pupil/teacher relationships, pupil subcultures, ‘hidden’ curriculum, and the organisation of teaching and learning.

How educational policies (selection, marketisation, comprehensivisation) lead to an understanding of the structure, role, impact and experience of education.

Applying sociological research methods to the study of education.

Health

How health, illness, disability and the body can be assessed both as social and biological constructs.

Correlations between factors such as social class, age, gender, ethnicity and religion and the (unequal) distribution of health and illness in the UK.

Access to/provision of healthcare in the UK (and inequalities thereof).

Examination of the nature and distribution of mental illness through sociological studies.

Role of medicine/health professions in society.

Applying sociological research methods to the study of health.

Sociological Methods

Assessing qualitative and quantitative research methods (strengths, limitations and research designs of each).

Different sources of data: questionnaires, interviews, participant observation, non-participant observation, experiments, documents, and official statistics (strengths, limitations of these sources).

Distinctions between primary/secondary data and between quantitative/qualitative data.

The relationship between positivism, interpretivism and sociological methods, as well as the nature of ‘social facts’.

Selection of research topics/methods: theoretical, practical and ethical considerations.

Advanced (A2):

UNIT 3—SCLY 3 – Beliefs in Society; Global Development

In this section, you should combine the knowledge and practical skills learned throughout this course when examining each topic. You will be expected to engage in theoretical debates and to become very aware of, and involved in, sociological research processes related to each topic.

You will be examined on one of the topics with one compulsory question, as well as one additional question, which you will select from a choice of two questions.

Again, you should be able to approach each topic using sociological theory and research methods and, as always, you will be expected to relate each topic back to the two core themes listed above (socialisation, culture and identity and social differentiation, power and stratification).

You will be expected to recognise evidence of, and sociological explanations for, the content listed below the four topic areas below.

Beliefs in Society

Theories of ideology, science and religion (including both Christian and non-Christian traditions).

Correlations between religious beliefs and social stability/social change.

Various religious organisations—sects, cults, denominations, New Age movements—and their relationships to religious/spiritual beliefs and practice.

How different social groups may engage in differing religious/spiritual organisations, movements, beliefs, and practices.

Contemporary perspectives on religion and religiosity/global perspectives on secularisation.

Global Development

Theories of development, underdevelopment, and global inequality.

Globalisation—how global aid/trade impacts political, economic and cultural relationships between societies.

Local and global strategies of development through non-governmental agencies, transnational corporations and international agencies.

Linking development studies to industrialisation, urbanisation, the environment, war and conflict.

How employment, education, health, demographic shifts and gender can be considered as aspects of development.

UNIT 4—SCLY 4 – Crime and Deviance: Stratification and Differentiation; Theory and Methods

In the final section, as in UNIT 2, you are invited to explore all topics and must choose one topic—in this case, either Crime and Deviance or Stratification and Differentiation—on which you will be assessed with one, five-part question. Additionally, you will answer one question on sociological research methods in context and one question on research methods.

You should apply your consolidated knowledge of sociological theory and practice throughout this unit by engaging in theoretical debates and becoming actively involved in research processes related to each topic. You are encouraged to draw on examples of your own experiences of small-scale social research.

Again, you should be able to approach each topic using sociological theory and research methods and, as always, you will be expected to relate each topic back to the two core themes listed above (socialisation, culture and identity and social differentiation, power and stratification).

Finally, you should examine the evidence of, and sociological explanations for, the content listed under the topics below.

Crime and Deviance

Theories of crime, deviance, social control and social order.

Patterns in crime distribution—how crime is socially distributed by age, ethnicity, gender, locality, and social class.

Special topics: mass media and crime, globalization and crime in contemporary society, green crime, human rights and state crime.

Crime control, victims, prevention and punishment, and the role of the criminal justice system.

Sociological study of suicide (emphasis on theoretical and methodological implications).

Connecting theory to method in studies of crime and deviance.

Stratification and Differentiation

Theories of stratification (i.e. stratification by social class, gender, ethnicity and age).

Dimensions of inequality (class, status, and power) and studies of life chances, as varied according to class, gender, ethnicity, age and disability.

The inherent problems of defining and measuring social class; studies of occupation, gender and social class.

Structures of inequality—changes and implications.

Patterns of social mobility—nature and significance.

Applying sociological theory/methods to studies of stratification and differentiation.

Theory and Methods

For the final section, you should study the following areas, which were also studied in UNIT 2 of the AS Level:
Assessing qualitative and quantitative research methods (strengths and limitations and research designs of each).

Different sources of data: questionnaires, interviews, participant observation, non-participant observation, experiments, documents, and official statistics (strengths, limitations of these sources).

Distinctions between primary/secondary data and between quantitative/qualitative data.

The relationship between positivism, interpretivism and sociological methods, as well as the nature of ‘social facts’.

Selection of research topics/methods: theoretical, practical and ethical considerations.

Important Notice

Start Learning is not accredited to assess, moderate or examine coursework. In which case, it is candidates’ responsibility to access AQA consortium advice via their examination centres. Moreover, it is candidates’ choice to determine which texts from lists A and B above they shall study and what comparative question they shall work on.

However, Start Learning is able to offer study materials for Unit 4, consisting of examples of poetry criticism and analysis, and Tutor Marked Assignments which will help prepare candidates to formulate titles and draft their coursework.

Easy Payment Plan

Full Price is £395

6 Monthly Instalments of £65.83

The first instalment is paid at time of enrolment with a fee for postage and packaging.

For postage costs click here:Postage and Packaging

Call us on 0800 074 1222 if you would like to set up a payment plan

Qualification

Qualification

AS + A2 = A level in Sociology Language and Literature

Both AS and A2 level courses and examinations must be successfully completed to gain a full A level.

Language of Examination

English

Examination Centre

You can find a full list of private candidate centres here: AQA Private Candidate Centres

Start Learning will provide you with a list of examination centres but it is entirely your responsibility to find a centre which will accept you as an external candidate.
In some cases you should be prepared to travel to another town or city to take your exams.

Start Learning provides expertise support and advice for students in their studies through their comprehensive course packs and tutoring system. However, we do stress that it is the student’s responsibility to find a centre to register and take their exams with. We are aware that sometimes this is difficult or even impossible to arrange.

Now we have come to an arrangement with a centrally located centre where Start Learning students will be able to take their exams. It is the English Maths Science Tuition & Educational Centre, located in Birmingham, right in the centre of England.

We realise this may still involve a good deal of travelling for some students but the long-term benefits of being able to gain A Levels far outweigh the short-term  expense and inconvenience.

For further information, please go to:
http://www.englishandmaths.com/Index.php

or: English Maths Science Tuition Centre Ltd.
40 Showell Green lane
Sparkhill
Birmingham,
B11 4JP
England
United Kingdom

Tel: 0121-771-1298

The contract for sitting exams is between you and the centre and we will provide you with comprehensive instructions on when and how to deal with the examination centre.

Summary of Examinations

 

AS Level
Unit 1: SCLY1 – Culture and Identity; Families and Households; Wealth, Poverty and Welfare
Written paper: 1 hour

Unit 2: SCLY2 – Education; Health; Sociological Methods
Written paper: 2 hours

A2 Level
Unit 3: SCLY3 – Beliefs in Society; Global Development; Mass Media; Power and Politics
Written paper: 1 hour 30 minutes

Unit 4: SCLY4 – Crime and Deviance; Stratification and Differentiation; Theory and Methods
Written paper: 2 hours

 

Available in January and June  

Qualification

AS + A2 = A level in Sociology. Both AS and A2 level courses and examinations must be successfully completed to gain a full A level.

FAQ's

Q: What are the qualifications required to enrol onto this course?
A: Basic English reading and writing skills are required.  We recommend you have general skills and knowledge associated with a GCSE course or equivalent.

At Start Learning we believe that everyone should be given the opportunity to expand their knowledge and study further.  Therefore we do not have strict entry requirements; we take factors such as, experience, enthusiasm, self motivation etc into consideration.  Students will be given plenty of resources to help them overcome obstacles.  Start Learning tutors will also aid our students and answer queries.      

Q: Do I have to sit an exam?
A: Yes, to gain your full A Level Qualification, you are required to sit an exam.  Exams are held at test centres which can be found in major towns and cities throughout the UK.  Please contact Start Learning for a list of test centres.  Exams can be taken in January and June, please visit the AQA website for further details and exam timetables.   

Q: How long do I have access to the personal tutor service?
A: The personal tutor service is available for 12 months from when the study materials are received.  At Start Learning we aim help our students to the best of our ability; therefore we are always delighted to answer questions and queries out with the 12 month period.
Q: Do your courses meet the latest syllabus changes?
A: yes, all our course materials meet any changes and will be updated free of charge if further changes are made.

Q: How much are exam fees?
A: These vary from centre to centre so please check with your local centre.

Q: Is this A Level Sociology course paper based or on-line?
A: Our A Level Sociology course is paper based and comes in an attractive folder.

Q: I want to take my exams but there are only a few months to study, is this possible?
A: Depending on the time of year, it is sometimes impossible to complete your studies in a short space of time as your work has to be marked and checked. More importantly the examination boards have cut off times which are not flexible. See the AQA website for further information.

Q: Will I receive UCAS points on completion of this course?
A: Yes all of our A Levels carry UCAS points. The number of points awarded will depend on the grade you achieve.

Q: I still have questions? / I would like more information?
A:  If you require more information please do not hesitate to contact Start Learning via email: info@start-learning.co.uk or call us on 0800 074 1222 or 0141 218 4424.

We look forward to hearing from you.