AQA A-level Sociology Revision 2022
Paper 1 Paper 2
Education & Theory & Methods Topics in Sociology: Families & Households
4,6,10,30,20,10 10,10,20
Highlight each bullet point once your revision notes are in place.
30 mark Q 20 mark Q
Social Policy Theories of the Family
• 1944- tripartite system and 1965 comprehensive system • Functionalism
• 1979- new vocationalism • Marxism
• 1988- Education Reform Act- marketization policies • Feminism
• 1997- Blair era • New Right
• 2010 onwards- Cameron policies • Postmodernism
• The privatization and globalization of education i.e. cola-isation • The personal life perspective
of schools Social Policy
• Key themes- Reducing/ reproducing inequality (Class, gender, • Cross cultural family policies
ethnicity), promoting choice and competition, promoting • Policies that have promoted diversity or promoted the
diversity, preparing for the future workforce/benefitting the traditional nuclear family.
economy. • Theoretical views of social policy: Functionalism, feminism,
social democrat perspective, new right, postmodernism,
4 mark, 6 mark and 10 mark Qs personal life perspective, Donzelot (surveillance)
Theories of Education
• Functionalism 10 mark Q
• Marxism
• Feminism
Family diversity
• New Right • Knowledge of trends, reasons and consequences for the
changing patterns in:
• Postmodernism
• Marriage
• Action Theories
• Divorce
Differential Achievement • Same sex relationships
• Social class- in school and out of school factors, class identity • Cohabitation
and subject choice • One person households
• Gender- in school and out of school factors, gender identity and • Single parent families
subject choice. • Theories of diversity: Functionalism, strands of feminism,
• Ethnicity- in school and out of school factors, ethnic identity. social democrat perspective, new right, postmodernism,
personal life perspective
MIC 20 mark Q Demography
Methods in Context • Knowledge of trends, reasons and consequences for the
• Understand the strengths and limitations of the following changing patterns in:
methods: Questionnaires, types of interviews, types of • Death rate
observations, types of experiments, types of statistics, • Birth rate
personal, public and historical documents. • Migration patterns (link to globalisation)
• Considering the methods, understand the possible strengths • Understanding of the dependency ratio, fertility rate and
and limitations of studying the following groups: pupils, infant morality rate, ageing population
teachers, parents, classrooms, schools. Childhood
• Possible topics for research: Labelling, language codes, • History of childhood from medieval times to present
attitudes and values, subject choice, school subcultures, • Reasons for changes in childhood
parental attitudes etc. • March of progress vs. conflict view of childhood
10 mark Q • The disappearance of childhood
Methods, Theory and Debates (see Paper 3 as well Couples
for these two topics) • Roles in the family: Are they equal or unequal?
• Define key concepts: reliability, validity, verstehen, • Relationships in the family: Are they equal or unequal?
representativeness, objectivity, subjectivity etc. • Theoretical views of roles and relationships: Functionalism,
• Understanding of positivism and interpretivism. feminism, postmodernism, personal life perspective.
• Understanding of practical, ethical and theoretical issues in
relation to all research methods.
• Understand the reasons for triangulation, pilot studies
• Explain the different types of sampling techniques i.e. random,
stratified, systematic, snowball sampling.
Remember you must be able to demonstrate the following in all exams:
• AO1: Knowledge and Understanding (Have the knowledge and explain what it means)
• AO2: Interpretation and application (Selecting the right information for the question and applying your knowledge to directly answer the question)
• AO3: Analysis and evaluation (Is it as it seems? Strength and limitations)
Paper 1 Paper 2
Education & Theory & Methods Topics in Sociology: Families & Households
4,6,10,30,20,10 10,10,20
Highlight each bullet point once your revision notes are in place.
30 mark Q 20 mark Q
Social Policy Theories of the Family
• 1944- tripartite system and 1965 comprehensive system • Functionalism
• 1979- new vocationalism • Marxism
• 1988- Education Reform Act- marketization policies • Feminism
• 1997- Blair era • New Right
• 2010 onwards- Cameron policies • Postmodernism
• The privatization and globalization of education i.e. cola-isation • The personal life perspective
of schools Social Policy
• Key themes- Reducing/ reproducing inequality (Class, gender, • Cross cultural family policies
ethnicity), promoting choice and competition, promoting • Policies that have promoted diversity or promoted the
diversity, preparing for the future workforce/benefitting the traditional nuclear family.
economy. • Theoretical views of social policy: Functionalism, feminism,
social democrat perspective, new right, postmodernism,
4 mark, 6 mark and 10 mark Qs personal life perspective, Donzelot (surveillance)
Theories of Education
• Functionalism 10 mark Q
• Marxism
• Feminism
Family diversity
• New Right • Knowledge of trends, reasons and consequences for the
changing patterns in:
• Postmodernism
• Marriage
• Action Theories
• Divorce
Differential Achievement • Same sex relationships
• Social class- in school and out of school factors, class identity • Cohabitation
and subject choice • One person households
• Gender- in school and out of school factors, gender identity and • Single parent families
subject choice. • Theories of diversity: Functionalism, strands of feminism,
• Ethnicity- in school and out of school factors, ethnic identity. social democrat perspective, new right, postmodernism,
personal life perspective
MIC 20 mark Q Demography
Methods in Context • Knowledge of trends, reasons and consequences for the
• Understand the strengths and limitations of the following changing patterns in:
methods: Questionnaires, types of interviews, types of • Death rate
observations, types of experiments, types of statistics, • Birth rate
personal, public and historical documents. • Migration patterns (link to globalisation)
• Considering the methods, understand the possible strengths • Understanding of the dependency ratio, fertility rate and
and limitations of studying the following groups: pupils, infant morality rate, ageing population
teachers, parents, classrooms, schools. Childhood
• Possible topics for research: Labelling, language codes, • History of childhood from medieval times to present
attitudes and values, subject choice, school subcultures, • Reasons for changes in childhood
parental attitudes etc. • March of progress vs. conflict view of childhood
10 mark Q • The disappearance of childhood
Methods, Theory and Debates (see Paper 3 as well Couples
for these two topics) • Roles in the family: Are they equal or unequal?
• Define key concepts: reliability, validity, verstehen, • Relationships in the family: Are they equal or unequal?
representativeness, objectivity, subjectivity etc. • Theoretical views of roles and relationships: Functionalism,
• Understanding of positivism and interpretivism. feminism, postmodernism, personal life perspective.
• Understanding of practical, ethical and theoretical issues in
relation to all research methods.
• Understand the reasons for triangulation, pilot studies
• Explain the different types of sampling techniques i.e. random,
stratified, systematic, snowball sampling.
Remember you must be able to demonstrate the following in all exams:
• AO1: Knowledge and Understanding (Have the knowledge and explain what it means)
• AO2: Interpretation and application (Selecting the right information for the question and applying your knowledge to directly answer the question)
• AO3: Analysis and evaluation (Is it as it seems? Strength and limitations)
