Download Sociology Transition Task 2016 DOCX File

YEAR 11 INTO 12 SUMMER TRANSITION TASK 2016
Subject: Sociology
Qualification/Level: A ‘level
Examination Board: AQA
The following task/ tasks are to be completed in time for
your first lesson.
The Task
To complete one of the two essays based on an issue within the family or education unit.
Practical Work
Independent research – library or the internet.
How the work produced will fit into subsequent work and the specification as
a whole
Either choose the family question, it will fit with unit 1, or question 2 as it will fit in with unit 2.
How the work should be presented
Work to be word processed.
How the work will be assessed and marked
The answer with be out of 20 marks and assessed in relation to the A’level skills.
Success criteria
You will need to follow the instructions with each question and follow the essay writing
template.
Resources to be used
Internet, text books, possibly newspapers/journals etc.
Useful websites: - given on the instruction sheet.
Who to contact if you should require further assistance with the work before
the end of term
Mr J Pearson – [email protected]
What equipment will be needed for the subject?
A4 folder/s, lined paper, general stationery (pens, pencils etc.) and a memory
stick would be useful
The task is now on the following pages…
SOCIOLOGY INDUCTION TASK
The aim of this assignment is to give you a taste of what sociology is like and what skills you
need in order to do well.
You need to choose one option and write an essay of between 750 – 1000 words.
OPTION 1: Is the ‘nuclear’ family universal?
Murdock (1949) a sociologist studied 250 societies and came to the conclusion that the
family is universal .i.e. that it exists in every society. This is his definition of the family.
“The family is a social group characterised by common residence, economic cooperation and
reproduction. It includes adults of both sexes, at least two of whom maintain a socially
approved sexual relationship and one or more children, own or adopted of the sexually
cohabiting adults.”
In order to answer the question above consider
1. What type of family structures exist in Britain today and also examine alternative family
types – the Nayar society; The Kibbutz; The Oneida Community; West Indian Matrifocal
families; Asian families; Gay families.
2. See how similar or different these families are to Murdock’s definition.
OPTION TWO: How does poverty affect how well children do in schools?
There is a lot of data that tells us that children from lower social classes do not do as well as
those from wealthier background.
In order to answer the question above consider:
1) What does poverty mean?
2) How would this affect children’s learning?
3) Compare children from say an inner city school ( a deprived area) and a private
school (google Eton College).
4) Look at the Every Child Matters documentation.
The Dfees website and Joseph Rowntree website would be useful here.
Essay guidelines:
Structure:
Introduction – what is the question asking you to do; what do you have to consider.
Main body – Paragraphs should be organised by each piece of evidence (include facts,
trends, studies, sources). Make sure you comment on the value of evidence.
Conclusion – based on your evidence answer the question. What led you to the conclusion?
Was there any evidence that was most convincing? Why? What further information would be
useful to include.
RESEARCH TIPS:
These websites should be useful:
www.tes.co.uk
Times Educational Supplement. The
weekly education paper. Very useful
for first year AS level Sociology .
www.scpr.ac.uk
Social and Community Planning
Research. Access to questionnaires
used in major research projects in the
UK such as the British Social
Attitiudes Survey.
www.jrf.org.uk
Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Fantastic for Social Policy / Welfare
issues.
www.sosig.ac.uk
Social Science Information Gateway
for Sociologists. One of the
important sites. This will get you
started on hunting down the
information you need.
www.sociology.org.uk
Sociology Central. Designed for ALevel students, but also useful for
others. Offers downloadable
resources.
www.hewett.norfolk.sch.uk/
Hewett School, Norfolk. Contains
material for GCSE and A-Level
studies. You can e-mail students there
following the same course as you.
www.Socioweb.com/~markbl/socioweb/
Socioweb. Access to new resources in
sociology and links to other sites.
www.mcmaster.ca/socsidocs/w3virtspclib/socnet.htm
Socnet. Massive resource centre for
world links relevant to Sociology.
www.Raven.jmu.edu/~ridenelr/dss/index.html
Dead Sociologists Society. Detailed
info about some of the key thinkers in
sociology.
www.angelfire.com/ma/Socialworld/Sociology.html
Social World: Sociology. Has
extensive links to sites of interest to
Sociologists.
www.socresonline.org.uk
Sociological Research Online.
Electronic Journal of the British
Sociological Association.
www.open.gov.uk
British Governement Site. Huge
source of up to date material but you
will have to be specific with your
searches.
www.le.ac.uk/education/centres/ATSS/atss.html
Association for the Teaching of
Social Sciences. Many excellent links
to good Sociology sites.
www.ace.org.uk
Age Concern. A useful site for
information on the elderly.
www.Dfee.gov.uk
The Department for Education site.
Lots of educational material , ideal for
AS/A level Sociology.
www.bbc.co.uk
BBC Online site. Huge site that may
require careful searching.