WJEC Eduqas GCSE Sociology sample

What is sociology? In simple terms, sociology is about studying society and social behaviour. A society is a group of people who share a common territory and culture and who interact with each other. Society Example Imagine you are stranded on a desert island with 20 other people and no hope of getting off the island or of rescue and you have to get on with living on the island. The most basic needs for people are food, water and shelter and these needs will be your first priority. You will soon find that, if you cooperate with each other, you will be able to achieve what you want with greater success and more efficiency. This is the beginning of a society. When these basic needs are met, you might begin to think about other human needs and how you are going to run your ‘society’. Who is going to make the rules and how? (Political system.) Will you need a system to punish those who break the rules and to keep others safe? (Law and order.) How will you make sure the society continues? (Family.) How will you teach each other and any children skills? (Education.) Theory Sociologists would want to study your society. They would be interested in everything about that society: the systems you set up; how decisions were made; who had power ; the relationships and interactions between people; and so on. Sociologists ask many questions and form ideas about what they see. These ideas, or systems of ideas, that are intended to explain something, are theories. You will soon find out that sociologists, and groups of sociologists, have different ideas and theories about what is going on in society. Example As budding sociologists, you might study the classroom you are sitting in. You might never have questioned what goes on in the classroom and merely see it as a room where teachers teach their students. Sociologists will question everything about the classroom. Who has power? What are the rules? Who made the rules? Do the students cooperate or rebel? Who gets the teacher’s attention? What is the interaction between teacher and students? Key concepts and processes of cultural transmission 8 Chapter 1 WHAT AM I GOING TO LEARN? To explore what sociology is about. Starter ... Discuss with the person sitting next to you (or as a class) what types of system and society they would set up if they were stranded on a desert island with other people. SPOTLIGHT: A sociologist wants to find out what is going on in a school playground. What do you think is the best way to do this? METHODS Imagine how people stranded on a desert island would form a society.