Explore
A-LevelAQA
Sociology
Exam Questions
Meaning of “role” and “function” in sociology of educationNewEducation and socialisation into shared valuesNewDurkheim: social solidarity and specialist skillsNewParsons: meritocracy and role allocationNewFunctionalism: bridge from family to wider societyNewNew Right: market principles and standards in educationNewNeoliberalism: competition, choice and performanceNewMarxism: education and class inequalityNewAlthusser: ideological state apparatus and legitimationNewBowles and Gintis: correspondence principleNewWillis: counter-school culture and class reproductionNewFeminist views on gendered socialisation in schoolsNewCultural capital and educational advantageNewMaterial deprivation and educational outcomesNewClass identity, aspirations and achievementNewGendered subject choice and achievement patternsNewTeacher expectations and gendered interactionsNewEthnicity, language and educational outcomesNewInstitutional racism and ethnocentric curriculumNewIntersectionality in achievement patternsNewSetting, streaming and banding: grouping and outcomesNewLabelling and the self-fulfilling prophecyNewPupil identities and pro-school/anti-school subculturesNewHidden curriculum: norms, values and complianceNewSchool organisation: rules, hierarchies and ethosNewSchool policies and exclusion: who is disadvantaged?NewSelection by ability: policies and consequencesNewMarketisation: league tables, choice and competitionNewPrivatisation: outsourcing and profit motivesNewPolicies to reduce inequality: aims and limitationsNewPolicy outcomes for class, gender and ethnicity groupsNewGlobalisation and education policy: pressures and reformsNewUsing contemporary evidence to evaluate education theoriesNew
What “methods in context” questions require (AQA)NewTurning an education issue into aims and hypothesesNewChoosing qualitative vs quantitative approaches in educationNewOperationalising concepts (achievement, identity, subculture)NewSampling pupils, teachers, parents: access and representationNewEthics in school research: consent, power and safeguardingNewPractical barriers: permissions, time and gatekeepersNewQuestionnaires: designing closed and open questionsNewReliability vs validity in pupil questionnairesNewInterviews: structured, semi-structured, unstructuredNewRapport, power imbalance and leading questions in interviewsNewObservations: participant vs non-participant in schoolsNewOvert vs covert observation in education settingsNewHawthorne effect and observer bias in classroomsNewExperiments: lab, field and natural experiments in educationNewDocuments: policies, reports and school recordsNewOfficial statistics: strengths, limits and interpretationNewTriangulation: combining methods for stronger findingsNewWriting evaluations in context: theory, practical and ethical issuesNew
Sociology vs common-sense explanationsNewQuantitative data: meaning and usesNewQualitative data: meaning and usesNewPrimary vs secondary data: strengths and limitsNewResearch design: aims, hypotheses and variablesNewPilot studies and improving research instrumentsNewSampling: random, stratified, systematic methodsNewSampling: quota, snowball, opportunity methodsNewRepresentativeness and sampling biasNewReliability and how sociologists improve itNewValidity and how sociologists improve itNewGeneralisability: when findings apply more widelyNewObjectivity and risk of researcher biasNewQuestionnaires: pros, cons and evaluationNewStructured interviews: strengths, limits and topicsNewUnstructured interviews: depth, meanings and evaluationNewParticipant observation: access, insight and ethicsNewNon-participant observation: detachment and practical issuesNewExperiments: control, causality and ethical constraintsNewDocuments: personal vs official documentsNewOfficial statistics: trends and social construction issuesNewPositivism: social facts and scientific approachesNewInterpretivism: meanings, verstehen and social actionNewSocial facts and their impact on method choiceNewTheoretical considerations when choosing a methodNewPractical issues: time, cost, access and skillsNewEthical issues: consent, harm, deception, confidentialityNewConsensus theories: order and shared valuesNewConflict theories: power, inequality and competing interestsNewStructural theories: institutions shaping behaviourNewSocial action theories: meanings and interactionNewModernity: key features and social changeNewPostmodernity: identity and scepticism of meta-narrativesNewCan sociology be scientific? arguments for and againstNewRelationship between theory and methodsNewSubjectivity vs objectivity in researchNewValue freedom: meaning and possibilityNewSociology and social policy: research influencing decisionsNewSocial policy problems: funding, bias and political agendasNewUsing theory and methods to evaluate evidence in essaysNew
Defining crime: legal definitions and limitsNewDefining deviance: norms, values and social contextNewSocial order: why societies need rules and complianceNewSocial control: informal and formal mechanismsNewFunctionalist explanations of crime and devianceNewDurkheim: anomie and functions of crimeNewMerton: strain theory and adaptation typesNewMarxism: capitalism, class power and crimeNewNeo-Marxism: hegemony, resistance and crimeNewInteractionism: labelling, stigma and moral careersNewBecker: labelling and rule enforcersNewLemert: primary and secondary devianceNewRealism: right realism and social controlNewLeft realism: relative deprivation and marginalisationNewFeminist theories of crime: gender and patriarchyNewPostmodern views: media, consumerism and identityNewMeasuring crime: official stats and the dark figureNewVictimisation surveys: strengths and limitsNewSelf-report studies: strengths and limitsNewTrends in crime: interpreting change over timeNew
Class and crime: patterns and explanationsNewGender and crime: patterns and explanationsNewEthnicity and crime: patterns and explanationsNewYouth crime: patterns and explanationsNewVictimisation by class, gender and ethnicityNewMedia amplification and public fear of crimeNewCrime data bias: policing, reporting and recordingNewOver-representation: structural vs cultural explanationsNewIntersectionality in offending and victimisationNew
Globalisation and new opportunities for crimeNewTransnational crime: trafficking, drugs and organised networksNewCybercrime and global digital networksNewGlobal inequality and crime: exploitation and profitNewMedia representations of crime and criminalsNewNews values and constructed crime storiesNewMoral panics: folk devils and amplificationNewGreen crime: defining environmental harmNewGreen crime types: pollution, depletion, species harmNewGreen crime: power and denial in defining harmNewHuman rights: defining rights and abusesNewState crime: why states break rulesNewCrimes of the powerful: corporate and state harmNewNeutralisation and state justification narrativesNewGlobal governance and limits of enforcementNew
Aims of punishment: retribution, deterrence, rehab, protectionNewFormal agencies: police, courts, prisons and probationNewPolicing: community policing vs zero toleranceNewSurveillance: CCTV, data and monitoringNew“Surveillance society” and social controlNewSituational prevention: target hardening and designNewPunishment and inequality: who is punished and howNewPrison: functions, effectiveness and alternativesNewRehabilitation vs punishment debatesNewVictims: typologies and victim blamingNewVictim support and restorative justiceNewEvaluate the criminal justice system using evidenceNew
What culture means in sociologyNewSubculture and how subcultures formNewFolk culture and traditionsNewMass culture and standardisationNewHigh culture vs popular cultureNewGlobal culture and cultural hybridityNewSocialisation as a life-long processNewPrimary vs secondary socialisationNewMain agencies of socialisationNewHow socialisation shapes identityNewThe self: identity as socially constructedNewIdentity and difference: labelling and categorisationNewAge and identity: youth and ageingNewDisability and identity: stigma and social barriersNewEthnicity and identity: belonging and racismNewGender identity: femininities and masculinitiesNewNational identity and global influencesNewSexuality and identity: norms and changeNewSocial class and identity: lifestyle and statusNewIdentity and production: work and role identitiesNewIdentity and consumption: brands, taste and lifestyleNewGlobalisation and identity: choice, hybridity and tensionNew
Families, households and diversity: key definitionsNewFamily and economy: how work shapes family lifeNewState and families: policy shaping family patternsNewSocial change and family change: key driversNewMarriage trends and explanationsNewCohabitation trends and explanationsNewSeparation and divorce trends and explanationsNewChildbearing patterns and explanationsNewLife course: family experiences over timeNewSociology of personal life and intimacyNewFamily diversity: lone parent, reconstituted, same-sex, extendedNewGender roles in the family: change and continuityNewDomestic labour: measuring and explaining inequalityNewPower in families: decision-making and controlNewChildhood as a social constructionNewChanging status of children over timeNewBirth rates since 1900: trends and explanationsNewDeath rates and life expectancy since 1900NewAgeing population: causes and consequencesNewMigration and family patternsNewGlobalisation and family life in the UKNew
Social construction of health and illnessNewDisability: social model vs medical modelNewBody: social meanings and regulationNewBiomedical vs social models of health and illnessNewClass inequalities in health chancesNewGender inequalities in health chancesNewEthnic inequalities in health chancesNewRegional inequalities in health chancesNewMeasuring health inequalities: data and interpretationNewAccess to healthcare: barriers and inequalitiesNewHealthcare provision: variation and rationingNewNHS role and contemporary pressuresNewMental illness: definitions and labellingNewSocial distribution of mental illnessNewMedicalisation: normal life turned into illnessNewMedical profession: power and controlNewHealth professions and division of labourNewGlobalised health industry: pharma and private providersNewGlobalisation and health risks: pandemics, lifestyle, marketsNewEvaluate explanations for inequalities using evidenceNew
Poverty: absolute vs relative definitionsNewMeasuring poverty: strengths and indicator limitsNewWhy poverty persists in the UKNewPoverty distribution: class, gender, ethnicity and ageNewWealth inequality vs income inequalityNewSociological explanations of wealth inequalityNewState responses: welfare policies and debatesNewPrivate and voluntary welfare: charities and NGOsNewInformal welfare: family, community and care networksNewLabour process: how work is organisedNewDivision of labour: skilled vs unskilled workNewTechnology and work: automation and controlNewSkill change: de-skilling and re-skillingNewManagerial control and worker resistanceNewWorklessness: who is affected and whyNewWorklessness and life chancesNewGlobalisation and labour marketsNewPrecarious work and the gig economyNewEvaluate poverty solutions: effectiveness and consequencesNew
Ideology: what it means in sociologyNewReligion, science and belief: key distinctionsNewChristian traditions in the UK: key featuresNewNon-Christian traditions: diversity and changeNewSocial change and religion: why beliefs shiftNewSocial stability and religion: integration and controlNewReligious organisations: churches and denominationsNewReligious organisations: sects and cultsNewNew Age movements and spiritual marketsNewExplaining sect growth and conversionNewReligiosity patterns: social classNewReligiosity patterns: genderNewReligiosity patterns: ethnicityNewReligiosity patterns: ageNewReligion today: changing significanceNewSecularisation in the UK: evidence and debateNewGlobal secularisation vs global religion trendsNewGlobalisation and spread of religionsNewFundamentalism and modern societyNewEvaluate evidence on belief, practice and belongingNew
Development: definitions and measurementNewUnderdevelopment: meaning and causesNewGlobal inequality: patterns and explanationsNewModernisation theories of developmentNewDependency and world-systems approachesNewGlobalisation: development winners and losersNewCultural globalisation and developmentNewPolitical globalisation and developmentNewEconomic globalisation and developmentNewTNCs and development strategiesNewInternational agencies: roles and influenceNewNGOs: strengths, limits and accountabilityNewAid and development: types and criticismsNewTrade, debt and developmentNewIndustrialisation and development pathsNewUrbanisation: opportunities and problemsNewDevelopment and environment: sustainability debatesNewWar, conflict and development setbacksNewEmployment as a development indicatorNewEducation and developmentNewHealth and developmentNewDemographic change and developmentNewGender and development: inequality and empowermentNew
New media: what’s different about digital mediaNewMedia and social change todayNewOwnership and control: why it mattersNewConcentration of ownership and media powerNewPublic service vs commercial modelsNewMedia globalisation and cultural flowsNewPopular culture: creation and consumptionNewNews selection: gatekeeping and news valuesNewNews presentation: framing and agenda settingNewMedia bias: political and ideological influenceNewMedia representations of ageNewMedia representations of social classNewMedia representations of ethnicityNewMedia representations of genderNewMedia representations of sexualityNewMedia representations of disabilityNewAudiences: passive vs active theoriesNewUses and gratifications: why audiences choose mediaNewMedia effects debates: violence, fear, social attitudesNewInterpret media evidence critically in essaysNew
Stratification vs differentiation: key distinctionNewSocial class: different ways to define itNewMeasuring class: occupation and its limitsNewGender stratification: patterns and explanationsNewEthnic stratification: patterns and explanationsNewAge stratification: patterns and explanationsNewDisability and life chances: barriers and inequalityNewClass, status and power: differencesNewLife chances: meaning and how they’re shapedNewProblems measuring class in a changing economyNewGender and social class: overlapping inequalitiesNewChanges in inequality structures over timeNewGlobalisation and inequality: changing patternsNewTransnational capitalist class and global elitesNewSocial mobility: absolute vs relative mobilityNewSocial mobility patterns in the UKNewExplanations for mobility and immobilityNewMobility significance for life chancesNewEvaluate evidence on inequality and mobilityNew
