← Sociology syllabus

EnglandSociology

Families and Households

6 dot points across 6 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

Is childhood a natural stage of life or a social construction that varies across time and place?

The nature of childhood and changes in the status of children, the social construction of childhood, the march of progress versus conflict view, and debates about whether childhood is disappearing.
A focused answer to the AQA A-Level Sociology Families topic on childhood, covering the social construction of childhood, cross-cultural and historical variation, the march of progress versus conflict views, and debates about the disappearance of childhood.
12 min answer →

How equal are couples in their division of domestic labour, money and power?

The domestic division of labour, including the symmetrical family debate, the dual burden and triple shift, decision-making and control of money, and domestic violence within couple relationships.
A focused answer to the AQA A-Level Sociology Families topic on couples, covering the domestic division of labour, the symmetrical family debate, the dual burden and triple shift, decision-making, control of money and domestic violence.
12 min answer →

How have changes in birth rates, death rates, migration and the age structure reshaped families?

Demographic trends in the UK since 1900, including changes in birth rates, death rates, family size, life expectancy, the ageing population and migration, and their effects on family and household structure.
A focused answer to the AQA A-Level Sociology Families topic on demography, covering changes in birth and death rates, family size, life expectancy, the ageing population, migration and globalisation, and their effects on family structure.
12 min answer →

How does the family relate to wider social change, and what do different perspectives say it is for?

The relationship of the family to the social structure and social change, including functionalist, Marxist, feminist, New Right and personal-life perspectives on the family and industrialisation.
A focused answer to the AQA A-Level Sociology Families topic on family and social change, covering functionalist, Marxist, feminist, New Right and personal-life perspectives, and the relationship between family structure and industrialisation.
12 min answer →

Is there one dominant family type, or has family life become increasingly diverse?

Changing patterns of marriage, cohabitation, separation, divorce, childbearing and the life course, family diversity, and the increasing variety of household and family structures.
A focused answer to the AQA A-Level Sociology Families topic on diversity, covering changing patterns of marriage, divorce, cohabitation and childbearing, types of family diversity (Rapoports), and modernist versus postmodernist views.
12 min answer →

How do government policies and laws shape family life, and whose interests do they serve?

The nature and extent of changes within the family, and the impact of social policy and laws on family structure, gender roles and the balance of power within families.
A focused answer to the AQA A-Level Sociology Families topic on social policy, covering functionalist, New Right, feminist and Marxist views of family policy, and examples from divorce law, benefits and parental leave.
12 min answer →