Wales Β· WJECSyllabus
Sociology syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the Wales Sociologysyllabus, with a focused answer for each one. Click any dot point for a worked explainer, past exam questions, and links to related dot points. Written by Claude Opus 4.8, Anthropic's latest AI.
Methods of Sociological Enquiry
Module overview β- How do you read a research scenario, design a sound study, justify your methodological choices, and evaluate a piece of sociological research?Designing and evaluating research (Component 2): applying methodological knowledge to a research scenario; designing a study and justifying the choice of method and sample; the relationship between theory, methods and topic; and evaluating the strengths, limitations and ethics of a piece of research.14 min answer β
- What methods do sociologists use to study society, what shapes their choice, and how do validity, reliability, representativeness and ethics judge the quality of research?Methods of sociological enquiry (Component 2): primary and secondary methods (questionnaires, interviews, observation, experiments, official statistics, documents); quantitative and qualitative data; positivist and interpretivist approaches; sampling; and the key concepts for evaluating research (validity, reliability, representativeness and ethics).15 min answer β
Power and Stratification
Module overview β- How do sociologists explain crime and deviance, why do official statistics show patterns by class, gender, ethnicity and age, and how is crime controlled?Crime and deviance (Component 3, Section B option): defining crime and deviance; theories of crime (functionalist and strain, subcultural, Marxist, interactionist and labelling, realist, feminist); the social distribution of crime by class, gender, ethnicity and age; the problems of measuring crime; and crime control, punishment and social order.16 min answer β
- How are health, illness and disability socially constructed, why do health inequalities follow class, gender and ethnicity, and how is power exercised through medicine?Health and disability (Component 3, Section B option): the social construction of health, illness and disability; the biomedical and social models; inequalities in health and life expectancy by class, gender, ethnicity and region; the medical and social models of disability; the power of the medical profession; and sociological perspectives on health.15 min answer β
- How is power distributed in society, what shapes voting and political participation, and how do social movements and the state exercise and challenge power?Politics (Component 3, Section B option): defining power, authority and the state; theories of the distribution of power (pluralism, Marxism, elite theory, feminism); voting behaviour and the social bases of party support; political participation, parties, pressure groups and new social movements; and ideology and power.14 min answer β
- How is society stratified by class, gender, ethnicity and age, how do sociologists explain inequality, and is the class structure changing?Social differentiation and stratification (Component 3, Section A): systems of stratification; dimensions of inequality (social class, gender, ethnicity and age); theories of stratification (functionalist, Marxist, Weberian and feminist); social mobility and life chances; and the changing class structure.15 min answer β
- How do sociologists explain global inequality and development, what role do aid, trade and transnational corporations play, and how does globalisation reshape power?World sociology (Component 3, Section B option): defining development and global inequality; theories of development (modernisation, dependency, world-systems, neoliberal); the role of aid, trade, transnational corporations and global institutions; globalisation and its consequences; and gender, the environment and development.15 min answer β
Socialisation and Culture
Module overview β- What is the role of education in society, what explains differences in achievement by class, gender and ethnicity, and how do sociologists interpret the experience of schooling?Education (Component 1, Section C option): the role and functions of education; differential educational achievement by social class, gender and ethnicity (home and school factors); processes within schools (labelling, the hidden curriculum, subcultures); educational policy; and perspectives on education (functionalist, Marxist, feminist, interactionist, New Right).15 min answer β
- How and why have family forms, relationships and households in England and Wales changed, and how do sociological perspectives explain the family?Families and households (Component 1, Section B option): family forms and family diversity in England and Wales; demographic change (marriage, divorce, cohabitation, fertility, life expectancy, singlehood); relationships, roles and power within families; childhood; and perspectives on the family (functionalist, Marxist, feminist, postmodernist, New Right).15 min answer β
- Who controls the media, how are social groups represented, what effects do the media have on audiences, and how has new media changed society?Mass media (Component 1, Section C option): ownership and control of the media; the selection and presentation of news (agenda setting, gatekeeping, moral panics); representations of class, gender, ethnicity and age; media effects and models of the audience; new media and the digital age; and perspectives on the media.14 min answer β
- Does religion support or challenge social order, why do religious organisations and movements form, who is religious, and is society becoming secular?Religion (Component 1, Section C option): the role and functions of religion (conservative force versus force for change); types of religious organisation (church, sect, denomination, cult, new religious and new age movements); religiosity by social group (class, gender, ethnicity, age); the secularisation debate; and perspectives on religion.14 min answer β
- How do culture, socialisation and the agencies of social control shape who we become, and how do sociologists explain the acquisition of identity?Key concepts and processes of cultural transmission (Component 1, Section A): culture, norms, values, roles and status; the nature versus nurture debate; primary and secondary socialisation; agencies of socialisation and social control; and the acquisition of identity by class, gender, ethnicity, age and nationality.14 min answer β
- What are the main sociological perspectives, and how do functionalism, Marxism, feminism, interactionism, postmodernism and the New Right each explain society?The main sociological perspectives applied across all components: functionalism (consensus, value consensus), Marxism (class conflict, ideology), feminism (patriarchy, its strands), interactionism (meanings, labelling), postmodernism (diversity, choice) and the New Right; structure versus action and consensus versus conflict.14 min answer β
- What is youth as a social construction, why do youth subcultures form, and how do sociologists explain young people's deviance, leisure and resistance?Youth cultures (Component 1, Section B option): youth as a social construction; the emergence of youth and youth subcultures; spectacular and other subcultures; class, gender and ethnic dimensions of youth culture; youth, deviance and the media (moral panics); and perspectives on youth subcultures.14 min answer β