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Families

4 dot points across 4 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How and why have patterns of marriage, divorce and family life changed?

The changing patterns of family life in the UK: falling marriage and rising cohabitation, rising divorce and the reasons for it, and the growth of lone parent and reconstituted families.
A focused answer on changing family patterns for WJEC GCSE Sociology: falling marriage, rising cohabitation, rising divorce and its causes, and the growth of lone parent and reconstituted families.
14 min answer →

What different types of family exist in the UK and around the world?

The definitions of family and household, the main family types in the UK including nuclear, extended, reconstituted, lone parent, same sex, cohabiting and beanpole families, and family diversity within a global context.
A focused answer on family types and diversity for WJEC GCSE Sociology: the definitions of family and household, nuclear, extended, reconstituted, lone parent, same sex, cohabiting and beanpole families, and global family forms.
14 min answer →

What does the family do for society, and how do sociologists view it?

The functions the family performs for individuals and society, and the contrasting functionalist, Marxist and feminist perspectives on the role of the family.
A focused answer on the functions of the family and sociological perspectives for WJEC GCSE Sociology: what the family does for society, and the functionalist, Marxist and feminist views of the family.
14 min answer →

How have the roles of parents and children within the family changed?

The changing roles and relationships within the family: conjugal roles and the domestic division of labour, whether roles are becoming more equal, and the changing position of children and family leisure time.
A focused answer on roles and relationships in the family for WJEC GCSE Sociology: conjugal roles, the domestic division of labour, whether roles are becoming more equal, and the changing position of children.
14 min answer →