A Level Sociology - why should I study this subject?

September 1, 2017

“Until one is suddenly brought up against an insight that radically questions everything one had previously assumed about this familiar scene. This is the exact point at which one begins to sense the excitement of sociology” – Peter L. Berger.

Do you ever wonder why social issues such as crime, poverty and prejudice exist? It’s difficult to understand why the human race hasn’t managed to eradicate these issues after all this time. During your A Level Sociology course you will study the development of modern day human society. It explores our identities, and the cultural issues that affect us all. It's a broad subject, but the knowledge you will gain is valuable in a variety of careers.

Insight into social issues

Studying A Level Sociology will give you a perspective on different sociological concepts whilst giving you an insight into important social issues.

Looking at the links between poverty, welfare, nature, and health, you will learn to understand the importance of social structure when tackling social problems.

By focusing on culture, identity, and socialisation or social differentiation, stratification, and power, you will gain an awareness of contemporary UK society.

This is what you will look at during your AQA A Level Sociology course:

• Education
• Crime and deviance
• Culture and identity
• Families and households
• Health
• Work, poverty, and welfare
• Beliefs in society
• Global development
• The media
• Stratification and differentiation

Transferable skills

Studying sociology will put you in good stead to work in the industry in the future, but it will also give you desirable skills that can be transferred to lots of different fields.

As an essay-based subject, your communication, argument-building, and analysis skills will grow, but they’re not the only ones. Here are a few more skills you will gain:

• Evaluating evidence
• Considering different viewpoints
• Forming reasoned arguments
• Problem-solving
• Creative thinking
• Written and oral communication skills
• Ability to plan, organise, and carry out a complex research project

Career opportunities

Sociology is a great starting point to go on and study a social science degree at university, like Psychology, philosophy, criminology, and sociology, of course.

With the skills gained from studying sociology, you will be able to thrive both in the workplace and further study.

Opportunities in both the public and private sectors can be created with a sociology degree, whether that’s in a certain area of sociology or an advanced study in the field, there are many different paths you can go down.

Here are a few job roles within the industry:

• Sociologist: A sociologist will observe the activity of social, political, religious, and economic groups to study human behaviour, interaction, and organisation. They will also examine the effect of social influences.
• Research analyst: A research analyst will plan and embark on research projects to a number of social issues and then report their findings.
• Social worker: Working with people to find solutions to their problems, social workers help a range of vulnerable people. Whether that be protecting them from abuse or harm or supporting people to live independently.
• Policy analyst: Using research findings, policy analysts will investigate current and potential policies to propose solutions to social issues.
• Community development worker: By acting as a link between communities and a range of other local authorities, a community development worker will help individuals, families, or whole communities to improve the quality of life in the local area by bringing about social change.

Broad perspective

Those who study the subject become aware of the different classifications in society and the discrimination that often follows.

The course brings the awareness of differences in economic status, ethnicity and race, educational level, and gender and sexual orientation.

Sociology is said to teach people how to live and work in a diverse and integrated world.

Personal growth

By studying sociology, you will not only expand your knowledge of the subject, but it will also help you grow as a person.

It encourages people to ask different questions, usually better, more specific ones, about topics like hardships and social issues to organise their thoughts and find better answers and solutions.

Due to being shaped by society, studying sociology allows you to have a better understanding of how society shapes us, therefore allowing us to deal with different situations better.

It can make you more confident of how you do in your life, as well as teaching us to respect each individual person as well as their race, religion, culture, and attitude.

Interested in studying our A Level Sociology course? Enrol today and embark on a sociology journey.