Social Sciences
Curriculum Intent
Social Sciences aim to study the way humans live, behave, relate to each other and experience the world by using a scientific approach to gathering and interpreting information.
Psychology teaches students to reflect on how we experience the world around us, solve problems, and process our emotions. Students will learn about the value of experiments and statistics as well as observations and surveys.
Sociology teaches students to explore the social world, reflecting on ethics, politics, trends, and government policies. Students will learn about the debates going on concerning power, poverty, freedom, and upbringing.
Curriculum Rationale
Sociology and Psychology are both social sciences. They aim to study human beings and how they think and feel and behave. You will study these things in other subjects, like Geography or Business or English Literature, but Sociology and Psychology bring a scientific mindset to this topic.
What’s the difference between Psychology and Sociology? They study many similar things, like crime, gender, and peer pressure. The difference is partly to do with scale. Psychology looks at why individuals commit crimes, have a certain gender identity, or succumb to peer pressure. Sociology looks at how society creates, controls, and tries to direct these things. If you want to know where your sense of gender comes from, that’s Psychology; if you want to know the different ways that society imposes gender roles on people, that’s Sociology.
The other difference is the scientific basis. Psychology is strongly scientific and as a student you will be expected to understand scientific procedures, report writing, data analysis, and evaluation: there’s a fair amount of statistics to learn as well. However, science is just one aspect of Sociology and, as a student, you will be asked to examine the strengths and weaknesses of scientific and anti-scientific approaches to studying people in society. Sociology is more of an essay-based subject, focussing on discussion and debate.
Both subjects encourage you to view with fresh eyes taken-for-granted features of human experience and society, looking at unusual cases and imaginative theories. By ‘thinking like a social scientist’ you will reflect on different explanations for human behaviour and employ a range of techniques for investigating these phenomena.
Psychology and Sociology are both delivered as linear A-Level courses with final examinations in Y13.
In both subjects, we are committed to developing your wider reading and independent study skills. You will prepare notes ahead of time for your lessons, using study guide, podcasts, video lectures, and news articles. You will select social science books from the library to broaden your understanding. You will also have the chance to carry out your own social science research and we base the annual Psychology Prize and Sociology Prize on this self-directed research.
