IGCSE Sociology Course

Paper 1 Unit 1:

Research Methods Unit 2: Culture and Socialisation Unit 3: Social stratification and Inequality Unit 4: Power and Authority

Paper 2 Unit 5: Family Unit 6: Education Unit 7: Crime, deviance and social control Unit 8: The Media

Sociology is the study of people in society. It examines people as social beings on the individual, group and societal level. It can be defined as: ‘the scientific study of human social life, groups and societies.’  Sociology is thus a social science (like psychology or anthropology), rather than a physical one (such as physics, chemistry or biology). It is the task of the sociologist to unravel how ‘nurture’ or ‘social’ factors (rather than ‘nature’ (or genetic, biological or inherited factors, as in the study of biology) influence people at the level of the individual, group or wider society.

Sociologists consider how social and socially-influenced factors, such as family, education, ethnicity, social class and gender can play a part in shaping individual identities. Sociologists also consider group behaviour. For example, a sociologist may study how an office team work, or how people’s behaviour is affected by those of their colleagues or work associates. They may also question how factors such as gender or class influence our behaviours as individuals and in group contexts.

Sociologists also study society-at-large, and may consider the correlations between factors such as ethnicity or class, for example, and participation in wider structures such as government or education.