Key term
WJEC A-Level Sociology 601-5237-0
Culture and the Social Construction of Culture
Topic overviewCulture as a way of lifeNorms, values and beliefsRoles, status and role conflictAspects of culture: dress, language, food and musicHeritage and cultural tradition in WalesHigh culture, popular culture and global cultureNature, nurture and the social construction of cultureCultural diversity and sub-cultures
Socialisation and Its Agencies
Topic overviewPrimary and secondary socialisationRole models, imitation and sanctionsFamilies and primary cultural transmissionPeer groups as an agency of socialisationEducation as an agency of socialisationReligion as an agency of socialisationThe media as an agency of socialisationWork, resocialisation and total institutionsFormal and informal social control
Socialisation and Identity
Topic overviewPersonal and social identityTheories of identity: structural, interactionist and postmodernGender socialisation and gender identityMasculinity, femininity and change in gender identitiesSocial class and identityClass change, mobility and the underclassEthnicity and identityNationality, national identity and BritishnessWelsh identity and the Welsh language
Families and HouseholdsAcquiring Culture
Topic overviewDefining families and householdsFamily forms and family diversity in England and WalesEthnic, cultural and religious diversity in family lifeMarriage, cohabitation and singlehoodDivorce and separationFertility, birth rates and family sizeLife expectancy, ageing and the beanpole familyThe domestic division of labourPower, decision-making and domestic violenceChildhood and parent–child relationshipsFunctionalist and New Right theories of the familyMarxist and feminist theories of the familyPostmodernism, the life course and personal life
Youth CulturesAcquiring Culture
Topic overviewYouth and the social construction of adolescenceThe media and the formation of youth cultureEconomic change, consumption and the youth marketGlobalisation and youth cultureSocial class and youth subculturesGender and youth cultureEthnicity and youth cultureNational identity, Welshness and youth cultureNeo-tribes and the changing nature of youth cultureYouth deviance, delinquency and crimeAnti-school subcultures and the labelling of youthFunctionalist and Marxist theories of youth cultureFeminist, interactionist and postmodernist theories of youth culture
Research Methods: Primary and Secondary
Topic overviewQuestionnairesStructured interviewsUnstructured and semi-structured interviewsFocus groupsParticipant observationNon-participant and structured observationThe social surveyEthnographic methodsLongitudinal studiesExisting sociological research as secondary dataOfficial statistics and Welsh Government dataPersonal and public documents
Sampling, Ethics and Practical Issues
Topic overviewTarget populations, sampling frames and accessSimple random and systematic random samplingStratified random samplingQuota samplingSnowball and volunteer samplingPurposive and opportunity samplingInformed consent, deception and the right to withdrawAnonymity, confidentiality and privacySensitivity, vulnerability and protection from harmPractical constraints: operationalisation, time and cost
Key Concepts and Theories of Research
Topic overviewValidity in sociological researchReliability and replicationRepresentativeness and generalisabilityObjectivity, value freedom and biasEthics as a criterion for judging researchPositivism and the scientific study of societyInterpretivism and verstehenRealism and the critical realist approachChoosing an approach: theory and method in practice
EducationUnderstanding Society
Topic overviewThe role and function of education in societySocial class and differential attainmentGender and differential attainmentEthnicity and differential attainmentParticipation, choice and the marketisation of educationEducation policy in England and Wales since 1944Welsh-medium education and the Curriculum for WalesMaterial factors and educational attainmentCultural capital and cultural deprivationLabelling, streaming and pupil subculturesFunctionalist and New Right theories of educationMarxist theories of educationFeminist, interactionist and postmodernist theories of education
MediaUnderstanding Society
Topic overviewThe role and function of the media in contemporary societyModels of media effects: the hypodermic syringe and cultural effectsActive audiences: uses and gratifications and reception theoryMoral panics and folk devilsNew media, globalisation and the digital divideOwnership and control of the mediaMedia professionals, news values and agenda settingRepresentations of social class and ageRepresentations of genderRepresentations of ethnicity, nationality and disabilityMedia policy and regulation in Wales and EnglandPluralist and Marxist theories of the mediaFunctionalist, feminist and postmodernist theories of the media
ReligionUnderstanding Society
Topic overviewThe role and function of religion in contemporary societyReligion in Wales: chapel, nonconformity and the Welsh languageReligion as a conservative force and as a force for changePatterns of religious participation by social class and ageGender and religiosityEthnicity and religiosity in England and WalesChurches, denominations, sects and cultsNew religious movements and new age movementsFundamentalism and religion in a globalised worldSecularisation in England and WalesReligion and social policy in England and WalesFunctionalist, Marxist and neo-Marxist theories of religionWeberian, feminist and postmodernist theories of religion
Crime and DeviancePower and Control
Topic overviewDefining crime, deviance and social controlCrime and deviance as social constructsThe media, moral panics and the fear of crimeSocial class and crimeGender and feminist explanations of crimeEthnicity, policing and the criminal justice systemAge and crimePolice recorded crime and the dark figureVictim surveys and self-report studiesCrime, policing and social policy in WalesFunctionalist and subcultural theories of crimeMarxist and neo-Marxist theories of crimeInteractionism, labelling and postmodernist theories of crimeLeft realism, right realism and crime control policy
Health and DisabilityPower and Control
Topic overviewDefining health, illness and diseaseThe biomedical model and the social model of healthThe social construction of disabilityOfficial statistics and the measurement of healthSocial class and health inequalitiesGender and healthEthnicity and healthAge and healthArtefact, selection, cultural and material explanationsAccess to and provision of health care in England and WalesMedicalisation and the role of health professionalsHealth policy in England and WalesFunctionalist, Marxist and interactionist theories of healthFeminist and postmodernist views of health and disability
World SociologyPower and Control
Topic overviewDefining and measuring developmentGlobal inequalities in health and educationEmployment, poverty and the global division of labourPatterns of inequality in England and WalesPopulation, demographic change and developmentUrbanisation and marginalisationAid, debt and non-governmental organisationsGlobalisation and developmentTransnational corporations and world tradeModernisation theory and its criticsMarxist, dependency and world systems theoriesFeminist explanations of development
Applied Methods: Designing Sociological Research
Topic overviewChoosing a research topic and framing the aimHypotheses, operationalisation and indicatorsJustifying the chosen methodAnticipating problems with the chosen method and their impactSelecting and justifying a sampleAnticipating problems with the sample and their impactEthical issues in a research designPractical issues in a research designPresenting collected data
Social Inequality: Evidence and Patterns
Topic overviewMeasuring social class in BritainThe distribution of income and wealthWork and pay: occupational inequalityClass inequality: the evidenceGender inequality: the evidenceEthnic inequality: the evidenceAge inequality: the evidenceDisability and inequalityPower and political inequalityPoverty and social exclusionInequality in Wales: the evidence base
Theories and Explanations of Inequality and Stratification
Topic overviewSocial stratification: the core conceptsFunctionalist explanations of inequalityMarxist explanations of inequalityNeo-Marxist explanations of inequalityWeberian explanations of inequalityNeo-Weberian explanations of inequalityFeminist explanations of inequalityPostmodernist explanations of inequalityNew Right explanations of inequalityComparing and evaluating theories of stratification
World Sociology
- 12 subtopics
- 34 things to know
- A2 Unit 3
- A2 Unit 3, one option of three
What World Sociology covers
World Sociology is examined in Unit 3, Power and Control — one of three options, studied instead of Crime and Deviance or Health and Disability. It covers defining and measuring development, global inequalities in health and education, employment, poverty and the global division of labour, patterns of inequality in England and Wales, population, demographic change and development, urbanisation and marginalisation, aid, debt and non-governmental organisations, globalisation and development, transnational corporations and world trade, modernisation theory and its critics, Marxist, dependency and world systems theories and feminist explanations of development.
Where it is assessed
A2 Unit 3
Power and Control — one option of three, studied instead of the other two.
Check the WJEC specification ↗The 12 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Defining and measuring developmentMultidimensional measure of poverty, global North and the Global South and millennium Development Goals.Open →
- Global inequalities in health and educationRecall questions on life expectancy and maternal mortality, clean water, the medical brain drain, school enrolment, barriers to girls' education, and how home and global inequality compare.Open →
- Employment, poverty and the global division of labourInternational division of labour, export processing zone and informal economy.Open →
- Patterns of inequality in England and WalesRecall questions on measuring relative poverty, the concentration of wealth, the early poverty surveys, deindustrialisation in Wales, fuel and child poverty, and regional funding.Open →
- Population, demographic change and developmentDemographic transition model, three reasons fertility falls as a country develops and demographic dividend.Open →
- Urbanisation and marginalisationThree factors pulling people into cities in poor countries, primate city and informal settlement.Open →
- Aid, debt and non-governmental organisationsBilateral aid, multilateral aid and tied aid.Open →
- Globalisation and developmentThree developments that accelerated economic globalisation, global commodity chain and cultural imperialism.Open →
- Transnational corporations and world tradeTransnational corporation, race to the bottom and transfer pricing.Open →
- Modernisation theory and its criticsCentral claim of modernisation theory, rostow's five stages of economic growth and historical criticism of modernisation theory.Open →
- Marxist, dependency and world systems theoriesMarxist starting point for explaining global inequality, frank's metropolis and satellite model and central claim of world systems theory.Open →
- Feminist explanations of developmentWomen in development approach and ecofeminist argument about development.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
Set out Rostow's account of take-off and the objection raised from east Asia.
Key term
Why is wealth more unequally distributed than income?
Key term
Which three dimensions make up the Human Development Index?
Key term
How does life expectancy differ between the richest and poorest countries?
Process
Why do critics object to export processing zones?
Key term
What did Malthus predict about population and food supply?
Key term
What is urbanisation?
Key term
What is globalisation?
Key term
How do agricultural subsidies in rich countries affect poor producers?
Key term
What is the Marxist starting point for explaining global inequality?
Key term
What did Boserup argue about women and economic development?
Key term
What did Sen mean by development as freedom?
Key term
Why is maternal mortality treated as a measure of inequality rather than of medicine?
Key term
What is the case against low-wage export factories?
Key term
How does economic output in Wales compare with the United Kingdom as a whole?
Key term
Why has the Malthusian prediction not been borne out?
Key term
Name three factors pushing people out of rural areas in poor countries.
Key term
What is bilateral aid?
Key term
What did Harvey mean by time-space compression?
Process
Name Rostow's five stages of economic growth.
Key term
Explain Frank's metropolis and satellite model.
Evaluation
Give two criticisms of microfinance.
Key term
Distinguish absolute from relative poverty.
Key term
Which diseases account for much of the difference in mortality between rich and poor countries?
Key term
What drives child labour in poor countries?
Key term
Which parts of Wales are the most deprived?
Key term
Why does population continue growing after fertility falls?
Key term
Name three factors pulling people into cities in poor countries.
Key term
What is multilateral aid?
Key term
Name three developments that accelerated economic globalisation.
Process
What happens at the take-off stage in Rostow's model?
Key term
What historical evidence supports the dependency account?
Key term
How does women's education affect fertility?
Take World Sociology further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Absolute poverty vs Relative poverty
Absolute poverty: lacking what is needed to survive in health anywhere. Relative poverty: it means falling below the normal standard of the particular society you live in.
Transfer pricing vs Tied aid
Transfer pricing: a corporation shifting recorded profit to a low-tax country. Tied aid: a government requiring its assistance to be spent on its own firms.
Tied aid vs Untied aid
Tied aid: assistance that must be spent on the donor's own goods and contractors. Untied aid: assistance the recipient may spend wherever it chooses.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What do sociologists mean by development?
Model answer
Development means a sustained improvement in the living standards and life chances of a population, not simply an increase in the size of an economy.
- 2
Why is gross national income per head an inadequate measure of development?
Model answer
It is an average that hides how income is shared out, and it says nothing about health, education, security or the environment.
- 3
Which three dimensions make up the Human Development Index?
Model answer
A long and healthy life measured by life expectancy, knowledge measured by years of schooling, and a decent standard of living measured by income per head.
- 4
Why was the Human Development Index created?
Model answer
It was designed to shift attention from national output to what people are actually able to be and do with their lives.
- 5
What did Sen mean by development as freedom?
Model answer
He argued that development is the expansion of people's real capabilities to live the lives they have reason to value, of which income is only one means.
- 6
Distinguish absolute from relative poverty.
Model answer
Absolute poverty is lacking the resources needed to survive in health, while relative poverty is falling far enough below the normal standard of your own society to be excluded from it.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
World Sociology revision questions
- What does World Sociology cover in WJEC A-Level Sociology?
- 12 subtopics: defining and measuring development, global inequalities in health and education, employment, poverty and the global division of labour, patterns of inequality in england and wales, population, demographic change and development, urbanisation and marginalisation, aid, debt and non-governmental organisations, globalisation and development, transnational corporations and world trade, modernisation theory and its critics, marxist, dependency and world systems theories and feminist explanations of development. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is World Sociology organised?
- By the WJEC 601-5237-0 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in World Sociology, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.