Reach for the Star - What is Sociology?

Your learning journey

Connect & Check → Share → Present → Apply → Recall & Review

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Recall: what do you already think?

There is no penalty for changing your mind.

Discover: the sociological move

Everyday explanations often begin with individuals. Sociology looks for patterns and asks how relationships, institutions, culture, inequality and expectations shape those patterns.

Check your thinking

What is the difference between structure and agency?

Structure refers to patterned social conditions and institutions that create opportunities and constraints. Agency is people's capacity to act and choose within those conditions. Improve your answer if needed.

Apply: make the familiar strange

Choose a lift, new class, restaurant, group chat or job interview.

Setting

Two normsValue behind themStatus or roleAgency choiceStructural influenceIf the norm is broken…

Scaffold: A norm is… People may follow it because… A person could choose to… although… may shape that choice.

Entering a lift: people often face forwards and limit conversation. This is learned. A person can ignore the norm — agency — but others may react because shared expectations still matter.

Common sense or Sociology?

Teenagers use social media because they like it.

Rewrite this as a sociological question

How might peer norms, platform design, identity and unequal access to technology shape patterns of social-media use?

Retrieval check

Challenge: is choice ever completely free?

Choose friendship, education, career, family or healthWhat social conditions could shape it?Where can individuals still act?What evidence would you need?

From everyday to sociological

Developing: “People choose careers based on what jobs they like. Some people work harder than others.”

What is missing?

Career choice involves agency, but opportunities and expectations can be structured by education, class, gender norms, labour markets and family resources. A sociologist would then ask what evidence supports these links.

Prove it

Explain two ways in which a person's choices may be influenced by society. Use at least two sociological concepts. [6 marks]

Two distinct ways
Accurate concepts
Developed explanation
Relevant example
Agency not ignored

One way choices may be influenced by society is through socialisation. People learn norms and values from families, education, peers and media, so some options may appear more normal or desirable than others. A second influence is social structure. Family income, educational opportunities or location can affect which choices are realistically available. The decision is personal, but it is made within social opportunities and constraints.

Reflect and prepare for Lesson 2

What makes an explanation sociological?One example of structure influencing choice without determining it

Flipped learning: the unwritten rules

Observe one everyday setting. Do not identify, photograph or record individuals.

Observation 1Observation 2Observation 3

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