Census Unearthed: Small Area Statistics
As the name suggests, “Small Area Statistics” generate vast amounts of data that delve in great detail into people’s experiences and behaviours “at the local level”. In this particular instance the Office of National Statistics (ONS) has used “recently digitised data from the 1961 Census Small Area Statistics” in England and Wales to provide highly-detailed […]
Online Classroom: Family Study Packs
Back in the day, when I was working for a company called Online Classroom, we produced a range of booklets, for both GCSE and A-level, that were sold online (hence the name…). To cut a long story short, when Online Classroom was sold to a video distribution company called Clickview in around 2009 they weren’t […]
Reasons for Declining Divorce Rates
Historically, the study of divorce rates at A-level has generally been considered in the context of the “decline of the western family” thesis. This, in very broad terms, argues that rising levels of divorce and cohabitation, coupled with falling rates of marriage, add-up to a “crisis of convergence” in family life: one where falling marriage […]
Attitudes to Marriage in China
As you may be aware, from time-to-time I’ve featured a variety of short pieces of research, on a range of topics, carried-out by Richard Driscoll’s students at the Shenzhen College of International Education in China. This latest study by Elim Wu (“What are High-School Girls’ Attitudes Towards Marriage in China’s International High Schools?”), a high school […]
Families and Households Learning Tables
In this set of Learning Tables (mainly created by Miss K Elles) the focus is on analysis and evaluation with a section on application left blank. Students can either add their own examples or the Tables can be used within the classroom to discuss possible applications. While the Tables are not as comprehensive as their […]
BBC “Analysis” Podcasts
Over the past 10 years BBC Radio 4’s Analysis series has created a range of podcasts “examining the ideas and forces which shape public policy in Britain and abroad, presented by distinguished writers, journalists and academics”. There are over 200 podcasts to trawl through, many of which won’t be of any interest or use to sociology […]
Commitments to Cohabitation
When thinking about differences and similarities between marriage and cohabitation one thing that tends to get overlooked is that, in terms of people’s reasons for making these commitments, neither is homogeneous; just as there are many and varied reasons for deciding to get married, the same is largely true of decisions about whether to cohabit. […]
A2 Psychology: Free Chapter on Relationships
A couple of months ago I posted a free chapter on Research Methods from Holt and Lewis’ “A2 Psychology: The Student’s Textbook” and this latest offering is on Relationships and covers three main areas: The formation, maintenance and breakdown of romantic relationships Theories of the formation, maintenance and breakdown of romantic relationships: e.g. reinforcement-affect theory, […]
An Alternative to the Conventional Nuclear Family
Finding good, contemporary, examples of alternatives to the “conventional nuclear family” is never that easy so I thought I’d pass-on this example from Sociology teacher Richard Driscoll. It’s a piece of primary / secondary research carried-out by one of his students, Hecate Li, on the Mosuo Tribe in China. The short, beautifully-produced and clearly presented report touches […]
New Recipe Card (CIE AS Sociology)
In a previous post we looked at the general ideas / principles underpinning the concept of Recipe Cards using examples drawn from the AQA Examining Board. To balance things up a little this Recipe Card, based on the AS Family section of the CIE International A-level Sociology syllabus, is designed to help students answer the […]