Race and Identity
Fascinating programme about race and identity on BBC2 tonight, that will be repeated Tuesday 11:20pm and Wednesday 12:20am.
read more...»year 10 assessment
Here is an assessment I put together for my year 10, based mainly on the studying society element of Unit 1. It is accompanied by a detailed peer marking exercise with model answers to assist.
read more...»4 thought - mixed-race marriages
4 Thought on channel 4 present short viewpoints on a wide variety of subjects that might be useful as starters for discussion points. Yesterday’s was on mixed race marriages. The BBC have also commented on the issue, here.
Educating Essex
Don’t be misled by the title or the pictures on the website, this series is a great fly-on-the-wall look at comprehensive education today. There is bullying, dating, teaching and even some learning. Take a look at the programmes here.
sleep and learning
A joint research carried out by UAB and Ramon Llull University, published in the journal Cultura y Educación, indicates that children sleeping less than nine hours and with bad sleeping habits - such as going to bed late - do worse academically. The study was carried out in several schools with children aged 6 and 7.
You can read an executive summary here.
children as brand ambassadors
The BBC discusses the ethical issues of using children as brand ambassadors to sell products.
community sentencing or punishment?
Interesting discussion of the point of jail and the merits of community sentencing. Read it here.
riots and statistics
An excellent piece on the BBC looking at the statistics associated with the riots. Good ‘methods in context’ material for A2 Crime and Deviance.
Read it here.
Plotting the riots
Another map, this time linking the homes of those charged in relation to the riots in Manchester, to areas of deprivation. A good stimulus for discussing causes of crime.
Targeting crime ‘hotspots’
A study led by University College London suggests that targeting crime ‘hotspots’ is a good way of cutting offending, because most criminals are too lazy to go elsewhere. The study has been printed in the Jourmal of Experimental Criminology and you must be a subscriber to download the full report, but the abstract is below. Mark Easton, writing for the BBC, has also discuss the study, here.
read more...»Boys underperformance at GCSE
This discussion thread on the TES website might prove a useful tool in discussing boys’ underachievement with sixth formers.
Marxism
For those of you introducing capitalism to AS students in the next few weeks, or trying to get A2 students to develop their understanding further, this article might make a good discussion point. In particular, it could help students to apply the theory to contemporary issues and events.
Social surveys
A lovely article from the BBC about the ONS and some of the surveys it has carried out: from how many bras women owned in 1941, to sex and contraception in 2001. Read it here.
The ONS survey highlights would make a good starter for lessons on methods and / or social change; read it here.
the London riots and poverty
I’m not sure who put this together, but this map overlays locations of recent unrest with areas of deprivation. A good starting point for discussion about the root causes… (warning - it can be slow to load)
Carrot or Stick - A Horizon Guide to Raising Kids
BBC4 are screening a Horizon documentary this evening (Thursday 11th August, 8-9pm), looking at how parenting techniques have changed, and theory behind those changes. Sure it will be worth a watch, and I shall be recording it for future A level lessons on childhood.
Social climbing
An interesting article about whether ‘social climbing’ is a good thing. I wonder whether the assumption that it is still viewed as a negative aspect, remains true today anyway. What do you think?
Family types card game
A card game for GCSE students studying the family, to help them identify types and definitions. It’s a simple pairing exercise - instructions included.
family_type_cards.doc
The Happiness Index
People in the UK believe their well-being should be measured in terms of health, friends and family and job satisfaction, according to a report by the Office of National Statistics. Read the article here. The report can be downloaded here.
Children who don’t know their own name
A snippet from Radio 4 highlighting the problem of children arriving at school who don’t even know their own names. The blame is levelled at television and the internet and the failure of families to engage in discussion. Listen to it here.
children behaving badly
The BBC screened a programme, Classroom Secrets, earlier this week, that showed footage of how children really behave in class. You can see the programme on BBCiplayer, and there is a short clip along with brief details about the programme, here.
Ben Goldacre - bad science
For those that haven’t yet come across Ben Goldacre, he debunks examples of bad science. His articles are insightful and make useful starting points for discussion at A2 (value-free research / the positivism debate) and AS (for those looking at health particularly). His website can be found here.
The end of gender?
A neat article bringing together some of the most recent stories about challenging gender. Read it here.
Britain’s mysterious baby boom
More discussion about fertility rates and the apparent ‘baby boom’ of the first part of this, the 21st century. Is Tony Blair the ‘daddy’? A good starting point for discussion.
are children being forced to grow up too quickly?
In case you missed it earlier in the year, following a great deal of debate around the subject of the commercialisation, and particularly the perceived sexualisation, of children, the Government have commissioned a review. Reg Bailey, Chief Executive of the Mothers’ Union is leading the review which will focus on 4 key areas:
read more...»class division - the battle continues
The BBC, in an article that not so subtly advertises a new book (Owen Jones - Chavs: the Demonization of the Working Class), discusses the controversy around the term ‘chav’ and the continued class division that exists in the UK.
Crime and Deviance: Miami mega-jail
The exam boards are generally looking for up-to-date examples wherever possible, so why not take a look at this article on the BBC about the Miami mega-jail.
‘Imagine a jail where dangerous inmates awaiting trial live 24 to a room and fight each other under a violent gladiatorial code. This is life inside Miami’s mega-jail, writes Louis Theroux.’
Revision links
If you haven’t found it already, go and look the website for Ken Browne’s Sociology books for A level. There are lots of sample chapters and some useful quizzes and matching exercises that are great for revision.
Gender Socialisation
A last minute case study on Gender Socialisation for either Family topic on SCLY1 or Education on SCLY2; Researchers from Florida State University, have found kids’ books are likely to feature a male hero rather than a female heroine and could be reinforcing gender inequality. Adding that in recent years animal characters were twice as likely to be male as female.
Research methods revision game
A fun way to revise the strengths and limitations of various research methods based on the card game ‘happy families’. Instructions included.
methods_playing_cards.docx
2010 UK General Election Analysis
A year on and some decent analysis from psephologists of the 2010 election are emerging. Dr Justin Greaves of Warwick University has made available an A’Level friendly Power Point on ‘Voting Behaviour at the 2010 General Election’. An excellent resource for any centre studying this minority topic on AQA SCLY3.
