The Sociology Guy

Rostow’s modernisation theory argues that societies develop by moving through a series of stages from a traditional society to an age of mass consumption. In the first stage, societies are mainly agricultural, with limited technology and strong traditional values. They then develop the preconditions for take-off, such as better infrastructure, education, investment and more entrepreneurial [&#823…

The evidence in this dashboard shows that inequality is not one single pattern. Class inequality can be seen in income distribution: DWP Households Below Average Income data shows that household income varies sharply across the distribution, and housing costs reduce disposable income for many households. Gender inequality can be seen in the ONS gender pay […]

Development can be understood in different ways. Economic development focuses on growth in wealth, income, production, trade and employment. Social development looks at improvements in people’s living conditions, such as healthcare, education, housing, sanitation and life expectancy. Human development goes further by asking whether people have more freedom, capabilities, opportunities and control…

Different sociological theories explain inequality in different ways. Functionalists tend to see inequality as linked to role allocation, motivation and social order, but they can be criticised for ignoring power. Marxists explain inequality through capitalism, exploitation, class ownership and unequal access to resources. Weberians focus on life chances, market situation, status and power, so th…

Development is not just about whether a country becomes richer. Sociologists often define development in several different ways. Some focus on economic development, measured through indicators such as GDP per capita or GNI, which show the value of goods, services or income within a country. Others prefer social development, using measures such as literacy levels, […]

This activity is designed for AQA A Level Sociology: Families and Households. It fits two key parts of the specification: changing patterns of marriage, cohabitation, separation, divorce, childbearing and the life course, and demographic trends in the United Kingdom since 1900, including birth rates, family size, life expectancy, ageing population, and migration and globalisation. Students [&#823…

Sociologists explain zero-hours contracts in different ways. Marxists argue that they are part of precarious capitalism because employers gain flexibility while workers carry the risk of irregular hours, unstable income and limited bargaining power. Weberian sociologists would link zero-hours contracts to market situation and life chances: workers with fewer qualifications, weaker employment secu…

This arcade-style quiz is designed for AQA A Level Sociology: The Media, which is one of the Section B options on Paper 2: Topics in Sociology. The AQA specification expects students to study the new media, ownership and control, media, globalisation and popular culture, selection and presentation of news, media representations, and the relationship between […]

This arcade-style quiz is designed for AQA A Level Sociology: Beliefs in Society, which appears in Paper 2, Section B as one of the option topics. The AQA specification covers ideology, science and religion; religion, social change and social stability; religious organisations; social groups and religiosity; and the significance of religion in the contemporary world, […]

This interactive activity is designed for AQA A Level Sociology: Beliefs in Society and fits the part of the specification covering the relationship between social change and social stability, and religious beliefs, practices and organisations. Beliefs in Society is taught and assessed within Paper 2: Topics in Sociology, so students need to be able to […]

This activity is designed for Cambridge OCR A Level Sociology, Paper 2: Researching and understanding social inequalities. OCR’s specification says learners should explore social inequality in relation to social class, gender, ethnicity and age, and should examine patterns and trends across different areas of social life rather than treating one inequality in isolation. The OCR […]

This interactive activity is designed for AQA A Level Sociology: Beliefs in Society. It fits the part of the specification that covers the relationship between social change and social stability, and religious beliefs, practices and organisations, so it works well for revision of debates about whether religion mainly supports the status quo or helps create […]

This activity is designed for Cambridge OCR A Level Sociology, Paper 2: Researching and understanding social inequalities. OCR’s specification for this part of the course asks students to examine social inequality and difference in relation to social class, gender, ethnicity and age, to consider evidence from a range of areas of social life, and to […]

This interactive simulation is designed for Cambridge OCR A Level Sociology, Paper 2: Researching and understanding social inequalities, focusing on social class inequalities and life chances. OCR’s specification and delivery guide ask students to examine patterns and trends in social inequality, especially in relation to work and employment, and to consider evidence from a range […]

This interactive activity is designed for AQA A Level Sociology: Beliefs in Society and works especially well for revision of debates about secularisation and renewal of religious belief. In the AQA specification, students are expected to study the significance of religion and religiosity in the contemporary world, including the nature and extent of secularisation in […]

This interactive simulation is designed for AQA A Level Sociology: Beliefs in Society and is called Choosing My Religion. Students create their own religion by choosing from features found in world religions, new religious movements (NRMs) and New Age movements (NAMs). They can also name their religion and shape its beliefs, rituals, authority, organisation and […]

This interactive activity is designed for AQA A Level Sociology: Beliefs in Society and focuses on the specification area covering science, religion and ideology. It helps students think carefully about a core issue in this topic: what counts as religion. Rather than simply matching definitions to labels, students build their own definition first and then […]

This interactive activity is designed for Cambridge OCR A Level Sociology: Youth subcultures. It fits the OCR specification because students are required to study how youth culture and subcultures are formed through different theories, how subcultures relate to social class, gender, ethnicity and hybridity, and why some young people participate in deviant subcultures, including the […]

This interactive activity is designed for AQA A Level Sociology: Beliefs in Society. It fits the specification area on ideology, science and religion and also supports the part of the course that examines the relationship between social change and social stability, and religious beliefs, practices and organisations. The activity focuses especially on Marxist and neo-Marxist […]

This arcade-style quiz is designed for AQA A Level Sociology: Families and Households, which appears in Paper 2, Section A as one of the Option 1 topics. The AQA specification requires students to study: the relationship of the family to social structure and social change, especially the economy and state policies; changing patterns of marriage, […]