A Level

As a Sociology teacher living and working through the COVID-19 pandemic, I have been fascinated by the societal impact COVID-19 has had on our society. Pandemics in general have been a topic researched by sociologists: McCoy (2017) investigated the sociology of pandemics and recently Ward (2020) wrote a commentary and research agenda focusing on the social restrictions and social isolation as a result of COVID-19. As a teacher, I was very curious about the influence of the media on our perception of COVID-19, as well as how social inequalities have been further highlighted and exaggerated. Below are some key questions to help examine COVID-19 through a sociological gaze, alongside context, ideas and resources to facilitate this discussion with your A-level Sociology students. The media as an agent of socialisation Key question: How has the media depiction of the pandemic influenced our perception of it as either a danger or a moral panic? Theory and context: All theoretical perspectives, from functionalism through postmodernism, have debated the positive and negative impact of the media. Baudrillard’s postmodernist notion of the “information blizzard” for example, suggests that the incessant influx of information through the media affects our ability to distinguish the truth. So, in the context of COVID-19, how has Baudrillard theory been exemplified? On one hand, there is a clear perception of COVID-19 as a danger which has been put forward by a range of societal institutions such as the NHS or the Department of Health. Think about directives such as social distancing, face mask guidelines and the closure of institutions and businesses based on scientific data. On the other, individuals have challenged the figures provided, alleging that the government is overexaggerating the dangers of the virus and conspiring to restrict the freedoms and rights of citizens. Discussion: reliable information sources, fake news and conspiracy theories So, what statistical evidence can sociologists use to comprehend the extent of the virus? Well, one key piece of evidence widely available is the recorded numbers of deaths and cases by the World Health Organisation (WHO). But the question is, what other information may individuals have access to? And through what medium? Here we enter the murky and confusing world of social media with conspiracy theories being shared on social media platforms. Here are some of the most intriguing conspiracy theories to discuss with your students: Coronavirus and 5G #ExposeBillGates Covid-19 Cures Debunked Go through the links above and the statistical evidence from WHO. You could ask your students to research this before the lesson as homework or bring in their own examples to discuss. Investigate the resources and ask students the following questions: How or why does information lacking in official scientific evidence influence our decision-making process as individuals? How has your knowledge of COVID-19 impacted on your decision making in line with the governmental directives? Have you followed the guidelines or rebelled against them based on information you came across online? Social inequalities intensified by the pandemic Key question: How has the current pandemic intensified social inequalities, particularly in terms of class and education? Theory and context: Social inequality is a broad, wide-ranging and extensively investigated field in sociological research. A-level Sociology focuses on social inequality in the context of class, age, gender, and ethnicity. Here are some pieces of research that you may already have explored with your students: Class: The Sutton Trust and the Elite Theory Age: Age and the gig economy Gender: Gender Pay Gap Ethnicity: Joseph Rowntree Foundation and self-employment in BAMEd groups (pp.13-15). The links above help to shed some insight into the evidence aligned with social inequalities. Social class is often a taboo topic of discussion mainly because many believe that in our current postmodern society, the concept of class is obsolete. Theorists such as Pakulski and Waters have stated that our identities nowadays are influenced by our lifestyle and hobbies. However, the pandemic has highlighted class inequalities, particularly within education. Discussion: remote learning A key example to examine is the way in which access to remote learning differed, both institutionally and regionally, in the wake of the national lockdown and school closures earlier this year. The Sutton Trust carried out research focusing on COVID-19 and social mobility which found that the health crisis had led to clear educational inequalities, for example, the differences in access to resources for online learning and assessment has led to the UK government pledging to provide laptops to students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Ask your students: How has your current school/college handled remote learning? Do you feel that you have missed out on learning or were the tools and resources you had available on a par with your experiences of face-to-face teaching? Explain how or why. Discussion: A-level results A second example, showing the impact of Covid-19 in line with class and educational inequalities, was exemplified in the recent A-level result scandal. The selected algorithm used by the government to assign final grades led to disparities in the awarding of grades to students who were disadvantaged based on socio-cultural factors. For example, disparities based on class and economic status were noticed on a regional scale (north versus south), in the type of institutions (independent versus state), but also on the basis of ethnicity. Have a look at the articles below with your students: The Guardian The Mirror Ask students to investigate the resources, either individually, in pairs or as a class. Based on the information presented in both the articles, ask students the following questions: Does the evidence support the notion that educational inequalities are based on class? How may you challenge this evidence?   By Wilhelmenia Etoga Ngono, freelance blogger and Sixth form teacher based in South East England. Read More

Year 12 students returning to school to begin their AS and A-level courses are probably feeling rather like Hamlet at this moment, their heads ‘a distracted globe’ filled with conflicting thoughts. And Hamlet can be a daunting play at the best of times. But it doesn’t have to be –… Read More

The reality of teaching through a global pandemic is that many of our students haven’t set foot in an educational setting for 16 weeks and counting. With little warning, their lives as they knew them changed completely. As adults, the past few months have certainly been challenging, but imagine how… Read More

The protagonist, Mrs Dalloway, spends her life contemplating and waiting. The endlessness of her days are epitomised in the structure of the novel; a flow of consciousness that is both absorbing and frustrating. It is said by her guests that ‘Mrs Dalloway is always giving parties to cover the silence’. Ask your students what they think this silence is a metaphor for. What do they think of the emotional hardship of keeping silent? Does the quote apply only to Clarissa or extend to other characters in the novel? Clarissa Dalloway prepares for a dinner party in the middle of June 1923, a warm day in the shadow of The Great War. Whilst in London, she thinks about those she has been in love with; her husband Richard, Peter Walsh and Sally Seton. She ponders what her life would have been like if she hadn’t have chosen her stoic and reliable husband. Using empathy skills and their adaptation of Clarissa’s authorial voice, can students describe how her life could have been with either Peter or Sally? What would her restraints have been? How did the other characters’ lives span out? Would Clarissa have wanted this? Would she have been happy? Would they? Juxtaposition of dark and light The novel has some dark and melancholy themes such as war, hallucinations and suicide. Suicide itself seen by Dalloway as a way to preserve happiness. Why then, in the midst of these themes, is Dalloway then hosting a dinner party? Why does Woolf create such a juxtaposition? Discuss and debate. The passing of time Another key theme of the novel is time. We are reminded of its passing, both in the physicality of reading the novel whilst losing time in its words, as well as in the constant ticking reminders in the novel such as Big Ben striking every 30 minutes. With time running away from us, why is it important to consider that the novel is set over one day? What is time a symbol of here? What is it reminding us of? You might like to structure the discussion towards the links with the Great War and time running out for those thousands of men, the inevitability of death, the lives that are left behind and the sense that all the characters are ‘marching towards death’. Happiness and discontentment Discontentment also permeates this novel. Are any of the characters truly happy? Can any moments of happiness be seen? Ask students to research the poem ‘Angel in the House’ by Coventry Patmore. Patmore’s ideal of a woman in 1854 is not so very different to Victorian ideals. How can a woman as educated, intelligent and thoughtful as Woolf fit into these ideals? What damage did it do to her? What about Clarissa? Is she discontent or is she stoic? Look too at Sally Seaton, once a wild and free woman who ran down the corridor naked to get her wash bag, now married with 5 children to a man Clarissa is not convinced she loves. Did she have to make this change to fit into patriarchal society? Do you think she likes who she is now? Can they now discuss this concept relating to today’s society? Are women seen differently now? Septimus clearly has Post-traumatic Stress Disorder; a condition previously called ‘shell shock’ and began being frequently diagnosed after the First World War. There are some excellent extracts in Bird Song by Sebastian Faulks to support research and teaching around this area. The treatment in Victorian times was ‘Rest Cure’. Can students research this and present their findings? Which characters would have received this ‘cure’? How is it damaging? Why does Woolf include its topic in a novel set on a sunny pleasant day in London, 1923? Why is mental health so often at the forefront of Woolf’s novels? Further Reading suggestions: The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilmore creates a vivid portrayal of hallucinations and mental illness as well as the damage Victorian medicine and belief of mental illness can do. The Awakening by Kate Chopin has many parallels between Edna and Clarissa. Wuthering Heights by Charlotte Bronte. Cathy chooses between Linton and Heathcliff in a similar way to Clarissa choosing between Richard and Peter.   By Joanna Fliski Joanna Fliski is a freelance writer, secondary English teacher and primary school teacher in Bristol. Read More

Persuasion's protagonist Anne Elliot is perhaps the one character who critics describe as closest to Austen herself, going as far as to suggest that this novel is in fact part autobiographical. It is a novel that shows Austen at her wittiest. Although Anne, ‘the only one with any sense’ is taken for granted by her family, her strong sense of self and righteousness can be heard throughout in her authorial voice. She is no fool, yet acted foolishly in her youth. Like all novels by Austen, the tale spun here is of failed romance, human error and ultimately reconciliation. The following creative activities will bring Persuasion to life; they are designed to be funny and lively – much like the elaborate dinner parties in the 1880s that Jane attended. Agony Aunt Activity There is nothing Lady Russell likes more than subtly telling Anne how to run her life. Now it’s your turn to be controlling in the name of ‘proper society’. Students should imagine they are an agony aunt in the 1800s, what advice would they give in the following situations? a) Dear Lady Agony, my beloved father and sister Elizabeth fritter away our family inheritance on materialistic possessions. My dear Papa is concerned with the society of ‘gentleman not working men’ and old money and titles. I orchestrated a move to a smaller house in Bath to save money but discover them spending copious amounts of pounds on society in the assembly rooms. What would you suggest I do? Anne b)  Dear Lady Agony, I used to be engaged to the finest of men, but it was an ill-advised match due to his lack of money and my family’s ease at spending it.  I saw him again recently, ‘the worst is over, I have seen him, we have been once more in the same room’. He clearly despises me yet my heart remains his. He has money now, what amends can I make? Anne c) Dear Lady Agony, my dearest goddaughter was engaged at 19 to ‘a young naval officer who had no fortune or expectations’. Thankfully, she broke off the engagement at the time but now I discover her wish to reconcile. How can I remove her from this situation without scandal that may be reflected on me? Lady Russell Can they now create their own problems in the guise of a character and have other members of the class solve them? Could you turn this into a Drama activity with the characters coming alive from the page? What about a modern interpretation with the characters being contestants on Love Island? 2. Dating App You have received an application from Captain Frederick Wentworth who wishes to set up his dating profile. He was quite withdrawn and quiet so you may need to find some additional information about him in order to make him sound appealing to the highest quality social ladies. We do have the quote: ‘what I desire above all in a wife is a firmness of character; a woman who knows her own mind’. We also have it on good authority that he is the ‘most handsomest man in the Navy and quite unattached’. It shouldn’t be difficult to make a sound social match. We will of course need to know his income and his family lineage. Which ladies’ profiles would we match him with? 3. Character Top Trumps  Show the class a pack of Top Trumps before starting this activity. Ask students to spend 15 minutes collecting all the characters they can think of in the novel (this activity will work better with main characters so they can then choose 10). They then need to make a Top Trump card for their chosen character with a picture. I would suggest some of the following criteria for the cards with a mark out of 100: occupation, money, stupidity, secrets, honesty and importance to the novel. This should cause some lively discussion – is Mr Elliot the stupidest character and what makes him this way? What about Anne’s sisters? Where would they rank? Could they create a limited edition villain and who would that be? Is Anne the Top Trump or Frederick?   By Joanna Fliski Joanna Fliski is a freelance writer, secondary English teacher and primary school teacher in Bristol. Read More

Wuthering Heights is an epic, sweeping, iconic Gothic novel that is ideal for AS and A Level teaching. With its tragic love story, it can’t exactly be called light reading so here are some thoughtful ideas for lessons that enable students to become involved in close textual analysis through creativity and drama. Read More

In the 1920s, when ‘morals were looser and liqueur was cheaper’, society parties were the be-all and end-all of life. A good party made you a good person. Like Gatsby, Hemmingway loved a cocktail party but they are not all about frivolity and fun, there is etiquette and conversation to… Read More

One of the major achievements during the Carboniferous, probably in response to a drying environment, was the development of the Amniotic egg, the major topic of this article. View the full article Here is a list of topics featured in the article: Some questions that you… Read More

Susan Thompson What issues should you consider to make sure your investment in assessment delivers for students, teachers and your schools? Assessment is now a routine and essential element of school life. Using classroom activities, homework assignments, periodic testing, or once-a-year summative assessments; teachers constantly monitor and appraise the students… Read More

At this time of year many teachers will, hopefully, be approaching the end of teaching all the A-level content for Sociology and then be faced with the slightly daunting task of revisiting and revising all the material from the last 18 months. Despite the many criticisms of the linear style… Read More