Sociology

Getting discussions and debates flowing with new students

If you are like me then following the well-earned summer break you return to teaching in September and feel like you have forgotten everything from how to explain an idea to how to write on a whiteboard and that comes after forgetting all your passwords and how to log in… Read More

Sociology: Suicide and Masculinity

On a train journey from Watford back to my home in Brighton following a Saturday football match, the delay announcement came through to make travelers aware there had been a fatality on the tracks. As passengers began to discuss the situation it became apparent that assumptions had been made that… Read More

Sociology: Changing attitudes towards sexuality

In late June I was living in Madrid and witnessed the success of the World Pride events first-hand. What particularly struck me was the sheer size in support of the ten-day celebrations that attracted visitors from far and wide. On the first weekend of August I also… Read More

Using Twitter as a resource for Sociology

Love it or loath it, there is no doubt that Twitter is a hugely effective resource for teachers of sociology, whether it is advice on exam content, sharing teaching materials, useful videos, social and political news or just a tweet to raise a smile, there are… Read More

West Side Sociology

I’ve always been interested in the dynamics of street gangs partly because when I was a young lad growing up in Hull in the 1960s I belonged to one. Well, at least my peers regarded it as a gang. However, the gang I belonged to – the… Read More

Sociology: Bringing some life to teaching methods

For many Sociology teachers, the topic of research methods can be the dullest, often described as dry and certainly an area that has many students groaning or yawning on a Monday morning. While some students grasp the basics really quickly (possibly those who also study a science… Read More

Moving Sociology outside of the classroom

Sociology is a fascinating subject which enables learners to develop a real understating of how society works. Many students are captivated by some of the debates covered in Sociology A-level, and for the first time they can become immersed in a subject, whilst seeing the relevance of it in… Read More

Teaching Sociology to International students

As an international teacher of Sociology, I am often asked what the biggest differences are when teaching the subject to non-British students. To a large degree, the challenges are the same, teenagers are teenagers the world over and the creativity, surliness, wit and an obsession with looking at their… Read More