a level sociology family diversity essay

The Sociology Teacher

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Topic 1 - COUPLES

In a nutshell

Sociologists have different opinions on how couples do and should divide up domestic labour. They also have different opinions on how decision making happens. Finally, some sociologists believe domestic violence results from patriarchy (Dobash and Dobash), whereas others believe it’s cause by stress from being poor (Wilkinson).

Topic 2 - CHILDHOOD

Some sociologists argue that the position of children in society has significantly improved due to the introduction of laws that protect children's rights. However, some sociologists believe childhood has turned ‘toxic’ due to rapid technological and cultural change.

Topic 3 - THEORIES OF THE FAMILY

Functionalists hold a consensus view of the family arguing that it plays a vital role in providing beneficial functions to meet the needs of society and its individual members. Alternatively, Marxists take a conflict view of the family, arguing it helps maintain class inequalities. Feminists also hold a conflict view of the family, whereby they believe the family is the main source of oppression of women.

Topic 4 - Demography

Some sociologists believe the quality of life has significantly improved, whereby life expectancy is increasing, birth rate is decreasing and infant mortality is decreasing. Technological, cultural and social change has led to such an improvement. However, some sociologists disregard this in arguing there is now an increased dependency culture which is a burden on society.

topic 5 - CHANGING FAMILY PATTERNS

Divorce is increasing and marriage is decreasing. Reasons for this include secularisation, decline in stigma, changing position of women, and changes in the law.

topic 6 - Family Diversity

Family diversity has increased, and there as been a shift away from the traditional nuclear family. Nowadays, it is more common for reconstituted, lone-parent and cohabiting families to exist. However, functionalists and the new right reject this in arguing the nuclear family is the only family type functional for society.

topic 7 - Family and Social Policy

Social policy can have a big impact on families. International examples with huge impact include China’s one child policy and Nazi Germany’s policies. In the UK, some sociologists believe social policy can be used to help families, however others believe it is there to oppress them.

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AS and A-level Sociology

• Specification
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• Introduction
• Specification at a glance
• 3.1 Education with Methods in Context
• 3.2 Research Methods and Topics in Sociology
• 4.1 Education with Theory and Methods
• 4.2 Topics in Sociology
• 4.3 Crime and Deviance with Theory and Methods
• Scheme of assessment
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4.2.2 Families and Households

Students are expected to be familiar with sociological explanations of the following content:

• the relationship of the family to the social structure and social change, with particular reference to the economy and to state policies
• changing patterns of marriage, cohabitation, separation, divorce, childbearing and the life course, including the sociology of personal life, and the diversity of contemporary family and household structures
• gender roles, domestic labour and power relationships within the family in contemporary society
• the nature of childhood, and changes in the status of children in the family and society
• demographic trends in the United Kingdom since 1900: birth rates, death rates, family size, life expectancy, ageing population, and migration and globalisation.

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WRITING FRAME - AQA A-level Sociology: Families – Topic 6 Family diversity 20 marker

Subject: Sociology

Age range: 16+

Resource type: Worksheet/Activity

Last updated

13 April 2023

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Detailed writing frame that scaffolds (from introduction to conclusion) a full answer for a 20 marker on evaluating the view that individual choice in personal relationships has made family life less important in the United Kingdom today (family -topic 6 family diversity).

*** Based on AQA specification**

Models and supports students with how to use the item to select points or arguments to answer the question and how to plan essays using planning success criteria.

Outlines the success criteria and provides sentence starters for the full essay (intro, main body and conclusion). Success criteria used for paragraphs in main body of essay is PEELE/A

Outlines the key terms, sociologists, theories that can be used when answering the question.

Supports students who need support and guidance with writing essays whilst providing students who are already good at writing essays opportunities to further improve their essay skills.

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Get this resource as part of a bundle and save up to 22%

A bundle is a package of resources grouped together to teach a particular topic, or a series of lessons, in one place.

PREPARING FOR THE EXAM - Family Revision and Essay Writing Bundle

Bundle includes: 1. Family PLC - EDITABLE - Personal Learning Checklist for the Families and Households unit in the the AQA A-level Sociology syllabus. PLC includes topic and page numbers from the Westergaard and Townsend book one for content students my find hard to locate. 2. Revision lessons that recaps content and/ or focusses on developing exam techniques for family topics 1-7: -Topic 1 - Couples - also focusses on exam techniques - AO1, AO2 & AO3 -Topic 2 - Childhood -Topic 3 - Theories of the family - focusses on AO1 & AO3 -Topic 4 - Demography - briefly focusses on all AOs but mainly AO2 for 10 markers -Topic 5 - Changing Family patterns - focusses on AO2 -Topic 6 - Family diversity -Topic 7 -Families and Social policy - focusses on planning essays using the item. 3. Five writing frames for 20 markers on family topics 2-6: Detailed writing frame that scaffolds (from introduction to conclusion) a full answer for a 20 marker on: -Topic 2 - Childhood - evaluate explanations of childhod -Topic 3 - Theories of the family - whether the family is beneficial -Topic 4 - Demography - position of the old -Topic 5 - Changing family patterns -divorce -Topic 6 - Family diversity - whether individual choice in personal relationships has made family life less important Writing frames: - Supports students with planning the 20 marker (using the item) - using planning success criteria. - Outlines the success criteria and provides sentence starters for the full essay (intro, main body and conclusion). Success criteria used for paragraphs in main body of essay is PEELE/A** -Outlines the key terms, sociologists, theories that can be used when answering the question.** -Supports students who need support and guidance with writing essays whilst providing students who are already good at writing essays opportunities to further improve their essay skills. **

WRITING FRAMES (for improving essay writing) - AQA A-level Sociology: Families – Topics 2-6 20 marker

Detailed writing frame that scaffolds (from introduction to conclusion) a full answer for a 20 marker on: * Topic 2 - Childhood - evaluate explanations of childhod * Topic 3 - Theories of the family - whether the family is beneficial * Topic 4 - Demography - position of the old * Topic 5 - Changing family patterns -divorce * Topic 6 - Family diversity - whether individual choice in personal relationships has made family life less important *** Based on AQA specification** *** Supports students with planning the 20 marker (using the item) - using planning success criteria. ** *** Outlines the success criteria and provides sentence starters for the full essay (intro, main body and conclusion). Success criteria used for paragraphs in main body of essay is PEELE/A** *** Outlines the key terms, sociologists, theories that can be used when answering the question.** *** Supports students who need support and guidance with writing essays whilst providing students who are already good at writing essays opportunities to further improve their essay skills. **

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A-level Sociology (AQA) Revision Notes

Saul Mcleod, PhD

Editor-in-Chief for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester

Saul Mcleod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

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Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc

Associate Editor for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education

Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.

On This Page:

Revision guide for AQA A-Level (7192) and AS-Level Sociology (7191), including straightforward study notes, independent study booklets, and past paper questions and answers. Fully updated for the summer 2023 term.

Thanks to the Hectic Teacher for allowing us to link to these resources:

Paper 1: Education with Methods in Context

• Hectic Teacher
• Study Booklet Part 2
• Study Booklet Part 3
• Complete Revision Notes
• Short Questions and Answers
• the role and functions of the education system, including its relationship to the economy and to class structure
• differential educational achievement of social groups by social class, gender and ethnicity in contemporary society
• relationships and processes within schools, with particular reference to teacher/pupil relationships, pupil identities and subcultures, the hidden curriculum, and the organisation of teaching and learning
• the significance of educational policies, including policies of selection, marketisation and privatisation, and policies to achieve greater equality of opportunity or outcome, for an understanding of the structure, role, impact and experience of and access to education; the impact of globalisation on educational policy.

Methods in Context

• Students must be able to apply sociological research methods to the study of education.

Paper 2: Research Methods and Topics in Sociology

Research methods.

• Study Booklet Part 1

Learning Objectives

• quantitative and qualitative methods of research; research design
• sources of data, including questionnaires, interviews, participant and non-participant observation, experiments, documents and official statistics
• the distinction between primary and secondary data, and between quantitative and qualitative data
• the relationship between positivism, interpretivism and sociological methods; the nature of ‘social facts’
• the theoretical, practical and ethical considerations influencing choice of topic, choice of method(s) and the conduct of research

Topic 2: Families and Households

• the relationship of the family to the social structure and social change, with particular reference to the economy and to state policies
• changing patterns of marriage, cohabitation, separation, divorce, childbearing and the life course, including the sociology of personal life, and the diversity of contemporary family and household structures
• gender roles, domestic labour and power relationships within the family in contemporary society
• the nature of childhood, and changes in the status of children in the family and society
• demographic trends in the United Kingdom since 1900: birth rates, death rates, family size, life expectancy, ageing population, and migration and globalisation

Topic 5: Beliefs in Society

• ideology, science and religion, including both Christian and non-Christian religious traditions
• the relationship between social change and social stability, and religious beliefs, practices and organisations
• religious organisations, including cults, sects, denominations, churches and New Age movements, and their relationship to religious and spiritual belief and practice
• the relationship between different social groups and religious/spiritual organisations and movements, beliefs and practices
• the significance of religion and religiosity in the contemporary world, including the nature and extent of secularisation in a global context, and globalisation and the spread of religions

Topic 6: Global Development

• Revision Notes
• Knowledge Organiser
• development, underdevelopment and global inequality
• globalisation and its influence on the cultural, political and economic relationships between societies
• the role of transnational corporations, non-governmental organisations and international agencies in local and global strategies for development
• development in relation to aid and trade, industrialisation, urbanisation, the environment, and war and conflict
• employment, education, health, demographic change and gender as aspects of development

Paper 3: Crime and Deviance with Theory and Methods

Crime and deviance.

• Study Booklet Part 4
• Example Essays
• crime, deviance, social order and social control
• the social distribution of crime and deviance by ethnicity, gender and social class, including recent patterns and trends in crime
• globalisation and crime in contemporary society; the media and crime; green crime; human rights and state crimes
• crime control, surveillance, prevention and punishment, victims, and the role of the criminal justice system and other agencies

Theory and Methods

• Independent Study Booklet Part 1
• Independent Study Booklet Part 2
• Methods Flash Cards
• Theory Flash Cards
• consensus, conflict, structural and social action theories
• the concepts of modernity and post-modernity in relation to sociological theory
• the nature of science and the extent to which Sociology can be regarded as scientific
• the relationship between theory and methods
• debates about subjectivity, objectivity and val
• the relationship between Sociology and social policy

Download Past Paper Questions With Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

What is ao3 in sociology a-level.

AO3 is an assessment objective for analysing and evaluating sociological theories, concepts, evidence and research methods in order to present arguments, make judgements and reach conclusions.

Examples of AO3 points include:

• Evaluate from other PERSPECTIVES – What would other perspectives say about the theory / concept? Is there a counter-argument?
• Evaluate – HISTORICAL CRITICISM – Is the theory/ concept dated? When was the concept developed? Is it still relevant today, or has society changed so much that it is no longer relevant? Has society changed in such a way that some aspects of the theory are now more relevant?
• Evalaute – POWER/ BIAS/ VALUE FREEDOM? Who developed the concept/ theory – whose interests does it serve? For example, “x” theor is ethnocentric because….

What is the fastest way to revise sociology?

There is no great mystery about how to study for sociology A-level. Many students, although they’re not naturally that ‘academic’ still score A and A* grades through sheer hard work, focus and determination.

Before you start you need to satisfy yourself that you have good syllabus notes to work from. Although most textbooks are fine in places they have a tendency to either not give enough detail on certain topics or give too much information (which can be just as bad).

As long as you have great syllabus notes and lots of past paper questions the rest is really up to you. If you want to score an A* or A grade you need to act like someone who’s going to score these grades.

You are competing against people who are going to put in a hell of a lot of hard work so you need to work as hard as or harder than them. And you need to think about what hard work really is.

What are the most effective ways of revising subject knowledge?

• Ask “How” and “Why” questions  when revising and try to connect ideas (this method is called “elaboration”)
• No cramming . Distribute your revision over time and use a spaced system of repetition
• Switch topics regularly  when revising (this is called “ interleaving ” and it will help you to identify connections between different topics)
• Words and visuals . Combine words and visual representations to create two ways of remembering key ideas (this is called “dual coding”)
• Teachers! Students! Please get in touch if you have any A-level sociology notes you would like to share. We would really like to cover all 8 topics for paper 2.
• Please contact us via email contact@simplypsychology,org .

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Families and Households Topic for AQA A-Level Sociology: Study Resources

Last updated 5 Jan 2023

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Here is a superb collection of free study resources to support students taking the Families & Households topic for AQA A-Level Sociology.

Learning Activities

Family ‘connection wall’ activity.

Quizzes & Activities

Study Notes

Families: Family and Household Defined

Families: functionalism, families: marxism, families: feminism, families: new right, industrialisation and the family, families: the "march of progress" (wilmott & young), families: changing patterns of marriage, families: changing patterns of separation and divorce, social policy & families: conservative governments (1979 - 1997), social policy & families: coalition government (2010 - 2015), contemporary economic change and families, classic texts on families and households, classic texts: delphy & leonard "familiar exploitation" 1992, classic texts: ann oakley "conventional families" 1982, classic texts: charles murray "losing ground" 1984, classic texts: rapoport & rapoport "british families in transition" 1982, classic texts: willmott and young "the symmetrical family", 1973, classic texts: eli zaretsky "capitalism, the family & personal life" 1976, classic texts: talcott parsons "the social structure of the family" 1959, short topic videos, families & households: delphy and leonard on gender roles.

Topic Videos

Families & Households: Feminism and Family

Families & households: late and postmodern views of family, families & households: marxism and the family, families & households: murdock on the family, families & households: rappoports on family diversity, families & households: new right on the family, families & households: oakley on the family, families & households: parsons on the family, families & households: giddens on family, families & households: wilmott and young - the symmetrical family, families & households: zaretsky on the family, families & households: theoretical perspectives on family policy, families & households: personal life perspective, families & households: changing patterns of family life - marriage and cohabitation, families & households: changing patterns of family life - same-sex relationships, families & households: changing patterns of family life: child-bearing, families & households: changing patterns of family life: divorce, families & households: state policy - impacts of policy on childhood, families & households: state policy - impacts of policy on family structures, families & households: state policy - impacts of policy on gender roles, our subjects.

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ReviseSociology

A level sociology revision – education, families, research methods, crime and deviance and more!

Evaluate the view that changing gender roles are the most significant factor in explaining the increase in family diversity (20)

Last Updated on April 18, 2018 by Karl Thompson

Below is a suggested essay plan for a possible essay which may come up on the AQA’s A-level sociology paper 2: topics in sociology: families and households section.

The plan follows the Point – Explain – Analyse – Evaluate structure, topped and tailed with an introduction and a conclusion:

GIFF VERSION

PNG VERSION:

(Two versions as I’m testing ‘image quality’!)

If you feel like you need to review this topic further, then please see these two posts :

• Explaining the increase in family diversity part 1
• Explaining the increase in family diversity part 2

Peace, and happy revising!

Last Updated March 2018.

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Essay On Family Diversity

Craig Southern

Family Diversity: The Contrasting Views

Britain In the 21st century is a society with a great diversity in family structure. Comment on the possible reasons and explanations for this situation:

In the following essay I am going to explain why there has been such a drastic change in society and in family diversity.

In the 1960's families were a lot more traditional than nowadays, and most families were nuclear, which means a married a couple with children. Although, times have changed a lot since the 1960’s, what is deemed as socially acceptable has changed a great deal since those times, social mores have changed a great deal, and different types of families, as they are becoming more diverse, and situations previously unacceptable in society, are now an ordinary way of life. Conjugal roles have also changed over the last 45+ years, because in the 60’s it was always the traditional conjugal roles, where the male went out to work, and earned the money, while the woman was to stay at home, and take care of children and be domesticated, this was such a prominent part of society that classes were even taken on how to perfect household skills. This was made even more prominent because of the media, in TV adverts they would always portray the stereotypical conjugal roles, and convey this as the ideal way of living.

This is a preview of the whole essay

The 1960's were host to the sexual revolution; this movement happened towards the beginning of the ‘60’s, the purpose of this revolution was to empower women. This empowerment consisted of making women more independent, and gave them the power and the right to seek out careers for themselves, instead of just domestic work. Another aspect of this period was that female contraceptives became available, this eventually gave women the option of whether to have children or not. After the introduction of the pill, women had more freedom to go out and build careers for themselves. However this has had a great effect on the rates of marriage and births in the UK, each year they are decreasing and in the 60’s the average family size was marginally larger than nowadays.

Feminists believe marriage doesn’t benefit women in the slightest. The reasons for this are that, if the stereotypical family view was still intact, it would put women at a strong disadvantage but the men would still be advantaged. Even nowadays a larger percentage of women are the parents in a family that take care of children domestic chores, but men are still seen as the ‘bread winners’. According to feminists families are the worst place for women to be as they are sometimes subjected to domestic violence and are often exploited by men.

In comparison to the 1970’s there are a lot less marriages now based on religion, this is because of secularization, this means that religion doesn’t have the effect on society that it used to, this is due to change in social mores. It was previously traditional for a couple to be married for a couple of years before thinking of having children, however, this has all changed, now a large percentage of the population have children before marriage. Also, nowadays couples want to have their independence more, therefore they do not get married until much later in the relationship or don’t get married at all, and some couples have no desire to have children as they are seen as too restricting. However there has been a dramatic increase in single parent families and re-constituted families since the 1970’s.

Another massive change in society is the rising in gay and lesbian couples, in the 1970’s this would have been completely taboo, and would not have been accepted in society for 1 second. Which shows the drastic changes in society as nowadays they can get married and can adopt and raise children, which would not have even been considered in the ‘70’s.

Statistics now show that women request every 7 in 10 divorces. The latest statistical figures suggest that one in three marriages end in divorce, this statistic is however outdated and now the figure is nearing every 1 in 2 marriages end in divorce. The possible reasons for this are that divorce has now become an easier process and a fairly simple process at that. The Divorce Reform Act was introduced in 1969. This law deemed that it was no legal for women to file for divorce, whereas previous to 1969, it was only legal for men to divorce women.

Since the 1960’s the UK has become a lot more multi-cultural, and society is now host to many different cultures. South Asian families in particular are renowned for their extended families, and living with grandparents and other family members such as aunties and uncles, this show the westernization of this culture. Many afro-Caribbean families are lead by the woman, as they are seen as the focus point of most families, this is because they are often without fathers, as in their cultures if the man cannot provide for the family he is excommunicated, and the women provide for the children.

Marriage and parenting patterns have changed that social mores have changed, secularization is decreasing, there is also a lot more support from the state, with benefits and other aids to help people pay bills! Nowadays people are less likely to be influenced by tradition and are more likely to do what they feel like doing, because in today’s society, anything and everything is acceptable, according to postmodernists. Today, "dual-worker" families are becoming more popular in Britain today.

According to the New Right, family diversity does nothing to help the economy and is seen as undermining the nuclear family. Along with this belief, they also believe that single sex couples are not good for society and that women should remain in the home in the traditional sense of the 1960’s. They also view divorce and separations as a problem for society as they say it costs society money because single parent families get benefits from the welfare stare.

In conclusion, this essay has brought to light different views on the state of families nowadays; I have found that there are many contrasting views on diversity. Feminists view family diversity as a positive outlook, which is a positive situation for women, as they are free to do what they want and free from the ‘restraint’ of men and the nuclear family. However the views of the New Right state that the nuclear family is the best scenario of society and family diversity as being wrong as it breaks all traditional values.

Document Details

• Word Count 1117
• Page Count 2
• Subject Sociology

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