A Level Sociology Topics by Exam Board: Full List

As an A Level sociology student, locating the information you need about the exam board you are studying can be challenging. This article provides a detailed breakdown of the A Level sociology topics covered by the following exam boards: AQA and OCR. This way, you will know exactly what to learn and where to look for the best exam board specific revision materials

AQA A Level Sociology Topics

AQA A Level Sociology is divided into compulsory and optional topics:

1. Education

This topic explores the role of the education system in society and its links to the economy and social class. 

You will learn how factors like social class, gender, and ethnicity affect educational achievement and you will become familiar with school processes, like teacher-student relationships and the hidden curriculum. You’ll also learn about the significance of educational policies and globalisation's impact on them.

Topics include:

• Class differences in achievement

• Ethnic differences in achievement

• Gender differences in education

• The role of education in society

• Educational policy and inequality

2. Methods in Context

This topic explores the characteristics of education that affect sociologists' choice of research method when investigating different issues in education, such as classroom interaction, pupil subcultures and teacher labelling. 

You will learn how to apply a variety of sociological research methods to the study of education and examine some of the opportunities and problems that the characteristics of educational research present for sociologists. 

Topics include:

• Research characteristics

• Using experiments to investigate education

• Using questionnaires to investigate education

• Using interviews to investigate education

• Using observations to investigate education

• Using secondary sources to investigate education

3. Theory and Methods

This topic covers research methods, including quantitative and qualitative approaches, primary and secondary data, and key methods such as interviews and observations. 

You will learn about the connection between sociological theories and research methods and consider ethical issues in research . Additionally, you’ll learn about sociological perspectives like consensus, conflict, and social action theories and debate sociology's relationship to science and social policy.

Topics include:

• Quantitative research methods

• Qualitative research methods

• Sociology and science

• Objectivity and values in sociology

• Functionalism

• Marxism

• Feminist theories

• Action theories

• Globalisation, modernity and postmodernity

• Sociology and social policy 

4. Crime and Deviance

This topic explores crime, deviance, and social control, examining how these vary by ethnicity, gender, and class. 

You'll learn about the impact of globalisation and media on crime including green crime, human rights, and state crimes. Additionally, you'll learn about crime control, surveillance, and the role of the criminal justice system and other agencies.

Topics include:

• Crime deviance and social control

• Social distribution of crime and deviance

• Globalisation and crime

• Crime control and the role of the criminal justice system

5. Option 1: Culture and Identity

This topic explores different ideas about culture, such as subcultures and global culture and examines the role of socialisation and how it shapes individuals. 

You will learn how identity is formed by society and connected to factors like age, gender, and social class. Additionally, you'll learn how identity relates to production, consumption, and globalisation.

Topics include:

• Different types of culture

• Socialisation and its agents

• The self and identity as social constructs

• Factors affecting identity

• Identity's connection to production, consumption, and globalisation

6. Option 1: Families and Households

This topic covers the relationship of the family with social structure and how they adapt to social and economic changes. 

You will learn about changing patterns of marriage, cohabitation, and family structures, along with evolving gender roles, domestic labour, and power dynamics. Additionally, you’ll study the nature of childhood, demographic trends since 1900, and the impacts of migration and globalisation on families.

Topics include:

• Couples

• Childhood

• Theories of the family

• Demography

• Changing family patterns

• Family diversity

• Families and social policy

7. Option 1: Health

This topic explores how health, illness, disability, and the body are socially constructed. 

You will examine how social factors like class, gender, and ethnicity impact health chances and access to healthcare. Additionally, you'll explore the nature and distribution of mental illness, and the role of medicine and the global health industry.

Topics include:

• Social construction of health and illness

• Health inequalities in the UK

• Inequality in healthcare access

• Role of healthcare systems

8. Option 1: Work, Poverty and Welfare

This topic examines poverty in today's society and how poverty, wealth, and income are spread across different social groups. You will learn about the ways the government and organisations try to address poverty. 

Additionally, you'll learn about work, including how it's organised and controlled, and how work (or lack of it) impacts people's lives and opportunities, especially with globalisation.

Topics include:

• Poverty in society

• Distribution of wealth and poverty

• Responses and solutions to poverty

• Work organisation

• Work and life chances

9. Option 2: Beliefs in Society

This topic explores different ideas surrounding ideology, science and religion, including both Christian and non-Christian traditions. 

You will learn how religious beliefs, practices, and organisations influence social change and stability. Additionally, you'll consider the importance of religion in today's world, including secularisation and the impact of globalisation on religions.

Topics include:

• Theories of religion

• Religion and social change

• Secularisation

• Religion, renewal and choice

• Religion in a global context

• Organisations, movements and members

• Ideology and science

10. Option 2:Global Development

This topic explores global inequality and how globalisation affects relationships between societies. 

You will learn about the role international organisations play in development strategies examining how aid, trade, industrialisation, and other factors relate to development. Additionally, you'll consider how employment, education, health, and other aspects are connected to development.

Topics include:

• Development and global inequality

• Globalisation’s influence on societal relationships

• The role of international organisations in development

• Factors affecting development

11. Option 2: The Media 

This topic covers the impact of new media on society and how ownership influences media control. 

You will learn about the connection between media, globalisation, and popular culture, as well as how media selects and presents news. Additionally, you'll examine how media portrays different social groups and how audiences interact with media content.

Topics include:

• Importance of new media in modern society

• Media ownership and control

• Media, globalisation, and popular culture

• Selection of news content

• Media representation of social groups

12. Option 2: Stratification and Differentiation

This topic examines how society is divided by class, gender, ethnicity, and age, as well as the factors driving inequality and how these affect people’s life chances. 

You will learn how social class is defined and measured, and how structures of inequality are changing due to globalisation. Additionally, you'll study patterns of social mobility and their significance.

Topics include:

• Factors affecting stratification

• Inequality and life chances

• Measuring social class

• Impact of globalisation on inequality

• Social mobility
  

What is Covered in AQA A Level Sociology Paper 1?

What is Covered in AQA A Level Sociology Paper 2?

What is Covered in AQA A Level Sociology Paper 3?

Revision Resources for AQA A Level Sociology

If you’re looking for revision resources for the AQA A Level Sociology course, the experts at Save My Exams have meticulously combed through the AQA A Level Sociology specification to ensure that the past papers we provide are perfectly aligned with the exam board’s requirements.

• AQA A Level Sociology Past Papers
  

OCR A Level Sociology Topics

OCR A Level Sociology is divided into compulsory and optional topics:

1. Socialisation, Culture and Identity

This topic explores the key themes of socialisation, culture and identity, covering concepts like norms, values, and different types of culture. 

You will learn how socialisation shapes identity through various agencies like family, media and education. Additionally, you'll examine different aspects of identity, such as ethnicity, gender, and social class, and how they intersect.

Topics include:

• Culture, norms and values

• Types of culture and cultural diversity

• Agencies of socialisation 

• Agencies of social control

• Aspects of identity

2. Research Methods and Researching Social Inequalities

This topic covers different sociological research methods, both quantitative and qualitative, and how they relate to sociological theory. 

You will learn about the stages of the research process, including choosing a topic, collecting data, and interpreting results. You'll consider ethical issues in research and how sociological research connects to social policy. 

You will be required to apply this knowledge to understand social class, gender, ethnicity, and age inequalities.

Topics include:

• Relationship between theory and methods 

• Reliability and validity

• Stages of the research process 

• Sampling process and techniques

• Access and gatekeeping in research

• Ethical considerations in sociological research

• Quantitative and qualitative methods and data

• Mixed methods

3. Understanding Social Inequalities

This topic explores the patterns and trends of social inequality related to social class, gender, ethnicity, and age. 

You'll learn about how these inequalities affect people's life chances and employment and explore different sociological theories that explain these inequalities, such as functionalism, Marxism, feminism, Weberian, and New Right theories.

Topics include:

• Social inequality in relation to social groups

• Social inequality in work and employment

• Life chances

• Sociological explanations of social inequality

4. Globalisation and the Digital Social World

This topic examines globalisation and digital communication, exploring how they shape identity, relationships, and social inequalities. 

You will learn about the impact of digital communication on culture, considering ideas like cultural homogenisation and cultural defence, while applying sociological theories such as Marxism, feminism, and postmodernism to understand their effects on culture and global interactions.

Topics include:

• Definitions of globalisation

• Developments in digital communication 

• Impact of digital communication on identity, social inequalities, and relationships

• Impact of digital communication on culture

5. Families and Relationships

This topic explores how families shape culture and socialisation in modern society.

You will learn about the diversity of family types in the UK today, including trends in marriage and demographic changes. You'll also examine the differing roles and relationships within families, like power dynamics between partners and parents/children, using sociological theories to understand these changes.

Topics include:

• Diversity of family and household types in the UK

• Trends in marriage, divorce, cohabitation, and demographic changes

• The ideology of the nuclear family

• Changing roles and relationships

6. Youth Subcultures

This topic examines how youth culture and subcultures form and their societal roles, exploring theories like functionalism, Marxism, feminism, and postmodernism. 

You will learn the reasons why young people join deviant subcultures, analysing trends, social factors like class and gender, and media influences, including deviance amplification, moral panics, and identity formation.

Topics include:

• Theoretical views on youth culture and subcultures

• Deviant subcultures

• Patterns and trends in youth deviance

• Media and youth deviance

7. Media

This topic explores how the media shapes socialisation in modern society.

You will learn about how different social groups are represented in the media and whether these representations are changing. You'll also explore different theories about media representations and the effects media has on audiences, including moral panics.

Topics include:

• Media representations of different social groups 

• Theoretical views of media representations 

• Theoretical views of media effects

• The media's role in deviance amplification and moral panics

8. Crime and Deviance

This topic looks at how crime and deviance are defined and measured, exploring different sociological perspectives. 

You will examine patterns by class, gender, age, and ethnicity and analyse trends in crime, both locally and globally, and consider various theories to explain these patterns. Additionally, you'll explore different social policies aimed at reducing crime and deviance.

Topics include:

• Relativity and social construction of crime and deviance

• Measuring crime 

• Social distribution of offending and victimisation 

• Patterns of crime in a global context 

• Theoretical views of crime and deviance

• Social policy and crime

9. Education

This topic explores the role of education in society from different theoretical perspectives and looks at how education and work are connected. 

You will learn about factors contributing to educational inequality both in the UK and globally as well as analysing how UK education policies have changed since 1988 and their impact on issues like equality and standards.

Topics include:

• Theoretical views on the role of education 

• Relationship between education and work 

• Factors affecting educational achievement 

• Educational inequalities in a global context

• Government policies from 1988 onwards and their impact

10. Religion, Belief and Faith

This topic covers how religion, belief, and faith are defined and measured, and looks at the different types of religious institutions. 

You will learn about the role of religion in society and its relationship to social change from various theoretical perspectives. Additionally, you'll analyse patterns and trends of religiosity, and debate the concept of secularisation in a global context.

Topics include:

• Types of religious institutions and movements 

• Measuring religion, faith, and belief 

• Theoretical views on the role of religion

• Religion, belief, and faith in a global context

• Debates on secularisation

• Religion and social policy
  

What is Covered in OCR A Level Sociology Component 1?

What is Covered in OCR A Level Sociology Component 2?

What is Covered in OCR A Level Sociology Component 3?

Revision Resources for OCR A Level Sociology

If you’re looking for revision resources for the OCR A Level Sociology course, the experts at Save My Exams have meticulously combed through the OCR A Level Sociology specification to ensure that the past papers we provide are perfectly aligned with the exam board’s requirements.

• OCR A Level Sociology Past Papers
  

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Explore our A Level Sociology resources to kick-start your journey to exam success.

References

AQA (2021) AS and A Level Sociology Specification (7191; 7192), Version 1.2: https://filestore.aqa.org.uk/resources/sociology/specifications/AQA-7191-7192-SP-2015.PDF  Accessed 15 January 2025

OCR (2024) A Level Specification Sociology (H580), Version 1.3: https://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/170212-specification-accredited-a-level-gce-sociology.pdf  Accessed 16 January 2025