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Topic title: Inequality

Year group: 13

When taught: Term 1, 2, 3 and 4

What are we learning?

  • Evidence and examples of areas of inequality related to social class, gender, ethnicity and age in the contemporary UK; evidence and examples may be drawn from across the specification.
  • Changing patterns of inequality including the distribution of income, wealth and social mobility in the contemporary UK.
  • Theories and explanations for inequality and stratification related to social class, gender, ethnicity, age, for example functionalist, New Right, Marxist, neo-Marxist, Weberian, neo-Weberian, feminist, postmodernist and theories of racism.

Why is this important to know?

  • OECD figures (2023) suggest that the UK has among the highest levels of income inequality in the European Union (as measured by the Gini coefficient).
  • It introduces students to the idea of social justice within sociology, and supports them in reflecting on their place within UK society.

Where does this link into our past and future learning?

  • It compliments and consolidates the learning of all of the other topics.
  • This is a synoptic unit, so it is encouraged that examples are drawn from the other topics studied in addition to new examples from health and income etc.
  • This skill in particular prepares students for future learning at university.

How will we be assessed on this topic?

  • Students will sit a formal exam on this topic in the summer. This section makes up 60 marks and 75 minutes of Paper 3 at A Level.
  • They will be asked one 20 mark question and a choice of two 40 mark questions.
  • There will also be mid topic and end of topic tests on the unit when we study it.
  • Students will also have recap tests / questioning / exam questions on this topic during most lessons.

What makes a strong piece of work in this topic?  What are teachers hoping to see?  

  • Linking their answers to the context of the item they are given in the exam.
  • A detailed description of the content.
  • Sustained evaluation that is fully ‘PEEEL’ed.

What key words are there in this topic?

Quizlet. Click here

What can I try if I want to stretch and challenge myself on this topic?

  • There is an extension challenge set for this unit. This consists of 4 interesting tasks such as videos to watch, podcasts to listen to, articles to read and online courses to complete with a feedback task at the end. Please see your subject teacher to access this sheet.

What wider reading can be done on this topic?

  • There are several Sociology Review Magazine articles relevant to this topic that you can read to extend your knowledge. Please see your subject teacher to access copies of these.
  • The school library has a number of relevant sociology books including but not limited to:
    • Chavs -Owen Jones
    • Invisible Women – Caroline Criado-Perez
    • The Spirit Level: why equality is better for everyone -Kate Pickett & Richard Wilkinson