Category: Blog

• 27 Jan 2026

  Positivism vs Interpretivism: The Cheat Sheet

  

  When sociologists carry out research, they don’t all agree on how society should be studied. Some believe sociology should work like a science, using facts and figures. Others argue that society can only be understood by exploring people’s meanings and experiences. These two approaches are known as positivism and interpretivism, and they sit at the…
• 15 Dec 2025

  Sociology on the edge

  How researchers study those on the margins of society A lot of sociology happens in places most people don’t see, don’t visit, or would rather not think about: gang territories, homeless encampments, stigmatised sexual cultures, institutions that control people’s lives, and communities under intense surveillance. Researchers go there because that’s often where power shows itself…
• 6 Dec 2025

  Sounds of Society: 10 Songs That Turn Social Issues into Sonic Sociology

  One of the staples of the Tutor2u Strong Foundations and Gradebooster tours is the music quiz that starts session 4, warming students up after lunch be getting them to think about sociological concepts that they can draw from specific songs. Needless to say, after two weeks, my brain starts racing with lots of alternatives to…
• 4 Dec 2025

  Festive Gifts for Famous Sociologists: A Starter Activity to Boost Theoretical Recall

  

  Helping students remember key sociologists can sometimes feel like trying to wrap presents with oven mitts on; possible, but not always easy. This festive activity brings theory to life by imagining what kinds of real-life Christmas gifts each famous sociologist might enjoy, based on their ideas. It’s a light-hearted way to start a lesson, but…
• 3 Dec 2025

  Investigating Gender Inequalities Through Student-Led Research

  One of the most powerful ways to deepen students’ understanding of social inequalities is to give them opportunities to do sociology rather than simply read about it. While the OCR A Level specification (Paper 2: Social Inequalities) provides rich theoretical material, students often benefit from activities that encourage them to apply these theories to real…
• 3 Dec 2025

  Using Orwell’s Room 101 to Teach Social Inequalities (Cambridge OCR A Level Sociology)

  Sociology classrooms thrive on debate, critical thinking, and the healthy dismantling of ideas. One creative way to bring this alive, especially when teaching the Cambridge OCR A Level topic Researching Social Inequalities, is to borrow an iconic concept from George Orwell’s 1984: Room 101. In Orwell’s dystopia, Room 101 represents the ultimate symbol of state…
• 29 Nov 2025

  The Sociology of Christmas: What Our Favourite Festive Films Reveal About Society

  Christmas movies aren’t just cosy entertainment—they’re full of social messages about family, community, identity and inequality. When we look closely, these stories become snapshots of the values and tensions shaping society. Here’s a sociological tour through some of the most popular Christmas films and the themes they quietly teach us. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946):…
• 28 Nov 2025

  Neurodiversity and the Sociology Classroom

  Sociology, generally speaking, tends to be one of the more inclusive subject areas, dealing as it does with a broad range of social inequalities. As sociology teachers, we spend a lot of time researching the impacts of class, gender, ethnicity, sexuality and disability. We pay attention to potential triggers that might make students feel uncomfortable,…
• 22 Nov 2025

  Modern Primitives: Understanding Vale & Juno (1989)

  Body modification; tattoos, piercings, scarification and ritual pain; feels completely normal to many people today. However, in the late 1980s these practices were still seen as extreme or deviant in mainstream Western culture. Vale & Juno’s Modern Primitives became a landmark exploration of how and why some people were adopting these practices, and what this…
• 16 Nov 2025

  Functionalist Views of Social Class Inequality

  Introduction: The Functionalist Lens on Inequality Functionalism views society as a system made up of interdependent parts—institutions like the family, education, the economy and religion—all working together to maintain stability and order. Functionalists argue that social harmony depends on a general agreement about values and goals (value consensus). Individuals are socialised into these shared norms,…