ATSS E-Newsletter
July 2011

Any feedback or if you have further news or resources for members of the ATSS, please let us know by contacting Fiona Hayden.

ATSS National CPD Conference 2011

Have you booked your place at this year’s Conference?  If not, you’ll be missing out on an important CPD opportunity!

This exciting event takes place:

Friday 9th September – Sunday 11th September

At the Menzies Strathallan Hotel, Birmingham

Keynote speakers will be: 

• Mairtin Mac an Ghaill - Contemporary Issues in Gender and Ethnicity in Education.
• Dr Sarah-Jane Page - The Impact of Religious Ideology on Expressions and the Role of Sexuality.
• Dr Anneliese Dodds - the impact of an Ageing population with explicit reference to social policy and reforms.

Workshops will include: Interactive Games, Teaching GCSE, NQT Workshop, Becoming a Head of Department, Visualizing data, Anthropology, Research at A Level, GTP Route into Teaching Sociology.

There will be sessions held with examiners – so you can get all your questions answered!

In addition there will be publishers exhibiting their books, as well as the launch of some fantastic new ATSS resources.

An event not to be missed!

For further details and an application form, visit the Conference webpage.

Job Vacancies (please visit TES Connect for further information):

Lecturer - GCE Sociology (0.5)
Kingston College, Kingston Upon Thames 
Salary: £20,904 - £37,983 pro rata, per annum inclusive of London Allowance (the final two points are discretionary) | Closing date: 15 July 2011

University of Cambridge International A-level Sociology

The International A-Level in Sociology is currently being reviewed.  The University is seeking feedback to the changes from ATSS members.  Review the proposed new specification and the feedback questionnaire. 

ATSS E-Newsletter
May 2011 

Any feedback or if you have further news or resources for members of the ATSS, please let us know by contacting Fiona Hayden: fhayden@southwolds.notts.sch.uk

A big thank you to Jonathan Blundell, James Nicholson and Pam Burrage for their help and contributions to this newsletter!

ATSS Conference:

Don’t forget to check out the ATSS website to book your place at the ATSS National CDP Conference, 9^th – 11^th September 2011 in Birmingham. 

It promises to be an exciting event with carefully selected speakers who’ll help give you the edge, they include Mairtin Mac an Ghaill (education and masculinity), Sarah-Jane Page (religion, youth and sexuality) and Dr Anneliese Dodds (impact on an aging population). 

There will also be a variety of workshops and exam training sessions run by chief examiners from the major exam boards.  See www.atss.org.uk or for further details, email atss@britsoc.org.uk or telephone (0191) 383 0839.

Exciting ‘data visualisations’ development from Durham University

A group at Durham University is working on a project funded by the Nuffield Foundation to develop some data visualisations to support the teaching of A-level Sociology. All resources will be freely available. If you would like to know more or to trial resources please email James Nicholson at j.r.nicholson@durham.ac.uk .

There will be an article in the June edition of the online journal  based  on GCSE performance data, illuminating inequalities in performance across gender, sex and ethnic groups and James Nicholson will run a workshop at the ATSS Conference using this and other datasets.

 Book Review Opportunity:

Would anyone like to review the following books for the ATSS Journal, Social Science Teacher?  Deadline for the review will be July 31^st 2011.  If you’re interested, please contact Fiona Hayden fhayden@southwolds.notts.sch.uk First come, first served basis.

·         Key Studies in Crime and Deviance: Methods in Context by Steve Chapman and Peter Langley

·         Key Studies in Education: Methods in Context by Steve Chapman and Peter Langley

Job adverts:

Do you have a job vacancy and want to save money?  You can contact the ATSS and advertise to your target audience and without the big price tag!  Please email details of job vacancies to Fiona Hayden: fhayden@southwolds.notts.sch.uk

Job Vacancies (please see the TES website for more detail)

• Full Time Lecturer - Sociology

Truro and Penwith College, Cornwall 

Salary: £23,385 - £34,786 | Start date: September 2011  | Closing date: 25 May 2011

• Social Sciences Tutor - Sociology and/or Psychology

Blackpool Sixth Form College, Blackpool

Salary: based on full-time band £21,256 - £36,279 pa (including PSP payments) | Closing date: 25 May 2011

• English Teacher/Social Sciences

Westlake Boys High School, Auckland, New Zealand

Resources:

Understanding Society - “The first findings of Understanding Society have been published, covering a wide range of areas of people's lives and experiences. Understanding Society, which will follow 40,000 UK households, is a major social science investment in longitudinal studies with potentially huge long-term implications for the understanding of the UK in the early 21st century”.  You can download a pdf file of their summary:  http://www.esrc.ac.uk/impacts-and-findings/features-casestudies/features/14964/the-early-findings-of-understanding-society.aspx

Material deprivation and students learning – Here is an article from the BBC exploring the link between material deprivation and educational achievement.  Great for A-Level and GCSE students!  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-13081777

Motherhood – Another BBC article reporting on the findings from the Social Issues Research Centre concerning pressures on mothers.  Not only good for Sociology of the Family, but also Research Methods as the original research uses triangulation.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-12667107

Films:

‘White Man's Burden’ (cert 15) explores issues of race, stereotyping, and themes within the AS family unit. It stars John Travolta and reverses the status quo with black people in the majority and whites in the minority.

ATSS E-Newsletter – February 2011

Over the next few months, the ATSS newsletter will appear a little different. It will be issued weekly or fortnightly and will include both resources and job adverts.

Any feedback or if you have further news or resources for members of the ATSS, please let us know by contacting Fiona Hayden.

ATSS Conference

Don’t forget to check out the ATSS website to book your place at the ATSS weekend conference in September. Confirmed Speakers include Mairtin Mac an Ghaill (education and masculinity) and Sarah-Jane Page (religion, youth and sexuality). There will also be a variety of workshops and sessions with examiners. Visit the conference webpage for more details.

Job adverts

Do you have a job vacancy and want to save money? You can contact the ATSS and advertise to your target audience and without the big price tag! Please email details of job vacancies to Fiona Hayden.

Job Vacancies (please see the TES website for more detail)

Social Scientist
Fortismere School, Haringey 
Salary: Inner London Pay Scales | Start date: April 2011  | Closing date: 28 February 2011

Subject Leader - Sociology
Hammersmith Academy, Hammersmith 
Salary: MPS +TLR2 | Closing date: 28 February 2011

Subject Teachers - Sociology
The Isle of Wight College, Isle of Wight
Salary: £26,111 - £30,283 | Closing date: 25 February 2011

Teacher of Sociology
Joseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College, Birmingham
Salary: £21,098 - £30,879 | Closing date: 04 March 2011

Teacher of Sociology, Psychology
St John the Baptist Catholic Comprehensive School, Surrey 
Start date: September 2011 

Resources

SJGKnight's Sociology Bookmarks - A website that pools together stories from the media that relate to Sociology. Bookmarks are used to sort and sift through them.

The Great British Class Survey - Does class still matter? If so, what does Britain's real class system look like? Help the BBC find out and discover the three factors that affect your life chances.

TV Programmes

Who Gets the Best Jobs? (available on the BBC i-player until 1.09am Weds 16th Feb)

Synopsis: “Britain is a less equal society than at any time since World War One. In Who Gets the Best Jobs, Richard Bilton investigates access to the professions - and finds that the best jobs are being snapped up by an increasingly small gene pool of privileged, well-connected families.

Getting a good degree matters more than ever - and those from low income families can no longer easily work their way up from the bottom without the qualifications, contacts and social skills that their more fortunate counterparts make full use of.”

Return to ATSS homepage.

ATSS E-Newsletter – January 2011

If you have further news or resources for members of the ATSS, please let us know by contacting Fiona Hayden.

A big thank you to Janis Griffiths, Mandy Serjeant, Jonathan Blundell and Pam Burrage for their help and contributions to this newsletter!

1) Sociology Teacher Vacancy

The ATSS has been contacted by Joan Cherry saying:

Hi, I’m head of sociology at Paston sixth form college near Norwich, and just wondered if you know of anyone interested in a full time post teaching A level sociology (AQA) ? It hasn’t been advertised yet but I am trying to contact people who might be interested as I know it can be a problem finding subject specialists. We would also be interested in a newly qualified teacher providing their main degree is in sociology. Thanks!

Joan Cherry - Mobile: 07528 430277; Evenings: 01603 454809.

2) INSET Sociology Courses

AQA INSET

The ATSS has been informed that teachers at centres with AQA should have received this week an invitation to book places for CPD Sociology days run by AQA.  If not, here are the details:

Getting started (for new teachers of AQA A level sociology) is offered in London, Birmingham, Bristol, York and Manchester.

Unit 3: Mass Media is offered in London, Manchester, Birmingham and York. All dates are in March.
There are also GCSE courses, Achieving Success – separate days for units 1 and 2 – in London, Manchester and Birmingham, in March, April and May.

All days are £199 and all run by experienced examiners.

Visit the AQA website and search CPD meetings/courses for Sociology.

"Key Issues for Sociology Teachers Today - Identity, Families and Deviance" - ETC Annual Conference for A level Sociology teachers
Friday, 18th March 2011
Royal National Hotel, Euston, Central London

4 intensive sessions:

1. Ethnicity and Identity
2. Explaining Deviance
3. Families and Childhood
4. Working with your senior examiners to address teaching and learning issues emerging from the 2008 specification after its first full two year cycle, paper by paper, in order, to consolidate teaching strategies.

• Designed for both AQA and OCR
• Time for discussions
• Extended session with your senior examiner
• Relevant to all teachers, new and experienced
• Publishers and exam boards invited
• A blend of academic, classroom practitioners and senior examiners
• Strategies to improve exam grades

Children, Schools and Families - issues for sociologists - Dr Tony Sewell
Jannine Jacobs-Roth
Pauline Kendall
Multicultural Britishness - Tariq Modood
Teaching Crime and Deviance for Active Learning - Jill Swale

£192
ETC/MMEA
10 Linkfield
Welwyn Garden City
Herts AL7 4DW
01707 338557

3) BSA Blog

This new blog created by the BSA has been set up to “address your concerns, engage with the challenges sociology faces as the cuts take shape and tackle the issues that matter to you, the sociologist”.   Very interesting for all sociology teachers and students.
http://sociologyandthecuts.wordpress.com/

4) Other Interesting Resources

Clay Skirky – TED talks lecture
Clay Shirky shows how Facebook, Twitter and TXTs help citizens in repressive regimes to report on real news, bypassing censors (however briefly). The end of top-down control of news is changing the nature of politics.  Relevant for Mass Media and Power and Politics?
http://www.ted.com/talks/clay_shirky_how_cellphones_twitter_facebook_can_make_history.html

Chicago gangs research
Here is an interview with Sudhir Venkatesh (A Gang Leader for a Day author) about his research into Chicago gangs.  Excellent for students studying Crime and Deviance and research methods (non-participant observation), especially if they have read the book too (easy to read and accessible for students) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7239531.stm

Sexualised products for children
A BBC report on a possible age limit on sexualised products for kids.  Great for students studying gender, identity, culture and childhood. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11923107

Youth Culture website
UK Tribes is a project commissioned by Channel 4 with the aim “to explore youth in honest terms and as described to us by young people themselves; to acknowledge that whereas once it was about monolithic youth tribes that stomped on all before them (punk, rock ‘n’ roll, acid house etc) now it’s more about fluidity, a menu of options.” 
Lots of video clips to use in the classroom etc.  Great for subcultures!
 
http://uktribes.com/
http://uktribes.com/about - this page explains the aim of the project in more detail.

Secret undercover policeman
For the past few weeks, the news has been filled with the debate surrounding the undercover policeman posing as an environmentalist.  An excellent example for students to apply their knowledge and understanding of participant observation?  This BBC article could be used as a stimulus or extra reading for GCSE and A-Level students.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12161108

Scrapping of EMA
This is an issue that all of our students will have an opinion on.  This article could be used for Education and social policy, or separately for research methods – students use it as a stimulus for a piece of research on EMA?  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-12221342

Return to ATSS homepage.

ATSS E-Newsletter – December 2010

If you have further news for members of the ATSS, please let us know by contacting Fiona Hayden.

A big thank you to Janis Griffiths, Mandy Serjeant and Pam Burrage for their help and contributions to this newsletter!

Message from Pam Burrage, Chair of the ATSS

We are very pleased to announce that we have completed an administrative merger with the BSA.   Their team have now taken over all the administrative tasks previously carried out by Glynis Sandwith and the Manchester Office is now closed.

We would like to thank Glynis for the way she has carried out her role over many years and to thank both Glynis and Pam Law for the smooth handover. The BSA will now be responsible for membership, finance, and general administration.

The new contact details can be found here.

ATSS Conference 2011

After a very successful conference held at the University of Northampton this September, we are proud to launch the ATSS Conference 2011

Friday 9th Sept – Sunday 11th Sept at the Menzies Strathallan hotel in Birmingham.  Guest speakers and workshops to cover all GCSE and A-Level specifications, as well as sessions with examiners.

We are pleased to announce that Mairtin Mac an Ghail (Contemporary issues in Gender and education) and Andrew Yip (Youth, sexuality and religion) will both be speaking at the conference.

For more information, please see the ATSS Conference 2011 webpage.

Book Review Opportunities

The SST Journal still needs volunteers to review the following books.  Don’t forget - you get to keep the books after you have reviewed them!

Deadline for reviews: mid-January.  Contact Fiona Hayden on either fhayden@southwolds.notts.sch.uk or fjv1@hotmail.co.uk

• Wilson and Kidd ‘AQA GCSE’ textbook
• Jill Swale ‘Sociology Education Thinking Kit’

TV Channel

‘Current TV’ – (Virgin channel 155)

This channel has lot of short films made by all sorts of people about lots of different aspects of life.  They are often grouped under programme titles which are 1-2hours long, but will contain lots of little 5-10mins films.  Some raise some interesting questions that can relate to all aspects of the Sociology specs.  Visit the Current TV website.

Sociology films

• 'Cass' (cert 18) -  An orphaned Jamaican baby is adopted by an elderly white couple and brought up in an all white area of London and becomes one of the most feared and respected men in Britain.   Based on a true story.  

A film marketed to be about football hooliganism but mainly about identity on many different levels.  Violent in parts, but worthwhile.

• 'Made in Dagenham' (cert 15) – A dramatization of the 1968 strike at the Ford Dagenham car plant, where female workers walked out in protest against sexual discrimination.  Interesting for work and employment; gender identity; Feminism etc

GCSE Christmas Treat

‘Mean Girls’ - a film great for revising basic key sociological concepts (especially for the OCR GCSE Sociology: the basics paper).  I’m sure it will be a hit with all your GCSE classes!

‘The cost of social care’ resources

These resources could be useful for health and social care courses; stratification; health etc:

• Test your knowledge of cost of social care.
• Website for ‘you and yours’ radio show for the Care in the UK 2010 series.

Trivia section

• Browne's Gamble - Stefan Collini (professor of English at Cambridge) discusses the Browne report and its implications, e.g. universities becoming a privatised institution, debates consumer choice, and lots more.  Rather lengthy but very interesting!
• The Disability Archive - information on disability from the Disability Archive at Leeds University There is lots of good stuff here available for free.
• Feminism and Education - Try this site for feminism and Education.  It’s not the easiest to look at and you might have to do some copy and pasting to get a readable copy (has 1 paragraph in English, then German and then French).

Return to ATSS homepage.

ATSS E-newsletter – November 2010

If you have further news for members of the ATSS, please let us know by contacting Fiona Hayden: fhayden@southwolds.notts.sch.uk

A big thank you to Janis Griffiths and Mandy Serjeant for their help and contributions to this newsletter!

Job Opportunity:

As a former University of Leicester Social Sciences PGCE student I would like to draw your members' attention to a new job opportunity. My sixth form centre in Hackney, London, will be recruiting a teacher of Psychology from January 2011. I would like to invite interested members to contact me with an informal email before we begin advertising. Many thanks,

Yours faithfully, Dan Thompson

From: Dan Thompson

Email: sociologenius@gmail.com

‘Coppers’ TV series

Channel Four show ‘Coppers’ a 5 episode series following police officers in England.  Showing Monday at 9pm, 1 hour long.  Episode 1 (available on 4onDemand) is a day in the life of a police custody suite – very for applying sociological theory of crime, also highlights social class and gender and crime too.  It’s also quite funny and entertaining at times too!

Love in a Headscarf

‘Love in a head scarf’ is  book by Shelina Zahra Janmohammed.  An entertaining read about what it is like to be a young British Muslim woman.  It is great for Beliefs in Society module (AQA) and also ethnic and gender identity.  It is also really good for anyone who wants to find out more about the Islamic faith.

Sociology on the radio

Thinking allowed radio show/podcast (available  on itunes or www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/thinkingallowed or on the bbc iplayer) as reviewed in the latest SST journal by Jack Fawbert.  Latest topics discussed include ... the new face of capitalism; the notion of the ideal family; homophobia and football.

Equal Pay Day
http://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/ - Unfortunately the newsletter is a little late for the Fawcett Society’s latest campaign – Equal Pay Day (2^nd Nov). But this website has interesting information about equal pay (or the lack of it!).  It could also have information about the affect coalition cuts will have on women. All relevant for family, social stratification, work and poverty!

Book Review Opportunities:

Do you teach AQA GCSE Sociology?  If so, would you like to review the latest Wilson and Kidd AQA GCSE textbook for the SST journal?  If the answer if yes to both of these questions, please contact Fiona Hayden fhayden@southwolds.notts.sch.uk.  Reviews will have to be completed by mid-December.  Only 1 book is available, so it will be first come, first served!

Would you like to review the latest Sociology Education Thinking Kit by Jill Swale?  If you do then please contact Fiona Hayden fhayden@southwolds.notts.sch.uk.  Reviews will have to be completed by mid-December.  Only 1 book is available, so it will be first come, first served!

Sociology Resources

Do you use a resource (could be dvd, book, anything!) that you think should be reviewed in the SST journal?  You don’t have to write the review yourself, just nominate it!  Please contact Fiona Hayden fhayden@southwolds.notts.sch.uk with details.

Trivia Section:

http://www.learningdisabilitycoalition.org.uk/local_campaigns.asp -  This website might be useful for Health and Social Care courses and to Social Inequality.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11557370 - BBC news website about university fees with links to other related stories.  Possible activity: get students to conduct a survey about what their 6^th form feels about university fees?  Do they feel put off by them etc?

A you tube clip featuring Bill Nighy. Its called "The Banker" and is worth viewing as it may be an alternative to the public sector with cuts being proposed .  Here it is; http://robinhoodtax.org.uk/

Here's an interesting news story for trivia on crime and deviance - see 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/oct/29/home-office-import-medicinal-cannabis

New Resources by David Bown

Those who are familiar with the work of David Bown of Itchen College will be delighted to know that two new PowerPoints dealing with Socialisation and Agencies of Socialisation suitable for introductory work for Year 12 students will soon be available on the NGfL Cymru website in AS/A level Sociology, Introductory Core. His series of PowerPoints on the family have become classics, to the extent that they have been pirated and put on a number of other websites as well (!!).

Googlebooks

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=8U7jAcIDgKAC&lpg=PA109&ots=JamhY1EoSv&dq=sociology%20strengths%20and%20weaknesses%20of%20interviews&pg=PA111#v=onepage&q=sociology%20strengths%20and%20weaknesses%20of%20interviews&f=false

The above link is to one of the lesser known but extremely valuable texts, Think Sociology by Stevens and Leach. It may prove very useful as an online support for students and single pages could be downloaded and used as worksheets.

World Sociology and World Development

Many teachers will be interested in the news that Teachers First are running a Global Development professional development day on Thursday 11th November in London, led by Jonathan Blundell with guest speakers Leslie Sklair (professor emeritus at LSE) and Jill Nagle-Timms, who will talk about her research at LSE. For details of this and other courses: www.teachersfirst.org.uk

Trivia

If you feel inclined to join the NUT petition against changes to teacher pensions, there is a pro forma letter to send to your local MP on http://www.teachers.org.uk/node/11918