The higher course is as follows;

Democracy in Scotland and the UK

• The Scottish Parliament – Role of the Scottish Parliament, local councils, EU membership & the independence debate.

• The work of the Scottish Parliament – Working of the Scottish Parliament, the role of an MSP, the role of the FM, work of committees and the legislative process.

• Voting systems and voting behaviour – AMS, FPTP, STV, advantages and disadvantages of these electoral systems and voting behaviour.

• Participation and pressure groups – Political participation, the role of pressure groups and the role of the media.

 

 

Social Issues in the United Kingdom: Crime and the Law in the UK

• The role of law in society – legal rights and responsibilities, civil and criminal aspects of the legal system.

• Theories and causes of crime – social explanations/theories and individualistic explanations/theories.

• The impact of crime on society – the impact on victims, offenders and the families of victim and offenders. The social, economic and political impact on the wider community.

• Methods of tackling crime and their effectiveness – punitive solutions, rehabilitative solutions and socio/economic solutions.

 

 

International Issues: World issues – Conflict (Syria)

• Causes of the issue – nature and extent of the world issue, political, social and economic factors that give rise to the international issue.

• Effects of the issue on – individuals, countries and their governments and the international community.

• Attempts to resolve the issue – role and effectiveness of individual countries and organisations.

 

 

Learning and Teaching

A wide range of teaching and learning strategies will be employed throughout the course. Students will have the opportunity to undertake a range of individual and group activities. Examples include note taking, research exercises, essay writing, oral presentations, debate and co-operative learning.

 

Guest speakers within politics and other agencies will visit pupils throughout the year to discuss current issues and topics undertaken in modern studies. Pupils will have the opportunity to attend educational excursions to the Scottish Parliament and visit a prison in order to consolidate their knowledge within these topic areas.

 

Assessment

 

As part of good teaching practice, teachers will regularly monitor on-going student work with a view to identifying particular strengths and weaknesses. In addition the department will employ various forms of assessment to provide as full a picture as possible of individual student attainment.

 

As students’ progress through the course assessments will be issued regularly, including

• Short answer tests of knowledge and understanding at the end of each unit of work
• Ink exercises to test source evaluation skills that have been taught
• Mini research exercises
• Class essays
• Unit assessments

 

Homework

 

Students will be issued with regular homework assignments.