Welcome to Sociology!

Sociology allows students to study human social behavior from a group perspective, including recurring patterns of attitudes and actions and how these patterns vary across time, among cultures and in social groups. Students examine society, group behavior and social structures, as well as the impact of cultural change on society, through research methods using scientific inquiry. Since Pennsylvania has no academic standards for Sociology, OV structures the course based on Indiana state descriptions and guidelines.

Standard 1: Foundations of Sociology as a Social Science. Students will describe the development of sociology as a social science, by identifying methods and strategies of research and by examining the contributions of sociology to the understanding of social issues.

Standard 2: Culture. Students will examine the influence of culture on the individual and the way cultural transmission is accomplished. They will study the way culture defines how people in a society behave in relation to groups and to physical objects. They will also learn that human behavior is learned within the society. Through the culture, individuals learn the relationships, structures, patterns and processes to be members of the society.

Standard 3: Social Status. Students will identify how social status influences individual and group behaviors and how that status relates to the position a person occupies within a social group.

Standard 4: Social Groups. Students will explore the impacts of social groups on individual and group behavior. They will understand that social groups are comprised of people who share some common characteristics, such as common interests, beliefs, behavior, feelings, thoughts and contact with each other.

Standard 5: Social Institutions. Students will identify the effects of socialinstitutions on individual and group behavior. They will understand that social institutions are the social groups in wich an individual participates, and that these institutions influence the development of the individual through the socialization process.

Standard 6: Social Change. Students will examine the changing nature of society. They will explain that social change addresses the disruption of social functions caused by nubmerous factors and that some changes are minor and others are major.