Politics A-Level

Few subjects are as relevant to our everyday lives as Government and Politics.

Government is the act of exercising authority or ruling. Politics is the process by which a community makes and changes the general rules under which its people live. It regulates competition for positions of leadership and helps to resolve conflicts.

Government and Politics is a challenging and rewarding subject that suits any student who is interested in people, power and fairness in society.

Studying Government and Politics gives students a real insight into the world in which they live. Students learn how the political decisions that affect our lives are made and who has the power and authority to make those decisions. They also develop valuable analytical and evaluation skills as they debate topical and controversial issues, form their own political opinions and study different ideological viewpoints.

In Years 13 and 14 the topics studied include UK, NI, USA and World Politics.

 

Modules

Examining Board: CCEA

 

AS

AS 1 The Government and Politics of Northern Ireland – This AS unit considers politics in NI since 1998. We will study the Good Friday Agreement, the NI Assembly and Executive and Political Parties such as the DUP, Sinn Fein, UUP, SDLP and the Alliance Party.

AS 2 The British Political Process – This Unit focuses on how Britain is governed by looking in detail at the key parts of the political system. This involves studying the British Legislature (Parliament), the British Executive (the Government), and the British Judiciary.

 

A2

A2 1 Comparative Government – In the first part of this A2 unit students will study the government and politics of the USA, looking in detail at Congress and the President. In the second part of the unit students will compare the political systems of the UK and the USA.

 

A2 2 Political Power – The focus of this A2 unit is upon political power: What is it? Where does it come from? Who has it and who doesn’t? The first section of the module will examine the issues of power, authority, legitimacy and stability and draw on examples from political systems throughout the world. The second section of the module will involve a study of the theories of power such as Pluralism, Marxism, Elite Theories and Feminism.

 

Teaching Methods

In A level Politics the teaching methods that are used are whole class discussion, group work, class debates, lecturing and independent research using textbooks, newspapers and the Internet.

 

Assessment Methods

Assessment methods include end of topic tests, responses to source material, structured questions, essays and reports.