Higher Modern Studies
Geography
Modern Studies
The Modern Studies course is made up of three units which are assessed throughout the year after each unit has been covered in class.
The units studied are:
Democracy in Scotland and the United Kingdom
This unit allows the pupil to gain knowledge and understanding, analyse and come to conclusions about the democratic society that they live in. We will look at how we are governed in Scotland and the UK. We will look at the different electoral systems that are used. Finally we look at the voting behaviour of the electorate and what influences the media and pressure groups may have on politicians.
World Power – South Africa
This unit allows the pupil to gain knowledge and understanding, analyse and come to conclusions about the fascinating country of South Africa. They will learn about contemporary socio-economic issues in the country as well as studying the political system.
Social Issues in the Scotland and the United Kingdom
This unit allows the pupil to gain knowledge and understanding, analyse and come to conclusions about the reasons for social inequality in our society. We look to see if there is a link between the health and wealth of communities. We investigate to what extent gender and race inequalities still exist. For all these issues we scrutinise what the Scottish and UK governments are doing to tackle inequality.
Assignment
In addition to the three units, higher pupils will complete an assignment. Pupils research further an area of the course covered that is of interest to them. They will investigate different solutions to an issue they have chosen from that topic. They will then right a report with their findings. They must use a variety of methods such as; interviews, questionnaires, book reading and internet research to gather information
Research activities are an important part of this course and pupils take increasing responsibility for their own learning as they progress through the course. A variety of different learning activities take place throughout the course including; class and group discussions, individual and group research tasks and presentations.