TCE Sociology (Tasmania)

Welcome to the ExamExplained hub for Tasmanian TCE Sociology, the TASC Sociology Level 3 pre-tertiary course (BHS315116). Sociology is the study of human behaviour, social structures and culture, examining how the parts of society relate and how social change happens. These notes are organised by the course modules, with named theorists and real Australian examples you can use directly in exam responses.

Please note: the precise number of assessment criteria and the internal and external weightings should be confirmed against the current TASC course document, as these details are updated periodically.

Sociological theory and methods

• Sociological perspectives: functionalism, conflict theory, feminism and interactionism, with Durkheim, Marx and Weber.
• Sociological research methods: quantitative and qualitative methods, positivism versus interpretivism, sampling, reliability, validity and ethics.

Socialisation and the individual

• Culture and socialisation: norms, values, primary and secondary socialisation and the agents that transmit culture.
• Social control and conformity: formal and informal control, sanctions, and the agencies that maintain social order.

Social institutions in contemporary Australia

• Family and households: functions, family diversity and the changing Australian family.
• Education, work and the media: how these institutions interrelate and shape one another.
• Social stratification and inequality: class, status, power and intersecting inequalities of gender, ethnicity and Indigenous disadvantage.

Deviance and social change

• Crime and deviance: Durkheim, Merton's strain theory, labelling, and Marxist and feminist views.
• Theories of social change: drivers of change and the transformation of Australian institutions over time.

Sociological inquiry

• The investigative project: planning, conducting, analysing and evaluating your own ethical sociological inquiry.

Internal assessment

The internal assessment is school based and conducted across the modules by your provider against TASC criteria. It includes your investigative project, in which you design and carry out a small-scale sociological inquiry on a contemporary social issue, applying research methods, ethics and theory. Internal ratings make up the larger share of the criterion ratings used to determine your final award.

External assessment

The external assessment is a TASC examination set and marked externally. It tests your ability to apply sociological perspectives, concepts and evidence to questions on socialisation, institutions, inequality, deviance and social change. Practising with past TASC Sociology papers is the most effective preparation. Confirm the current exam length and structure against the official TASC course document.

How to use these notes

Each topic page opens with a quick answer, then explains the content with named theorists, worked examples and common mistakes to avoid. Start with the sociological perspectives page, since those four lenses are applied throughout the course, then work through the institutions, deviance and social change. Pair these notes with past TASC exam practice for the best results.