Politics

Curriculum Details

The study of Politics and Government at Eltham College breaks into three parts:

1. The nature of democracy and participatory politics (Unit 1)
2. The institutions and procedures of government in the United Kingdom (Unit 2)
3. Political Ideologies in the United Kingdom (Units 3 & 4)

In this the Department follows the Edexcel Government & Politics Course (8GP01 and 9GP01 http://www.edexcel.com/quals/gce/gce08/gov/Pages/default.aspx). Units 1 & 2 are taught over Terms 1, 2 and 3 of the Sixth Form course with the AS sat towards the end of Term 3 in June. In most cases students would enjoy the benefits of two teachers over this period, exposing them to different political perspectives as well as different teaching styles. Unit 3 follows in Term 4 with an exam early in Term 5 (January). The remaining unit is taught over terms 5 and 6. Invariably, formal teaching tends to finish towards the end of Term 5 leaving ample time for revision and review.

AS

• Unit 1 - People & Politics
  • Why are political participation and democracy important
    • Key concepts:
      • Government - state power - authority - legitimacy - citizenship - rights & obligations
      • Devolution - federalism - nationalism - regionalism - local democracy
  • Do elections guarantee democracy?
    • Key concepts:
      • Representation - proportional representation - electoral mandate - referendums
      • The case for electoral reform
      • Experience of alternative voting systems in the UK
  • What is the role of political parties?
    • Key concepts:
      • Political parties
      • Consensus - adversarial politics - liberalism - conservatism - socialism
  • How important are pressure groups?
    • Key concepts:
      • Pressure groups - sectional & promotional groups - insider & outsider pressure groups - pluralism
• Unit 2 - Governing the UK
  • What is the nature of the UK constitution?
    • Key concepts:
      • Constitution - types of constitutional government - parliamentary sovereignty
      • Constitutional reform - parliamentary reform - pluralism
  • What is the role and significance of Parliament?
    • Key concepts:
      • Parliamentary government - presidential government - fusion & separation of powers - representative government
  • Who has power within the executive?
    • Key concepts:
      • Cabinet government - prime ministerial government - accountability - ministerial responsibility - civil service neutrality - open government
  • Do judges deliver justice and defend freedom?
    • Key concepts:
      • Judicial independence - judicial neutrality - civil liberty

A2 Exam (Route B)

• Unit 3 - Extended Themes in Ideological Analysis
  • Liberalism
    • Key concepts:
      • Human nature - individualism - freedom - justice - equality - democracy - rights - toleration
  • Conservatism
    • Key concepts:
      • Tradition - organic society - hierarchy - authority - libertarianism
  • Socialism
    • Key concepts:
      • Co-operation - fraternity - collectivism - social equality - social justice
  • Anarchism
    • Key concepts:
      • Autonomy - utopianism - mutualism - egoism
• Unit 4 - Extended Themes in Ideological Analysis
  • What is the nature of the nationalism?
    • Nationalism:
      • Nation - race - patriotism - self-determination - internationalism
      • Nationalism in the UK
  • Feminism
    • Key concepts:
      • Sex/gender - patriarchy - public & private divide - essentialism
  • Multiculturalism
    • Key concepts:
      • communitarianism - post-colonialism - identity politics - minority rights - toleration - diversity - pluralism - cosmopolitanism
  • Ecologism
    • Key concepts:
      • ecology - 'hard/soft' ecology - deep/shallow ecology - environmentalism - holism - sustainability - industrialism - social ecology - anthropocentrism

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