“Sociology is the study of human societies, focusing on the organisation of social life from individuals to social institutions. It examines individuals and groups in their personal, local, national, global and other social contexts, and provides insights into the ways factors such as class, wealth, race, gender, ethnicity, age, sexuality, disability, and religion shape societies at the individual, group, and institutional levels. Central to the sociological endeavour is a critical perspective: sociologists question the popular explanations of social life through the application of rigorous and systematic methods of enquiry, and examine the dynamics of power and inequality. As a discipline, Sociology is characterised by empirically based social research and by carefully examined social theory.”  (The Australian Sociological Association, 2012, p.5)

The project investigated how we can develop the necessary skills and knowledge of our first year students in sociology in order to set them on the path to graduating with the threshold learning outcomes required by the time they graduate with a sociology major or degree.   The project included a workshop attended by 36 sociology academics from 14 universities.  The resources on this website were developed using the outputs from these workshops together with literature on the teaching of sociology.