National
The National Modern Studies course covers three main topics - Social Issues, International Issues and Democracy in Scotland. As well as this, pupils are required to independently undertake a piece of research on a Modern Studies Topic and write up their findings as part of their coursework.
In the Crime and Law Unit pupils look at the causes of consequences of crime in Scotland. We also look at how crime is dealt with by the different organisations such as the police and the courts.
In the International Issues unit we look at the issue of terrorism. We look at the different reasons why people turn to terrorism, what consequences terrorism has had on the world and some international examples of terrorist attacks. We also look at the attempts of different international organisations to resolve the issue of terrorism along with how the USA have tried to defeat terrorism through the War on Terror, Guantanamo Bay and Drone attacks.
The final unit is Democracy in Scotland. In this unit we look at the different ways citizens can participate in society in Scotland. We cover topics such as voting, the media and pressure groups. We also look at the different ways that citizens in Scotland are represented and how decisions are made on our behalf.
Higher
The Higher Modern Studies course covers three main topics - Social Inequalities in the United Kingdom, Democracy in Scotland and the United Kingdom and World Powers. As well as this pupils are required to independently undertake a piece of research on a Modern Studies Topic and write up their findings as part of their coursework.
In the social issues unit we look at Social Inequalities in the United Kingdom. This unit covers a wide variety of factors which cause inequalities in modern society such as race, age, gender and social exclusion. We also look at how the lifestyle choices of citizens can impact on other areas of their lives. After exploring these issues we then look at the success of the government and different organisations attempts to make society fairer.
In the World Powers Unit pupils will cover the USA. They will learn about the different social issues that impact the lives of its citizens such as poverty and health. They will also look at how the USA's political system works and how the views of citizens are represented. While studying the USA pupils will also learn about its power on the world stage and how its relationships with other countries influences what happens in the world.
Finally pupils will study Democracy in Scotland and the United Kingdom. This goes into a more depth analysis of how well people are represented in Scotland and the United Kingdom. It will look at the effectiveness of the current political system along with the influence of different factors on voting behaviours as well as how well people participate in Society.
