MATSEC IM Sociology case studies

MATSEC IM Sociology · Put your knowledge to work in context.

The Intermediate Matriculation (IM) qualification is one of four levels of subject syllabus published by the MATSEC Examinations Board at L-Università ta' Malta, alongside SEC (Secondary Education Certificate), SEAC (Secondary Education Applied Certificate) and AM (Advanced Matriculation). IM Sociology is therefore a post-secondary, intermediate-level subject offering within the Maltese matriculation system, typically taken by students building a matriculation profile rather than by those sitting the advanced-level paper in the same subject. The MATSEC IM Sociology case studies are 5 cases and about 3,514 words.

Attendance Records, a 16% Response Rate and a Causal Claim

A Year 12 student at a Maltese state college is designing an extended essay on why some Year 9 students repeatedly miss school. The college's data officer gives her anonymised attendance records for 240 Year 9 students, of whom 31 missed more than 15 days in the autumn term.

801 words, about 4 min 2

A Housing Estate, an Attainment Gap and a 'Culture of Low Expectations'

The head of a Maltese secondary school presents annual results to the board of governors. Students living on the housing estate in the school's catchment averaged 48 points in the core subjects, against 71 for students from the rest of the catchment.

792 words, about 4 min 3

Falling Marriages, Rising Cohabitation and a Claim about 'Family Values'

The local council of a Maltese town is drafting a report on 'the family'. The statistics officer presents three figures for the town over 20 years: marriages down from 210 to 130 a year; births down from 340 to 200; and households recorded as cohabiting up from 90 to 260.

746 words, about 4 min 4

Fourteen Cameras, a Rise in Recorded Theft and a Neighbouring Council

After a well-publicised mugging, a Maltese local council installs 14 CCTV cameras in its main square and two side streets at a cost of €80,000, funded by a national scheme. At the end of the first year the district police inspector reports that recorded thefts in the area rose from 55 to 77, and that shoplifting reports from the three square-side shops had 'more than doubled'.

567 words, about 3 min 5

An 8% Pay Gap, Identical Salaries and an Argument about Choices

A Maltese manufacturing firm with 480 employees publishes its first gender pay report. Men earn an average of €31,200 a year and women €28,600, a gap of about 8 per cent.

608 words, about 3 min