A-Level Sociology: Exam Q&A on Education and Social Structures, Exams of Sociology

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AQA A level sociology paper 1

exam questions and answers.

"outline two ways in which schools may promote competition between pupils - CORRECT ANSWER - meritocracy - status is achieved via educational success and it is based on the pupils own efforts "outline three ways in which the education system may be seen as patriarchal - CORRECT ANSWER - male domination - most positions of power and authority are held by male and females are lower level teachers

• male saviour - when classes are misbehaving a male teacher comes to 'save' the female teacher and use discipline as a male role model
• male gaze - objectification of women within the workplace makes them more subordinate to men - makes them more likely to be victims of workplace sexual harassment" "analyse two ways in which the relationships and processes within schools may lead to anti-school subculture - CORRECT ANSWER " "evaluate the view that marketisation policies have increased diversity and choice in the education system - CORRECT ANSWER - parental choice
• class diversity - coalition" "evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of using field experiments to investigate the effects of teachers labelling pupils - CORRECT ANSWER preferred by positivists
• produces quantitative data that can be used to study cause and effect relationships
• high in reliability - questions can be replicated exactly field experiments
• involves conduction research in a natural setting such as classrooms within a school
• allows for some control over variables but not full control which reduces reliability" "outline and explain two practical disadvantages of using documents in sociological research - CORRECT ANSWER subject matter
• documents may not fully reflect you subject of research time
• may take a large amount of time to analyse and quantify data
• may be interpreted differently so how it is analyse also needs to be considered" "evaluate the strengths and limitations of using participant observation to investigate pupil exclusions - CORRECT ANSWER favoured by interpretivists
• produces qualitative data
• high in validity
• allows researcher to see the participants point of view types of participant observation

"outline three ways in which the characteristics of schools may be similar to the characteristics of workplaces - CORRECT ANSWER - based on hierarchies - students to teachers and workers to managers/supervisors

• based upon reward rather the the idea of learning -grades much like reward of money
• creates time management and punctuality -prepares pupils for a work day" "analyse two ways in which processes within schools may affect pupils identities - CORRECT ANSWER curriculum favours the m/c values:
• pupils socialised into m/c values and tastes gain a symbolic 'capital' which is recognised by the school and are deemed worthy
• schools develop a m/c habitus which is taken for granted ways of thinking - m/c have the power to impose this upon education
• this may result in tension between working class pupils and the middle class schools they attend - ingram -made to feel worthless in their w/c identity - symbolic violence
• w/c cultural capital meant nothing
• eval - school support such as sure start works to bridge the gap of missing socialisation in w/c pupils and prepare them for the m/c school values so they feel less out of place anti-school subcultures:
• school makes w/c pupils have low self esteem due to negative labels and streaming
• unable the achieve status via educational success so seek it from peers e.g. smoking and truanting
• can result in SFP and educational failure
• high status earned by those who flout the schools rules
• eval - some join pro-school subcultures which takes up the schools values" "evaluate sociological explanations of differences in educational achievement between ethnic groups - CORRECT ANSWER family life (cultural deprivation)
• failure to socialise children adequately due to dysfunctional families
• many black families headed by a lone female mother
• may struggle financially due to a lack of male role model
• lack of adequate male role model for young boys
• Murray - lack of taking on British mainstream culture
• may cause young black males to turn to gangs in search of tough love from a male role model - Sewell
• eval - provides a strong independent role model for young black girls increasing aspirations which increases educational achievement home life (material deprivation)
• most of ethic minority children live in low income households
• result of discrimination within the job market - khan vs smith

• low paid manual labour and the female head often doesn't work so only one main source of income if family is nuclear
• lack of educational resources for socialisation
• inadequate housing due to discrimination in the housing market
• eval - some of poorest are Indian and Chinese children yet they are among some of the highest achieving pupils internal factors (labelling)
• teacher labelling stemming from racism
• black and asian pupils often seen as far from the ideal pupil who Is white m/c
• may lead teachers to treat ethic minority pupils differently
• teachers quicker to discipline black pupils than others for the same behaviour and see them to present more discipline problems and will challenge authority more often
• higher levels of exclusion within black boys
• some pupils disprove the labels - fuller - black girls that rejected teacher racism but achieved educationally anyway" "outline two factors external to school that may affect social class differences in achievement - CORRECT ANSWER - speech codes - w/c socialised into restricted code when elaborated code is favoured by schools and exam
• differences in diet - w/c diets less nutrients which means they have less concentration and energy in schools resulting in under achievement" "Outline three functions that the education system performs for society. - CORRECT ANSWER - creates social solidarity by passing on societies norms and values so children become integrated
• prepares pupils for schools by teaching them specialised skills and also teaches them the hidden curriculum
• maintains social order by creating a set or rules to abide by, those who do not are punished" "analyse two ways in which marketisation policies have led to schools being run like businesses - CORRECT ANSWER schools compete via league tables
• league tables published online for parents (consumers) to access
• allows them to rank schools and make a choice on which school they want to send their child to based on the results they produce
• allows for cream skimming (good schools able to select the higher ability pupils faith or specialist schools" "evaluate sociological explanations of gender differences in educational achievement - CORRECT ANSWER Impact of feminisation:
• women challenged stereotypes of women

• expression of class identity - wear branded clothing to provide, acts as a form of symbolic capital" "analyse two ways in which teaching and learning in schools may affect educational experiences of minority ethnic groups - CORRECT ANSWER ethnocentric curriculum
• western languages, history and music taught
• excludes the cultures of minority pupils
• christian calendar, uniforms
• lowers self esteem
• lack of positive role models
• eval - Chinese and Indian pupils still succeed highly on this curriculum teacher labelling
• black pupils labelled negatively
• stereotyped as presenting more behavioural problems and therefore are disciplined much quicker and more harshly than other pupils for the same behaviour
• also more likely to be excluded
• leads to greater underachievement
• eval - black girls that succeeded despite racist labels given to them by teachers" "evaluate the view that the education system is meritocratic - CORRECT ANSWER meritocracy
• parsons
• education based on opportunities to succeed and gain rewards in the form of educational success in good grades
• status is achieved not ascribed
• all have equal access to opportunities
• universalistic impersonal standards
• eval - assumes pupils passively accept what education and the schools values want and all have the goal of educational success myth of meritocracy
• education system prevents rebellion against the ruling class by legitimising class inequality
• main factor that determines whether or not a pupil has educational success is their social class background
• m/c pupils more likely to succeed
• makes the education system appear fair to all but really persuades the w/c that inequality is inevitable
• blames poverty on the individual rather than the capitalist society
• eval -takes a class first approach and ignores other factors that create inequality such as ethnicity and gender correspondence principle
• close parallels between schools and the workplace

• hierarchies between pupils and authority like headteachers mirrors the worker and employer power imbalance
• school mirrors workplace
• operates via the hidden curriculum - lessons not taught directly
• pupils become accustom to accepting competition and working for extrinsic rewards
• prepares them for the future exploitation and creates class inequality over generations
• teaches values needed by a subordinate labour force
• eval - postmodernists argue that education now creates diversity rather than inequality" outline two cultural factors that may effect ethnic differences in educational achievement
• CORRECT ANSWER - children from w/c black families - lack intellectual development and also have more disjointed and ungrammatical language
• asian families - have a high work ethic and the family models the schools operations and parents are in favour of schools policies" "outline three ways in which factors within school may shape gender differences in subject choice - CORRECT ANSWER - peer pressure - may want to pick same subject choices as friends or bullied into not picking a certain subjects e.g. girls in pe called lesbian
• gendered subject image - some subject have stereotyped genders, English and history seen as girls subject and science and wood tech are seen as boys subject
• gender role socialisation - girls socialised to be more nurturing and into traditional female roles so more likely to pick food technology" "Analyse two effects of increased parental choice on pupils experience of education - CORRECT ANSWER " "evaluate sociological explanations of the role of education in transmitting ideas and values - CORRECT ANSWER - functionalists - value consensus
• marxists - promotion of capitalism + ruling class" "outline two reasons why marketisation policies may produce inequality of educational achievement between social classes - CORRECT ANSWER - cream skimming - can select the high achievers which tend to be more m/c
• parental choice - more accessible to m/c parent so they are able to select higher achieving schools giving m/c children an advantage" "outline three reasons for gender differences in educational achievement - CORRECT ANSWER - introduction of course work - increased girls achievement as they are more organised and have better time management
• decline in mens traditional jobs - less aspiration for men particularly w/c boys to achieve

• also allows them to create an identity that may have been wiped by schools values
• w/c boys seek symbolic violence using branded clothing with rejects the schools values
• eval -" "evaluate the strengths and weakness of using written questionnaires to investigate the role of parents in there children's achievement in school - CORRECT ANSWER preferred by positivists
• produces quantitative data that can be used to study cause and effect relationships
• high in reliability - questions can be replicated exactly types of written questionnaire
• closed or open question
• closed are yes and no questions which are easily quantifiable
• open allow for the participant to go into more detail and give more of their opinion
• open may be more accessible to to m/c parents who possess more cultural capital to understand what is wanted by the questionnaire - these parents often have a stronger role in children's achievement as create ambitions and buy educational toys low response rate
• may not receive responses if postal
• parents may not have time to complete due to work - particularly w/c who often work shift patterns
• working class parents may not understand the questions and therefore don't complete
• if difficult concepts are operationalised
• child may lose questionnaire if they are given out at school to take home lying/ telling the researcher what they want to here
• parents may state they are more involved than they actually are
• may be embarrassed about not being involved more
• want to appease the researcher
• may be combatted by keeping the questionnaires anonymous/confidential gatekeeper
• will have to gain permission of the headteacher and safe guarding leads to conduct the researcher
• the headteacher endorsing the research may encourage more parents to fill it out so increasing the response rate
• consent gained when the parent fills out the questionnaire general strengths
• easily replicated and can be produced on a large scale relatively inexpensively so can be mass produced
• able to use across multiple different schools

• increases representativeness so generalisations can be made" "outline and explain two disadvantages of using personal documents in sociological research - CORRECT ANSWER - consent required from the writer, more difficult if the writer is dead, may have to seek out family, may need constant from those within the document
• positivists reject - only provides qualitative data - low in reliability and unlikely it has been repeated" "evaluate the strengths and limitations of using non-participant observations tp investigate pupils behaviour in school - CORRECT ANSWER favoured by interpretivists
• produces qualitative data
• high in validity
• allows researcher to see the participants point of view types of non participant observations
• covert - participants unaware of the research - involves deception - may provide more natural results as no Hawthorne effect - low amount of covert roles available within a school that wouldn't cause pupils to alter behaviour
• overt - participants aware of research - may create Hawthorne effect - pupils may change behaviour - fewer ethical issues Hawthorne effect
• as the researcher is not directly involved with the participants they may be able to catch subtle behaviours you might have missed other wise
• pupils may also forget the researcher is present so may not change behaviour - increases validity Small sample
• takes a long amount of time so only small groups can be studied
• may only be small groups that present behavioural problems
• less representative of pupil behaviour across the uk
• unable to make generalisations
• e.g. willis 'lads' only studied 12 boys ethics and gaining access
• will have to pass a gate keeper such as a head teacher
• school may not provide permission as reporting on pupils bad behaviour may effect their reputation and damage chance of gaining new pupils
• consent needed from parents and teachers to complete observations in the class rooms which may be difficult to gain" "outline and explain two problems of primary qualitative methods in sociological research - CORRECT ANSWER large amounts of time and money needed