Sociology A level Past Paper Questions (AQA)

  "Two reasons why marketisation policies may produce inequality of educational achievement between social classes - CORRECT ANSWER Parentocracy; mc parents have more cultural capital to make more successful choice of schools Schools can establish their own catchment area; mc parents can afford to move or have transport into the catchment area" "3 reasons for gender differences in educational achievement - CORRECT ANSWER " "Two ways in which the education system might serve the needs of capitalism - CORRECT ANSWER Correspondence principle B&G ; ES& workplace which pupils school experience mirror the proletariat worker in order to prepare them for alienating and low paid work eg hierarchical structure of education system; postmodernists criticise saying there is no need for passive workers due to diversity ES might serve the needs of capitalism by reproducing ideology; Althusser believed that the education system was a form of an ideological state appartus which reproduce ideology that society is equal and not based on exploitation of proletariat;" "Sociological explanations of social class differences in educational achievement - CORRECT ANSWER " "Two cultural factors that may affect ethnic differences in educational achievement - CORRECT ANSWER " "Three ways in which factors within schools may shape gender differences in subject choice - CORRECT ANSWER Peer group pressure; leads to girls and boys choosing such as girls health and social and boys maths and science; reflect stereotypical gender identities Subject counselling; teachers may channel boys and girls into different subject choices in relation to their own gender stereotypes Gender of teachers; males may pick maths because subject teachers are more likely to be men" "Two effects of increased parental choice on pupils experience of education - CORRECT ANSWER - allowing greater choice of parents which can benefit students experience of education; faith schools, specialist schools, private schools; pupils able to advance more in education which they enjoy and are more motivated; therefore likely to academicallly succeed; wc may not relate as parents lack cultural capital and may not know of the different types of schools "Two ways in which globalisation may have had an influence on educational policies in the UK - CORRECT ANSWER - involvement in internation testing programmes such as PISA testing; allow international comparison of standards - traditional subjects such as STEM/EBacc subjects are prioritised in the curriculum; these subjects equip pupils with the skills required for global skills-based - growth of the internet offers new ways of accessing information and testing; some schools have policies on home based learning" "3 reasons why some working class boys join anti school subcultures - CORRECT ANSWER - Status frustration; some working class boys may not achieve academically and joinn anti school subcultures to gain status within their peer group - fewer job opportunities for working class boys; this may lead them to express hegemonic masculinity through membership of anti school subcultures - working class boys are less likely to be seen as 'ideal students'; joining an anti school subculture can be an expression of resistance to negative labelling" "Two ways in which teaching and learning in schools may affect the educational experiences of minority ethnic groups - CORRECT ANSWER - ethnocentric curriculum fails to provide as many positive role models for children of BAME backgrounds - teacher labelling of pupils from Chinese backgrounds may lead to high expectations and increased pressure to succeed" "View that education system is meritocratic - CORRECT ANSWER Meritocracy refers to an equal opportunity for pupils to achieve based on their talent and motivation Functionalists: - view society as based on meritocracy - D&M; top rewards are offered to most talented; encourages competition and ensures most blue achieve most important jobs in society - role allocation ensures schools 'sift&sort' pupils fairly based on ability - Parsons believed ES was meritocratic as it test pupils based on same standards eg exam results Marxists; - Argue ES maintains and continues the capitalist system by making sure there are lots of willing and docile workers & a small ruling class - myth of meritocracy; idea that ES is meritocratic is false; ES reproduces class inequalities - wc may be judged on same exams eg GCSES but they dont have equal access to same standard of Edu" "View education system is meritocratic p2 - CORRECT ANSWER Feminsts; - Francis; despite girls achievements, theyre still taking subjects that restrict their future roles, boys still dominate - Kelly; some subjects e science are dominated by boys leading to girls not accessing their potential although Interactionalist Becker; - teachers assumptions can negatively label some pupils (eg black males, lower classes etc) - institutional racism disadvantages ethnic minorities" "Two factors external to schools that may affect social class differences in educational achievement - CORRECT ANSWER - financial capital; middle class parents may be able to afford the equipment and experiences that contribute to high levels of educational achievement - poor housing; overcrowding in working class homes may mean there is no quiet place to study leading to lower levels of educational achievement - subcultural values; working class subcultural values such as immediate gratification and fatalism may contribute to lower levels of educational achievement - linguistic codes; mc children more likely to use the elaborated speech code which contributes to high educational achievement" "3 functions that the education system performs for society - CORRECT ANSWER - social solidarity (functionalism); through the teaching of history and culture, school helps to create a shared sense of identity - to reproduce class inequality (Marxism); selecting children for the most appropriate occupations based on meritocracy - to reproduce patriarchy (feminism); processes such as labelling and differences in subject choice perpetuate gender inequality in society - secondary socialisation; schools are focal socialising agencies teaching universalistic principles - role allocation; selecting children for the most appropriate occupations based on meritocratic principles" "Two ways in which marketisation policies have led to schools being run like businesses - CORRECT ANSWER - schools compete with each other to attract pupils by ensuring that they have a high position in the school league tables - schools may offer a unique specialism or faith based curriculum which allows schools choice based on parental preference - the supply and demand for school places reflects the New Right view that successful schools should expand; lack of demand for places leads to less revenue for schools lower in the league tables - Parentocracy vs customer standards" "Sociological explanations of gender differences in educational achievement - CORRECT ANSWER External; - changing role of women; more women role models promoting the idea that women can succeeded in education & their careers; 72% women in workforce compared to 78% men 2023. 60%:80% 1988 - crisis of masculinity; women stepping up some men feel that they no longer fit into jobs - laws and policies promoting equal opportunities for men and women have helped improve the gender differences, closing the gap Internal; - labelling (Francis) claims teachers are important in creating gender identity in school, girls labelled as hardworking while mainly wc boys labelled as less able and more disruptive = can lead to sfp - subcultures; boys especially can feel pressured by peers to be seen not working hard can be labelled as 'try hard', girls tend to be encouraged to work hard - gendered subject images; g&b tend to gravitate toward stereotypical choices ; g tend to go towards 'caring' subjects leading to traditional female roles, boys tend to opt for maths&sciences = higher status job" "Two criticisms of schools selecting pupils by ability - CORRECT ANSWER - often disadvantages some social groups such as the WC; because they may not be able to pass tests effectively - can lead to self fulfilling prophecies; as those who have not been selected can be made to feel less than" Two ways in which schools may promote competition between pupils - CORRECT ANSWER - ranking pupils by ability; tests & exams emphasise individual achievement - pupils are encouraged to compete with each other for rewards; though behaviour reward systems such as merits - school entrance exams or criteria ; creating competiton for places at the desirable schools" "Three ways in which the education system may be seen as patriarchal - CORRECT ANSWER - curriculum can be seen as patriarchal; there are more examples of males in some subject content - gendered subject images lead to boys taking higher status subjects; girls do not take more prestigious subjects because of a male dominated classroom environment - double standards; teachers may give more of their time to boys - the use of assessment; reduction of coursework could be perceived to be for the benefit of boys" "Two ways in which relationships and processes within school may lead to anti school subcultures - CORRECT ANSWER - negative teacher labelling of pupils may lead to status frustration which then leads to the formation of anti school subculture as an alternative way of gianing status - the clash between the habitus of schools and staff and that some pupils results in anti school subcultures as a response to alienation" "Marketisation policies have increased diversity and choice in the education system - CORRECT ANSWER Marketisation process of introducing market forces of consumer choice and competition between suppliers into areas run by the state - Ball and Whitty note that marketisation policies such as exam league tables and funding formulas reproduce class inequalities by creating inequalities between schools - conservatives brought this in through part of the education reform act; a way to improve standards further improved byNL - increase choice of schools through Parentocracy; Private schools, academies, faith schools etc - more private investments = more resources to cater to different needs - improvement in GCSE and Alevel pass rates - myth of parentocracy; wc can be disadvantaged as the best schools are often in wealthiest areas and based on catchment areas many wc are at a major disadvantage - Ball argues that mc largely benefitted from policies of choice and competition; their social capital allows them to use their networks for support; they can be known as 'skilled choosers'" "3 ways in which the characteristics of schools may. Be similar to characteristics of workplaces - CORRECT ANSWER - hierarchy; in schools there is a formal hierarchy just as there is in a business for example boss to workers is like headteachers to teachers - dress codes ; in many schools there are dress codes for example logos to show what school you go to likewise in businesses there a logos to show where they work for - lateness & consequences; there is punctuality protocol in both places if late there is always a consequence eg in some schools 2 lates = detentions, in business 2 lates could mean having to have a review or time taken off pay" "Two ways in which processes within schools may affect pupils identities - CORRECT ANSWER - Labelling - Becker stated teachers are more likely to label mc students positively due to appearance and cultural capital; they are more likely to be pro school and high achievers wc likely to be labelled as anti school due to lack of cultural cap and this is likely to make wc self fufil their prophecy (R&J), so their identity will become anti school however not fall all students eg Fuller theory - Hargreaves argued that schools streamed pupils on the basis of their behaviour - negative labels put on them; penalised by being put in lower streams" "Sociological explanations of differences in educational achievement between ethnic groups - CORRECT ANSWER Two factors; internal eg pupil teacher interaction; external eg home & family background External; - cultural deprivation; inadequate socialisation in the home, some ethnic groups also place high value on education eg Indian and Chinese whilst other groups may not. - material deprivation; higher poverty among Pakistani, Bangladeshi and African-Caribbean groups which means poor housing, diet and lack of money for important educational materials become more of a problem - family structure; Sewell argues a reason why A/C students do less well than other students is lack of role model (this can be internal or external) but ex in the home; they tend to join anti school sub and wrong groups" "differences in educational achievement between ethnic groups p2 - CORRECT ANSWER Internal; - labelling; some groups labelled positively (Chinese&white mc) others eg A/C boys are more likely to be perceived as a threat = + or - self fulfilling prophecy. Study by Fuller AA girls reject their labels and went on to be successful - institutional racism; intentional/uninetetional repeated cases of discrimination that take place can influence the likelihood of educational success eg lack of ethnic minority teachers, disciplining some ethnic groups more than others - ethnocentric curriculum; the view that British culture is superior to other cultures. Often excludes or marginalises other groups affects subjects like history, religious studies and English" -" "Sociological explanations of the role of education in transmitting ideas and values - CORRECT ANSWER " "