Exam practice answers
Chapter 1 Education (page 47)
1 Functionalists tend to assume that there
are shared values in British society and that
education helps to promote these shared views,
when clearly there are a range of different values.
Functionalists ignore the persistent inequalities
in education in terms of outcomes and
experiences. For example, working-class pupils
persistently underachieve.
2 To prepare children for the world of work in order
to provide the correct skills and knowledge for
their future roles in society.
To provide docile, subservient workers for a
capitalist society; to maintain the economic
relations of production.
To act as a form of secondary socialisation,
enabling pupils to make the transition from the
home to the world of work.
3 Parents do not support their children with
homework, either due to lack of valuing education
or lack of skills to help due to parents’ own lack
of education.
Collectivism is an attitude whereby working-
class pupils may put the needs of their friendship
group before their school work, leading to poorer
educational outcomes.
4 White British culture is seen as superior to others
through the ethnocentric curriculum, e.g. only
learning about white British history. This makes
some ethnic minority children feel inferior.
Black African– Caribbean students may be
labelled as hypermasculine and be seen as a
threat to teachers, leading to lower expectations
of their behaviour and ability to learn. This
can mean that they internalise the label and
underperform.
Some ethnic minorities have higher rates of
material and cultural deprivation, meaning that
they lack the appropriate resources and values to
succeed in education, e.g. Bangladeshi students.
5 Guidance: Define globalisation.
Pick two policies which are directly related to
globalisation and explain their aims and possible
effects.
Link these changes to postmodern ideas about
education.
Evaluate by briefly exploring the positive and
negative effects of globalisation.
6 There may be different sports for girls, such
as netball, while boys have to play rugby. This
sends clear messages to pupils about what is
seen as gender appropriate and shapes pupils’
identity.
There may be a Christian calendar used in the
school and only UK food served in the canteen,
despite the fact that there are a number of ethnic
minority groups in the school, meaning that
some students from ethnic minorities may feel
marginalised or ignored.
7 Pupil Premium was introduced to provide
educational support to marginal students who are
culturally or materially deprived.
Sure Start was a policy which aimed to tackle
cultural deprivation and help improve parenting
skills and raise the aspirations of working-
class students and give them an equal chance of
success.
Education Action Zones were focused on raising
educational performance among working-class
pupils in inner cities, with extra funding for
equipment such as laptops.
8 Guidance: This is a demanding question requiring
a detailed response. Begin by introducing the key
features of Marxist views and also their views on
the role of education.
Be sure to include the key Marxist thinkers,
Althusser, Bourdieu, Bowles and Gintis, and
Willis, along with key concepts such as the hidden
curriculum, the correspondence principle and
cultural capital.
Make sure that you evaluate throughout –
compare and contrast Marxist views with other
views on the role of education such as those from
functionalism, feminism, postmodernism and
interpretivsm.
Use contemporary examples to support your
view.
Make sure that you refer to the item.
Ensure that you come to a clear conclusion.
AQA A-level Sociology 1
 Chapter 2 Theory and methods
Exam practice answers
(page 91)
1 For this answer, pick two from the following
factors: practical, ethical or theoretical factors
and write a paragraph on each, giving examples
of each. It would be a good idea to use a named
example to support your point. Concepts are
important too; use these accurately and make
sure that you unpack the concept so the examiner
knows that you understand them.
2 For this question, you will need to explore two
problems with experiments in some detail, a
paragraph on each. Use named examples of
research which support the point you are making.
Concepts are important for showing that you
really understand the method.
3 This essay requires you to show you understand
that feminist theory is made up of various
perspectives, each with its own views on the
sources of women’s oppression, including
liberal, radical, difference and Marxist feminists.
It is important that you use concepts such as
malestream, feminist methodology, patriarchal
ideology, oppression, conflict and policy. Provide
a detailed evaluation of the theory, as well as
showing how other theoretical perspectives
would challenge the views held by feminists. It
may be a good idea to include a contemporary
example to show the impact or relevance of
feminism in today’s society. Further, you might
want to discuss the impact of feminism on social
policy and in terms of the feminist methodology.
4 Guidance: A response to this question should
include the various views on sociology as a
science, including those of positivists and
interpretivists, as well as others such as realists.
This discussion should also include the views of
the major theoretical positions, explaining their
basic assumptions about the nature of sociology.
5 Guidance: Begin with a detailed definition of
qualitative methodology, then examine all the key
features of the approach, situating them within an
interpretivist perspective. Take each key qualitative
method (observation, unstructured interviews,
ethnography), as well as exploring secondary
quantitative methodology, and explore the strengths
and weaknesses of each, as well as drawing on
sociological examples of each to support the point
that you are making, where appropriate. Avoid
simply describing studies. Then criticise qualitative
methodology from a positivist perspective, again
using examples where possible. Finally, consider
the ways in which triangulation and methodological
pluralism might overcome the issues connected
with using quantitative methodology.
2 Exam practice answers and quick quizzes at www.hoddereducation.co.uk/myrevisionnotesdownloads
Chapter 3 Methods in context
(pages 110–11)
1 Guidance: Begin by defining self-completion
written questionnaires, stating that they are
favoured by positivists (generally); that they
contain both open and closed questions;
and that they are standardised. Make sure
that you also introduce the issue of bullying,
showing that you know that this is a sensitive
topic. Next explore the particular strengths
and limitations of using this method in the
context of understanding bulling, so explore
the issues connected with researching young
people in a school. Use the information that
the item provides; for example, to consider the
impact of bullying on educational outcomes,
large samples, why particular groups such
as the poor are more likely to be bullied.
Consider factors such as time, consent, gaining
access, rapport (or lack of it), anonymity,
confidentiality, literacy and social desirability.
Make sure that you come to a clear conclusion,
stating if there are more strengths or
weaknesses.
2 Guidance: Explain what is meant by an anti-
school subculture and define unstructured
interviews, explaining that they are favoured
by interpretivists. Next using the item, explore
the strengths and weaknesses of using this
method with young people, both inside and
potentially outside the school. Make sure that
you draw on concepts such as rapport, time,
consent, ethical issues, validity, reliability, bias,
social desirability and anonymity. Consider
the specific characteristics of the researcher
as an adult interviewing students, who may or
may not regard the researcher as an authority
figure.
3 Guidance: Explain what is meant by participant
observation, as well as teacher perceptions,
linking to the process of labelling, which is
suggested in the item. Then explore a range
of strengths and limitations of the method
for this topic, drawing on concepts such as
validity, time, access, rapport, bias, Hawthorne
effect, deception, reliability and others.
Draw on research such as that of Rosenthal
and Jacobson to demonstrate some of these
strengths and weaknesses. Make sure that
you consider the issues connected with using
participant observation with both pupils and
teachers. Also consider issues connected with
recording the observations, not forgetting that
these can be both qualitative and quantitative.
Chapter 4 Families and
households (page 138)
1 Briefly define globalisation and explain that it has
complex effects on the family.
Two suggested ways:
Increasing geographical mobility leads to
increasing migration. Go on to show how, in
the UK, one in five women giving birth is not
British-born, explaining that immigrants are
increasing the fertility rate, as UK-born women
have fewer babies on average than immigrants.
Explore how this leads to greater cultural
diversity in terms of structure and size, e.g.
Pakistani and Bangladeshi couples having
much lower divorce rates and a higher rate of
extended families.
Globalisation leads to the need for a smaller,
more geographically mobile family, people travel
to work and may even LAT. Develop this idea to
talk about increasing family diversity, as well as
more people living alone and placing their careers
first (especially women). Globalisation demands
a highly trained, skilled workforce, which means
family life is often shaped around this.
2 Consider the following responses: encouraging
the nuclear family through policies such as
married persons tax allowance and making
divorce involve mediation, and increasing
tolerance to alternatives to the nuclear
family such as gay marriage. Use theoretical
perspectives to evaluate each approach such
as the New Right, Functionalism, Feminism or
Marxism. Use specific named examples.
3 Some examples might include:
Greater tolerance of same-sex couples; Dunne
(gender scripts), civil partnership and same-sex
marriage.
Women are becoming increasingly independent
and career centred, meaning that women
experience greater control or alternatively a
triple shift/lagged adaptation (although note that
relationships remain patriarchal).
Higher levels of divorce; higher expectations of
relationships means that people are less willing
to put up with unhappy relationships, remarriage
rates are higher.
These changes could be linked to feminism or
postmodernism.
4 This question is asking you to explore the extent
to which the nuclear family is common and
considered important today. This will involve
looking at evidence which suggests people move
in and out of nuclear families, the way that people
often return to nuclear families having been
Exam practice answers
divorced or that they aspire to the nuclear family
structure through cohabitation/reconstituted
families. You should also explore the increasing
levels of alternatives and the causes of these.
Different views on the nuclear family should be
discussed, especially New Right and feminist
views, as well as postmodern views, and include
a brief discussion of the impact of globalisation
on the family.
Come to a clear conclusion – either you feel from
your evidence that the nuclear family is no longer
dominant or that it is dominant because people
return to this family form over their (longer) life
cycle.
Chapter 5 Beliefs in society
(page 175)
1 Guidance: Define science, then write one
paragraph on each characteristic of science,
which could include that it is based on
empirical evidence or the fact that is has no
supernatural beliefs. Make sure that you draw
on contemporary issues, if appropriate, and
be critical of each characteristic, applying this
criticism to the question.
2 Guidance: Cultural transition and cultural
defence could be used as good effects as well
as secularisation. For each, use examples
and link to concepts and contemporary
issues. Evaluate, possibly using examples of
fundamentalism.
3 Guidance: Explain that the view that religion is
oppressive comes from some feminists. Make
sure that you pick two clearly different ways,
such as religious text and teachings, religious
imagery or hierarchy within religions. Try to
draw on contemporary issues to support each
point, ensuring that your examples are not just
drawn from Christian-based religion. Use the
item to suggest how religion may actually not be
oppressive but in fact may offer support or new
opportunities to become part of the organisation
of a Church.
4 Guidance: Organise your discussion into views
which suggest religion causes social continuity
and stability (functionalism, Marxism, some
feminists) and those which suggest religion can
cause change (interpretivism, neo Marxists). Then
consider examples of each, as well as exploring
the issue of fundamentalism as both creating
change and wishing for a return to the past.
Then it would be useful to consider the specific
contexts in which religion can cause change.
AQA A-level Sociology 3
 Chapter 6 Crime and deviance
Exam practice answers
(page 217)
1 Institutional racism, whereby the police label
some ethnic minority groups negatively and are
therefore more likely to arrest these groups.
Relative deprivation, more likely among some
ethnic minority groups, meaning that they may be
more likely to commit crime.
2 Gendered socialisation whereby men are
encouraged to be more aggressive and risk
taking.
Men experience less social control, which means
they are more likely to commit crime.
Men are more likely to be out late at night, meaning
that they are more likely to be involved in crime.
3 Globalisation has affected many areas of life,
including crime and deviance. The effects are
complex, in some cases leading to the emergence
of new forms of crime. One reason for this is the
declining importance of national boundaries so
that there is greater communication possible
between different criminal networks, e.g.
enabling them to sell illegal drugs to a greater
number of people.
On the other hand, globalisation has led to
greater co-operation and collaboration between
law enforcers in different parts of the world, e.g.
the International Criminal Police Organization,
known as Interpol.
Globalisation has led to the formation of more
multinational companies, leading to the greater
possibility of corporate crime on a global level,
e.g. not introducing proper health and safety
4 Exam practice answers and quick quizzes at www.hoddereducation.co.uk/myrevisionnotesdownloads
checks and rules in other parts of the world. Use
the example of Bhopal. Draw upon postmodern
ideas and the work of Beck to explain ‘risk
society’.
4 Begin by explaining that crime and deviance are
socially constructed. The Marxist approach is
a classical structural conflict theory of crime
emerging in the modern era. Explain that you
will look at both classical and more recent
uses of Marxist ideas in relation to crime (e.g.
subcultural/Marxist interpretivist theories).
Include a detailed discussion of Marxist theories
of crime, separating out the points made by
individual Marxist thinkers such as Chambliss
and Snider, etc., followed by a thorough
evaluation, considering how relevant the theory is
today. Consider both working-class crime as well
as white-collar/corporate crime, global crime
and the spread of capitalism.
Then go on to examine alternative theories of
crime, but make sure each of these is directly
related to Marxist ideas, e.g. functionalists agree
with Marxists that it is structural factors which
lead people to commit crime, however they
believe that crime is functional and necessary
whereas Marxists see crime as being a product of
capitalism.
Use three to four other theories to evaluate
Marxist ideas.
Make sure you discus postmodernism and
the continued usefulness of Marxist ideas in
explaining new crimes such as green crime.
Be clear and decisive in your conclusion – is
Marxism useful for understanding crime today
or not, and what suggestions might you have for
better/more useful theories of crime?