Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Sociology of Education Bundle
Sociology of Education Bundle
This revision bundle is designed to help you revise for AQA A Level Sociology
Paper 1: Education with Theory and Methods (education aspect only)
The plans appear first in template form, then with answers, with the skills
employed shown in colour. Answers are ‘overkill’ versions designed to get full
marks in the exam.
• Assess the Functionalist View of the Role of Education in Society (30) – Quick
plan
• Assess the Marxist view of the role of education in society (30) – Detailed full
essay
• Assess the extent to which it is home background that is the main cause of
differential education achievement by social class (30) – Detailed full essay
• Assess the view that education policies since 1988 have improved equality of
educational opportunity (30) – Quick plan
• Assess the view that the main aim of education policies since 1988 has been to
raise overall standards in education.’ (30) - Quick plan
• Assess the claim that ‘ethnic difference in educational achievement are primarily
the result of school factors’ (30) - Detailed full essay
• Assess the view that in school processes, rather than external factors, are the
most important in explaining differences in educational achievement (30) – Quick
plan.
NB - these essays do not address ‘the item‘ – in the actual exam, you will have to
explicitly address a relatively short (typically 3-4 line item). This is a relatively easy
thing to do and shouldn’t detract from the utility of these plans – the item will simply
contain a brief reference to one or two things relevant to the question, and an
evaluation point. It’s assumed here that whatever is in the item is in the essay
somewhere, so all you would need to do to make this an item based essay is add in
'as mentioned in item A‘ at the relevant point.
.