AS - A-Level Sociology - Education Flash Revise Pocketbook - Chapman, Steve, 1957 - 2009 - London - Philip Allan - 9781444102642 - Anna's Archive

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Over 250 quick-fire questions and answers
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PO1629
Education 29 Empirical research
1 The functionsof education 30 Private education
2. The functionalist theory of education 31 The organisation of schooling in the UK
3 Functionalism and socialisation (1) 32 Interactionist explanations (1)
4 Functionalism and socialisation (2) 33 Interactionist explanations (2)
5 Role allocation 34 Interactionist explanations (3)
6 Critique of functionalism 35 Interactionist explanations (4)
7 The Marxist theory of education 36 Trends in educational achievement
8 The hidden curriculum (1) by ethnicity
9 The hidden curriculum (2) 37 Intelligence
10 Evaluating Marxism 38 Cultural deprivation theory (3)
44 Paul Willis’s Learning to Labour 39 Cultural deprivation theory (4)
12 The relationship between education 40 The role of the school (1)
and the economy (1) 41 The role of the school (2)
13 The relationship between education
42, Neo-Weberian explanations
and the economy (2) 43 The work of Tony Sewell
14 Vocational education and training
44 Marxism
15 State educational policy
45 Marxist interpretivism
| 16 The comprehensive system
46 Trends in educational achievement
17 Education and the free market
by gender
18 Raising educational standards
~ 19 The return to opportunity 4T Why girls are outperforming boys
20 Trends in educational achievement 48 Why boys are failing (1)
é by social class 49 Why boys are failing (2)
| 21 Intelligence theory 50 Genter and comers
22 Cultural deprivation theory (1)
23 Cultural deprivation theory (2)
_ 24 Critique of cultural deprivation theory
- 25 The New Right
'26 Material deprivation theory
_ 27 Qualifications and social class
| 28 Marxist explanations
55 Factors affecting the choice of research 84 Personal and expressive documents
~ method 85 Contemporary documents
56 Ethics ~ 86 Analysing contemporary documents
57 Theoretical considerations: positivism (1) 87 Historical documents
58 Theoretical considerations: positivism (2) 88 Triangulation and methodological pluralism
59 Theoretical considerations: interpretivism (1) Sociology: Educational Research
60 Theoretical considerations: interpretivism (2)
89 P. Willis: Learning to Labour (1977)
61 Experiments in social science
62 Social experiments 90 J.W. B. Douglas: The Home and the School O
vi
«a
@e
(1968)
63 The social survey
91 J. Payne: The Educational Aspirations of FE
64 The social survey questionnaire
Students (2001)
65 Random sampling techniques
92 R. Rosenthal and L. Jacobson: Pygmalion in
66 Non-random sampling techniques
the Classroom (1968)
67 Evaluating the social survey questionnaire (1)
93 P. Corrigan: Schooling the Smash Street Kids
68 Evaluating the social survey questionnaire (2) (1979)
69 Interviewing
94 S. Power et al.: Education and the Middle
70 Unstructured interviews
Class (2003) ear
71 Focus group interviews
95 A. Forsyth and A. Furlong: Socioeconomic
72 Evaluating interviews (1)
Disadvantage and Access to Higher Education
73 Evaluating interviews (2)
74 Evaluating unstructured interviews
(2000)
96 S. Frosh, A. Phoenix and R. Pattman:
75 Ethnography Young Masculinities (2001)
76 Observation 97 M.Younger and M.Warrington: Raising Boys’
77 Participant observation Achievement (2005)
78 Covert observation 98 H. Daniels and T. Cole: Study ofYoung People
79 Evaluating observation (1) Permanently Excluded from School (2003)
80 Evaluating observation (2) 99 G. Bhatti: Asian Children at Home and School
81 Evaluating observation (3) (1999)
82 Official statistics 100 B.Williams, J.Williams and A. Ullman:
83 Evaluating official statistics Parental Involvement in Education (2002)
_ AS/A-Level Sociology
Education
BMatcm ielateurolacmejm-velele-iniols
cD Which two macro theories of society are involved in the

debate over the functions of education?
Cy What is meant by a structuralist theory of education?
Cy Many sociologists argue that education is concerned with

‘reproducing’ society. What does this mean?
ANSWERS ©)
A1 Functionalism and Marxism.
A2 Structuralist theories focus on how societies are organised
socially, i.e. their social structure. They particularly examine the
relationship between education and aspects of the social
structure, e.g. the economy, culture etc.
A3 Education reproduces society by socialising each generation into
the dominant norms and values of that society.
examiner’s note Many questions on the functions of education expect
knowledge of functionalist and Marxist theories.
You should use these theories
evaluatively, i.e, use Marxism to criticise functionalism and vice versa.
GQ) ANSWERS
a 3
q AS/A-Level Sociology
_ Education
The functionalist theory

of education
(QT) Who are the two most important functionalist thinkers

with regard to the role of education?
Cy According to functionalism, what two elements underpin

social order?
Cy Identify two ways in which the education system serves

as a secondary agent of socialisation.
ANSWERS ©)
A1 Emile Durkheim and Talcott Parsons.
A2 Value consensus (general agreement on values and norms)
and an integrated division of labour (the way jobs and skills are
organised socially).
A3 It socialises each generation into society’s values, norms, attitudes
etc., particularly the belief that work is a highly valued human
activity. It encourages social conformity by stressing adherence
to formal rules.
examiner's note \t is important that you have a reasonably good knowledge
and understanding of the functionalist theory of society in order to understand
the functionalist theory of education.
oy) ANSWERS
AS/A-Level Sociology
_ Education
Functionalism and socialisation (1)
eD According to Durkheim, what is the function of the knowledge

taught in schools?
Cy Apart from transmitting knowledge, how do schools convey

the idea that the social group is more important than the
individual?
Cy Functionalists argue that education systems socialise their pupils

into cultural values and norms in order to promote social
integration. What is social integration?
ANSWERS 0)
A1 To bind individuals to society, e.g. by making them aware of the
past achievements of their society, so encouraging cultural pride.
A2 Through mechanisms such as school uniforms, assemblies and
sports days.
A3 A sense of belonging to the wider community.
examiner's note |o gain marks for interpretation, you should be aware of
concrete examples that can be used to illustrate the functionalist argument,
e.g. the national curriculum in England and Wales, and how other countries,
particularly the USA and Japan, organise their education systems.
Cy) ANSWERS
_
_AS/A-Level Sociology
Education
melasolarlimamelaremsererlic-teroly) (92)
y According to Parsons, how is the way we are judged by our

families different from the way we are judged by educational
systems?
Cy What are the main universal values that we experience during

our time in education?
Cy According to Parsons, what is the main role that education

prepares us for?
ANSWERS ©)
.
A1 Our families judge us on the basis of unconditional love, whereas
in education we are judged on the basis of merit (ie. how much
ability, intelligence and skill we have).
A2 Achievement, competition and individualism.
A3 Education prepares us for our role as highly motivated,
achievement-orientated workers, happy to take our place in the
specialised division of labour.
examiner's note You need to be evaluative in your discussion of
functionalism. Hargreaves, for example, argues that high levels of pupil disaffection
(as shown by truancy and exclusion rates) prove that education is failing to
integrate all pupils socially,
(4) ANSWERS
Education
aXe) (2trlifevertale)al
(QT; What is a meritocracy?
Cy According to Davis and Moore, which educational mechanisms

function to ensure meritocracy?
Cy According to Davis and Moore, why is stratification, and

therefore inequality, functional?
ANSWERS 0)
A1 A society (and educational system) based on rewarding its
members exclusively on the grounds of ability, intelligence, talent
and effort.
A2 Grades, reports, references, examinations and qualifications.
A3 Because there are only a limited number of top jobs and those
who achieve them sacrifice years of their life to education and
training. They therefore achieve their qualifications and social
position through a fair and objective meritocratic process.
examiner's note You should be aware of critics who point out that the Uk’s
education system is not meritocratic, because some social groups succeed and
fail disproportionately.You should be able to illustrate this with reference to
private education, especially the role of public schools and Oxbridge.
(5) ANSWERS
Education
Critique of functionalism
According to Hargreaves, why are schools failing to instil a

sense of belonging in a significant number of their pupils?
Cy What social changes undermine the functionalist theory that

education reproduces value consensus?
Cy Why is the functionalist view of schooling over-deterministic?
ANSWERS 0)
A1 For many pupils, the experience of school is one of failure and
low self-worth. Some of these pupils may turn to anti-school
subcultures to compensate for schools giving them little or no
Status,
A2 We now live in a multicultural society in which there are many
competing value systems. There may be no such thing as value
consensus.
A3 It suggests that all pupils are turned into conformist citizens.
This fails to address the fact that many pupils resist and confront
educational authority, and may not share the view that
qualifications are worth pursuing.
examiner's note It is important to be evaluative, e.g, by using juxtaposition
— if you are able to compare each point you make about functionalism with an
equivalent Marxist point, you will gain marks.
(6) ANSWERS
_
Education
The Marxist theory of education
(OT; What is an ideological state apparatus?
Cy What is the main function of education as an ideological

state apparatus?
What is the hidden curriculum, and how does it differ from

the academic curriculum?
ANSWERS ©)
Al An institution, influenced directly or indirectly by state policy, that
transmits ruling-class ideas in the guise of mainstream ideas in
order to reproduce, legitimise and hide existing patterns of class
inequality.
A2 To ensure that ruling-class dominance of economic, social and
political power continues undisturbed, by convincing working-class
pupils that their educational failure and consequent passage into
low-paid and low-skilled manual work is deserved and justified.
A3 The academic curriculum is concerned with transmitting
knowledge and skills, whereas the hidden curriculum (embodied
in the organisation, rules and routines of schools) is concerned
with transmitting attitudes that ensure conformity.
examiner's note The concept of the hidden curriculum is central to an
understanding of the Marxist theory of education. You.should be able to illustrate
rt with a number of examples.
C7) ANSWERS
: AS/A-Level Sociology
_ Education
The hidden curriculum (1)
CD According to Althusser, what is the function of classroom

knowledge such as history?
Cy Why are city academies criticised by Marxist sociologists?
Cy According to Althusser, what does most classroom knowledge

either neglect or ignore altogether?
ANSWERS 6)
A1 History teaching has focused traditionally on the exploits of
powerful figures such as kings and queens. This transmits the idea
that heredity, hierarchy and obedience to authority are
worthwhile values and norms, thereby reinforcing conformity,
acceptance of inequality etc.
A2 The content of their curricula allegedly emphasises capitalist
values such as free enterprise. This is not surprising, as city
academies are financed partly by private capital.
A3 Subjects that contain knowledge that might be used to criticise
the capitalist system, e.g. republicanism, socialism, feminism.
examiner's note Marxists argue that the subject of sociology is marginalised,
so students generally only come into contact with it in further or higher
education. It is often derided as ‘un-academic’ in order to undermine its potential
critical power
ANSWERS
~4
Education
BBat-malcece(-lameelmareelielan 4)
(QT) According to Marxist sociologists, what happens to those pupils

who question the legitimacy of teachers and education?
Cy What message does the hidden curriculum mainly transmit,

especially to working-class pupils?
Cy How do Bowles and Gintis view the concept of meritocracy?
ANSWERS 0)
A1 They are often defined as problematic, anti-authority etc. and
relegated to lower sets and streams, in which they are subjected
to further social controls. This leads to their eventual failure.
A2 That failure is the result of individual deficiency, rather than a
consequence of capitalism’s need for a manual labour force.
A3 As an ideological myth. A few working-class pupils are allowed
access to further and higher education to give the impression
of equality of opportunity. The truth, however, is that education
continues to reproduce traditional class divisions.
examiner's note The concept of meritocracy is crucial to an understanding
of the debate about education in the UK. Many people genuinely believe that
meritocracy is a characteristic of British education, but you should be aware of
evidence such as private education that suggests otherwise.
@) ANSWERS
_ AS/A-Level Sociology Sad
Education
Evaluating Marxism
cD Critics argue that Marxist sociologists of education subscribe

to a simplistic view of decision-making and power in education.
Why is this?
Cy How might truancy and exclusion be used to criticise the

Marxist theory of education?
Cy Why is it difficult to test Marxist concepts such as the hidden

curriculum and ideology?
ANSWERS 0)
A1 Marxists argue that education benefits a capitalist elite, which
somehow shapes educational policy in its interests. However, the
multiplicity of influential groups occupying the educational sector
suggests that the Marxist view may be over-simplistic.
A2 The existence of truancy and exclusion suggests that the hidden
curriculum does not always succeed in ensuring conformity.
A3 These concepts are highly abstract ideas that are difficult to
operationalise, i.e. to turn into variables that can be observed and
measured easily.
examiner's note Remember that, despite their ideological differences,
functionalists and Marxists have a great deal in common, especially in terms of
sharing common weaknesses.
ANSWERS
a
Education é :
.
Paul Willis’s Learning to Labour
(QT Why did Paul Willis’s ‘lads’ see education as irrelevant?
Cy What was the effect of the hidden curriculum on Willis’s ‘lads’?
Cy Why is Willis’s research an interpretivist critique of Marxism?
ANSWERS 6)
A1 Because they were happy to move into manual work in factories,
for which qualifications were generally not required.
A2 There was no effect. The value system of the school was ignored
— the ‘lads’ substituted their own value system based on ‘having
a laff’.
A3 Unlike traditional Marxists, Willis was interested in how the ‘lads’
in his study saw and interpreted the world around them. He -
noted that they actively sought out working-class jobs and chose
to ‘fail’ at school — they were not forced.
examiner's note Both functionalism and Marxism are macro theories — they
are interested in relationships between structures, such as society, and systems,
such as the economy. Interpretivist theories are micro theories — they are
interested in how individuals interact with others and how they interpret their
social world.
‘AS/A-Level Sociology :
_ Education :
a P P :
The relationship between

education and the economy.(1)
) What economic reason underpinned the introduction

of the 1870 Education Act?
Cy Identify four pieces of educational policy introduced since

1965 that can be seen as functioning to meet the needs
of the economy.
Cy Why is Braverman critical of functionalist claims that there

is a strong link between educational systems and the needs
of the economy?
ANSWERS 6)
A1 There was concern that other industrialised nations, especially
the USA and Germany (which had both already introduced mass
education), were becoming more economically powerful than
the UK.
A2 The introduction of the comprehensive system in 1965; the
expansion in the number of universities and the introduction of
polytechnics in the 1960s; the introduction of vocational
qualifications in the 1980s; the Education Reform Act of 1988,
which introduced the national curriculum.
A3 Many jobs today have been deskilled — they require less skill than
in the past because of automation and computer technology and,
therefore, educational qualifications are actually less necessary.
examiner's note [he workforce is more qualified today than at any other
point in history, but there is evidence that it is overqualified in terms of the skills
that are generally needed today.
(42) ANSWERS
_ Education Le
»
The relationship between

education and the economy,.<2)
(Qf) What do the Marxists Bowles and Gintis mean by the

statement ‘schooling stands in the long shadow of work’?
Cy What is the function of the hidden curriculum, according to

Bowles and Gintis?
Cy How can we criticise Bowles and Gintis’s ideas that education

functions to produce a passive and uncritical working class?
ANSWERS ©)
A1 They argue that schooling teaches the future factory workforce
to accept without question that work, whether it be school or
factory-based, will be boring and will involve little opportunity for
creativity, job satisfaction and control.
A2 To socialise working-class pupils into a future of low expectations
and into adopting the ‘right’ attitudes towards work habits such
as attendance and punctuality.
A3 There is little evidence that working-class pupils or factory
workers accept their lot passively.
examiner’s note Marxist interpretivists such as Paul Willis regard this type of
Marxist idea as over-deterministic — it fails to acknowledge that working-class
people can choose to resist this socialisation process.
(43) ANSWERS
“AS/A-Level Sociology g
Education
WoXer-Ta(o)a-lim=relbcer-hale)aue-lavelon a-ha)a}-
Of} What was the ‘new vocationalism’ introduced by the

Conservative government in the 1980s?
Cy What was the hidden curriculum of youth training, according

to Finn and Cohen?
Cy According to Marxist sociologists, how did such schemes

reinforce class divisions?
ANSWERS ©)
A1 It referred to both courses in schools aimed at the 14-18 age
group, which contained a work-experience element, and the Youth
Training scheme, which encouraged and paid employers to train ~
the long-term unemployed youth.
A2 These Marxists argued that the training courses focused on
controlling young people socially, by training them to accept a
future of low-skilled and low-paid work rather than giving them
particular skills.
A3 Middle-class students were more likely to receive an academic
education in schools, colleges and universities, while working-class
students were more likely to receive work-based training through
the training schemes.
examiner's note The distinction between academic work and vocational training
is still important. Think about how A-levels are still seen generally as ‘superior’ to
qualifications such as Advanced Vocational Certificates of Education (AVCEs).
ANSWERS
:Education
State educational policy
(QT What type of selection was introduced by the 1944

Education Act?
Cy identify two reasons why secondary modern schools

were dominated by working-class children.
Cy Why was a grammar school education seen as superior

to a secondary modern education?
ANSWERS 0)
A1 The 11+.
A2 The 11+ tests suited the type of knowledge that middle-class :
children acquired in their homes, so these children were more
likely to pass the 11+; many middle-class children who failed the
11+ were sent to private schools. —™
A3 Grammar schools had curricula geared to academic exams,

qualifications and universities; they had better facilities; they
attracted the most qualified teachers; secondary moderns were .
equated with failure.
examiner's note |t is important to have some knowledge of the historical ]
reasons why the British education system evolved into its present organisation.
(45) ANSWERS
a
Education
Be .
The comprehensive system
Of} What is the educational philosophy underpinning

comprehensive schools?
(Q7) Identify three criticisms of comprehensive schools.
Gy Identify three arguments in favour of comprehensive schools.
ANSWERS ©)
A1 Equality of opportunity and social justice for all, and tolerance
of the cultural diversity that characterises modern UK society.
hee
96
al
e.
A2 Bright children are held back; these schools do not perform as
well as grammar and private schools in academic league tables;
inner-city schools have little control over their pupils; setting
discriminates against working-class pupils; classes are too big.
A3 Their academic record holds up well against other schools;
low-ability children have more opportunity to achieve
qualifications; they promote cultural diversity and tolerance;
poverty and inequality are more responsible for educational
failure than the schools.
examiner's note Make sure you know the arguments for and against
comprehensive schools — the debate over whether selection is crucial to
educational success is still contemporary.
ANSWERS
_ Education
lmxa[U(erchufojam-laleinsalsviuims\- aarelarceia
(QT) In what way did Margaret Thatcher’s government attempt

to market education as a commodity?
Cy How are city academies financed?
Cy Identify three types of state secondary school, other than

city academies, that exist today.
ANSWERS 0)
A1 Parents and children were seen as consumers of education :
— the 1988 Education Reform Act increased the degree of
choice parents had in where to send their children, and league
tables were introduced to give parents the opportunity to make
informed choices.
A2 They are financed jointly by the government and business.
A3 Comprehensive schools (many of these are church schools and
specialist colleges); grammar schools; secondary modern schools.
examiner's note Keep up to date with educational policy and legislation —
examiners are impressed by contemporary knowledge.
7) ANSWERS
SAS/A-Level Sociology
_ Education
Raising educational standards
Qf} identify three strategies adopted by Conservative governments

between 1979 and 1997 aimed at raising educational standards.
(Q7) What is the ‘Fresh Start’ policy?
Cy How has the ‘Gifted and Talented’ educational programme

been criticised?
ANSWERS 0)
A1 The national curriculum; testing at ages 7,11 and 14; naming
and shaming; league tables.
A2 Closing failing schools and reopening them, often with new
names, head teachers and staff, and improved facilities.
A3 The criteria used by the ‘Gifted and Talented’ programme has
tended to favour the disproportionate selection of white,
middle-class and female pupils. Some critics argue that this
reflects the ‘ideal pupil’ stereotyping subscribed to by some
teachers.
examiner's note Think about how functionalists, Marxists and interactionists
would interpret recent educational developments.
ANSWERS
Education
The return to opportunity
(QT) Who are the ‘socially excluded’ that Labour has decided to
target in order to increase their educational qualifications?
(Q7) The government launched the Excellence in Cities (EiC)

programme to raise educational standards in inner cities and
other urban areas. How do EiC Action Zones work?
Cy What evidence exists to suggest that class divisions in

education continue to persist?
ANSWERS ©)
A1 Children in economically deprived areas, single mothers and the
long-term unemployed.
~
A2 A partnership of local businesses and central government funds

IT equipment and special-needs staff for clusters of ‘failing’
schools in economically deprived urban areas.
A3 30,000 children continue to leave school with no qualifications;
these children are overwhelmingly from working-class social
backgrounds.
examiner's note Although the government makes reference to working-class
underachievement only rarely, the term ‘socially excluded’ refers to those groups
that traditionally make up the poorer sections of the working class.
ANSWERS
—
AS/A-Level Sociology y xn
Education
a
Tazjaveculalctelele-hale)
al.)
achievement by social class
(QT) What educational differences are apparent between

working-class children and middle-class children by
the age of 7?
Cy What does the evidence on educational achievement tell

us about the relationship between education and poverty?
Cy Children from which social group have benefited the

most from the expansion of higher education?
ANSWERS ©)
A1 By the age of 7, working-class children are, on average, 2 years ;
behind middle-class children in terms of reading and mathematical —
ability.
A2 Children from families on state benefits and who claim free
school meals are likely to achieve fewer GCSEs at grades A*-C
than middle-class children.
A3 Children from professional and managerial social backgrounds,
i.e. the middle classes.
examiner's note [his type of evidence tends to refute the view that the
British education system is meritocratic.
ANSWERS
Education
Intelligence theory
(QT) What is Peter Saunders’s main argument regarding intelligence?
Cy Which important piece of educational policy was based on the

idea that there are different types of intelligence that can be
measured using IQ tests?
Cy Why are sociologists critical of attempts to measure innate

intelligence?
ANSWERS 0)
A1 Saunders argues that middle-class children inherit academic ability
from their parents, whereas working-class children inherit
disadvantages in terms of academic ability from their parents.
A2 The 1944 Education Act introduced the 11+. This test claimed to —
be able to distinguish between types of intelligence and was used
to allocate pupils to different types of schools according to their
‘intelligence’.
‘
A3 Sociologists are not in universal agreement as to what constitutes

intelligence. They believe that social environment shapes intelligence
more than genetics does, and are sceptical of IQ tests, claiming that
they measure nothing more than knowledge or length of schooling.
examiner's note |ntelligence theory, despite Saunders's.attempt to resurrect —
it, is not taken seriously by most sociologists who see factors external to the
individual, e.g. family, social class, schooling, as more important in determining
intelligence,
Q1) ANSWERS
=
“Education
Cultural deprivation theory (1)
e How does cultural deprivation theory view working-class

culture, in particular working-class child rearing and
socialisation?
Cy Identify two criticisms that

J. W. B. Douglas made of working-
class parenting skills.
Cy How did cultural deprivation theory influence educational

social policy in the 1960s?
ANSWERS 0)
A1 Working-class culture is generally dismissed as deficient and
inferior. Middle-class culture is seen as more child-centred, and
working-class parenting and socialisation as lacking in essential
skills, values etc. |
—
A2 Douglas argued that the failure of working-class parents to attend

parents’ evenings reflected disinterest in their children’s
education. He alleged that working-class parents fail to motivate
their children to do well at school.
A3 Cultural deprivation theory led to the compensatory education
programme, in which schools in economically deprived areas
were given extra funds to encourage working-class parents to get
more involved with their children’s schooling.
examiner's note Be aware of the link between theory and social policy —
cultural deprivation theory was influential and led to practical attempts to close
the social class divide in educational achievement in the 1960s and 1970s.
(2) ANSWERS
AS/A-Level Sociology —
Education
oe
(QT) Which two language codes were identified by Bernstein?
Cy Which language code underpins all forms of communication

within the educational system, according to Bernstein?
Cy What is the cause of educational failure, according to both

Bernstein and Labov?
ANSWERS 0)
A1 The restricted code and the elaborated code. The restricted
code is a shorthand way of speaking, used between people who
know and understand each other. The elaborated code is a way
of conveying complex abstract ideas, involving more precise use
of grammar and more technical vocabulary.
A2 The elaborated code.
A3 The education system defines the elaborated code as being
superior to the restricted code, despite research indicating that
the latter is just as capable of transmitting complex ideas.
Working-class children fail because they do not speak the
elaborated code.
examiner's note Bernstein has been misinterpreted by cultural deprivatio
n
theorists. He never said that working-class speech patterns were inferior to
middle-class ones, He merely noted that they are different.
@3) ANSWERS
AS/A-Level Sociology |
Education
Critique of cultural
deprivation theory
Of} Why can J. W. B. Douglas’s research methods be criticised?
Cy Why can cultural deprivation theory be criticised as

ethnocentric?
Cy Why is Smithers critical of cultural deprivation theory?
ANSWERS 0)
A1 Douglas’s research technique was flawed because it failed to
explore the reasons behind the low frequency of working-class
parents’ visits to their children’s school, e.g. the nature of
working-class jobs. He also overrelied on teacher opinions, which
may have been shaped by stereotypes of working-class parents.
A2 It presents middle-class cultural practices regarding education as
superior to working-class ones, when they are in fact merely
different.
A3 Smithers points out that the fact that a large number of working-
class pupils leave school at the age of 16 may not be due to lack
of ability, but rather is a realistic response to their parents’ poor
economic circumstances.
examiner's note Cultural deprivation theory, with its emphasis on values
and norms, often fails to recognise that these are shaped by the economic
environment in which parents and children find themselves,
ANSWERS
_AS/A-Level Sociology .
Education
The New Right
Cy What is an ‘underclass’?
Cy Why are the children of the underclass doubly disadvantaged

in educational terms?
Cy What is a ‘poverty of aspiration’, and how can this concept

be used to criticise New Right theories of educational
underachievement?
ANSWERS 0)
A1 A subculture that is allegedly made up of the long-term
unemployed and the never-employed, living either on council
estates or in inner-city areas. Its members allegedly subscribe ~~»
ea
to antisocial and deviant values and norms.
A2 Their parents allegedly socialise them into deviant, anti-
educational values, and the inner-city schools they attend are
resourced poorly and are failing as a consequence.
A3 ‘Poverty of aspiration’ refers to a lack of educational ambition
caused by families’ poor economic circumstances. Contrary to
what New Right theories imply, this lack of aspiration is not a
matter of choice.
examiner's note The underclass theory is an updated version of cultural
deprivation theory.
(5) ANSWERS
Education ‘
. -
METK=lar-lime(=>) ale elaniual-(olm
cD What is the relationship between poverty, poor health and

educational underachievement?
Cy What relationship between poverty and intelligence did Halsey

uncover?
Cy According to Forsyth and Furlong, how might poverty be

undermining the expansion of higher education?
ANSWERS 0)
Al Poverty often leads to poor health, due to poor nutritional intake
and increased susceptibility to illness. This results in children ro
poor backgrounds needing more time off school and therefore
underachieving in their education.
A2 Working-class children with similar intelligence to their middle-
class peers were more likely to leave school at the age of 16 ;
because of poverty.
A3 The children of the poor are less willing to accumulate the debt
that results from higher education and consequently, despite ;
being qualified to enter higher education, they are choosing to
start work instead.
examiner's note Be aware of contemporary research, which is published
regularly by research organisations such as the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
ANSWERS
-
“Education
OVE ite-hulelatw-lalencyelel-)) eis:
CD What did Joan Payne’s survey of A-level students discover

about educational achievement?
Cy, What is ‘selection by mortgage’?
y How can we tell which schools have above-average numbers

of children who are deprived economically, and how can this
be linked to educational performance?
ANSWERS ©)
A1 Joan Payne's survey discovered that moderately intelligent middle-
class students progress further in education than some of their
brighter working-class contemporaries because their parents can .
invest more money in their education, e.g. by using private tutors.”
A2 Middle-class parents can afford to buy houses in areas with good |
schools. This drives up house prices, so working-class families .
cannot afford to buy properties in the area. Consequently, :
working-class children cannot attend such schools.
A3 Economic deprivation is often documented by counting the
number of children claiming free school meals. Schools in which
the percentage of such children is high perform significantly worse
in school league tables.
examiner’s note Contemporary research studies should be used to refute
the focus of cultural deprivation theories on values and norms. Economic
circumstances are now considered to be more important in shaping educational
outcomes,
Q7) ANSWERS
4 = ne . #
_-
AS/A-Level Sociology . ‘oy

‘Education '
Marxist explanations
Cy) According to Pierre Bourdieu, what is the main function of

education?
Cy According to Bourdieu, why do middle-class children succeed

and working-class children fail?
Cx How do Marxists view the notion that the UK education

system is a meritocracy?
ANSWERS 0)
A1 To socialise the working class into a culture of failure and a future”
; S :
of accepting low-skilled, low-paid and unrewarding manual jobs ~
without criticism or complaint.
A2 Middle-class children are socialised in their families (habitus) into _
a set of values and norms (cultural capital) that is defined by the
educational system as worthwhile. Working-class culture and
experience, on the other hand, are dismissed as worthless.
A3 Marxists argue that class differences in educational attainment :
undermine this claim.
examiner's note Bourdieu's theory should be used as.a critique of cultural }
deprivation theory. 1
ANSWERS
a
_AS/A-Level Sociology (
Education :
Empirical research
(Of What did the research by Gewirtz et al. conclude about

middle-class parents?
Cy What ‘educational assets’ do some parents possess, according

to Fielding?
Cy Which educational theories of underachievement does the

research of both Gewirtz and Fielding support?
ANSWERS ©)
A1 That middle-class parents have cultural capital (specific knowledge ~
about how the education system works), which they use to their *
children’s educational advantage.

A2 Their experience of higher education means that their children
see such an educational career path as natural. The children of
parents who have not been to university are less likely to see
higher education as an attainable educational goal.
A3 Material deprivation theory and Marxist theories. om
examiner's note These research studies have operationalised and measured

the impact of cultural capital successfully, showing it to be an important and A
influential variable in educational achievement.
ANSWERS
_AS/A-Level Sociology . f
Education JIL
a
Private education
(QT What proportion of pupils are educated privately in the UK?
Cy What is the ‘public-school proletariat’ identified by Heath?
Cy What values do public schools transmit to their pupils?
ANSWERS ©)
A1 Approximately 9%.
A2 Pupils who have been educated at public school but have not 4—“/
«
progressed as far as university. However, because of the ‘old-boy’

network they still gain better jobs than those state-school pupils
who do go on to university.
A3 Elite values that stress leadership, the need for hierarchy,
acceptance of privilege, tradition, conservatism etc.
examiner's note Evidence suggests that the products of public schools gain
disproportionate rewards as far as jobs and incomes are concerned. You should
use this evidence to counter the functionalist view that the British education
system is meritocratic,
ANSWERS
—
/A-Level Sociology
ducation
The organisation of
schooling in the UK
CD Why is the British state education system not truly

comprehensive?
Cy According to research by West and Hind, why do middle-class

pupils have an advantage in terms of access to church and
foundation schools?
Cx) In what ways does selection still exist in the British education
system?
ANSWERS 0)
A1 There are currently different types of comprehensive educational
institutions in the UK, e.g. city academies, specialist colleges and
church schools, Furthermore, over 100 grammar schools and :
over 100 secondary moderns still exist.
A2 Middle-class parents have the cultural capital to negotiate entry —
for their children through the interviews that are often used as a
form of selection by these types of schools.
A3 Church and foundation‘ . ri scare
schools use interviews; some specialist >
colleges require particular skills; church schools select mainly by ©

religion; grammar schools and secondary moderns depend on the
intelligence test in the form of the 11+. ;
+
examiner's note Try to keep up to date with the constantly changing
state of
the British education system.
G1) ANSWERS
AS/A-Level Sociology + av? - ,
Beication . :
Interactionist explanations (1)
@) What is the ‘ideal pupil’ stereotype, and how is it used by

teachers?
Cy According to interactionists, how does the ‘ideal pupil’

stereotype affect educational achievement?
Cx) How does the concept of the ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’

supposedly work in practice?
ANSWERS ©)
A‘ A set of characteristics that teachers prefer to see in pupils and
which they use in the classroom to evaluate and label pupils,
e.g. as conformists, hard workers, trouble etc.
A2 Interactionists suggest that teachers label their pupils positively
hr
e
or negatively and this can either encourage or discourage

educational achievement by increasing or decreasing pupils’
confidence in their own abilities.
A3 It is suggested that everyday treatment by teachers based on
these positive or negative labels can transform the behaviour and 3
academic performance of pupils so that they fulfil the prediction
made about them.
examiner's note Interactionists blame internal factors within schools for
educational underachievement rather than external factors such
as poverty or
family background.
G2) ANSWERS
“AS/A-Level Sociology . q
Education
@ What educational mechanisms may be guilty of labelling

children negatively?
What clues do children in bottom streams pick up to indicate

that they have been ‘written off’ by the school?
What collective action might be taken by pupils who have been

labelled negatively by teachers?
ANSWERS ©)
A1 Interactionists have identified setting and streaming as the most
influential mechanisms that undermine pupil self-esteem. Other
mechanisms identified include SATS, the 11+ and league tables.
A2 The classroom teaching and knowledge may be of a lower quality, |
and bottom sets are more likely to be taught by younger, more
inexperienced teachers or by supply teachers.
A3 These pupils may feel that they are being denied status by the
school and consequently may form delinquent anti-school
subcultures, allocating status to each other on the basis of
anti-academic behaviour.
examiner's note The concept of subcultures is important to an understanding
of why some groups, particularly working-class pupils and African-Caribbean
males, may underachieve,
G3) ANSWERS
Education
=
@D What factors, other than ability and intelligence, may underpin

educational decisions to place some children in lower sets?
(Q7) According to Stephen Ball, why can setting often lead to greater
differences in educational achievement?
Cy What is the impact of being placed in lower sets on a pupil's

sense of identity?
ANSWERS 0)
A1 Research has cited various factors in shaping such decisions,
including behaviour that challenges teacher norms, family type and
background, social class, gender and ethnicity.
A2 Bottom sets do not get the same quality of teaching or
educational resources as top sets. j
A3 Being placed in a lower set leads to low self-esteem, low
confidence and often disaffection, which may be expressed
through anti-school behaviour, truancy etc.
examiner’s note There are many contemporary research studies on setting.
You will find some on the Research and Information on State Education (RISE)
website (www.risetrust.org.uk) and the National Literacy Trust (NTL) website
(www.literacytrust.org.uk).
ANSWERS
ee leve Sociology
_ Education
~a
y Why are Marxists critical of interactionist explanations relating

to labelling?
Cy How might we use Paul Willis’s study Learning to Labour

to criticise interactionist accounts of success and failure?
Cy Why are positivists critical of interactionism?
ANSWERS 0)
Al Marxists argue that interactionists fail to explain why teachers
label their pupils — Marxists see the labelling of working-class
pupils as part of the ideological process of reproducing and
legitimating class inequality. —
A2 The ‘lads’ in Willis’s study were not influenced by teacher labels

and classroom interaction. They made up their minds to reject
schooling long before teachers labelled them, because they
wanted working-class factory jobs.
A3 Interactionism focuses on micro factors and ignores wider
structural and macro influences on what goes on in the
classroom, such as the needs of the economy and government
educational policy.
examiner's note [Think about how the methods Willis used could be used
both to support and challenge his arguments.
G5) ANSWERS
; ! 2 : ‘ ;
F A 4 Z
“Education ?
Trends in educational
achievement by ethnicity.
cD Which ethnic-minority groups perform well in education,

and which perform relatively poorly?
(Q7) What is the relationship between ethnicity and social class

in regard to educational performance?
Cy What is the relationship between ethnicity and gender in

regard to educational performance?
ANSWERS 0)
A1 Indian and Chinese students are most likely to continue into
higher education, while African-Caribbean, Bangladeshi and 4
*
+
Pakistani males perform relatively poorly. ’
A2. High-achieving Indian pupils are more likely to come from

middle-class social backgrounds, whereas underachieving
African-Caribbean, Bangladeshi and Pakistani pupils are more
likely to have parents who are unemployed or in low-skilled,
low-paid jobs, i.e. working class.
A3 Girls tend to obtain better educational qualifications than boys
in all ethnic groups, although white girls generally do better than
African-Caribbean, Bangladeshi and Pakistani girls.
examiner's note Ethnicity interacts with both social class and gender to
produce educational success or failure.
ANSWERS
a i
Ed ucation '
Intelligence
(Of; What is the main argument of psychologists such as Eysenck

and Jensen in regard to the educational achievement of black
people?
(Q7) According to sociologists, what environmental problems are

more responsible than innate intelligence for ethnic-minority
underachievement?
Q3} Why are IQ tests seen as unreliable in measuring the

intelligence of ethnic-minority groups?
ANSWERS ©)
A1 That black people inherit less intelligence than their white peers.
A2 Poverty, unemployment, low-quality housing, failing inner-city
schools and racism.
A3 Because they are usually written by white, middle-class
psychologists and consequently fail to take into consideration
how other ethnic groups define and negotiate intelligence,
experience etc.
examiner's note |ntelligence theory has had a great influence on educational
policy (e.g. the tripartite system was based on the idea that there were different
types of intelligence), and is returning to popularity through the work of Saunders,
:
G7) ANSWERS
BAS/A-Level Sociology
4Education
(Of; What does cultural deprivation theory claim is mainly

responsible for the educational underachievement of
African-Caribbean boys?
Cy How is the concept of the ‘underclass’ used in cultural

deprivation theory to explain educational underachievement?
} How might the concept of‘material deprivation’ be used to

challenge the arguments of cultural deprivation theory in regard
to ethnic-minority underachievement?
ANSWERS 0)
A1 The high proportion of single-parent families in the African-
Caribbean community. It is argued that black single mothers are
unable to discipline and control their teenage male offspring.
A2 It is suggested that the underclass subculture does not value
education and, consequently, it socialises its children into values
and norms that result in their being disruptive at school.
A3 Material deprivationists point out that culture (values and norms) is
often a realistic response to economic circumstances such as
poverty. Ethnic minorities are more likely than other groups to
experience poverty and, consequently, they are more likely to lack
the economic and social resources required for educational success.
examiner’s note These arguments, especially with regard to the underclass,
are much the same as those used to explain white working-class
underachievement.
ANSWERS
Z Al
—
* -Level Sociology
- -
Benson
What is the alleged role of Islam in the underachievement

of Pakistani and Bangladeshi females?
Cy What sort of linguistic deprivation do some ethnic minorities

supposedly experience?
Cy Why is cultural deprivation theory accused of being

ethnocentric?
ANSWERS 0)
A1 Islam supposedly values females predominantly as wives and
mothers, and therefore does not encourage girls to continue into
further and higher education. Female education is seen as having
less priority than the education of males.
A2 It is argued that Asian children suffer because English is not the
language of the home, while young male African-Caribbeans often
choose to communicate in a form of creole or ‘street language’
rather than in Standard English.
A3 It implies that the majority white culture and language should be
the standard by which other cultures should be judged, that
ethnic-minority cultures act as obstacles to educational success
and that their value systems contain little of educational value.
examiner's note Cultural deprivation theory is essentially focused on social
class differences — ethnic-minority cultures are judged negatively because they
do not subscribe to white middle-class educational practices,
ANSWERS
’ ‘ ;
-
~ Education
BB t-mae)(-me) manure stele) |Up)
cD Identify two ways in which schools might be institutionally

racist.
[Q7) What sort of knowledge might an ethnocentric curriculum

focus on?
Cy How might the concepts of‘ideal pupil’ and ‘self-fulfilling

prophecy’ be employed to explain ethnic-minority
underachievement?
ANSWERS ©)
A1 More black pupils are excluded; black pupils may be more likely
to be negatively labelled and placed in bottom sets. =s
ai
ee
oe
A2 The curriculum might focus exclusively on white knowledge and

experience, and ignore the fact that the UK is a multicultural
society. In particular, ethnic-minority history, religion and
literature may be excluded.
A3 Teachers may judge and stereotype ethnic-minority pupils
negatively against a white ideal pupil standard. These negative
labels may be conveyed through classroom practices and result
in low pupil self-esteem and consequent failure.
examiner's note This version of labelling theory is similar to that employed
to explain working-class underachievement.
ANSWERS
" Education
BBstm ae)(-me) manl-mcvelaleye) |4)
@D Identify three possible consequences of negative teacher

stereotyping for ethnic-minority pupils.
Cy How might membership of an anti-school subculture

compensate for institutional racism?
Cy How does research by the Runnymede Trust question

the centrality of ‘race’ and ‘ethnicity’ as factors influencing
ethnic-minority underachievement?
ANSWERS ©)
A1 They may be stereotyped as non-academic; be more likely to be
punished through exclusion; perceive that the school values them
less than white pupils and react to their lack of status by turning q
a
to disruptive behaviour. *
’
A2 It could compensate for the lack of status that ethnic-minority pupils

may perceive in the classroom setting. Disaffected students may
replace the academic ethos with their own value system, rewarding
each other with status for anti-academic and disruptive behaviour.
A3 There is disparity in educational achievement between ethnic-minority
children from professional/managerial backgrounds and those from
manual backgrounds, suggesting that social class may be a more
influential factor than ethnicity in shaping educational achievement.
examiner’s note [hink about how these accounts of ethnic-minority

experience of education may be linked synoptically to sociological explanations
for ethnic-minority involvement. in crime.
ANSWERS ;
_ AS/A-Level Sociology ) 7
_ Education : .
Neo-Weberian explanations
(QT) According to neo-Weberians, what causes institutional racism?
Cy According to neo-Weberians, what is the relationship between

British education and multiculturalism?
Cy What strategies do neo-Weberians recommend to rid British

education of institutional racism?
ANSWERS 0)
A1 The organisation of British society and institutions such as the .
education system is the product of the period before the UK
became a multicultural society. It consequently does not work in ~
the interests of ethnic minorities. °
A2 The relationship is poor because the content of British education
hardly acknowledges the fact that the UK is a multicultural
4
society, e.g. there is little reference to ethnic-minority history or
religion.
A3 The curriculum requires an injection of knowledge that
acknowledges ethnic-minority history, religion etc. More ethnic-
minority role models are required in schools |in the form of black
and Asian teachers.
examiner's note [hink about what research methods might be adopted by
sociologists to investigate institutional racism in schools.
ANSWERS
-
S/A-Level Sociology 4
"Education a.
The work of Tony Sewell
(QT) Identify two ‘risk factors’ highlighted by Tony Sewell that

contribute to the underachievement of African-Caribbean
boys in education.
(Q7) What is the role of family life in the underachievement of

African-Caribbean boys?
Cy What is the role of the peer group and mass media in the
underachievement of African-Caribbean boys?
ANSWERS 0)
Al The likelihood of being brought up in a single-parent family; low
teacher expectations; lack of cultural capital; the influence of a
street-orientated and highly masculinised peer-group culture;
disaffection resulting from police harassment; the influence of
commercial culture.
A2 African-Caribbean boys are more likely than white or Asian boys _
to be brought up in a female-headed single-parent family. Single
mothers find it difficult to control and discipline their sons, who
are often led astray by older deviant role models in the community.
A3 The peer group acts as a focus and means of compensation for :
the disaffection felt as a result of their treatment by teachers and
the police. The mass media provide the role models (e.g. ‘gangsta’
rappers) on which they base their dress, behaviour, attitude etc. |
{
examiner’s note Sewell’s ideas are controversial but, as he is an African-

Caribbean sociologist who works with youths from this group on a daily basis, his
views probably have more validity than those found in other theories.
43 ANSWERS ‘
‘A-Level Sociology &é
_ Education
MET Caa
(QT) According to Marxists, what do many members of ethnic

minorities have in common with the white working class?
Cy According to Marxists, what is the ideological function of

ethnic-minority failure?
Cy How might ethnic-minority failure at school function to ‘divide

and rule’ the working class and benefit the ruling class?
ANSWERS ©)
A1 Most ethnic minorities share a similar socioeconomic status. They
are just as likely to be exploited by the capitalist system as the
white working class as they occupy similar low-paid, low-skilled jobsg
A2 Ethnic-minority failure leads to unemployment and the creation
of a surplus labour pool that can be used to ‘threaten’ the white
working class into accepting their lot. It is therefore a mechanism :
of social control. ’
A3 Members of the white working class are encouraged to subscribe
to racist beliefs and view an unqualified surplus ethnic-minority
labour pool as a threat to their jobs and livelihoods, in order to ~
distract them from the ‘true’ cause of their insecurity — the
management of the capitalist system by the bourgeoisie. ;
examiner's note You should be able to evaluate these ideas. As with many
Marxist explanations, they tend to be overtheoretical and there is no empirical
evidence to support them.
ANSWERS
_AS/A-Level Sociology wets
_ Education ha y
».
Marxist interpretivism
cD According to Ken Pryce, in what sense might the educational

failure of African-Caribbean youth be the outcome of rational
decision-making?
Cy According to Pryce, what sort of deviant careers emerge out

of educational failure?
Y How are the conclusions of Pryce similar to those of Paul

Willis?
ANSWERS 0)
A1 Many young African-Caribbeans interpret the predominantly |
white social world they inhabit as racist. They therefore make the”
rational decision to drop out of the system and pursue their own ~
goals because, however hard they work, they will fail due to racial —
prejudice and discrimination.
A2 Pryce found that the young black men in his ethnographic study
of Bristol turned to subcultural deviance focused on street
crimes such as drug dealing.
A3 Like Willis, Pryce is an interpretivist sociologist — he attempts to
see the world through the eyes of his subjects by using \
ethnographic methods. He is interested primarily in his subjects’
interpretation of reality.
examiner’s note Think about what research methods might be adopted by
ethnographic researchers to find out how young African-Caribbeans experience
the education system.
ANSWERS
-
“Education
aTx=)ateCuuiam-velUle-teleley.),
achievement by gender
(Of) Identify three stages of education in which females outperform

males.
Cy Which is more important in relation to male and female

educational achievement: gender or social class?
Cy Identify four patterns in female achievement before the 1980s.
ANSWERS 6)
A1 Key Stages 1,2 and 3; the 11+; GCSE; A-level; university degree. lie
tt
A
qnl
8
A2 Social class is probably more influential than gender — both

working-class girls and working-class boys underachieve
significantly compared to their middle-class counterparts.
A3 Females were more likely to pass the 11+; they were more likely
to leave school at 15 or 16; they were less likely to take A-levels;
they were less likely to go on to university.
examiner's note |t is important to be precise when discussing these statistical —
patterns. Remember that although girls have generally overtaken boys in
education, the gap is not wide and working-class girls still trail significantly behind
middle-class girls.
ANSWERS
Education : :
Why girls are outperforming boys
CD What is the ‘genderquake’ and how has it affected female

achievement?
Cy What were the findings of Sharpe’s surveys of female attitudes,

carried out in the 1970s and 1990s?
Cy Identify two reasons why the economy has become feminised.
ANSWERS 0)
A1 The ‘genderquake’ was a revolution in female attitudes caused by
the feminisation of the economy and workforce. This has
supposedly led to young women today viewing jobs as careers
rather than as a temporary stopgap before having a family.
A2 In the 1970s girls prioritised having a family, whereas in the 1990s
they prioritised getting a good education, pursuing a career and
material aspirations.
A3 The decline of male-dominated primary and secondary industries
due to international economic recession and cheaper imported
goods; the expansion of the service sector; the fact that female
labour is cheaper than male labour; the increase in the number of
well-qualified females.
examiner's note There is a danger of exaggerating these changes — women
still earn significantly less than men and there is still immense cultural pressure
on women to have children, which can interrupt career development and favour
men's promotion possibilities,
ANSWERS
a
A-Level Sociology at * Sa
“Education :
Why boys are failing (1)
(QT) Why did a moral panic arise in the early 1990s about boys’
educational achievement?
Cy What is the ‘culture of low achievement’ that has supposedly

developed in secondary schools?
Cy Why might boys see academic culture and achievement as

feminine?
ANSWERS 0)
Al Girls overtook boys in terms of achievement at most levels of the
education system during the late 1980s. This was also a period of
high male unemployment and there were political concerns about
disaffected youth turning to crime and urban disorder.
A2 It refers to the view that teachers prefer to teach girls and have
low expectations about boys’ educational potential. These
expectations are conveyed to boys through classroom interaction,
setting and exclusion policies, resulting in their underachievement.
A3 Most primary-school teachers are female, and evidence suggests
that it is mainly mothers, rather than fathers, who help their
young children with homework. Young males may therefore
interpret school and academic work as feminine.
examiner's note Be aware of the constant stream of new research that is
being conducted to explain why boys fail. Visit the Raising Boys’ Achievement
website (www-rba.educ.cam.ac.uk) for updates.
ANSWERS
Education
Why boys are failing (2)
(OT) What is the ‘crisis of masculinity’?
y What sort of behaviour is allegedly adopted by working-class

boys to compensate for the crisis of masculinity and may be
resulting in their educational failure?
y According to the study by Pattman, Frosh and Phoenix, how do

failing boys socially control boys who try to subscribe to the
academic culture of the school?
ANSWERS 0)
A1 Young males are no longer sure of their place in society because
of rising male unemployment and the feminisation of the
economy and workplace.
A2 Some boys compensate by rejecting educational qualifications as
irrelevant and getting involved in anti-school subcultures and
truancy.
A3 They use verbal bullying by applying labels to boys who achieve
academically to cast doubt on their masculinity.
examiner's note For synoptic purposes, you should be aware that the crisis
of masculinity extends beyond education into forms of crime and deviance — it
may result in domestic violence, suicide etc.
ANSWERS
AS/A-Level Sociology a “ey
Education .
@7=sare(slamelatemeKenli{-)pal=
aie
(OT) What do Warrington and Younger conclude about the influence

of gender as an educational determinant?
(Q7) Approximately how many girls leave school in the UK

every year without an educational qualification?
Cy Which social factor seems to be the most important in

determining the educational achievement of both males
and females?
ANSWERS )
A1 Warrington and Younger conclude that it is not as influential as
prior attainment, social class, ethnicity and the quality of the
school.
A2 15,000.
A3 Social class.
examiner's note |t is important to be evaluative — social class and ethnicity
interact with gender and quality of schools to produce success and failure.
However, gender is probably still the major influence over subject choice.
ANSWERS
Sociological Methods
NYofel(o) (os-4(er-| elke!
(OT) What are primary data?
(Q7) What agencies are involved in the collection of secondary data?
Cy What is the difference between quantitative and qualitative

social data?
ANSWERS ©)
A1 Primary data are quantitative and qualitative evidence gathered
first hand by sociological research.
A2 Agencies and institutions that are not specifically concerned with
doing sociological research, e.g. the government is the main
gatherer of secondary data through mechanisms such as the
national census. Other agencies include charitable research
organisations, the mass media, businesses and trade unions.
A3 Quantitative data are statistical in nature whereas qualitative data
are usually made up of verbatim observations or quotations from
researchers and those being researched.
examiner's note |t is important to be able to distinguish clearly between
specifically sociological data (i.e. primary data) and those collected for other
purposes (i.e, secondary data),
G1) ANSWERS
9
- Sociological Methods
Evaluating sociological dare

representativeness
cD What is a sample?
Cy What is representativeness?
Cy Why is it important for a sample to be representative?
ANSWERS 0)
A1 A sample is a smaller version of the research population, usually
selected randomly, which should have much the same
characteristics as the wider social group being studied.
A2 Representativeness refers to the typicality of the sample, i.e. it
should mirror as closely as possible the larger group being
researched in terms of factors such as age, social class, gender
and ethnicity.
A3 If a sample is not representative, it will not be possible to
generalise to the research population. Researchers want to be
able to say that because the sample behaves in a particular way,
it is highly likely the wider research population will too.
examiner's note The concepts of representativeness and generalisation are
central to those sociologists who view scientific rigour as an essential
characteristic of sociological research, i.e. positivists.
(52) ANSWERS
SNZLUENal a}-mxolelle)(es-4(er-1 cel 1: b

reliability
(OT; What is meant by ‘reliability’?
(Q7) Why are laboratory experiments regarded as reliable?
Cy Why are interpretivist methods, such as unstructured

interviews and observation, regarded as less reliable than
questionnaire surveys?
ANSWERS ©)
Al The concept of reliability refers to the effectiveness of the
research method. If the method can be replicated (repeated)
using a similar sample, and similar results are obtained, then the
method is seen as characterised by high reliability because the
data are verified.
A2 Variables are only introduced into experiments under highly
controlled conditions. Laboratory experiments are composed of
procedures which are standardised and therefore repeatable.
A3 These methods are rarely underpinned by standardised and
controlled procedures. They follow few rules and are not easily
repeated and verified because the data are often dependent on
the personal relationship between the researcher and the subject.
examiner's note Students often confuse the concept of reliability with the
concept of validity. Make sure you understand clearly the difference between the
two concepts.
(53) ANSWERS
AS/A-Level Sociology )
Evaluating sociological data: validity
cD What is meant by ‘validity’?
Cy Identify two factors in social research that can undermine

validity.
Cy Why are qualitative data regarded as more valid than

quantitative data?
ANSWERS 0)
Al The concept of validity is used in regard to the data or evidence
collected and whether this truly and authentically reflects the
reality of the group or situation being studied.
A2 ¢ The questions asked may provoke invalid responses because
they are leading, loaded with emotional baggage or insensitive
e People may wish to please the researcher
¢ People may mislead researchers to avoid being labelled as deviants
A3 Qualitative data are often composed of quotations or
observations taken directly from conversations with those being
studied, and are thought to reflect their attitudes, feelings, and
interpretations of reality.
examiner's note Students often confuse the concept of reliability with the
concept of validity, Note that reliability is used mainly in conjunction with
research design while validity usually refers to the results of the research. Make
sure you understand clearly the difference between the two concepts.
ANSWERS
_ AS/A-Level Sociology e
e-Keike)acwr-lic-ved
| a\-mival=scelale)(el=
ol MASier meal aalsinalese|
(OT; How might the nature of the research subject affect the choice
of research method?
Cy How does cost affect choice of method?
Cy Why might the social characteristics of the research team lead

to questionnaires being chosen as the main research method
rather than unstructured interviews or observation?
ANSWERS ©)
Al Some topics are more sensitive than others and are unlikely to
elicit responses using formal methods, such as questionnaires.
Subjects such as sexual or domestic abuse probably require more
one-to-one methods, such as unstructured interviews.
A2 A longitudinal observation study or employing and training an
interviewing team is expensive. A lack of financial resources,
therefore, will probably require a cheaper method, such as a
questionnaire.
A3 The social class, age, ethnicity or gender of the research team
may not fit the social characteristics of the research population.
This means that face-to-face methods, such as interviews and
observation, may be deemed unsuitable because they might
generate invalid data.
examiner’s note Remember that power is also an important factor affecting
both choice of method and access to a research population. Groups who have
the power to say no to social research might be accessed via covert observation.
G5) ANSWERS
_ Sociological Methods
anes
e@D What is informed consent?
j Cy Why might the researcher’s promise of anonymity and

confidentiality improve the validity of data?
Cy Why is covert observation often criticised for ethical reasons?
ANSWERS ©)
A1 Informed consent is the permission given by respondents to
research being carried out on them, usually after the aims and
objectives of the research have been clearly explained to them.
A2 Respondents may be more willing to open up to researchers if
they feel that their identity will be protected in the research
report by the researchers ensuring anonymity and/or using false
names.
A3 Covert observation involves a great deal of deception on behalf
of the researcher and does not gain the informed consent of
those being secretly observed.
examiner's note Ethics are regarded as an essential element of social
research and must be included in any discussion of why and How sociologists
choose the methods they do.
ANSWERS
i at=ve)aziaterl mrere)arj(a(-)a-hale)
aly
positivism (1)
(OT) According to positivist sociologists, what is the cause of

human behaviour?
;Cy Why do positivists see people as the puppets of society?
Cy Identify five important social factors that supposedly shape

human actions.
ANSWERS 0)
A1 Human behaviour is the product of the way that society and its
social structure is organised, e.g. British people behave differently
from French or Russian people because the social structures of
British, French and Russian society are fundamentally different.
A2 Because human action is shaped by social factors largely beyond
our control, i.e. by the way our society organises social class, age,
ethnic and gender relationships.
A3 According to positivists, value consensus, social integration and
social controls shape human action. Other sociologists suggest
that the socioeconomic status of our parents (i.e. our social class)
and the way our society sees gender, age, disability, sexuality and
ethnicity are major shapers of our future.
examiner's note Positivists generally believe that, in shaping human action,
individual choice is less important than the way societies are organised.
67) ANSWERS
AS/A-Level Sociology | .
— Sociological Methods
BMatzve)azjaler) mere) aij(el=)a-lale)

pio
positivism (2)
(QT) What is meant by ‘objectivity’ or ‘value freedom’?
Cy Why are quantitative data so important to positivist

sociologists?
Cy According to positivists, how should evidence gathered

by social research be verified?
ANSWERS 0)
Al ‘Objectivity’ or ‘value freedom’ refers to two related ideas. First,
that sociologists should suspend their political beliefs and become
scientific disinterested pursuers of truth when conducting
research. Second, that researchers should not be selective in the
collection and analysis of sociological evidence and data.
A2 Quantitative data have comparative value that can uncover
important correlations, i.e. relationships can be established between
groups of statistics that represent possible cause and effect.
A3 The research should be repeated by another researcher, using the
same method and a similar sample in order to cross-check the
reliability of the method and the validity of the data. This rarely
occurs in practice.
examiner's note |t is important to remember that scientific method is the
cornerstone of positivist methodology. This means that research should be
carried out under controlled conditions, be reliable, be objective and produce
quantifiable data. .
ANSWERS
__ AS/A-Level Sociology
WMatzvo)acialerl mrere)aiy
(al) a-ta/0) aly
interpretivism (1)
cD Give two alternative terms for interpretivism.
3 Cy Why do interpretivists reject the positivist idea that social

action is the product of social laws?
Cy What do interpretivists argue should be the subject of social

research?
ANSWERS ©)
A1 « Social action theory
¢ Anti-positivism
¢ Phenomenology
A2 Human beings differ from the subjects of the natural sciences
(e.g. chemicals) in that they have consciousness and, therefore,
are able to choose how to behave based on their interaction
with others and their interpretation of the world around them.
A3 How people come together in social groups (interaction) and the
social meanings or interpretations that people use to make sense
of social situations.
examiner's note |nterpretivists suggest that individuals make up society and
so are responsible, through shared meanings, for the social structure of society.
ANSWERS
4 L " we Ze
4ASIA. Level Sociology
| Sociological Methods
BMatsve) xzyuler) mrere)ai

(el) alate) p>
interpretivism (2)
cD According to interpretivist sociologists, what is the main task

| of social research?
3 Cy What methods do interpretivists prefer to use, and why?
Cy What is verstehen?
ANSWERS 0)
Al To understand how people socially construct their everyday
reality by examining how they come together in social groups and
by exploring the range of meanings or interpretations people use
to construct and negotiate their way through everyday life.
A2 They prefer to use methods such as unstructured interviews and
observation, which access the natural worlds of those being
researched and which generally elicit information about how
people see the world directly from those being researched.
A3 Verstehen is empathetic understanding — the researcher tries to
get inside the heads of the people being studied in order to
understand their social interpretation of their existence, i.e. to
see the world through their eyes.
examiner's note |nterpretivists are more concerned with achieving validity
and are less concerned than positivists with issues such as science, objectivity and
reliability,
ANSWERS
Experiments in social science
(OT; Why is it important for the experimental and control group to

be exactly alike in an experiment?
Cy Why is it impossible to find an experimental and control group

exactly alike when carrying out experiments on people?
GE) What is the Hawthorne effect?
ANSWERS 0)
A1 Because any variables (influences) that the experimenter
introduces should be the cause of any effects. Any differences
between the two groups could be an alternative cause.
A2 Although people may share similar social backgrounds, ages etc.,
their interpretation of their social reality in terms of feelings or
memories is unique to each individual.
A3 The Hawthorne effect is caused by the fact that people know
they are part of an experiment or the subject of social research.
This knowledge means that their behaviour becomes artificial as
opposed to being natural.
examiner's note |he laboratory experiment is generally rejected by
sociologists for practical, moral and theoretical reasons, so you should be aware
of alternative experimental approaches.
ANSWERS
Social experiments
(OT; How do social experiments differ from laboratory experiments?
Cy What is the Hawthorne effect?
Cy Why are field experiments rarely used in sociological research?
ANSWERS 0)
A1 Social or field experiments are carried out in natural settings,
e.g.a factory or school rather than in a laboratory.
A2 The Hawthorne effect refers to the possibility that the behaviour
being observed may be caused by the presence of the research
team.
A3 Field experiments are rarely used in sociological research because
it is extremely difficult for sociologists to control all the possible
variables.
examiner's note [hink about the strengths and weaknesses of the social
experiment in the arguments that suggest that the main cause of educational
underachievement is teacher labeling, which brings abouta self-fulfilling prophecy,
ANSWERS
The social survey
OT} What is a social survey?
(Q7) What is a longitudinal social survey?
Cy Why do positivists see the social survey as the sociological

equivalent of the laboratory experiment?
ANSWERS 0)
A1 A social survey is a scientific method of researching large
numbers of people, using questionnaires and/or interviews. It is
usually focused on a representative sample of a much greater
research population.
A2 A longitudinal social survey normally takes place over a period of =
—
years, i.e. the research team may re-visit and re-interview the
sample every couple of years in order to log changing attitudes,
as in the television series 7-Up.
A3 The social survey allows an element of researcher control
through the sampling technique adopted and the fact that all
respondents are exposed to the same stimuli in the form of an
objective standardised set of questions. It is also a reliable
method in that it is easy to replicate and verify the data.
examiner's note A social survey may use a questionnaire and/or interviews.
Therefore, the strengths and weaknesses of these methods should be used to
evaluate social surveys.
ANSWERS
~~ Sociological Methods
The social survey questionnaire
What is the difference between closed questions and open

questions?
Cy What is a leading question, and why should it be avoided?
Cy identify three ways in which a questionnaire might be passed

to a sample. r
ANSWERS ©)
A1 Closed questions offer respondents a set of fixed choices to give
as their responses; open questions invite people to give their
opinions, attitudes, beliefs or interpretations in their own words.
A2 A leading question invites a predictable response, e.g. the —
question ‘Don’t you think sex before marriage is disgusting?’

suggests that if you approve of sex before marriage, you are
disgusting. Some respondents may feel obliged to avoid this
possibility. Such questions lack objectivity, are biased and create
the potential for invalid responses.
A3 ¢ By hand
e By post
e By internet
examiner's note You should familiarise yourself with questionnaire design
and how certain types of problematic questions can undermine the validity of
the ‘evidence’ collected,
ANSWERS
aeclateCoyanmey-lanl>)|Lay-amecreplalce|Sfr
ey What is a sampling frame?
Cy Why do positivist sociologists prefer sampling to be a random

process?
Cy Which type of sampling technique is most likely to reflect

differences in the social character of research populations?
ANSWERS 0)
Al A sampling frame is a list of people who might be useful to a
particular piece of research. Common sampling frames include
the electoral roll, the postcode address file, the telephone book
and school and college registers.
A2 It avoids the bias associated with selecting samples deliberately.
A truly systematic or stratified random sampling technique usually
results in a representative sample that is objectively typical of the
wider research population.
A3 The stratified random sampling technique, which focuses on
dividing the research population into sampling frames based on
social characteristics, such as social class, age, gender or ethnicity.
examiner's note Do not neglect sampling — it is a central aspect of the
research process and you should be aware of why different random sampling
techniques exist.
ANSWERS
_. AS/A-Level Sociology
‘ Sociological Methods
I folatra-lateCo)aamey-tan)>)ilay-anecvelg)al(elel=<
(OT; What is quota sampling, and why is it sometimes used in

preference to random sampling?
Cy What types of research topic are likely to result in the use

of snowball samples?
Cy What is the major disadvantage of snowball sampling?
ANSWERS ©)
Al Quota sampling refers to the targeting of groups with common
characteristics, e.g. women shoppers aged 40-60. It may be easier
for researchers to target these groups and approach them in
-
public areas, such as shopping precincts, rather than access them
»I
-
¢
via a sampling frame.
A2 Topics that ask people to admit deviance; topics that are sensitive
because of their private character, e.g. sexual behaviour; topics
involving groups that are difficult to access through conventional
channels.
A3 There is no guarantee that these volunteer subjects are
representative of the group the researcher is studying. The fact
that they volunteer themselves for research ai make them
unrepresentative and possibly biased.
examiner's note Make sure you know the differences between random and
non-random forms of sampling, and can illustrate them With examples from research.
ANSWERS :
Evaluating the social survey

questionnaire (1)
(QT) In what sense are self-completion questionnaires relatively

unobtrusive?
Cy Identify three reasons why positivists prefer the social survey

questionnaire.
Cy Why do positivists regard the data collected by such

questionnaires as high in validity?
ANSWERS 6)
A1 They involve minimal contact between the researcher and
respondents. Ideally, the researcher should not be present when
the questionnaire is completed.
A2 e It is regarded as scientific because the variables are controlled O2n
through objective questioning and sampling, and all respondents

are subjected to the same stimuli
It is easily repeated by other sociologists and is therefore
reliable
¢ It produces a lot of quantifiable data for comparative purposes
A3 Because everybody is subjected to the same stimuli in the form
of the same questions in the same order, any difference in results
should reflect differences in real life.
examiner's note |t is important to remember that evaluation means knowing
something about the strengths of methods as well as their weaknesses.
ANSWERS
__ Sociological Methods
Evaluating the social survey

questionnaire (2)
ce) What problems affect postal questionnaires with regard to

response rates?
Cy Identify two reasons why the data collected by questionnaires

are not regarded as having high validity by interpretivist
sociologists.
Cy What major problem of validity might be caused by the use

of closed questions and fixed-choice responses?
ANSWERS 0)
A1 Response rates tend to be low because postal questionnaires
involve a greater degree of effort from respondents. If response
rates are low, samples may be unrepresentative.
A2 ¢ The researcher cannot be sure who filled in the questionnaire —
e The respondent may interpret the question and responses in a

different way to the researcher
¢ The respondent may mislead the researcher for a variety of
reasons
A3 These sorts of questions and answers force respondents to give
responses which only approximate to their experience rather
than truly reflect it. There is no opportunity for respondents to
discuss their motives or the reasons for their behaviour.
examiner's note Interpretivist sociologists point out that the use of
questionnaires implies that people are aware of the way they behave, and that
this is not always the case.
ANSWERS
Interviewing
CD Which type of interview, preferred by positivists, is most likely

to produce quantitative data?
Cy Which type of interview involves several people and is managed

by a facilitator?
Cy Which type of interview resembles an informal conversation?
ANSWERS ©)
A1 The structured interview, i.e. when an interviewer uses an
interview schedule composed of closed questions with fixed 4
responses.
A2 The focus group interview, i.e. when a research subject is
presented to a group who have volunteered to be audio-taped
and/or video-taped discussing a particular topic.
A3 The unstructured interview, i.e. when an interviewer discusses a
research topic in depth with an interviewee without the aid of
an interviewer schedule.
examiner's note |dentify important research studies that have used

structured and unstructured interviews to help illustrate your evaluation of these
methods,
ANSWERS
~ Sociological Methods
Olatiamerenel
men iains)mdi-\045
CD In an unstructured interview, in what sense is the respondent at

the centre of the research?
Cy Why are the data collected by unstructured interviews

sometimes difficult to analyse and compare?
Cy Why do interpretivist sociologists prefer unstructured

interviews to structured or semi-structured interviews?
ANSWERS ©)
A1 This type of interview does not depend on a conventional
interview schedule or questionnaire. The respondent is
encouraged to talk freely about prompted topics with minimal
commentary or interference. »
a
A2 They are mainly composed of verbatim conversation and discussion

-
4
in the respondents’ own words. Interviewees may not share the

same interpretation of particular social situations and problems, and
it can be difficult to pinpoint common themes in these accounts.
A3 Interpretivists believe that the data produced by unstructured
interviews are more valid than those collected by structured or
semi-structured interviews because interviewees are not strait-
jacketed by a set format of questions. Unstructured interviews are
flexible in format and respondents can see that their contributions
are valued.
examiner's note |The focus in structured interviews is on scientific reliability,
while the focus in unstructured interviews is on validity,
ANSWERS
Focus group interviews
@ Which type of sociologist prefers focus group interviews,

and why?
Cy How do focus group interviews work in practice?
Cy Identify two potential problems with focus group interviews.
ANSWERS ©)
A1 Interpretivists prefer focus group interviews because their emphasis
is on the dynamics of group interaction and how interpretations of
reality are socially constructed through discussion and negotiation.
A2 A group of people are exposed to a stimulus, e.g. a television =
°
-
—
advertisement, and are encouraged to debate how they feel about
it or interpret it. The sociologist tries to ensure that all group
members participate and that no-one dominates.
A3 * Some individuals are more articulate or dominant than others
* Focus group members may not be representative of the
research population
* The qualitative data collected can be difficult to analyse and
compare
examiner's note Although this type of interview has been used mainly by
opinion pollsters and market researchers, it is SEA being adopted by
sociological researchers.
1) ANSWERS
Evaluating interviews (1)
e@D Why do interviews have better response rates than

questionnaires?
Cy Identify three reasons why it might not be possible to trust

what people say about their own behaviour.
Cy In what sense might interviews be costly?
ANSWERS 0)
A1 Interviewers can doorstep potential respondents until they have
the required number in the sample — they can arrange to call
back if people are busy. They can also explain the purpose of
research, ensure anonymity and confidentiality and clarify any ——
problems. Successful management of interviews can produce trust

and rapport.
A2 * They may not be aware they behave in the way they do
¢ They may have a faulty memory
* They may wish to avoid being labelled negatively by the researcher
A3 Interviews usually involve the recruitment of a research team that
requires training. They are time-consuming and interviewers need
to be paid a wage for their time.
examiner’s note Remember that successful evaluation focuses on strengths
as well as weaknesses.
(72) ANSWERS
a AS/A-Level Sociology
Evaluating interviews (2)
CD What is interview bias or effect?
Cy How might some interviewers lead respondents into giving

them particular answers?
Cy What characteristics need to be taken into account when

planning interviews in order to avoid interview bias?
ANSWERS ©)
A1 Interviews are interactions between people; interview bias refers
to the effect people have on each other, usually because there is
a power difference between them. ‘
‘
¢
'
A2 Their tone of voice, facial expression and body language may
suggest approval or disapproval to respondents and influence
their response.
A3 The social class, age, gender and ethnicity of both researchers
and the research population need to be taken into account.
The dress, accent etc. of the researcher can also result in
interview bias.
examiner’s note An interview is rarely interpreted by the interviewee as a
socially. balanced interaction. Interviewers may be interpreted by the interviewee
as having more power and authority and, therefore, as possibly threatening to the
interviewee,
73) ANSWERS
Evaluating unstructured interviews
(OT; What is the social desirability effect, and how can it undermine
the validity of interview data?
Cy Identify three reasons why positivists argue that the

unstructured interview is an unscientific method.
Cy Why are unstructured interview data criticised by positivists

as lacking in objectivity?
ANSWERS ©)
A1 People generally want to please a researcher in a variety of ways,
e.g. by agreeing with an interviewer or by appearing socially
respectable. This generally produces artificial rather than natural
responses.
A2 « They rarely have a standardised design
* They are not reliable — the personal relationship between
researcher and interviewee is unique and difficult to replicate
¢ They rarely produce comparative quantifiable data
A3 A large amount of data are produced, but often only a small
percentage is selected to support the hypothesis.
examiner's note Examiners often ask students to compare structured and

unstructured interviews, but you may also be asked to compare interviews in
general with observation.
ANSWERS .
Ethnography
OT} Define ethnography.
Cy What methods are regarded as ethnographic?
Cy What are the social meanings that ethnographers are interested

in exploring?
ANSWERS 0)
A1 Ethnography is sociological research that is conducted in the
natural environment of the research subjects and describes their
way of life.
A2 Observation methods are the main ethnographic technique, but
unstructured interviews and diaries (especially those kept for
research purposes) can also be interpreted as ethnographic.
A3 Social meanings refer to how people interpret and make sense of
their everyday reality, e.g. why do people in the UK share the
interpretation that a red light at a road junction means or
symbolises ‘stop’?
examiner's note Ethnographic research techniques aim to get inside the
heads of those who are being studied and avoid imposing the researcher's ideas
or beliefs on the research process.
(75) ANSWERS
Observation
CD Why is participant observation viewed as the method most

likely to achieve verstehen?
Cy Why is participant observation likely to produce less artificial

data than questionnaires or interviews?
Cy Identify three different types of observation.
ANSWERS 0)
Al Participant observation gains access to the everyday natural
world of those being studied and sees the world through their
eyes. It attempts to achieve an empathetic understanding
(verstehen) with the subjects of research. oew
A2 Participant observation does not require the suspension of

everyday reality to participate in an unusual event, such as filling in
a questionnaire or taking part in an interview. In a successful
observational study, most people being studied will be unaware of
the sociologist’s attention.
A3 ¢ External
e Participant
¢ Covert participant
examiner’s note It is important that you learn the lessons of at least two
observational studies so you can illustrate your evaluation with examples.
ANSWERS ;
:
Participant observation
(Of What types of group that traditionally refuse to cooperate with

conventional methods, such as questionnaires and interviews,
may be more accessible through observation?
Cy How do participant observers generally obtain access to social

groups?
Cy In what sense are participant observation studies longitudinal?
ANSWERS 6)
A1 Those groups with power and those defined as deviant by
society.
l
»
A2 They are usually introduced to the group by a gate-keeper, who is

someone of influence within the group, i.e. a leader such as Doc
in Bill Whyte’s Street Corner Society or Tally in Liebow’s Tally’s
Corner.
A3 They usually last months or years.
examiner's note Participant observation generally involves the group
knowing the sociological identity of the researcher. Good observational research
will only begin once the researcher is convinced that the group takes his/her
presence for granted.
QT) ANSWERS
Covert observation
OT; Why is covert observation likely to produce more valid

data than participant observation?
Cy Identify two practical problems associated with covert

observation.
Cy Identify two ethical problems associated with covert

observation.
ANSWERS 0)
A1 No-one in the group is aware of the researcher's identity and,
therefore, there is less scope for showing off or acting artificially.
The behaviour observed should be totally natural.
—
A2 « Getting access to a group

¢ Taking notes or asking questions without arousing suspicion
¢ Avoiding having to take part in criminal activities
A3 ¢ It involves deception
* Informed consent has not been granted by those being
researched
* It may involve abusing friendships or confidentiality
examiner’s note You should have a detailed knowledge of the differences
between participant and covert forms of observation and be able to refer to
research studies to illustrate these differences.
ANSWERS .
:
4 AS/A-Level Sociology
Evaluating observation (1)
ey How might observation give rise to new ideas as the research

goes on?
Cy How do supporters of covert observation generally reply to

the accusation that their chosen method is unethical?
Cy Why might participant observation be more flexible than

covert observation?
ANSWERS 0)
A1 Original hypotheses might be abandoned because the dynamic
and longitudinal nature of observation allows sociologists to see
the evolution of behaviour and attitudes as they happen. New
hypotheses can be developed along the way.
A2 They argue that the results they obtain from this method are
valuable in changing social or official attitudes to the groups being
studied and in reducing prejudice and discrimination.
A3 Covert observers are restricted to the role they have adopted
and any deviation from this role may arouse suspicion; participant
observers are generally recognised as observers and can ask
questions freely about what they are observing.
examiner’s note Observation allows for researcher reflexivity — effective
researchers should always be aware of how their presence and interaction with
others affect the quality of the data.
ANSWERS
Evaluating observation (2)
(OT; Why is observation sometimes criticised for bias in terms of

the data used?
Cy What is meant by ‘going native’, and how does it undermine

validity?
Cy How might the Hawthorne effect be brought about by

participant observation?
ANSWERS 0)
A1 Years of observation will produce a mass of data, but only a
minority of this is used in writing up the research. This has
produced accusations of selective bias.
A2 ‘Going native’ refers to the researcher identifying wholly with
those being researched and therefore losing objectivity. It is
argued that once a researcher has lost the ability to be critical
of the group being studied, he/she loses detachment and is
potentially biased.
A3 However skilled researchers are, they can never be sure that
the behaviour they are observing is not the product of their
presence.
examiner's note A good example of the problems created by the presence
of the researcher is found in Bill Whyte's Street Corner Society when Doc
announces to Whyte that he used to do things on instinct but now thinks about
how he is going to justify his behaviour to Whyte.
ANSWERS
SAVEVUE-
Talay-ake) oX-) a V7-Ka(eo)a)(0)
@) Why is observation often criticised for being unreliable?
Cy Why is observation often criticised for being unrepresentative?
Cy Identify two reasons why the observation method might be

regarded as unscientific.
ANSWERS 0)
A1 Observation depends on a unique relationship between the
observer and the observed, which may not be repeatable with
other sociologists.
a
A2 Observational studies tend to focus on exotic or deviant groups,

which are rarely part of mainstream society. The groups chosen
to be observed are not sampled randomly.
A3 » Observation is rarely the result of a logical, standardised and
controlled process
* It is seen as unreliable because of difficulties in replicating studies
e It rarely produces quantifiable data
¢ The data gathered are not viewed as objective
examiner’s note Positivist sociologists regard observational studies as lacking
in scientific credibility, although interpretivists argue that the validity of the data
gathered by such studies is more important. 3
ANSWERS ,
@iitarlecehatsles
CD What agency is the main source of official statistics in the UK?
Cy Give three examples of registration data.
Cy Identify three major social surveys that produce official

statistics.
ANSWERS 0)
A1 The government.
A2 « Births
e Deaths
e Marriages
¢ Divorces
A3 « The Census
¢ The British Crime Survey
¢ The General Household Survey
examiner's note Official data are produced in the form of documents
(e.g. the state employs researchers to evaluate social policy-or special
commissions produce white papers) as well as statistics,
ANSWERS ‘
.
Evaluating official statistics
Cy What criticism is being made when it is noted that official

criminal statistics are ‘socially constructed’?
| (O72) What types of statistic are generally open to political abuse

and bias?
Cy Using marital breakdown as an example, explain why official

statistics are criticised as being one-dimensional in their validity.
ANSWERS 0)
Al Those who use official criminal statistics uncritically neglect the
fact that statistics are the end result of a complex set of
interactions involving a range of social actors, i.e. they are socially ;
constructed. Statistics may tell us more about this process than
the phenomena they supposedly represent.
A2 Unemployment statistics have experienced the most political
abuse and bias.
A3 Official statistics fail to recognise that marital breakdown takes
other forms in addition to divorce, e.g. separation and empty-shell
marriages, and they fail to give insight into why marital breakdown
occurs or its emotional and social effects.
examiner's note You should have an in-depth knowledge of how crime or

suicide statistics are socially constructed in order to evaluate the reliability of
official statistics and the validity of the picture they offer
ANSWERS :
Personal and expressive

documents
cD Why are letters, autobiographies and personal diaries a rich

source of qualitative data?
Cy Why are personal documents sometimes criticised as being

biased?
Cy Why has the representativeness of personal documents been

called into question?
ANSWERS ©)
3
A1 They give insight into the interpretations held by significant

people, especially those in the past, into personal and public :
-
events. They are therefore thought to be high in validity. a
.
-
A2 Sociologists can never be absolutely sure about the authenticity

of such documents or about the credibility of their content.
Personal documents tend to be written with a public audience in
mind in order to justify particular actions or to shape public
opinion.
A3 People who write diaries or autobiographies tend to come from
the upper-middle-class intelligentsia or political class and,
consequently, may not be representative of wider society.
examiner’s note |here are many personal documents available that
potentially give insights into the world of crime, e.g. the memoirs of notorious
criminals such as ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser. How reliable are such memoirs?
ANSWERS
Contemporary documents
(Of; Identify three types of mass media investigated by feminist

sociologists.
Cy What social phenomena can newspaper coverage of crime and

deviance give sociologists an insight into?
Cy Whose values may be reflected by media content, therefore

undermining the validity of this secondary source?
ANSWERS 0)
A1 ¢ Advertisements
e
e
Women’s magazines
Teen magazines, such as Sugar and Jackie .
¢ Children’s reading primers
¢ Television soap operas
A2 Moral panics, fear of crime and public attitudes towards
punishment.
A3 Media content may merely reflect the unrepresentative values of
middle-class professionals, such as editors and journalists or
owners, although mass media professionals claim that media
content reflects the values of the general public.
examiner's note The mass media are an important source of secondary data
in a range of forms, e.g. newspaper and magazine articles, television and radio
programmes, films, advertisements, music, internet sites and computer games.
ANSWERS
"AS/ALevel Sociology
' Sociological Methods
Analysing contemporary
documents
(OT What is the main quantitative methodological technique of

analysing media content?
[QZ What is the name of the qualitative approach to media content

that involves working out the ideological or political messages
inherent in media texts, such as newspapers?
Cy Identify two problems associated with media analysis.
ANSWERS 0)
A1 Content analysis.
A2 Semiotics.
A3 « Media analysis tends to depend on the researcher's
interpretations of content. Different researchers may interpret
the same information or image in different ways; in this sense, it
lacks both objectivity and reliability
* It assumes an effect on the audience, which is unproved
examiner's note You should be aware of studies that use different types of
media analysis, such as those conducted by the University of Glasgow Media
Group, in order to illustrate your evaluation of these methods.
ANSWERS
mil kise)alerlmralerelelpal-jara
(QT) What type of historical document did Laslett use in his sine
; of pre-industrial family life?
[Q7) In what ways have sociologists used gravestones as historical

documents?
@ Identify two possible drawbacks of using
historical documents.
ANSWERS ©)
A1 Laslett examined parish records, which gave him insight into the
structure of families during the medieval period.
A2 Gravestones can give insights into mortality rates in past
historical periods as well as causes of death. Some sociologists
have used them to investigate attitudes towards religion.
A3 « It is difficult to prove that a historical document is authentic
in terms of origin or association with a particular individual
¢ The credibility of such documents can be undermined by
political conspiracies, e.g. they may have been forged as part
of a propaganda campaign
examiner's note Historical documents are often the only clue as to how
people lived and felt in the past, but they always remain problematic because of
doubts about authenticity, credibility and representativeness.
ANSWERS
_ AS/A-Levei Sociology '
Sociological Methods 88
Triangulation and
methodological pluralism
OT} What is triangulation?
: Cy How does methodological pluralism differ from triangulation?
Cy In reality, how have most sociologists reacted to the so-called

‘theory war’ between positivism and interpretivism?
ee
ANSWERS ©)
A1 Triangulation is a research approach that involves the use of one
.
main method, i.e. a questionnaire survey, combined with
supplementary methods, e.g. unstructured interviews and official
statistics. The function of the supplementary methods is to cross- _
check the reliability of the survey and the validity of the data it
has collected.
A2 Triangulation’s use of a multi-method approach is the result of a
desire to check and verify the findings of the main research
method; pluralism aims to look at a phenomenon from a number
of different angles, so building up multi-layers of data.
A3 Most sociologists do not subscribe to either a positivist or
interpretivist position. They use a combination of quantitative and
qualitative methods — whatever works best is best.
examiner's note Theoretical positions are now generally regarded as less
important than practical factors in choosing a research method.
ANSWERS
g =o
_ AS/A-Levei Sociology
_ Educational Research
P.Willis: Learning to Labour (1977)
Paul Willis studied a group of 12 working class ‘lads’ during their last
year at a West Midlands secondary school and during their first few
months at work. He observed the lads in a number of different
situations and conducted.informal unstructured interviews with
them. He found that the lads’ educational failure was not a product
of the hidden curriculum or of teacher labelling. Rather, the lads
actively ‘chose’ to fail by forming an alternative anti-school culture
based on ‘having a laff’, because they believed that qualifications were
irrelevant to the factory jobs that they wanted to do.
EVALUATION 0)
Evaluation of Willis
'i
¢ Willis has been criticised for using a small and unrepresentative i
sample. However, his study was intended as a case study of a group H
of lads in one particular school rather than a representative social
survey from which generalisations were to be made. His sample
may not be typical of working-class boys across the country but he
never intended it to be.
¢ It has also been suggested he was selective in his use of evidence
and that he over-focused on evidence of the lads’ resistance at the
expense of evidence of their conformity.
* Willis’ work may have dated. When he conducted his study in the
1970s, factory work existed for ‘failing’ boys, which may no longer
be the case.
¢ His use of ethnographic methods such as observation and
unstructured interviews produced highly valid information from
the point of view of the boys themselves.
EVALUATION
q AS/A-Level Sociology
' Educational Research
J.W. B. Douglas: The Home and the Schoo! (1968)
Douglas conducted a longitudinal survey of 5,362 British children

born in March 1946. At the ages of eight and eleven, 3,418 children
were given intelligence tests. The test results were correlated with
details of the children’s home background collected from
questionnaires distributed to health visitors. In 1962, 3,626 children
were given further tests when they turned 16. Douglas also counted
the frequency of parents’ attendance at parents’ evenings and briefly
interviewed teachers about levels of parental interest. Douglas
concluded that working-class children did less well at school because
their parents were less interested than middle-class parents in their
educational progress.
EVALUATION 0)
Evaluation of Douglas
¢ Response rates were fairly high. The sample was representative of

children born in March 1946. j
¢ The concept of ‘intelligence’ is difficult to operationalise and :
measure. Not all sociologists agree on how this should be done.
¢ The validity of the data on home background and the level of
parental interest can be questioned. The perceptions of health
visitors and teachers may be misguided because they may be based
on stereotypical negative and condescending views of working-
class children and their parents.
¢ Counting the frequency of visits to parents’ evenings may reveal
very little about parental involvement in a child’s education. Parents
may not attend because they are physically tired at the end of their
working day or they might have transport difficulties. They may lack
confidence in dealing with teachers, especially if they themselves
had a negative experience of schooling.
EVALUATION
Educational Research
a
J. Payne: The Educational Aspirations of FE Students

(2001)
Joan Payne’s research was longitudinal. Her original sample comprised

22,948 Year 9 and Year 10 students. Data were collected in three
sweeps in 1998, 1999 and 2000 and aimed to find out whether
students aspired to enter higher education. Data wefe mainly
collected by self-completion postal questionnaires. The final sample in
the third sweep numbered 6,304. Payne’s results suggest her middle-
class sample placed a very high value on higher education compared
with her working-class sample. She concluded that the greater
prosperity of middle-class parents resulted in middle-class children
of moderate intelligence being more likely to go to university than
bright working-class children.
EVALUATION 0)
Evaluation of Payne
¢ Postal questionnaires are generally seen as reliable because, if they

are efficiently designed, they can be repeated by other sociologists
on similar samples and should produce similar data.
¢ The response rate to the first sweep was 65% and declined
thereafter. The percentage of the original sample responding
to the third sweep was very low, which calls into question the
representativeness of the study and whether generalisations can
be made from the data collected.
* The questionnaire’s emphasis on education and training created a
response bias towards academically more able and motivated
young people. The final sample therefore did not contain many
working-class students who did not intend to go to university.
* Postal questionnaires are not as useful as other methods for
collecting in-depth and valid information about students’
interpretation of their educational experiences and their motives
for entering or not entering higher education.
EVALUATION
- AS/A-Level Sociology
- Educational Research f
R. Rosenthal and L. Jacobson: Pygmalion-in the

Classroom (1968)
Rosenthal and Jacobson carried out a social experiment in an

American elementary school. All pupils in grades 1-6 were given an
iQ test. Their teachers were falsely told that the test could predict
academic potential. The teachers were given the names of pupils
who, Rosenthal and Jacobson claimed, had scored in the top 20%.
This was untrue — they had been selected randomly. When
Rosenthal and Jacobson tested the pupils 1 year later and compared
the scores of the 20% with other pupils, they found this group had
experienced huge educational growth. They concluded that teacher
labelling had produced a self-fulfilling prophecy.
EVALUATION 0)
Evaluation of Rosenthal and Jacobson
e The research has been criticised for ethical reasons because the
researchers deceived the teachers. The research may have had
harmful educational effects upon 80% of pupils, who may have
received less attention from their teachers.
¢ The researchers assumed that the gap between the two pupil
groups was caused by teacher labelling, yet no observational
research was conducted to confirm this or to show how teacher
expectations are communicated to the students. The conclusions
of this study remain speculative rather than valid.
e The research was conducted in one school and therefore lacks
representativeness.
* Such experiments lack reliability — there have been attempts to
replicate this research but it is difficult to put together control and
experimental groups of humans who are alike in most respects. Our
very different experiences and interpretations of education rather
than teacher labelling, may be responsible for differences in behaviour.
EVALUATION
_ AS/A-Level Sociology :
_ Educational Research
P. Corrigan: Schooling the Smash Street Kids

(1979)
Paul Corrigan studied working-class boys at school. He adopted

the role of a Cockney writer researching for a book about the
experiences of pupils, in order to carry out participant observation in
a Sunderland secondary school. Looking and chatting underpinned his
observation. He also distributed questionnaires to 48 boys in the
school and 45 boys from another school. Allthe boys who did not
receive a questionnaire in the observed school took part in an
unstructured interview. Corrigan found that delinquen cy and truancy
were not a reaction to specific lessons or teachers but, rather, a
symbolic protest about the compulsory nature of education.
EVALUATION 0)
Evaluation of Corrigan
¢ Observation can give sociologists valid insight into the natural

everyday environment of, and interaction between, the school and
its pupils.
¢ The role of ‘Cockney writer’ may have resulted in more valid data a
at
aly
Ae
t
than the role of ‘teacher’, because the latter role is unlikely to have
gained the trust of the pupils.
* Corrigan was able to see the world of the school through the eyes
of working-class boys — he was able to gain firsthand experience
of their interpretation of social reality.
* Approximately 100 boys in one northern city may not be very
representative of the experience of working-class boys in British
schools.
¢ Both participant observation and unstructured interviews may be
unreliable research tools — they are difficult to replicate to verify
results, because they depend on the unique skill and personality of the
observer/interviewer and the trust/rapport established with the group.
EVALUATION
Educational Research pis
———
S. Power et al.: Education and the

Middle Class (2003)
Power et al. researched over 300 academically promising individuals

from predominantly middle-class families. In the early 1980s, after
starting secondary school, they and their parents were interviewed
about their educational choices and aspirations. In 1995, in their mid-
twenties, they were sent a 21-page questionnaire: 74% responded
and, over the next 3 years, lengthy interviews were conducted with
nearly half the respondents. They conclude that middle-class parents
possess more cultural capital than working-class parents in terms of
knowledge about parental choice. Consequently they were more
willing to research and visit potential schools, and to go through
appeal procedures.
EVALUATION ©)
Evaluation of Power et al.
e The size and length of the questionnaire may have put off some
respondents from returning the questionnaire, although the
response rate of 74% is creditable.
e The open nature of the questionnaires and the unstructured
interviews produced qualitative data that explored the firsthand
interpretations and motives of the respondents. This type of
questioning avoids imposing the sociologist’s point of view through
the wording of questions or getting people to tick fixed choices.
e Longitudinal surveys are able to document how attitudes and
experiences evolve over a particular period of time, therefore
increasing the validity of the data.
¢ Qualitative data can be difficult to analyse and Sigel for
correlations.
¢ The sheer volume of data collected can be immense and leave
researchers open to the criticism of bias through selectivity.
EVALUATION
_ Educational Research .
A. Forsyth and A. Furlong: Socioeconomic

Disadvantage and Access to Higher Education (2000)
Forsyth and Furlong used various methods: 516 Year 13 secondary

school pupils completed a classroom questionnaire and received a
follow-up postal questionnaire 9 months later (395 responses),
44 in-depth interviews were conducted with a subsample identified
as coming from disadvantaged backgrounds; a postal questionnaire
was sent to the parents of students who took part in follow-up
stages of the research. Their research showed that bright students
from poor backgrounds are more likely to go to local universities
and live at home to keep costs down. They often feel they would
not fit in at elite universities.
EVALUATION )
Evaluating Forsyth and Furlong
e The research is an excellent example of triangulation. It employs a

mix of quantitative and qualitative methods in order to increase
the reliability of the research design and the validity of the data.
e The response rate to the follow-up postal questionnaire was high,
therefore ensuring representativeness.
e It is unclear what the social class, gender or ethnic breakdown
was, and what proportion of the sample was composed of these
groups.
e The in-depth unstructured interviews collected qualitative data
high in validity resulting from the use of open questions aimed at
uncovering the sample's interpretations of higher education.
¢ The postal questionnaire, if effectively designed, is an objective and
highly reliable method that can be employed by other sociologists
on similar samples in order to verify findings.
EVALUATION
q i nal
_ Educational Research '
S. Frosh, A. Phoenix and R. Pattman:

Young Masculinities (2001)
The study focused on 45 group interviews in 12 London private

and state secondary schools, involving a sample of 245 boys and
27 girls aged 11-14. The boys took part in group interviews with
the research team. Seventy-eight boys were randomly selected for
two individual interviews, separated by 2 to 4 weeks; 24 girls were
interviewed once each, focusing on their thoughts about boys.
They found that few boys managed to be both popular and overtly
academically successful. Conscientious boys committed to academic
work were often labelled by other boys in feminised and homophobic
ways.
EVALUATION 0)
AYE
l{erLalela me)mlmnossaM mlalol-\alpar-laleml o-tueeal-lal
5
e The research is very London-centred, which undermines the ;
representativeness of the sample. ;
e Group interviews can be dominated by strong personalities, which [
can lead other members of the group to give socially desirable
responses.
* Boys are also notoriously susceptible to peer pressure, which may
have resulted in them giving the research team exaggerated
responses in order to impress other members of the group.
¢ The individual interviews were ‘pupil-centred’ and encouraged the
interviewees to raise issues rather than have these imposed on
them by the research team.
¢ Interviewees were also encouraged to develop their replies by
providing illustrative narrative accounts, which increased the validity
of the data.
¢ The individual interviews attempted to address some of the
contradictions in attitude and behaviour seen in the group
interviews, therefore strengthening the validity of the data collected.
EVALUATION
M. Younger and M. Warrington:

Raising Boys’ Achievement (2005)
Four primary and four secondary schools in different parts of the UK

with contrasting pupil profiles were chosen for the study (e.g. some
schools had largely white working-class intakes while others were
multicultural). Focus group interviews were carried out with
friendship groups of underachieving boys. The study also carried out
classroom observations. Questionnaires were sent out to parents.
Individual interviews were carried out with staff and male and female
pupils. The research concluded that gender is only the fifth most
important determinant of a child’s educational performance, coming
way below prior attainment, social class, ethnicity and quality of
school.
EVALUATION ©)
Evaluation of Younger and Warrington
e The study used methodological pluralism in order to produce both :

quantitative and qualitative data that were able to examine gender
gaps in attitude towards academic work and achievement from a
variety of angles, therefore increasing validity.
e Focus groups can sometimes be dominated by strong personalities
that lead others into giving biased responses. Peer group pressure
may undermine validity.
¢ The validity of the data obtained through classroom observation
may be undermined by the observer effect, ie. those being
observed may be reacting to the presence of the observer.
* Interview data are valid if people are aware of the way they are
behaving, but teachers may not realise that they are discriminating
against boys.
¢ Although an attempt was made to include different types of school
with different types of pupil, eight schools may not be representative
of British schools in general.
EVALUATION
‘AS/A-Level Sociology
Educational Research ‘
H. Daniels and T. Cole: Study of Young People

Permanently Excluded from School (2003)
In this longitudinal study carried out over 2 years, 193 young people
excluded from school (from a representative sample of ten local
education authorities) were selected to take part. Semi-structured
interviews were carried out with care workers and with the children
and their parents. The interviews with the excluded pupils took
place in their home or on the telephone. However, 52 pupils (27%)
dropped out of the study. The research found that, once excluded,
re-integration into education was often a failure, although 50% of
those excluded found work or places on training courses.
EVALUATION ©)
AVENUE Tale) aie)mmDY-Tal(-)cur-lale ik@te)(=)
:
e Longitudinal studies track changes in attitudes and behaviour over
time, therefore increasing the validity of the data.
¢ Over a quarter of the original sample dropped out, therefore the -
representativeness of the sample was undermined — a common
problem with longitudinal studies.
¢ Semi-structured interviews collect both quantitative data in terms
of asking about aspects of social background and frequency of
behaviour, as well as qualitative data relating to motives,
experiences and interpretations.
¢ Semi-structured interviews allow the excluded pupils to speak for
themselves rather than imposing the sociologist’s interpretation of
reality on them through ticking predetermined boxes.
¢ Telephone interviews can undermine the validity of the data
because they do not allow for the trust and rapport that can be
established in face-to-face interviews.
¢ Data from telephone interviews are unlikely to be as detailed and
as in-depth as those gathered from face-to-face interviews.
EVALUATION
AS/A-Level Sociology .
G. Bhatti: Asian Children at Home

and School (1999)
In this ethnographic study of Asian children attending a mixed

comprehensive school in the south of England, where Ghazala Bhatti
was a teacher, detailed interviews in school with 50 children in
Years 9-13 were supplemented by participant observation in the
classroom. For home experiences, Bhatti, with a sample of 50 families,
interviewed one or both parents in their homes at least twice, often
in their mother tongue. Asian children generally had very positive
experiences of primary school but secondary school meant longer
travel distances and the possibility of unpleasant experiences such as
racism, which was rarely acknowledged by schools.
EVALUATION ©)
Evaluation of Bhatti
e Bhatti’s age, sex and ethnicity helped her befriend children from
different backgrounds. Some visited her at home after their exam
results, and others told her that they could talk to her about things
they could not discuss with their teachers, not even the Asian
teachers. This increased the validity of her data.
¢ Bhatti’s ability to speak to parents in their home language probably
increased their trust in her and therefore the validity of her data.
¢ Bhatti noted that parents felt less threatened by her research
because she was female. This helped her to establish a rapport
with families and therefore increased the validity of her data.
¢ The reliability of her research design is undermined by the fact
that this research is impossible to replicate and verify because it
depends on Bhatti’s unique relationship with pupils and their
parents.
EVALUATION
AS/A-Level Sociology ;
B. Willia Williams and A. Ullman:

J.ms,
Parental Involvement in Education (2002)
The research involved a telephone survey of a representative sample

the
of 2,019 parents of children aged 5-16. Using school registers as
sampling frame and computers to randomly select parents, 56% of
those selected agreed to take part. A quarter of the households
sampled were single-parent families headed by women. The effect
was to make 60% of the interviewees female. Most interviewees
were aged 35-44. The research found that one in three parents felt
very involved in their children’s school life, although primary school
parents.
parents were more likely to feel this than secondary school
EVALUATION o)
Evaluation of Williams, Williams and Ullman
_ © Social surveys can be used for collecting large amounts of .

quantitative data from large numbers of people in a relatively short”
period. ;
¢ Telephone interviews are most useful if the research population is ~
. geographically dispersed across the country.
¢ Structured telephone interviews are likely to be very reliable.
Interviewers using the same questions should achieve similar
results if the questions are neutral and objective.
¢ Only 56% of the original sample took part, which may have made
the sample unrepresentative, because the characteristics of the
parents who took part may have been different from those who
did not.
e The sample may have been made unrepresentative and biased re
the disproportionate number of mothers being interviewed.
* Structured telephone interviews may lack validity because they can
collect only limited information. It is doubtful whether they can
collect in-depth information about motives, experiences etc.
EVALUATION
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wwitHDR AAT Pik

02 JUN 2014 PAP i

cD Which two macro theories of society are involved in the

Cy What is meant by a structuralist theory of education?

Cy Many sociologists argue that education is concerned with

The functionalist theory

(QT) Who are the two most important functionalist thinkers

Cy According to functionalism, what two elements underpin

Cy Identify two ways in which the education system serves

Functionalism and socialisation (1)

eD According to Durkheim, what is the function of the knowledge

Cy Apart from transmitting knowledge, how do schools convey

Cy Functionalists argue that education systems socialise their pupils

y According to Parsons, how is the way we are judged by our

Cy What are the main universal values that we experience during

Cy According to Parsons, what is the main role that education

(QT; What is a meritocracy?

Cy According to Davis and Moore, which educational mechanisms

Cy According to Davis and Moore, why is stratification, and

According to Hargreaves, why are schools failing to instil a

Cy What social changes undermine the functionalist theory that

Cy Why is the functionalist view of schooling over-deterministic?

The Marxist theory of education

(OT; What is an ideological state apparatus?

Cy What is the main function of education as an ideological

What is the hidden curriculum, and how does it differ from

The hidden curriculum (1)

CD According to Althusser, what is the function of classroom

Cy Why are city academies criticised by Marxist sociologists?

Cy According to Althusser, what does most classroom knowledge

(QT) According to Marxist sociologists, what happens to those pupils

Cy What message does the hidden curriculum mainly transmit,

Cy How do Bowles and Gintis view the concept of meritocracy?

cD Critics argue that Marxist sociologists of education subscribe

Cy How might truancy and exclusion be used to criticise the

Cy Why is it difficult to test Marxist concepts such as the hidden

Paul Willis’s Learning to Labour

(QT Why did Paul Willis’s ‘lads’ see education as irrelevant?

Cy What was the effect of the hidden curriculum on Willis’s ‘lads’?

Cy Why is Willis’s research an interpretivist critique of Marxism?

The relationship between

) What economic reason underpinned the introduction

Cy Identify four pieces of educational policy introduced since

Cy Why is Braverman critical of functionalist claims that there

The relationship between

(Qf) What do the Marxists Bowles and Gintis mean by the

Cy What is the function of the hidden curriculum, according to

Cy How can we criticise Bowles and Gintis’s ideas that education

Of} What was the ‘new vocationalism’ introduced by the

Cy What was the hidden curriculum of youth training, according

Cy According to Marxist sociologists, how did such schemes

State educational policy

(QT What type of selection was introduced by the 1944

Cy identify two reasons why secondary modern schools

Cy Why was a grammar school education seen as superior

A3 Grammar schools had curricula geared to academic exams,

The comprehensive system

Of} What is the educational philosophy underpinning

(Q7) Identify three criticisms of comprehensive schools.

Gy Identify three arguments in favour of comprehensive schools.