Education Sociology AS Short Answer Questions

2 examples of ways in which a 'gender regime' may operate in school

- Bullying of boys who don't fit the dominant model of heterosexuality - Boys' status gained through sporting prowess - Boys shouting down at girls in class

3 reasons why the labelling theory may be 'an inadequate explanation of class differences in achievement'

- Ignores material deprivation/factors - Ignores cultural deprivation - Ignores meritocracy

3 criticisms that other sociologists may make of the functionalist view of the education system

- It is not meritocratic - It fails to prepare young people adequately for work - Pupils may reject the school's values and don't always passively accept what they are taught

3 policies that may promote the marketisation of education

- Publication of league tables - Publication of OFSTED reports - Private schools

3 examples of ways in which school is organised that may be ethnocentric

- School uniform may conflict with cultural ones - Assemblies that focus on one faith - Timing of holidays - History is taught in a British perspective

3 reasons why some parents are better able than others to choose which school their child attends

- Some can afford to pay for private schooling - Some can afford to move to areas with better schools - Some can afford to travel to areas with better schools

3 government policies that may have reduced social class differences in educational achievement

- Sure Start - Comprehensive schooling - Vocational education

3 policies or reforms aimed at raising educational achievement

- Sure Start - School league tables - Marketisation

2 ways in which interactions between pupils and teachers may affect attainment and/or behaviour

- Teacher expectations - The self-fulfilling prophecy - Forming a subculture

3 factors within a schools that may lead to the educational under-achievement of pupils from some ethnic groups

- The ethnocentric curriculum - Institutional racism - Teachers negatively label the students - Pupils are placed into lower sets/streams

3 examples of ways in which pupils' experiences of schooling help shape their identities

- Through subject choice - Through subcultures - By labelling

What is meant by 'value consensus'?

A shared culture and agreement of what is important.

What is meant by the correspondence theory?

Education mirroring the workplace.

What is meant by meritocracy?

Equal opportunity in which rewards are based on achievement.

What is meant by 'equality of opportunity'?

Every person having the same chances.

What is meant by vocational education?

Giving people work related skills.

What is meant by deferred gratification?

Having the ability to postpone satisfaction .

What is meant by material deprivation?

Poverty (a lack of necessities)

What is meant by labelling?

The process of attaching a meaning or definition to a person.

What is meant by the 'reproduction of class inequality'?

The way the education system reproduces existing social inequalities, and passes them on from one generation to the next.

What is meant by immediate gratification?

Wanting rewards now so an individual may leave school as soon as possible to get a job.

What is meant by the 'self - fulfilling prophecy'?

When pupils are labelled in a certain way and they act in response to the label by behaving in a certain way and therefore making the label come true.

What is meant by the 'education triage'?

When pupils are separated. Schools are not concerned with the top or bottom students as the top students will succeed and the bottom students will fail. They only focus on the middle group (C / D border group).

3 features of anti-school subcultures

• Attaching little value to the aim of the school • To avoid or disrupt lessons • To get into the world of work as soon as possible

3 ways in which schools are based on meritocratic principles

• Education is free for everyone • Everyone takes the same exams so everyone has the same chance • Those who work hard achieve success

3 factors that may explain gender differences in subject choice

• Employment opportunities • Parental expectations • Peer group pressure

3 educational policies that may have affected educational attainment

• Expansion of higher education • Introduction of GCSEs • The National Curriculum

3 reasons why boys tend to underachieve in school compared with girls

• Girls are more motivated to work harder • Boys mature later and over estimate their ability so they do not work as hard • Boys have poorer classroom behaviour than girls

2 criticisms that could be made of the Marxist view of education

• It ignores cultural factors • It ignores non-class inequalities

3 ways in which factors in the home can contribute to the underachievement of working class pupils

• Overcrowding in a house makes it hard for the child to study • Diet because the working class children cannot afford to buy healthy food in case it is wasted • The working class may not be able to afford school uniform / school equipment and they are stigmatised as a result.

3 ways in which school mirrors the features of the workplace

• School teaches children the alienation of students' lack of control over education and this is reflected in the workplace because of the alienation of workers' lack of control over production. • School teaches children extrinsic satisfaction and this is mirrored in the work place through satisfaction from extrinsic rewards. • Schools teach children that there is competition and division among students and this is mirrored in the workplace through competition and divisions through differences in status and pay.

3 ways in which schools may reinforce existing social class inequalities

• Schools may pay less attention to the working class because they are going to 'fail' anyway. • There are different types of courses. For example, the vocational route is for the working - class. • Setting / streaming can be based on class lines

3 features of the restricted speech code

• Short and incomplete sentences • It is not used in education • It is mostly used by the working class

2 reasons why a school's position in examination league tables may be an unsatisfactory measure of its worth or effectiveness

• Some schools have greater resources than others • Some schools have more pupils with special needs

What is the difference between the formal curriculum and the hidden curriculum?

• The formal curriculum is what you learn on a day to day basis. (Eg History, English) • The hidden curriculum is what you learn without knowing it. (Eg discipline, uniform)

3 functions that education may perform apart from the reproduction of class inequality

• To create social solidarity • To allocate job roles for the future • To teach specialist skills

3 criticisms that sociologists might make of vocational education?

• Vocational education is often seen as having a lower status than academic subjects. • It does not provide enough skills and the students are used as a source of cheap labour by employers • Vocational education may be just to reduce/hide unemployment statistics.