Sociology NAMES P1

all names sociology P1

Durkheim

Presents education as promoting social solidarity and teaching social norms. Mechanical solidarity - being in a community (school) and forming bonds as a result. Organic solidarity - Forming bonds with those who are in a similar situation/similar exeriences to u (education).

Parsons

Secondary socialisation, teaches you the norms outside of the home. Basically teaches you how to function in society, the home teaches you one part and education teaches you the others.

Davis & Moore

Role allocation - school will teach you things nessesary for work and to help you once you leave school. You will also be allocated a social position or job after school depending on how you were sorted in education, what you were good at etc.

Althusser

Ideological State Apparatus, views school as a way to communicate a false consciousness and foster a capitalist ideology - this communication seen as social control (not order like functionalists). School serves the ruling class as it creates passive workers who will maintain the hierarchy in society and not try to overthrow capitalism. WC students are convince they’re not bright enough. Status quo is in place to benefit ruling class - this is maintained in education.

Bourdieu

Culture Capital - it’s needed to succeed in education, and school favours MC culture capital so those who don’t have access to it (WC) won’t be able to benefit the same from education. Education benefits those with more culture capital, which is synonymous with having money.

Bowles & Gintis

Argues that education DOES do role allocation, but these roles aren’t meritocractic (Myth of Meritocracy) . The roles are to ensure the WC stay oppressed, and the hierarchy in society is maintained. They also create a passive workforce - blindly following authority etc leads to a passive workforce - done through punishments for not following authority, alienation of the WC, and the reinforcement of capitalist values through hidden curriculum. Correspondence principle - activities in school like being passive and following orders etc correspond to real-life and capitalist society.

Chubb and Moe

propose that the education system should be market-driven, allowing parents to choose schools which increases competition and improves quality. They argue that private schools deliver better education than public ones because they respond to consumer demand. State education isn’t meritocratic and disadvantages WC students - so raising standards is good as all students will have higher standards on education. HOWEVER - can evaluate with pupil premium and fixing gaps through Sutton trust etc that give equity in opportunity for WC students.

Murray

Competition is good and needed in schools - encourages people to put effort into their education and not be reliant on the government in the future, National curriculum is needed - creates consensus within society (However, it’s ethnocentric), Giving students skills useful in a market economy is good as it ensures good jobs and future employment - less gov reliance.

Becker

Becker is known for the labeling theory in sociology, which suggests that the labels assigned to individuals can influence their self-identity and behavior. He argued that society's judgments can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy, particularly affecting marginalized groups.

Willis

is known for his study on working-class boys in British schools, describing how they reject the values of the educational system and create their own subculture. His findings suggest that this resistance stems from their understanding of their future in manual labor, highlighting the disconnect between education and working-class aspirations.

Goffman

Stigmas - stigmas created in school system e.g most WC students being in lower classes - students are aware of stigma and internalise it. However new right argue that stigmas have a purpose.

Rosenthall & Jacobson

Their study introduced the concept of the "Pygmalion effect," showing that teacher expectations significantly influence student performance. They found that when teachers were led to expect enhanced performance from certain students, those students showed measurable improvement.

Lyotard

Pick and Mix (Postmodernist) suggests that theres an increase in choice for students in terms of their identity and how they identify, this lowers pressure to pick certain schools and subjects + people reject meta-narratives and should, e.g that A-levels are better than BTECs.

Giddens

Society has become more technologically advanced (globalisation link), information is available to everyone easily so parentocracy isn’t limited to MC parents, can be easily understood by many, websites can easily be translated etc.

Butler Act 1944

Legislation that made significant changes to the British education system, introducing free secondary education and establishing the tripartite system, which categorized students into grammar, technical, and secondary modern schools based on their abilities.

Comprehensivation 1965

The process by which all children, regardless of background, are educated together in comprehensive schools, aiming to provide equal opportunities for all students.

Vocationalism 1970/80

An educational approach that emphasises preparing students for specific careers or trades, often incorporating practical skills training and work experience.

Education reform Act 1988

A significant piece of legislation that introduced changes to the education system in England, including the establishment of a national curriculum and increased parental choice in school selection. (Introduction of marketisation).

Curriculum 2000

A framework for education reform introduced in the year 2000, emphasizing flexibility and the incorporation of key skills in the national curriculum. (Evaluation for the criticism to Marketisation that it lowers actual transferrable skills and focuses on teaching the test).

Education white paper 2010

A government document outlining proposed reforms to the education system in England, focusing on increased autonomy for schools and a push for more academies.

Sex discrimination act

A law passed in 1975 in the UK aimed at ending discrimination on the basis of sex and promoting equal rights in employment, education, and other areas. Included stopping certain phrases being used - stopped convincing girls not to go to university and that they should be ‘wives’.

Equal pay act

Legislation aimed at abolishing wage disparity between men and women, ensuring equal pay for equal work. Lead to more girls wanting to go into male dominated fields as they know they will be paid the same.

Equal opportunities act

A law designed to promote fair treatment and prevent discrimination in the workplace and wider society based on various characteristics such as gender, race, and disability. Domino for sensitivity training within schools - schools taught not to say certain things that may have been normalised beforehand.

Every child matters

is a UK government initiative aimed at improving the wellbeing of children and young people, ensuring that they are healthy, safe, and able to achieve their full potential. It emphasises the importance of multi-agency cooperation in support of children's needs. Interactionists would like!!

Staying in school until 19

Laws and policies requiring students to remain in education or training until the age of 19, aimed at improving educational outcomes and skills development for young people. However - doesn’t nessesarily mean they will all try at school, many end up going to college and getting low grades/not trying just going for obligation.

Aim Higher

is a UK initiative designed to increase the number of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds entering higher education. It provides support, guidance, and resources to help students realize their potential and access university opportunities.

Gifted + talented

programs designed to identify and support students who demonstrate exceptional abilities or potential in academic or creative fields. These initiatives aim to provide challenging opportunities to enhance their learning and development. However - unconscious biases may persist here - teachers may subconsciously not view certain students as ‘gifted’.

Pupil premium

A funding scheme in the UK aimed at improving educational outcomes for disadvantaged students by providing additional financial resources to schools. However - in many families especially those from immigrant background - they don’t like to discuss their financial situation which may limit the effectiveness of this funding and funding ends up going to everyone in the school instead of those who need it.

SureStart

is a UK government program providing early years support for children and families in disadvantaged areas. It offers various services, including health care, education, and parenting advice, aiming to improve children's development and well-being. This means that students are less likely to face cognitive deleopemental effects due to a lack of resources or malnutrition as a child, as these things are acsessible.

GIST + WISE

programs that promote gender equality in science and technology education, aiming to empower girls and young women by providing resources, mentorship, and support to enhance their engagement and success in these fields.

FSM until 7yrs

Refers to the provision of free school meals for children from low-income families for the first seven years of their education in the UK, aiming to support their health and academic performance. Fixes issue of pride with certain parents - and parents taking multiple jobs to hide financial situation.

EMA

is a financial support program in the UK that provides weekly financial assistance to eligible students aged 16 to 19 to help cover educational costs, thereby encouraging participation in further education, particularly for those from low-income families. However - money doesn’t go into improving their education.

Bursaries

are financial awards given to students based on various criteria, often including financial need, to help support their educational expenses. Bursaries aim to increase access to higher education for those who might struggle to afford it.

Free childcare 30 hrs

is a government initiative in the UK that provides eligible families with up to 30 hours of free childcare per week for children aged three to four years old, aimed at supporting working parents and early childhood development.

Raising tuition fees for Uni

refers to the increase in the cost of attending university, which can lead to higher student debt and potentially limit access to higher education for lower-income students. However - also means people don’t go to Uni for the ‘sake’ of it or a culture that suggests you need to, people go and get useful degrees.

Progress 8

is an accountability measure used in England to assess the progress students make from the end of primary school to the end of secondary school, focusing on their performance in eight subjects.

Education Action Zones

Education Action Zones (EAZs) are designated areas in the UK aimed at improving educational performance and outcomes in disadvantaged communities - collaboration between local schools, local authorities, and other agencies. The initiative focuses on providing additional funding, resources, and support to these areas, often targeting underperforming schools. EAZs also encourage community involvement and aim to create innovative teaching methods and support services, fostering a holistic approach to education. Over the years, various evaluations have been conducted to assess their effectiveness in raising educational standards and addressing socio-economic disparities.

Diversity Curriculum

refers to an educational framework that includes a variety of cultural perspectives, histories, and experiences in the curriculum to promote inclusivity and understanding among students from different backgrounds.

Ball + Bowe and Gertwitz on marketisation + privatisation

Benefits middle class - creates inequalities between schools - sink schools etc due to an increase in parentocracy.

Gilborn and Youdell on marketisation + privatisation

Suggested that it disadvantages black students and students are often cut off before doing their exams if seen as ‘lost hope’, black students are biased towards here. They argue that marketisation leads to a hierarchy of schools, where white, working-class students are often favoured, perpetuating systemic inequalities in educational outcomes.

Reay on marketisation + privatisation

Limits opportunity for success for WC students and MC culture capital is valued, however evaluation - there are smart working class students (ethnic minorities) and there are compensatory policies.

Chubb + Moe on marketisation + privatisation

Argued that marketisation improves educational outcomes by introducing competition among schools, which enhances choice for parents and promotes accountability in the education system.

Privatisation WWW

What - the transfer of public services to private ownership or control - state schools becoming academised is an example as allocation of funds is up to the academy, free schools too - white paper stated they don’t even nessesarily need to be qualified teachers and govnt can’t control.

When - New labour 1995.

Why - to increase school’s accountability and standards - schools were also able to allocate resources where they thought it was needed and they’re most able to do this as they know their students.

Evaluation - An example is the michaela community school, where student’s are kept under very strict conditions and the headteacher promotes a view that girls are objectively worse than boys in physics, this is a free school and so is therefore allowed as the education given is privately maintained. As well as this, free schools don’t need to give the ssme qualifications (GCSE’s, A-levels) so that may disadvantage it’s pupils in the future, people may also be able to brainwash students as there no regulation on their curriculum.

Marketisation WWW

What - Promoting choice in education, increasing types of providers students can attend. Higher choice - greater likelihood to find provider for their need (Free schools, technical colleges etc) .

Why - Schools will offer more chances for success, innovation, opportunities post-education to attract more students.

When - 1988 Education Reform Act Margerate thatcher, standardised testing for easy comparison, formula funding (schools get money per pupil), league tables 1990s ofsted, Also abolished the two-track system after school - people used to either go to a polytehcnic college or an academic university - however marketisation lead to these polytehcnics being given university status and therefore increasing competition between universities, allowing for more options for students to pursue higher education alongside higher standards.

Impacts

• Increase in GCSE and A-Level passes

• Increased choice in schools, general availability to choose.

• Higher private investments.

• University attendance increased.

Criticisms

• Arguments against marketisation include issues of equality, with concerns that it benefits more affluent students while widening the gap for disadvantaged ones. (Bourdieu - culture capital) (Ball - myth of parentocracy.)

• Educational triage - increased effort on certain students, resulting in neglect for those deemed less likely to succeed, thus perpetuating educational inequalities. Off-rolling - excluding those who wont pass before tests so that they don’t affect results.

• “Teaching the test” - People don’t learn life skills or gain actual knowledge, but end up learning how to write things in a way the examiner will like. Focus on exam results over holistic education, undermining the overall quality of learning.

• Increase in ‘Mickey Mouse’ degrees, student’s go into debt and pay for degrees with low post-graduate employment, having a degree loses it’s value and many still cannot find employment.

Globalisation

An interconnectedness of multiple countires through immigration, media, consumptions as a result of development and increased ability to share cultures and ideas across borders. It leads to changes in local economies, cultures, and social structures due to cross-border trade, investment, and communication.

Evidence of globalisation

In school - culture days, schools often adopt multi-cultural lunch menus, Education on a range of religions in primary school + their practices, Sesnitivity training for teachers and staff to promote inclusivity. Students learn about global issues and participate in international exchange programs, enhancing cultural awareness. Languages at GCSE - MFL

Evidence against globalisation

Intolerance still exists - certain political powers with a lot of support believe globalisation is negative, toxic nationalism, British values still taught in schools.

Impacts of globalisation

Universities become globally competitive as they aim to attract international student who will pay higher fees - they’re able to make more money and put more money into research and become a globally recognised university which in turn makes it more prestigious and increases employment opportunities for home students too, Schools become even more competitive as competition widens to the world - PISA scales (every country ranked in terms of intelligence), Sharing ideas - free schools from Sweden, academies from America, Importance placed on skills that will be valuable globally not just in UK (languages etc), Valuing manager/consultant jobs - students motivated to qualify to be in these jobs - higher grades needed, a more skilled society as more people are educated.

Negative impacts of Globalisation

Free schools were made due to people having to travel long distances to go to school in sweden, our reasonings and culture is different so just because the method was successful there doesn’t make it successful here. Pisa rankings can also lead to the value of knowledge and education being lost - people will just want to rank highly on these scales, A focus on manager and consulting jobs also means a lower appreciation for the arts and other careers - students will be less encouraged to pursue creative fields, which could lead to a lack of diversity in career choices and a homogenization of talents in the workforce, Multiculturalism in the curriculum and what you leanr could be tokenisation + some cultures valued more than others - only french and spanish traditionally taught in schools. Reliability + Validity of testing intelligence of students arguably questionable (3 tests every 3 years of only maths science and english). New initiatives are often short lived + expensive, treated as pilots and may disrupt education for pupils, often short-lived due to political changes or uncertainty.

Evaluations against Academies/trust

Positive - Academies take over low-performing schools to improve and allocate resources appropriately.

Negative - however, they may focus on schools that ‘have a chance’ to succeed may even lead to MORE sink schools, may also neglect arts to participate in marketisation.

Evaluations for Examinations

Positives - grades are based on everyone’s performance, meaning that it’s fair to compare results etc.

Negative - written in elaborated code, sudents need to have culture capital. standardised testing formats may not effectively measure all students' abilities, leading to an incomplete assessment of knowledge.

Hargreaves

Argues that schools need to be more individualistic, taking into account that society has changed to students not all being the same - not ‘one size fits all’.

However evaluation - not everyone has the same agency to change, and systemic issues may still influence student outcomes, limiting the effectiveness of individualistic approaches.

Heaton and Lawson

School is influenced by most powerful groups in society and reflects interests of these ruling groups - e.g ruling class and men (patriarchy). They argue that education serves to reproduce existing social inequalities and maintain the status quo, often prioritizing the perspectives and needs of those in power while marginalizing others.

Douglas

Argues that middle class over achieve compared to working class due to an increase in parental interest. This interest leads to better educational outcomes, as middle-class parents are more likely to engage in their children's learning and provide resources. As well as this they have a higher ABILITY to engage because they have free time etc that working class dont have. EXTERNAL PROCESSES EFFECT ON ACHEIVEMENT.

Sugarman

Believed there are issues in working class culture which lead to lower acheivement -

• Fatalism - belief you won’t succed

• Collectivism- Valuing the groups success over your own and viewing yourself as a part of the group rather than your own person.

• Immediate gratification - preference for short-term rewards over long-term goals.

• Present orientation - focus on the present rather than the future.

However - some critcise and say it’s blaming working class culture when really the system is corrupt.

Bernstein

Restricted v Elaborated code, exams e.g are written in elaborated code and MC uses it in the home and is primary socialised to use it whereas working class is not. Restricted code requires context + shared meanings etc and is informal. Usually frowned upon in professional spaces which ahs implications for working class pupils after school as well as getting internship opportunities within school.

Elwood

Coursework based subjects benefit the skills that girls have, like organisation, planning etc which are traditionally female (can use McRobbie bedroom culture to develop), so they perform better now as some asessment methods have changed and theres an increase in coursework based subjetc over final exam based subjetc. Criticque - the curriculum is actually changing again to value subjects with more final exams or a mix of both + universitiez are starting to value those subjects more.

Keddie

Criticises douglas, bernstein, sugarman. Suggests WC are not culturally deprived, but culturally different. The problem is that education values middle class culture - but WC culture still exists.

Ball

Shows how internal school processes can cause inequality of acheivement - teachers have lower aspirations for students in lower sets and higher aspirations for those in higher sets - this leads to low levels of motivation and acheivement form those in the lower sets.

Mirza

Studied black girls and found that they were ambitious and valued education - however teachers failed to support them appropriately due to racist bias. They become independent learners - however this can lead to avoidance of teachers which can limit achievement. Challenges the idea that black girls have low aspirations and suggests a subculture of anti-school pro-education.

Driver and Ballard

Driver and Ballard argue Asian family culture can be an educational advantage.

They suggest strong family support, high parental expectations and emphasis on respect for education can help some Asian pupils achieve highly.

This challenges cultural deprivation theories that assume minority ethnic families lack supportive values.

Archer and Francis

Studies chinese students and foudn that they perform well due to family values connecting with high expectations and valuing education, chinese parents often also instil discipline which helps them succeed, However even though they outperform - they also face stereotyping and racism.

Platt

Ethncity cannot be studies separately from class, some ethnicities are more likely to be facing poverty and therefore face things like material depravation etcThis perspective emphasizes that socioeconomic status intersects with ethnicity, affecting access to resources and opportunities, leading to disparities in experiences like educational outcomes and social mobility.

Sewell

Argues black male students underperform due to their lack of a father figure/problems in the home, argued they go into these categories, those in the rebel category gain status by being anti-school and anti-education -

Conformists

• Pro-school

Innovators

• Anti-school, Pro education

Rebels

• Anti-school and anti-education.

Retreaist

• Disconnected

Gillboun

Argues there is systematic racism in school creating inequality, against black pupils. Adultification example - child Q, black students seen as more deviant and less intelligent so education disadvantages them. Harsher discipline due to adultification.

Gillbourn & Youdell

Educational triage - black students usually put into group with lowest attention given (hopeless cases).

Maffesoli

Explains subcultures in school - anti-school etc, people temporary subscribe to these etc - liking similar music, having similar interests and then change subculture when interests change - postmodernist idea of fluid and changing identity.

Wilkinson

Explanations for drastic changes in girls acheivement over the year as well as amount of girls going to university etc - calls it a ‘gender quake’, girls priorities and aspirations have drastically changed as schools have stopped promoting women being in the home and fulfilling certain roles. Women don;’t view themselves as a part of a hoem but instead their own person - prioritising independence.

Sharpe

Compared aspirations and attitudes towards education of schoolgirls in 1970s to 1990s, in 1970s - girls were prioritising a family, love, a husband and marriage. Whereas in the 1990s - girls prioritised education, careers, and independence. Shows that changing polciies and increasing standards in education, as well as promoting equality in ecducation as had an effect on girl’s attitudes towards school.

Mac an Ghail

Did research on male subcultures within school and found subculture named ‘macho lads’. Focused on maintaining masculinity etc and therefore rejected education as they viewed it as ‘feminine’. This anti-school subculture could lead to underacheivement in boys.