AQA A-level Sociology: Unit 1 Education Topics 1-6

Social class differences in achievement (int and ext), ethnic differences in achievement, gender differences in achievement, the role of education in society and educational policies.

Explain Marilyn Howards theory of 2011 about how diet and health causes underachievement of working class

Pupils have a lower intake of vitamins and minerals. This weakens their immune system which means they are more prone to getting ill. As a result, they have more absences from school and find it more hard to concentrate. Because of this, they fall behind.

How does housing cause working-class underachievement?

Overcrowding means there is no place for children to study or do homework due to which they fall behind. Also, there is no place for safe play for children which means there development can be impaired.

What are the five internal factors for class differences in achievement?

Labelling

Self-fulfilling Prophecy

Pupil Subcultures

Pupils’ class identities and the school

Streaming and Setting

Explain a case study regarding labelling

Ray Rist 1970

Studied a kindergarten. Teacher separated the class into three groups based on their social classes. Two groups were working-class and one was middle-class. The middle class groups were given higher level books to read, given more encouragement to do well, seated on the tables next to the teachers and were labelled as ‘tigers’. The working-class groups were given lower level books to read, were seated in the corner or at the back of the class, were given less opportunities to show their abilities and were called ‘clowns’ and ‘cardinals’.

What are setting and streaming?

Setting- separating students into different ability groups in each subject

Streaming- Separating students into different ability groups called ‘streams’ each group is taught based on their ability.

What did Gillborn and Youdell find about how streaming widens the social class achievement gap?

They were less likely to see ability in wc children. This led to them being put into lower sets and being entered for lower level exams. Due to this, they were denied the knowledge needed to attain better grades which in turn widened the gap in achievement between social classes.

Explain Gillborn and Youdell’s theory regarding the A-C economy and Educational Triage

Schools need good results to place higher in the league tables so they get more pupils and in turn more funding. To do this the teachers focus on students they think will achieve a minimum of 5 grade Cs.

Educational Triage- The A-C economy splits the pupils into three groups. Those who will pass and are left to get on with it, those who have potential who will be helped to get a grade C or above and those who are deemed to fail (hopeless cases).

What are the three stages of self-fulfilling prophecy?

Stage 1- Teacher labels student and makes prediction according to label.

Stage 2- Teacher starts behaving with pupil in a mannerism that reflects their prediction.

Stage 3- Pupil internalizes the label and fulfils the teacher's prediction, often leading to underachievement.

Explain a case study regarding self-fulfilling prophecy

Define polarisation and differentiation according to Colin Lacey

Polarisation- The process in which pupils respond to setting and streaming.

Differentiation- The process where teachers separate pupils based on what they perceive the pupils abilities to be.

What did Colin Lacey say about the two subcultures in school?

That there are two main ones which he described as ‘poles’. He said students mainly shift to one or the other. They are pro and anti school subcultures. He studied a high school where his theories were proved as there were two main groups of boys. One of which focused on their schoolwork and has a pro school subculture. The other had an anti-school subculture.

State and define the 6 subcultures according to Peter Woods of 1979

Ingratiation- Pupils who try to earn the favours of teachers (teacher’s pet)

Compliance- Pupils who conform for instrumental reasons eg parents

Ritualism- Pupils who ‘go through the motions’ and have a built in routine for school

Retreatism- Pupils who just don’t care. They aren’t opposed to school values but aren’t bothered about academic success either

Intransigence- Pupils who are indifferent to school rules and are more likely to defy rules and not be concerned about the consequences.

Rebellion- pupils who misbehave and reject the teaching the school offers. Have little regard for the schools values .

How does Louise Archer explain social class differences in achievement using symbolic capital and violence?

Working-class pupils were conscious that society and school looked down on them. This led to them exploring alternative ways of attaining symbolic capital. They usually did this by not conforming to the school rules, Not doing this was known as ‘social suicide’ hence almost every wc pupil did this. This led to them being labelled as rebels. Which caused

Explain a theory that criticises the labelling theory

Mary Fuller

Studied a group of black girls in year 11. They were different from their peers as all their peers underachieved because of self-fulfilling prophecy. However, these girls were able to channel their anger and use it as fuel to combat these labels. At school they would adopt a similar subculture to their friends and would just not care about their education; whereas, at home they would work really hard. This led to them achieving high grades.

Topic 3- Ethnic differences in achievement

What are the three internal factors that cause ethnic differences in achievement?

Labelling

Pupil identities

Pupil responses

Explain two case studies regarding how labeling causes underachievement of black pupils

Jenny Bourne- schools are more likely to exclude black pupils. This is because teachers tend to see black pupils as a threat which inclines them to label black pupils negatively. This leads them to get excluded. It has been proven that 1 in 5 pupils who get excluded get 5 GCSEs. This leads to the underachievement of black pupils.

Peter Foster- Teachers’ stereotypes of black pupils usually results in them being placed into lower streams. This creates a sense of self-fulfilling prophecy which will result in their underachievement.

Explain the definition of institutional and individual racism using two case studies.

What are some of the external factors that cause ethnic differences in achievement?

Language

Attitudes and values

Family structure ‘

Parental support, specifically lack of it

What is meant by the ethnocentric curriculum?

A curriculum that focuses on one ethnicity and culture and completely disregards the rest.

Explain how language can cause ethnic differences using a case study in achievement and explain an evaluation of it

Bereiter and Englemann- the language spoken by low-income Black American families is inadequate for ensuring educational success. This is because the language they use is grammatically incorrect and disjointed.

Evaluation- Demie and Mclearn- ranked the different reasons for Black Caribbean pupils underachieving and found that factors like institutional racism, stereotyping and low expectations from teachers had more of a role in explaining the differences in achievement based on ethnicity.

Which sociologist’s theory provides evaluation for Mary Fuller’s theory regarding how labels can be rejected?

Heidi Safia Mirza

Explain Tony Sewell’s theory of what causes black boys to underachieve and explain the evaluation of it

Tony Sewell- Lack of ‘tough love’ leads to underachievement. ‘Tough love’ disciplines them and due to the absence of it, black boys find it hard to navigate their emotions and tend to act out. As a result, they tend to join gangs to gain the fatherly love that they have been deprived of.

Evaluation- Gillborn and Youdell- it isn’t things like peer pressure and absent fathers that causes underachievement but in fact institutional racism.

What is a case study that explains why Asian families in the way that they do?

Tony Sewell- Asian families place high value on education and have an ‘Asian work ethic’ which benefits the pupil as it encourages them to do well.

Topic 5- The Role of Education in Society

Explain Durkheim’s view on the role of education in society

Creating social solidarity and providing specialist skills.

Emile Durkheim 1903- Society needs a sense of solidarity to function. School acts as a ‘society in miniature’ and prepares us for life in wider society. Eg we have to co-operate with people in both wider society and school. In wider society with colleagues and clients and in schools with teachers and pupils. Individuals must be taught specialist skills to take their place in the social division of labour.

Explain two evaluations of the functionalist perspective on education

Wolf review of vocational education- Education system doesn’t teach specialist skills as claimed by Durkheim. High quality apprenticeships are rare and up to a third of 16-19 year olds are on courses that don’t lead to a high level of education or good job.

Melvin Tumin 1953- Davis and Moore’s theory is a circular argument. How do we know a job is important? It is rewarded. Why is a job rewarded? Because its important.

What is a case study that explains what the New Rights say about education?

John Chubbs and Terry Moe 1990-

State-run education in the United States has failed because it hasn’t created equal opportunities and failed to meet the needs of pupils and parents who require extra support. Education is dominated by the views of teachers rather than students and teachers . They propose a system that is based on marketisation and gives the parents more choice because it has been proven that students in private schools perform 5% more better than those in public schools. Chubbs and Moe also point out the need for things like vouchers that parents can use to send their child to a school of their choice whethre it is private or public

What do Marxists believe about education as a whole?

That it encourages