exam questions paper 1

Question 1

Outline 2 critisms of schools selecting pupils by ability (4marks)

Answer 1

• some are late developers
• may benefit middle class ( as may have tutors)
• difficult to measure ability
• could be cultural biased (biased against minorities)

Question 2

outline 3 ways in which characteristics of schools may be similar to characteristics of workplace

Answer 2

+both fragmented (diff subjects=work tasks)
+both based on competition (compete grades=compete wages)
+both alienated (little control what study= employee with production)

Question 3

Outline and explain two disadvantages of using personal documents in
sociological research.
10 marks

Answer 3

• difficult to access or locate
  • validity may depend on context in which they are produced
  • manipulation or doctoring of personal documents
  • fragmented or limited in scope
  • analysis is time consuming
  • practical difficulties with interpretation of meanings
  • may not fit the researcher’s brief
  • difficulties in establishing representativeness
  • authenticity
  • ethical issues of invasion of privacy

Question 4

Outline two reasons why marketisation policies may produce inequality of
educational achievement between social classes. (4marks )

Answer 4

silt-shifting (1 mark); successful schools can avoid taking less able, largely -working-class pupils, who thus end up in low-achieving schools (+ 1 mark).

schools can establish their own catchment areas (1 mark); middle-class -parents can afford to move into the catchment areas of successful schools (+ 1
mark).

parental choice of school (1 mark); middle-class parents can use their cultural capital/knowledge of the education system to make more successful choices of 
school (+ 1 mark)

Question 5

Outline three reasons for gender differences in educational achievement.
Two marks for each of three appropriate reasons clearly outlined or one mark for
each appropriate reason partially outlined, such as:

6marks

Answer 5

changes in the job market (1 mark): more jobs for women/decline in traditional -men’s jobs increase girls’/reduce boys’ motivation to achieve (+1 mark).

feminisation of education (1 mark); more female teachers as role models -today gives girls an advantage over boys (+1 mark)
.
 leisure pursuits (1 mark); for example, girls’ leisure often involves a ‘bedroom -culture’ of talking with friends, which develops their communication skills (+ 1 mark).

Question 6

Outline two cultural factors that may affect ethnic differences in 
educational achievement  (4marks)

Answer 6

• language (1 mark); for some pupils English may be a second
language and so they may have difficulty in understanding class
work (+1 mark)

• parental attitudes to education (1 mark); Indian and Chinese
parents are more likely to be pro-school and encourage their
children to be successful in education (+1 mark)

• pupil subcultures (1 mark); black pupils are more likely to be
subjected to anti-educational peer group pressure, leading to them rejecting school (+1 mark)

• ethnocentric curriculum (1 mark); the school curriculum reflects the dominant culture and this benefits White British students (+1 mark)

Question 7

Outline three ways in which factors within schools may shape gender
differences in subject choice.
Two marks for each of three appropriate ways clearly outlined or one mark for each appropriate way partially outlined, such as

(6marks)

Answer 7

-peer group pressure (1 mark); leads to girls and boys choosing
subjects which reflect stereotypical gender identities (+1 mark)

• career advice (1 mark); for example, girls are more likely to choose childcare courses, because childcare jobs are seen as female (+1mark)

• subject counselling (1 mark); teachers may channel boys and girls into different subject choices in relation to their own gender
stereotypes (+1 mark)

• learning resources may include gender stereotypes (1 mark); for
example, science may be represented as a mainly male activity

• gender of teachers (1 mark); for example, males may pick science as a subject because the teachers are more likely to be men (+1
mark)

Question 8

Outline and explain two practical disadvantages of using documents in sociological research.
10marks

Answer 8

difficult to access or locate
time consuming
difficulty in interpretation