Intro To Sociology/ education

Question 1

Values

Answer 1

Widely held beliefs that particular ways of behaving deserve special status and are worth aspiring to

Question 2

Norms

Answer 2

The social rules that govern everyday behaviour

Norms also govern social behaviour in particular social situations

Question 3

Primary socialisation

Answer 3

The family provide it
Parents or caters are positive role models who strongly encourage their children to imitate their own examples of good behaviour

Question 4

Secondary socialisation- education

Answer 4

Children spend at least 10yrs in schools learning the knowledge and skills required for passing exams and acquire qualifications through the formal curriculum

Question 5

The hidden curriculum- secondary socialisation

Answer 5

Teaches the attitudes and behaviour that will enable children to ‘progress in society’

Question 6

Toxic childhood, Sue Palmer 2007

Answer 6

Sociologist Sue Palmer argues that parents use electronic technologies such as television, computer games and the internet (secondary agents of socialisation) as alternatives to traditional parenting practices( primary agents).

Question 7

Ascribed status

Answer 7

An involuntary status assigned at birth and usually unchangeable

Question 8

Achieved status

Answer 8

Mainly earned by merit. It reflects personal skills, talent, ability, effort and hard work. It is also chose, for example gaining qualifications and marriage can be described as achieved status

Question 9

Consensus theories

Answer 9

Suggest that some societies work well because they are based on shared agreement or consensus and cooperation

Question 10

Conflict theory

Answer 10

Marxism and feminism
Consensus is a myth
Marxists see this conflict as caused by social inequalities
Feminists see conflict as resulting from gender inequalities

Question 11

Structuralist approach

Answer 11

Macro approach
Interested in how large scale structures such as the economy and social institutions(the education system , political system, criminal justice system) interact with individuals and with each other

Question 12

Structural approach

Answer 12

Tend to believe is more important than the individual. They tend to believe people’s behaviour is mainly shaped or determined by social structure

Question 13

Functionalism

Answer 13

A consensus theory that aims to explain why the social structures of modern societies like the Uk are relatively will ordered

Question 14

Functionalism functions

Answer 14

-They function to bring about value consensus
-members of society are socialised into broad agreement or consensus, on values, morality and norms of behaviour
-they function to bring about social integration
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Question 15

The ERA and its measures

Answer 15

Education reform act

Endorsed marketisation, competition, parental choice and selection

Question 16

The ERA selection meaning

Answer 16

Selection- schools were allowed to select a proportion of their students

Question 17

The ERA measures

Answer 17

Testing, league tables, Ofsted, national curriculum, selection, diversification, city technology colleges(try to improve educational standards)

Question 18

New vocationalism

Answer 18

New right politicians argue that youth unemployment was caused by a skills crisis. To overcome this new vocationalism brought in:
YTS: a one year training scheme combined work experience with education for unemployed school leavers
GNVQ- taught in schools aiming to teach more on the job, specific skills needed for their profession. They can take these skills into work experience

Question 19

Two important changes to administration used by the ERA help schools market themselves and compete

Answer 19

• open enrolment- which allowed successful schools to expand to the limit of their physical capacity
• Formula funding- money given to schools was based on the number of students they attracted

Question 20

Evaluation of the ERA

Answer 20

• concerns were expressed over the damaging effects of frequently testing children
• the validity of such testing was undermined by schools ‘teaching the tests’

Question 21

Evaluation of new vocationalism

Answer 21

Marxists such as Finn argue that:

• it was a lack of jobs rather than a skills shortage
• the hidden function of YTS was to produce a pool of low-skilled cheap labour
• such schemes legitimated class inequality inequality as middle class youths were at a uni standard while working trained in manual labour