Sociological theory applied to equal opportunities

Question 1

What is a society ?

Answer 1

Organised group of people associated for specific purpose or with shared common interest

Question 2

What is socialisation and what are the two types of socialisation ?

Answer 2

Socialisation is a lifelong process where members of society learn its norms values,ideas and practices in order to take their place in society
Primary socialisation happens at the early years of childhood and from immediate family whereas secondary socialisation happens during later years and from other agencies e.g peer groups, friends and schools.

Question 3

What is internalisation ?

Answer 3

The learnings of values or attitudes that are incorporated within yourself.

Question 4

What is social process?

Answer 4

The ways which individuals and groups interact, adjust and readjust to establish relationships and patterns to behaviour.

Question 5

What is social control ?

Answer 5

Where people’s thoughts, feelings, appearance and behaviour are regulated in social systems.

Question 6

What is social change ?

Answer 6

Occurs when institution re adjust to meet ‘ new needs ‘ of group in society

Question 7

What are the groups affected by inequality ?

Answer 7

Gender
Age
Social -economic group
Ethnicity
Race
Disability

Question 8

What are some of the causes of inequality ?

Answer 8

• have less money
• geographical issues
• lack of role models
• stereotyping / discrimination
• lack of facilities

Question 9

What are the consequences of inequality ?

Answer 9

Lower participation rates, fewer women in positions of power and decision making

Question 10

What is social stratification ?

Answer 10

type of social inequality where society is divided into different levels on the basis of social characteristics e.g wealth

Question 11

Explain why social stratification can affect participation rates in skiing. ( 2 marks )

Answer 11

Those with increased wealth will be able to buy equipment to ski compared to less wealthy people. This therefore causes a lower participation rate for lower/ working class people due to increased wealth allowing individuals to go to ski resorts.

Question 12

Examples of social structures

Answer 12

• type of school you go
• sports clubs
• quality of facilities
• quality of teaching

Question 13

What is social action theory ?

Answer 13

• considers how sport impacts society
• interactionalist theory = the study of how individuals behave in society
• Type of socialisation that helped society change as sport has developed with society and changed everyones norms values and morals

Question 14

What are the main concepts of SAT theory

Answer 14

• by interacting with others, people create organisations e.g schools and clubs
  -the organisations help shape society e.g decreases racism and obeying the rules of the organisations.
• social institutions are the products of the interaction of people within the institution

Question 15

How is social action theory linked to sport ?

Answer 15

• people create sporting organisation
• people developed sports and leagues by working together ( social interactions )

Question 16

Explain the main concepts of social action theory and how it impacts sport. (4 marks )

Answer 16

• One main concept of social action theory is that by interacting with others people can create organisations
• This impacts sports since it creates organisations it can help shape a wider society as people will follow the rules of the organisation/ decrease racism
• Another main concept of social action theory is that social institutions are the products of interaction of people within the institution.
• This impacts sport as it helps sport become more democratic and helps with equality

Question 17

What is the definition of the three key terms relating to equal opportunities ?

Answer 17

discrimination - unfair treatment of a person or minority group based on prejudice or stereotype ( overt - visual obvious covert - hidden less obvious )
stereotype- preconceived idea of a group
prejudice - form unfavourable opinion of an individual often based on inadequate facts

Question 18

What are the common barriers for Underrepresented groups ?

Answer 18

• negative self image/ lack of confidence
• stereotypes / discrimination
• low levels of media coverage/ fewer role models to aspire to
• lack of competitions access
• lack of facilities

Question 19

What are the solutions to these barriers

Answer 19

• increase media coverage
  -increase role models
• education to reject stereotypical myths
• increased clubs and competitions
• campaigns to increase participation
• punish any discrimination or racist acts

Question 20

Explain how stereotyping and inclusiveness have impacted on participation rates for people with disabilities. ( 4 marks )

Answer 20

• stereotyping causes participation rates to be low
• This is because those with disabilities experience lack of confidence due to stereotypical messages which causes them to feel like they cannot play sport the way able bodied people play.
• inclusiveness has impacted participation rates positively as it has caused it to increase
• This is because there are better and adaptive specialist coaches and facilities to help those who are disabled participate in sports to therefore equal opportunities.

Question 21

Barriers to participation specific to ethnicity

Answer 21

• conflict with religion/ culture
• higher value placed on education as opposed to sporting performance

Question 22

Badminton is a popular physical activity amongst women. Suggest reasons why female participation rates are relatively high in this activity ( 4 marks )

Answer 22

• one reason why it’s high is because it’s less strenuous and aggressive compared to other sports like rugby.
• Another reason is because it is more socially acceptable for women to play that sport instead of rugby
• Another reason is because there are less leagues and competitions for other sports like basketball so it might cause women to look at other sports like badminton
• Lastly another reason is because it’s indoors this will be a positive as there are more facilities for women to play for fun in a dry and comfortable position.

Question 23

Identify three characteristics of swimming that might make it a prefered activity for women ( 3 marks )

Answer 23

One characteristic of swimming is that it’s socially acceptable for women. Another characteristic is that its less strenuous compared to other sports like rugby and lastly it can be non competitive as you can go at your own pace.

Question 24

Explain why not all sports or groups of performers such as women will benefit from success at the olympic games (4 marks )

Answer 24

• One reason why not all sports will benefit from success is because there may be fewer role models for one sport compared to another sport. Another reason is because there is less media coverage. another reason may be due to lack of confidence and self esteem due to discrimination stereotyping. Another reason is because of less facilities for women to attend to.

Question 25

How could the public sector provision encourage increased participation for those in lower socio economic groups ? ( 4 marks )

Answer 25

One way is through opening up youth clubs for those in lower socio - economic group so they can still have opportunities in their deprived area. Another way is through sponsorship deals to those in a lower socio - economic group so they can have the opportunity to progress to elite levels. Another way is through the public sector supporting clubs with equipment so they can have equal opportunities and participate. Another way is through advertisements to increase awareness of those in low socio economic groups and make role models.

Question 26

How does Sport England increase participation ?

Answer 26

• works at grassroot level
• wants to increase participation for all
• 2/3 funding comes from lottery and government
• helps overcome barriers for target groups