What do sociologists think about education?

Question 1

Name the four sociologists/ pair of sociologists that adhere to the functionalist perspective on education

Answer 1

• Durkheim
• Parsons
• Davis and Moore
• Blau and Duncan

Question 2

Tumin (criticises the Functionalist perspective on education)

Answer 2

• says that Davis and Moore present a circular argument

Question 3

Ball and Gerwitz (criticises the New Right perspective on education)

Answer 3

• say that competition between schools would benefit the middle class who can cultural and economic capital to ensure children gain assess to the most desirable schools

Question 4

Bowles and Gintis (Marxist perspective on education)

Answer 4

• education is best understood as an institution which acts to perpetuate the social relationships which exist economic life

Question 5

Althusser (Marxist perspective on education)

Answer 5

• the state consists of two essential elements or ‘apparatuses’ both of which serve to keep the bourgeoisie in power

Question 6

Hickox (criticises Bowles and Gintis - marxists)

Answer 6

• questions whether there is such a close correspondence between education and work

Question 7

Reynolds (criticises Bowles and Gintis - marxists)

Answer 7

• suggested that it is not possible for the state to exercise the control over schooling that they believed

Question 8

Gilborn (internal factors for ethnic differences)

Answer 8

2. assessment
   - rigged to validate dominant culture’s superiority
   - baseline assessments to FSP
3. access to opportunities
   - white pupils are 5x more likely than black Africans to be in ‘gifted and talented’
4. labelling
   - Afro-Caribbean boys labelled ‘unruly’ ‘difficult’
   - treatment perceived as unfair, pupils responded in accordance in labels

Question 9

Strand (internal factors for ethnic differences)

Answer 9

3. access to opportunities
   - white-black achievement gap at age 14 in maths
   - due to black pupils being systematically under-represented in entry to higher tier tests, result of teachers lower expectations

Question 10

Wright (internal factors for ethnic differences)

Answer 10

4. labelling
   - studied four multi-racial primary schools
   - even teachers who adhered to equality of opportunity ideas still gave disproportionate negative attention and treated Asian girls as invisible

Question 11

Mirza (internal factors for ethnic differences)

Answer 11

4. labelling
   - black females at London school
   - girls classified teachers into three categories
   - not effects of labelling but rather misguided behaviour

Question 12

Archer (internal factors for ethnic differences)

Answer 12

5. pupil identites

- dominant discourse defines ethnic minority pupils’ as lacking favoured identity of ‘ideal pupil’

Question 13

Fuller (internal factors for ethnic differences)

Answer 13

6. pupil responses and subcultures
   - Indian girls
   - subculture allowed them to reject labels
   - aware of low expectations but were still pro-education

Question 14

Englemann (external factors for ethnic differences)

Answer 14

1. cultural deprivation
   a) intellectual and linguistic skills
   - language spoken by low income black families is inadequate for educational success, ungrammatical, disjointed etc

Question 15

Moynihan (external factors for ethnic differences)

Answer 15

1. cultural deprivation
   c) family structure and parental support
   - because many black families headed by lone mother, children deprived of adequate care - financially, denied male role model
   - not adequately socialised

Question 16

Sewell (external factors for ethnic differences)

Answer 16

1. cultural deprivation
   c) family structure and parental support
   - not absence of fathers as male role model but due to lack of ‘tough love’

Question 17

Kahn (external factors for ethnic differences)

Answer 17

1. cultural deprivation
   c) family structure and parental support
   - sees Asian families as actually counter productive, ‘stress ridden’

Question 18

Palmer (external factors for ethnic differences)

Answer 18

2. material deprivation

- almost half of all ethnic minority children live in low-income households

Question 19

Norman (explanations of gender subject choice)

Answer 19

1. early socialisation

- from early age girls and boys are treated differently in toys and activities