Education Flashcards

Question

What does Durkheim say about skills for work?

Answer 1

- In a complex industrial society, the production of a single item requires the cooperation of many individuals, each must have the necessary specialist knowledge and skills - Formal and informal education equips children with the knowledge and skills they will need for their future careers - This is reflected in the recent changes to the curriculum, for example, the introduction of T Levels, which are 2-year courses that follow GCSEs - T Levels have been developed in collaboration with employers and businesses so that the content meets the needs of the industry and prepares students for work - Some examples include accounting and design, surveying and planning for construction

Answer 2

- Durkheim assumes there is a shared culture that is transmitted through education and the hidden curriculum but in a multicultural society, there may not be one single culture to be transmitted - He assumes that students passively accept the values of society that are being taught but some students accept neither school rules nor society's norms and values - The education system may not adequately teach skills that are useful in the workplace - Wolf (2011) claims that high-quality apprenticeships are rare and up to a third of 16- to 19-year-olds are on courses that do not lead to good jobs Other sociologists argue that the culture being transmitted through the education system does not benefit society as a whole as: - it benefits the ruling class, according to Marxists - it is patriarchal, according to feminists

Answer 3

Parsons (1961) ideas on education

Answer 4

Functionalist

Answer 5

- Functionalist ideas of the role of education were expanded upon by functionalist Talcott Parsons (1961) - The education system is the main agency of socialisation, as it is the bridge between the family and society and prepares children for their adult roles - He argues about: universalistic values, value consensus, and role allocation + meritocracy

Answer 6

- Children have an ascribed status in families (such as eldest, good or bad) and are judged according to particularistic standards - In society, status is achieved based on personal talent or merit and people are judged according to the same universalistic standards that apply to everyone - Parsons believes that the education system prepares children for wider society by treating everyone according to the same universalistic standards

Answer 7

As an agency of socialisation, schools promote two key values: **The importance of achievement** - Students are encouraged to value high achievement and reward. They are urged to reach their full potential, which eventually helps society as a whole **Equality of opportunity** - The idea that they are competing against one another on an equal footing is promoted to the students. As a result, higher achievers are seen as worthy of their success, while lower achievers accept their inferior status as just

Answer 8

- The education system is effective at allocating people to future work roles based on their talents and abilities - Parsons believed that the educational system was meritocratic because universalistic standards are applied equally and individual status is decided by merit rather than social class, gender, or ethnicity

Answer 9

- Critics of role allocation and meritocracy argue that equality of opportunity is an illusion in an unequal society where wealth and privilege are more important than individual merit - Those with the best qualifications don't always get the top jobs in society and many financially successful individuals left school with very few qualifications - Social class differences in education show that achievement is greatly influenced by class background rather than ability

Answer 10

- Marxists argue that the values transmitted via the education system do not benefit society as a whole but instead benefit the ruling class - The education system can be seen as a form of social control that serves the needs of a capitalist society

Answer 11

Feminists have questioned the idea that the educational system is meritocratic but rather perpetuates patriarchy as: - gender stereotypes exist, particularly in subject choice, textbooks and the curriculum - the system does not guarantee equal opportunities - the majority of secondary school headteachers are male

Answer 12

- Critics argue that functionalists wrongly imply that pupils passively accept all they are taught and never reject the school values - Willis' research on counter-school subcultures supports this - Critics argue that the family, peer groups, the media, and religious institutions are some of the other agencies of socialisation that have a greater impact on teaching children norms and values than education. - Illich (1995) is critical of the education system as it encourages passive conformity so there should be alternatives to schools in teaching the norms and values of a society

Answer 13

- Unlike functionalists, Marxists take a critical view of the role of education in society - Functionalists see society and education as based on value consensus, whereas Marxists see it as based on class division and capitalist exploitation because ruling-class values (such as competition) are taught rather than shared values Marxists believe that the education system: - ensures that working-class students are less likely to achieve good qualifications compared to students from dominant groups - reproduces the existing social class structure - prepares working-class students for their lower position in a capitalist society, where they learn to accept hierarchy and obey rules

Answer 14

Bowles and Gintis (1976) ideas on education

Answer 15

- American Marxists Bowles and Gintis (1976) carried out primary research on 237 New York high school students using education surveys - They also used secondary sources by drawing upon existing sociological and economic theories

Answer 16

They found that: - schools rewarded students with characteristics such as being hard-working, disciplined, obedient and unquestioning of authority - students demonstrating greater independence and creative thinking were more likely to gain lower grades - schools were producing an unimaginative and unquestioning workforce susceptible to alienation and exploitation They concluded that the key role of the education system was to create and reproduce an obedience workforce that capitalism needs and this is reflected in how schooling is structured and the hidden curriculum

Answer 17

Bowles and Gintis used the term correspondence principle to describe the way education and the workplace mirror or correspond with one another

Answer 18

**In the education system's hidden curriculum:** A rigid hierarchy of authority exists among teachers (headteacher, deputy and classroom teacher) and between teachers and students who obey orders. **In the workplace:** There is a rigid hierarchy where a CEO is at the top and different levels of managers below who make decisions and give orders. Workers are at the bottom of the hierarchy.

Answer 19

**In the education system's hidden curriculum:** Schools breed competition and division among students through tests, exams, grades, sports, and head student positions. Students learn to accept such values, which prepare them for the workplace. **In the workplace:** There is competition and division in the workplace for promotions, higher pay and differences in status. Competition helps to maintain capitalism.

Answer 20

**In the education system's hidden curriculum:** The curriculum is fragmented into different subjects, and knowledge is broken down into isolated chunks, which may not relate to one another. **In the workplace:** Jobs are very specific and broken down into separate tasks. Employees do their tasks with very little knowledge of what the overall process involves in creating products.

Answer 21

**In the education system's hidden curriculum:** The school day consists of mundane and boring tasks over which students have little power, causing alienation. **In the workplace:** Certain jobs consist of tedious and unfulfilling tasks over which adults exert little control, causing alienation.

Answer 22

**In the education system's hidden curriculum:** Students learn to be motivated by external rewards, such as exam results, rather than gaining intrinsic satisfaction from what they are learning. **In the workplace:** Work may not be intrinsically satisfying, so motivation stems from the external rewards of pay and bonuses.

Answer 23

Unlike functionalists, Bowles and Gintis do not believe the education system is meritocratic - We are led to believe that it treats people fairly and equally so that people don't question the system - Universalistic standards are not applied equally and individual status is decided by social class, not intelligence or educational achievement - The education system disguises the fact that social class is the main factor affecting someone's income and causes us to believe that those with the highest incomes are deserving of their position

Answer 24

- They assume that students have no free will and passively accept the values taught via the hidden curriculum, but many students reject the values of the school and resist authority figures - Bowles & Gintis' research may only apply to the 1970s, as today modern businesses require creative, independent workers capable of taking on responsibility and developing new ideas rather than passive, docile workers - Many teaching methods encourage creativity rather than rote learning, thus preparing young people for success in a modern economy, although critics argue that it continues to correspond with the workplaces of a different era and no longer prepares people for the modern workplace - Willis argues that, unlike Bowles and Gintis, education is not a particularly successful agency of socialisation, and it can have unintended consequences that may not be beneficial to capitalism - Feminists argue that Bowles and Gintis ignore the fact that schools reproduce not only capitalism but patriarchy too

Answer 25

Primary school reception classes, playgroups, or day nurseries can all offer care and education for children under 5 years. The state may pay for this care, or parents may choose to cover the cost.

Answer 26

Infant and junior schools that are mixed-sex or co-educational take children aged 5–11 years. Most primary education is provided by the state, but some schools are private, and fees must be paid.

Answer 27

Schools that are either mixed-sex or single-sex that take children aged 11-16 years. Some have sixth forms attached and educate children up to age 18 years. Most secondary education is provided by the state in comprehensive schools, but some are private fee-paying schools. Students can also attend grammar, free or faith schools.

Answer 28

FE mainly caters for young people aged 16 years and above, where students can study for a range of qualifications offered by sixth forms and FE colleges. Students can take A-Levels, BTECs or skills training courses and apprenticeships.

Answer 29

These include universities that provide higher-level academic and vocational courses, such as undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.

Answer 30

either: - stay in full-time education by going to sixth-form or an FE college - take up an apprenticeship or traineeship offered by an employer - seek paid employment with training

Answer 31

- In 2015, the Government raised the age of participation in education or training to 18 years to ensure Britain remained competitive in a global economy by having a well-trained and educated workforce - As a result, competition has increased in FE and HE as they are set targets to achieve, such as exam performance so that the quality of education improves within the education sector

Answer 32

- All children in England between the ages of 5 and 15 years are entitled to a free place at a state school - State schools are not based on parents' ability to pay fees, as these schools receive funding through their local authority or directly from the government - Students don't have to travel far to attend state school, whereas students going to private school may have to travel some distance or live away from home in a boarding school - Because state schools accept students from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds, their intake is more diverse than that of independent schools - For students from low-income families, state schools might offer a path to upward social mobility - State schools are required to follow the National Curriculum

Answer 33

The independent sector refers to schools that charge fees, which include: - private schools - public schools, which are the older and more famous independent schools such as Eton and Harrow

Answer 34

- Schools that charge fees - Around 7% of all students attend independent schools - Private schools are not required to follow the National Curriculum - Class sizes are smaller than in state schools so students receive more attention and personalised support from teachers - Resources and facilities are often better than in some state schools (such as Olympic-standard sports halls, theatres for performing arts, IT suites with 3D printers and lots of outdoor space) - Because academic success is valued and exam results are typically higher than the national average, students are generally very motivated, and many continue their education at a university

Answer 35

- Some critics argue that it is not morally right to have a private education system which only the rich can afford, as this reinforces inequalities in society - To guarantee that everyone has access to the same levels and quality of education, the state should provide proper funding for education - Alternatively, it could be argued that people should be able to spend their money however they choose - In a free society, the option to send children to an independent school should be available to parents who can afford it

Answer 36

- The 1944 Education Act set up the tripartite system, which aimed to provide children with a free state education based on their abilities - Children would be educated according to their academic ability rather than their parents' financial means under a meritocratic system - Students were assigned to one of three schools according to their performance on the 11-plus exam

Answer 37

Students were assigned to one of three schools according to their performance on the 11-plus exam: - Secondary modern - which provided general education for less academic children (around 75% of students) - Secondary technical - which provided practical education, such as crafts and skills for around 5% of all students - Grammar - which provided academic education for more academic children (around 20% of all students)

Answer 38

- A 'comprehensive' school was created in 1965 when the Labour government requested that Local Education Authorities (LEAs) restructure secondary education so that all students attended the same kind of institution - This type of school still exists today, although some LEAs still have grammar schools that require students to take an entrance exam

Answer 39

- Social barriers are broken down when children of different abilities and social classes attend the same school and socialise with one another - As a non-selective school, comprehensives are designed to cater for children of all abilities, so no child is labelled as a 'failure' - As there are no entrance exams, this is a fairer system, particularly for late developers - They are usually large, so more subject options and facilities are available - Each school has a specific catchment area, which means that local schools enrol local children

Answer 40

- Parental choice is limited, as students are expected to go to the nearest school in the area, regardless of the academic performance of the school - More able students are held back by the less able, particularly in mixed-ability classes - Academic working-class children will achieve more at a grammar school than at a comprehensive, as standards are higher due to middle-class values and attitudes - Comprehensive schools do not break down social class barriers as their intake is from the local neighbourhood, e.g. inner-city schools consist of mainly working-class students - They are not fully comprehensive because of setting or streaming in particular subjects according to ability, which reflects social class differences

Answer 41

- Vocational education refers to work-related qualifications and training for students aged 14–18 years - This is due to evolving economic demands and technological change - The growth of vocational education and training demonstrates the significance of functionalist beliefs that the educational system must supply the skills and expertise required by business and the economy in the contemporary world

Answer 42

NVQs ranging from Level 1-7 in subjects such as : - childcare - health and beauty - teaching and childcare - construction and property - business and management Applied A levels and Diplomas such as: - health and social care - engineering T Levels, which are 2-year courses that follow GCSEs such as: - accounting - finance - legal services - marketing Apprenticeships that combine employment with training and study

Answer 43

- The focus on vocational education and training will result in a workforce that is more qualified and highly skilled, making Britain more competitive - Vocational qualifications, however, are seen as being comparable to the tripartite system, in which students who do not succeed academically are relegated to lower-status vocational training - According to Marxists, vocational education is seen as having less prestige than academic degrees and is intended to prepare working-class children to be exploited as workers in a capitalist system - Additionally, skills training masks the fact that young people with skills have no jobs, as vocational education reduces the number of young people who are NEET

Answer 44

- Not all children participate in mainstream formal education - One alternative is home schooling or home learning, which involves teaching children at home rather than in a state or independent school - Home education provides a different learning environment for students who receive their education from parents, sometimes with the help of tutors - The number of students being home schooled in England has increased from 116,000 in 2021-22 to 126,000 in 2022-23 (Department for Education, 2024)

Answer 45

- Parents may feel that the methods of teaching in school are not right for their child and that they can provide a better education for them at home - Parents may choose to have their child educated at home because their child is unhappy within a school environment due to bullying or mental health problems (such as anxiety) - There may be religious reasons so being home educated means there is no set curriculum about how children are taught or what they are taught - Parents may struggle to get a place for their child in a school of their choice to meet their child’s special needs

Answer 46

- There are concerns over the quality of home tuition and its impact on children's social development - There is also no regulation in place for home education, as councils don't monitor children who have been deregistered from school so they cannot offer extra support at home

Answer 47

- According to Illich (1995), schools suppress children and encourage passive conformity instead of helping them grow into creative individuals capable of independent thought - Illich is in favour of de-schooling, in which the education system should be abolished with students instead participating in self-directed education via learning networks, which would encourage creativity and real learning A school that has this ethos is Sands School in Devon, one of a few progressive alternatives to conventional education - Sands School is a democratic school where students and staff run the school together and there is no headteacher - At Sands, students have freedom of choice as there are no compulsory classes; students are free to learn the subjects that matter to them

Answer 48

- The Conservative government's 1988 Education Act brought about changes that remain essential to the current educational system - All students aged 5 to 16 years were required to study several core subjects (English, maths and sciences) as part of the National Curriculum, which was implemented in September 1989 - At the end of the key stages, national tests in the core subjects, such as SATs and GCSE exams, were introduced

Answer 49

- To measure students' performance against national targets so that parents and schools are aware of whether a child is performing above or below the expected level for their age - To improve the performance of children who are below the expected level and that of schools whose students fall below national targets - To make it easier for parents to compare and choose between schools, helped by the introduction of school league tables - To provide greater quality of education by ensuring both boys and girls take the same compulsory subjects to GCSE level, such as science, maths and English

Answer 50

- The 1988 Education Act gave more power to parents to choose which school to send their children to, which is linked to the idea of marketisation - Schools started running like businesses to raise standards as schools compete with one another for students - However, Ball, Bowe and Gewirtz (1994) argue that marketisation has reinforced the advantages of middle-class parents and has led to social class inequality in education

Answer 51

- school promotion - league tables - types of schools - finances - parentocracy

Answer 52

Schools promote themselves to attract students by: - publishing information on their website, such as public examination performance and Ofsted grading - constructing a prospectus displaying facilities and courses available at the school - having a presence on social media and holding open days to showcase what they offer and to provide insight into the inner workings of the school

Answer 53

- School league tables are statistical data that compare the examination performance of schools against each other - The Department for Education publishes them every year, displaying exam and National Curriculum test results - They allow parents to compare the performance between schools, helping them decide which school to send their child to

Answer 54

- There is a wider range of types of schools for parents to choose from, such as free schools, faith schools, and academies - Parents can consider sending their child to a school outside of their local area

Answer 55

- Schools are funded based on the number of students they attract - Popular schools receive more funding, have better facilities and therefore attract better teachers - Businesses can sponsor schools by providing extra funding and work experience opportunities

Answer 56

As parents become consumers of education, they have greater power, such as choosing a school, asking questions at open days, providing feedback and challenging school policies

Answer 57

- For the past 30 years, the education policies of the Conservative government have improved GCSE results, and no succeeding government has changed the Act's core principles. suggesting that it is successful - However, schools increasingly ‘teach to the test’ to look favourably in league tables, which may stifle children’s ability to think critically and laterally - Focusing on exam results and league table position causes stress for pupils as they are pressured to perform well in their SATs and GCSEs

Answer 58

One of the main objectives of New Labour’s education policy was to raise standards in order to create a skilled labour force to compete in the global knowledge economy This involved introducing policies such as: - offering nursery places to all children aged 3-4 - reducing class sizes in primary schools - emphasising the teaching of essential skills such as literacy, numeracy and IT - specialist schools were developed where 10% of their students showing an aptitude in the school’s specialist subjects were selected (such as sports, technology or languages) - changing league tables so that schools had to publish data on 'value-added' as a measure of how well a child progressed through school - increasing the number of targets schools had to reach - placing failing schools in 'special measures'

Answer 59

Another objective was to achieve greater equality of opportunity by making education more inclusive and improving the experience of education for all, particularly disadvantaged groups in society This involved introducing policies such as: - the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA), which was paid to students from lower-income families and designed to encourage them to stay in post-16 education - the Aim Higher programme, which is designed to raise the aspirations of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and to encourage them to go on to higher education - the Sure Start programme which supports families with preschool children by providing affordable early years education and childcare and raising parenting aspirations

Answer 60

- Even though these policies were intended to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds, critics contend that they benefited the middle classes - The introduction of tuition fees for university education has deterred students from disadvantaged backgrounds from entering higher education - This could explain why a high attainment gap between the working and middle classes continued under New Labour

Answer 61

An additional objective of New Labour's education policy was to meet the diverse needs of individual students These policies, however, came under fire for carrying on the marketisation of education that the Conservative government started in 1988 This has led to: - the promotion of specialist schools, although successful in raising standards, it is argued that they selected a disproportionate amount of middle-class pupils - the introduction of academies where failing comprehensive schools were taken out of local authority control and funded directly by the government and sponsors - These schools, known as city academies, could select part of their intake

Answer 62

In 2010, the Conservative-Liberal Democratic Coalition government continued the marketisation of education as they: - developed policies designed to lessen the government's control over education - reduced public spending on education due to the financial crisis - introduced forced academisation, free schools and the pupil premium

Answer 63

- New Labour introduced old-style academies to reduce inequality in disadvantaged areas - The Coalition government aimed for all schools to leave the control of their local authority and convert to academy status if they wished to - This meant that funding for new-style academies would come directly from the government - They could choose to not follow the National Curriculum and have more control over teachers' pay, term times and length of the school day - Converter academies are high-performing schools that chose to convert to academies - Failing schools are either shut down or taken over by sponsored academies or Multi Academy Trusts

Answer 64

- Free schools can be set up by groups of parents, teachers, charities, universities, businesses and religious groups - They are government-funded rather than under local authority control - Like academies, they do not have to follow the National Curriculum, can set their own pay and conditions for staff and change the length of the school day and term times - Free schools provide parents and teachers the chance to create a new school if they are unhappy with state schools in a local area, and that competition will drive up standards - Critics argue that Free schools poach children from existing local schools, leading to reduced funding and poorer outcomes as it becomes harder to afford and recruit good teachers - Free schools disadvantage the poorest children, as they are more appealing to middle-class parents who do not want their children to attend a local comprehensive, thus producing further inequality in education

Answer 65

- The pupil premium was the Coalition’s policy to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in state schools in England - Schools receive extra funding for each student eligible for free school meals (FSM) or for students previously looked after by a local authority - This funding is used to provide additional support for disadvantaged students (such as one-to-one tuition, revision guides, and funding school trips) to reduce the attainment gap

Answer 66

- Marketisation has increased the range of school types, which has created a chaotic system with too much choice - Accountability for educational provision has been passed on to individual schools and academy chains rather than local authorities - Academies and free schools are more likely than other schools to employ unqualified teachers, which impacts students from disadvantaged backgrounds - Pupil premium funding may not be spent on supporting students but instead, cover budget cuts in other areas - However, supporters argue that choice and diversity in education are beneficial in meeting the needs of individuals

Answer 67

- Material deprivation - Parental attitudes & cultural deprivation - Cultural deprivation - Cultural capital - Educational policies - Labelling and the self-fulfilling prophecy - Labelling and students' social class - Effects of streaming and setting - Counter-school culture

Answer 68

- A child's access to free school meals (FSM) may indicate a lower income and consequently, a lower social class - According to statistics, middle-class students typically outperform working-class students on public exams - Students from middle-class backgrounds are more likely to pursue higher education (such as going to university)

Answer 69

Sociologists have offered several theories as to why working-class students perform relatively poorly - The influence of home environment/background (internal factors) - The influence of the school background (external factors)

Answer 70

- Material deprivation refers to a lack of financial resources or poverty and is one explanation of how the home environment can affect educational achievement - Material deprivation affects children's educational achievement

Answer 71

- The cost of school uniforms and sports kits may result in poorer children being kept away from school or sent home - Poor housing, overcrowding, lack of privacy or a quiet place in the home to complete homework affects performance at school - Being absent from school is more frequent in working-class children who live in such conditions - Many middle-class parents can afford private tuition and housing in the catchment areas of good schools - Many working-class areas may lack preschool facilities, such as nursery schools, which research has shown has an impact on children's outcomes in education - The cost of higher education limits the achievement and aspirations of working-class students

Answer 72

Halsey, Heath and Ridge (1980) on social class and inequality

Answer 73

- Halsey, Heath and Ridge (1980) drew on data from a face-to-face survey of over 8,000 males born between 1913 and 1952 who were educated in England and Wales - They explored the social class origins and educational destinations of the men Social class was based on their father's occupation, and they were divided into three groups: - Service class (such as professionals and managers) - Intermediate class (such as clerical or sales workers) - Working class (such as manual workers in industry and agriculture)

Answer 74

Halsey, Heath and Ridge (1980) found that an individual from the service class, as compared to one from the working class, had: - four times as great a chance of being at school at 16 years - eight times the chance of being at school at 17 years - ten times the chance of being at school at 18 years - eleven times the chance of attending university

Answer 75

- A higher percentage of working-class children than middle-class children left school at the first possible opportunity - Middle-class children may have had a head start, as higher household income may have led to better quality housing and more study materials and support at home - This supports the Marxist view of education, which argues that the education system is not meritocratic - Many policies introduced by New Labour were designed to reduce inequality, such as EMA and Aim Higher but critics argue these educational reforms benefited the middle classes - We should bear in mind that the research excluded females, and this might have made a significant difference to the findings

Answer 76

- Another explanation of how the home environment can affect educational achievement is parental attitudes and expectations - Some researchers have suggested that the values between middle-class and working-class parents differ, which affects their children's educational outcomes - It is argued that middle-class parents are more likely to provide their children with attitudes that contribute to educational success

Answer 77

- A proactive, disciplined attitude with a belief in being in control - A focus on planning for the future - Deferred gratification - making sacrifices now to invest in the future - Individuals striving for success to improve one's position

Answer 78

- A passive attitude with an acceptance of one's position in life - A focus on the past or present - Immediate gratification - living in the moment with no plan for the future - Collective striving for improvement in one's position by sticking together, for example, trade union activities

Answer 79

A theory theory that suggests that working-class and ethnic minority students lack the 'correct' values and attitudes from socialisation to succeed in education

Answer 80

- Cultural deprivation can explain how the home environment can affect the educational achievement of working-class children and those from some ethnic minority groups Bernstein and Young suggest that children from middle-class homes will be advantaged in school as their upbringing provides them with cultural resources and experiences that provide a greater opportunity for academic success - Holidays abroad and family trips to libraries, museums or art galleries that foster a love of learning and the early development of general knowledge and research skills are some examples - Electronic media, books, and educational toys are commonplace in middle-class homes, so children are familiar with knowledge that is valued at school The working-class child, it is argued, is less likely to receive this kind of upbringing

Answer 81

- Cultural capital is the knowledge, attitudes, skills and values that middle-class parents provide their children that give them an advantage in the education system In simple terms, middle-class parents know how to 'work the system' which is an important factor in their children's success. They may do this by: - challenging teachers about their child's learning - knowing what books or resources to buy and having the money to buy them - frequently visiting or contacting the school as they are interested in their child's progress - having the qualifications, knowledge and experience to support their child with homework

Answer 82

Ball, Bowe and Gewirtz (1994) on the impact of market forces on parental choice

Answer 83

- Ball, Bowe and Gewirtz (1994) evaluated the impact of the educational policies that were brought in as part of the 1988 Educational Act - They aimed to find out if the marketisation of education increased the gap between children from working-class and middle-class families - They interviewed staff and governors in 15 secondary schools, and primary school headteachers and parents of primary school children - Additionally, they used data from secondary sources like published league tables

Answer 84

Ball, Bowe and Gewirtz (1994) found that: - by publishing exam league tables, schools hoped to draw in more academically able children and motivated parents who could boost the school's position in the tables - Some schools reintroduced streaming and setting to focus resources on students who were more likely to be successful in public exams - material resources are advantageous in the education market, such as having a car to drive children to school - while working-class parents are more likely to send their children to local schools, middle-class parents who have the correct cultural capital are better able to compete in the market because they feel confident navigating the education system

Answer 85

- Marketisation and educational reform, according to Ball, Bowe, and Gewirtz (1994), increase the advantages of middle-class parents and reduce educational equality - This contrasts with Parsons' functionalist perspective, which held that education is a meritocratic system - Schools are more focused on recruiting talented, privileged and more able students - Schools are more likely to neglect students with special educational needs, those who are less able, and those who are disadvantaged

Answer 86

- Interactionist sociologists focus on small-scale interactions between individuals like those between students and teachers in the classroom - They are not interested in developing theories about the role of education in society - They talk about Labelling and the self-fulfilling prophecy - As well as Labelling and students' social class

Answer 87

- One explanation for class differences in education is labelling students - Research shows that teachers inevitably make judgements about students and categorise them into types based on factors such as their appearance, ability and whether they are conformist or dissenting - These judgements or labels may affect a child's chances of educational achievement - Well-behaved students tend to be labelled as 'bright', while the performance of poorly-behaved students tends to be perceived negatively - This is known as the 'halo effect'- when a pupil is stereotyped from first impressions based on their clothing, manners, speech and information about their home life - Labelling theory suggests that teachers label students and these labels are hard to remove - Once a label is attached to a student, they may see themselves in terms of that label and behave accordingly; this is known as a self-fulfilling prophecy

Answer 88

- Sociologists suggest that some teachers inevitably label students based on their social class rather than their actual performance - Middle-class students are more likely to be seen as 'ideal students' (Becker, 1970)

Answer 89

- Gillborn and Youdell (2000) argue that teachers consider students who can earn five A*-C (now 9–4) GCSE grades to be middle-class - Teachers work to improve middle-class students' performance as they are 'more able' and likely to positively influence the school's position in league tables - Middle-class students are more likely to receive a positive 'prophecy' from teachers ('I need to work hard to improve as my teacher thinks I can get a 9 in this subject')

Answer 90

- There are low expectations of working-class children who are labelled as 'less able', are placed in lower sets and entered for lower-tier exams - Teachers may not see the need to improve working-class students' performance any further, which creates a self-fulfilling prophecy where students perform as poorly as their teachers anticipate - Working-class students are more likely to receive a negative 'prophecy' from teachers ('there is no point in working to improve as my teacher thinks I'm hopeless in this subject')

Answer 91

It is considered a good way to meet the educational needs of individual students in comparison to mixed-ability groups as: - students will learn content that is appropriate to their needs and abilities - The most able students are less likely to be 'held back' - Lower-ability students are more likely to understand the lesson content - individuals will work alongside students of similar ability - teachers will be able to produce resources and teach lesson content to a level that will meet the needs of students more effectively

Answer 92

There may be unintended effects of setting that impact student performance because: - teachers expectations of those in lower sets may affect a child's chances of educational achievement due to labelling leading to a self-fulfilling prophecy - those in lower streams might receive less support and attention from teachers than students in higher streams - students in lower streams or sets often experience a decline in confidence, which discourages them from attempting to improve - a disproportionately high number of lower-stream students are working-class

Answer 93

Some schools have overcome the limitations associated with streaming by having: - mixed ability groups - subject setting, whereby students are placed into ability groups for each individual subject they study

Answer 94

Ball (1981) on banding and expectations

Answer 95

Interactionist

Answer 96

Ball (1981) undertook a 3-year ethnographic case study of a mixed comprehensive school on the south coast and examined the way it was organised. He used a variety of research methods, such as: - participant observation where he observed lessons and taught some classes - interviews and questionnaires with students and teachers - secondary sources such as school records and registers Using an interactionist approach, Ball looked at two groups of students: - Those who were placed into one of three bands, from band 1 (the most able) to band 3 (the least able) - Those that were taught in mixed-ability classes

Answer 97

Ball found that: - students from lower social classes were more likely to be placed in the lower bands and were less likely to be well-behaved - student behaviour changed as a result of the band they were placed in, which was linked to teacher expectations - For example, teachers expected band 2 students to be difficult, which is what these students became as they became increasingly disinterested in school Each band was taught differently and studied for different exams - Students in band 1 were encouraged to aim high and to study academic courses - Students in band 2 were steered towards more practical subjects . - Although there was less obvious division among the students in mixed-ability classes, teachers continued to rank middle-class students as the most capable - Labelling frequently created a self-fulfilling prophecy that affected students' learning and behaviour and, in turn, their exam results

Answer 98

- Children from lower-income families left school with fewer qualifications, therefore reproducing class inequalities - Ball describes a 'downward mobility' as classifying students by ability damages working-class pupils' education and life chances - This contrasts with Parsons' functionalist perspective, which held that education is a meritocratic system in which social class is not used to determine an individual's status

Answer 99

- Research suggests that one of the effects of streaming is the development of a counter-school subculture that opposes the school's learning objectives - In response to being labelled as 'failures', some lower-stream students reject the school's academic values and rules - Instead, they create a counter-school culture that values disobedience to authority figures and teachers. This gives the students a sense of status because their peers think highly of them for their defiance - As a result, their educational achievement is affected

Answer 100

Willis (1977) on the counter-school subculture

Answer 101

- Willis (1977) writes from a different Marxist perspective on how schools prepare children for the workplace from that of Bowles and Gintis - He agrees with the Marxist view that there is a relationship between education and capitalism but he thinks that students actively oppose the values of the ruling class through a counter-school subculture rather than passively accepting them

Answer 102

- Willis took an interactionist approach to his research of a single-sex secondary school on a council estate in the Midlands, as he: -used observations and participant observations in class and around the school -recorded groups discussions -carried out unstructured interviews and used diaries - Willis focused on a group of 12 working-class boys (which he called 'the lads') during their last 18 months at school and their first six months at work doing jobs like fitting tyres and laying carpets - He explored the interaction between teachers and students at school and how the boys made sense of their experiences

Answer 103

The lads were friends and formed a counter-school subculture, which involved: - resisting the values of the school and its teachers authority - 'dossing', 'having a laff' and generally misbehaving - avoiding lessons and doing as little work as possible as they saw no value in academic work - exuding masculinity, toughness and being able to handle oneself They believed that education was boring and pointless, that it would hinder their ability to find employment, and that earning qualifications were not worthwhile. Willis argued that the lads were able to see through the myth of meritocracy and were focused on entering the world of work as soon as possible

Answer 104

- The counter-school subculture made the lads suitable candidates for male-dominated manual work in a capitalist society - Willis showed that the education system does lead working-class pupils into working-class jobs, but this is partly due to the student's rejection of school values, not because schools are effective agents of socialisation - In this way, the class structure is reproduced over time

Answer 105

- Willis, according to feminists, celebrates lad culture while ignoring the experiences of girls in schools - Other critics argue that Willis does not explore the conformist boys' experiences of education or their views on the lads - Because of the small sample size, the results cannot be generalised - Given that school leavers can now find far fewer manual working-class jobs, Willis' theories might not be relevant today

Answer 106

- The impact of feminism - Legal changes and equal opportunities policies - Positive role models in schools - Challenging stereotypes in the curriculum - Attitudes to learning - Changes within schools and the education system - Changes in wider society

Answer 107

Official statistics show there are differences in educational achievement based on gender: - Traditionally, boys achieved better results at A Level than girls - By the early 2000s, girls were doing better than boys at both GCSE and A Level - A Level results in 2014 suggest that the gender gap is narrowing - Women in the UK are 35% more likely than men to go to university - In 1990, 34,000 women graduated from universities compared to 43,000 men - By 2000, the pattern was reversed, as 133,000 women graduated compared to 110,000 men

Answer 108

External factors: - The impact of feminism - Legal changes and equal opportunities policies Internal factors: - Positive role models in schools - Challenging stereotypes in the curriculum

Answer 109

- Feminism has changed attitudes towards gender roles, as women were expected to be homemakers in the past - Feminism has helped to challenge this idea and given girls greater confidence in their abilities - Girls are now more focused on paid employment and financial independence and education is seen as a route to these - More mothers working have raised girls’ ambitions and expectations - According to Sharpe's (1994) research, girls in the 1970s placed a higher value on marriage, love, and husbands, but in the 1990s, these attitudes shifted as girls placed a higher value on careers and being able to support themselves

Answer 110

- Laws such as the Sex Discrimination Act (1975) and the Equality Act (2010) have made gender discrimination in education and the workplace illegal - As a result, many schools have introduced equal opportunities policies to address inequality and change classroom practices - The National Curriculum provides girls and boys with equal access to the same subjects and some are compulsory for all students, such as science - National projects, such as GIST (Girls into Science and Technology), were set up to encourage girls and have led to greater career opportunities; they have inspired girls to work hard at school to achieve top positions that previously were not open to them

Answer 111

- There has been an increase in the proportion of female teachers and headteachers - These women in senior positions may act as role models for girls, showing them women can achieve positions of importance and giving them non-traditional roles to aim for

Answer 112

- Some sociologists argue that the removal of gender stereotypes from textbooks and other learning materials in recent years has helped raise girls' achievement by presenting them with positive images of what women can do - Weiner (1995) argues that since the 1980s, teachers have challenged stereotypes, which has also removed barriers to girls' achievements

Answer 113

- Liberal feminists argue that further progress can be made by developing more policies to improve equality, challenging sexist attitudes and stereotypes and encouraging positive role models - Radical feminists, however, argue the system remains patriarchal, girls still experience sexism in schools and male teachers are still more likely to become heads of secondary schools - Schools limit the aspirations and future career choices of female students, according to feminists

Answer 114

- Differences exist in subject choices between males and females, particularly in post-16 education - At the post-16 level, males are more likely to study subjects like computing, physics, further maths, and economics, while females are more likely to study sociology, English literature, and health and social care (JCQ, 2024) - Feminists believe the education system is patriarchal and largely controlled by men, which has an impact on gender-based differences in subject choice and career choice

Answer 115

- **Gender stereotyping** in textbooks, such as the absence of female role models in science and maths textbooks, leads to girls believing they shouldn't study science - **Gendered language** in school textbooks such as 'he', 'him', and 'man' when referring to a person or people can be seen as downgrading women and making them invisible - **Gendered curriculum** is taught in schools whereby women tend to be missing or in the background; for example, feminists believe women have been hidden from the history curriculum, which is focused on men - **Traditional gender roles** are portrayed in school textbooks and reading schemes as they present women as mothers and housewives and more interested in domestic matters than boys are - **Teacher stereotyping** may influence girls' subject choice at GCSE and A Level - **Gender-based career guidance** involves the tendency for girls to be directed towards the caring professions - **Peer group pressure** to conform to gender norms, as boys or girls may not opt for a particular subject due to fear of ridicule or disapproval from their peers

Answer 116

- Gender socialisation within the home leads children to associate themselves with certain subject areas later on - Boys and girls are socialised in different ways as parents channel their children's interests into toys, games and books that are perceived as gender-appropriate (canalisation) - For example, girls have more experience with care-related toys at home, such as babies and prams; this could encourage them to see child development or health and social care as a 'female' subject

Answer 117

- Some researchers have found that single-sex schools benefit female students' achievement as they are thought to improve girls' performance in traditional 'male' subjects - This is likely to influence the subject choices they make at GCSE and post-16 level - Single-sex classrooms have been identified as a possible way of addressing gender differences in subject choice - This is where male and female students are taught separately for certain subjects in an attempt to remove the disruptive influence of the opposite sex

Answer 118

- Attitudes to learning - Changes within schools and the education system - Changes in wider society

Answer 119

- Although achievement levels for males are improving, boys appear to be underperforming compared to girls - One factor is the influence of males' attitudes to studying Research on the attitudes of 16-year-old boys, primarily from the working class, by Harris et al. (1993) revealed that boys: - tend to suffer from low self-esteem and poor motivation - are less willing to try hard to overcome challenges in understanding the work set - are pressured to engage in a 'laddish' culture which encourages anti-learning attitudes as it is 'uncool' to work hard They also found that in comparison to girls, boys are: - less able to efficiently manage their time and more prone to becoming distracted - are less willing to do homework and spend less time on it - less inclined to consider their future and how crucial qualifications are to it

Answer 120

A second factor that explains why boys lag behind girls is because of the following ways that education has become 'feminised': - The majority of primary school teachers are female - There are not enough male teachers to act as role models to reduce macho or 'laddish' behaviour among boys - Moir and Moir (1998) suggest that schools have become too 'girl friendly' or biased towards females - Boys are compelled to learn in ways that are not appropriate for them, such as a non-competitive setting, coursework, and a focus on verbal skills rather than practical skills Some teachers may have lower expectations of male students who they perceive as lacking motivation This labelling may lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy

Answer 121

A third factor that explains why boys underperform in education is that boys and men are experiencing a crisis of masculinity - Males believe they no longer have a clear-cut role in society as their traditional masculine identity is under threat - This impacts boys self-esteem and motivation at school as they are uncertain about their future - Being a 'geek' is not masculine and this may be a barrier to some boys taking education seriously

Answer 122

- Material deprivation - Cultural differences and cultural capital - Parental expectations - Type of school attended - Labelling and teacher expectations - Labelling and teacher expectations - The ethnocentric curriculum

Answer 123

- Statistics show that students from some minority ethnic groups (such as Chinese and Indian) achieve better results in public examinations than others (such as Black Caribbean and Pakistani) - Research shows that some of the differences in achievement between ethnic groups may reflect social class differences - White working-class boys achieve the lowest GCSE grades compared to other ethnic groups

Answer 124

- One problem is that in some studies the categories used to classify ethnic groups are too general - Studies using the term 'Asian' would not allow us to see the differences in achievement between Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi students - An additional issue is that the majority of the statistics generated do not enable us to investigate the potential impact of social class background on ethnicity

Answer 125

- Students from some minority ethnic groups (such as Black Caribbean and Bangladeshi) are more likely to experience material deprivation than white British pupils - Educational failure results from economic factors such as substandard housing and low income - There are several reasons why some ethnic minorities may be at greater risk of material deprivation that stems from unemployment and low pay - These inequalities are reflected in the proportion of children from different ethnic groups who are eligible for free school meals - Indian pupils, whose achievements are generally above average, are likely to be from wealthier backgrounds - Therefore, it is important to take into consideration social class differences of ethnic minority groups when comparing their educational achievements

Answer 126

- almost half of ethnic minority children live in low-income households compared to a quarter of white children - ethnic minorities are almost twice as likely to be unemployed

Answer 127

- Many live in areas with high unemployment - A lack of language skills and foreign qualifications not recognised by UK employers - Racial discrimination in the labour and housing market

Answer 128

- Cultural factors may influence the achievement of some ethnic minority groups as schools are perceived as institutions where white, 'mainstream' norms and values dominate - Consequently, ethnic minority students may be disadvantaged as their cultural norms and values may differ - The language spoken at home may also be an important factor affecting achievement - White middle-class parents are likely to have the right kind of cultural capital that influences their children's progress at school

Answer 129

The language spoken at home may also be an important factor affecting achievement - Children who don't speak English at home may be held back educationally - However, this may not be a major factor, as research shows that Indian students do very well educationally despite often not having English as their first language

Answer 130

White middle-class parents are likely to have the right kind of cultural capital that influences their children's progress at school - They may draw upon their own learning to help with homework - Their knowledge of the UK education system places their children at an advantage - Parents who were educated outside of the UK may not be able to support their children to the same extent

Answer 131

- According to some sociologists, a child's level of parental or carer support can explain why they succeed or fail in school - It is argued that parents from some minority ethnic groups are more interested in their children's education than parents from other groups Research shows that: - British Chinese parents value education so their children develop high educational aspirations out of respect for their elders - Indian families put pressure on their children to succeed and this affects their performance positively - Some Asian parents who were poorly educated themselves have a strong desire to support their children's progress in school

Answer 132

Research suggests the type of school attended is the main factor in explaining differences in educational attainment as: - the quality of teaching, resources available, and equal opportunities policies within the school can influence achievement - minority ethnic students who attend good schools do as well as white students in these schools

Answer 133

Some sociologists argue that some teachers have stereotyped views and expectations of students based on their ethnic origin, social class and gender - Teachers may have higher expectations of Chinese and Indian students as they are considered to be capable and hard-working - Asian girls are seen as quiet and passive - Teachers may have low expectations of Black Caribbean students, with boys being more disruptive - Teachers expect less so these students do not receive as much encouragement as other students Teachers' labels may lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy which affects students' educational achievements

Answer 134

- Some sociologists argue that we need to look at how schools and colleges routinely and unconsciously discriminate against ethnic minorities - **Institutional racism occurs when an organisation inadvertently fails to provide an appropriate service to people because of their ethnic origin, culture or colour** - These are aspects of school life that may affect the achievements of some ethnic minorities

Answer 135

- the relatively high rate of fixed-term exclusion of students from Black Caribbean backgrounds - expectations about clothing and hairstyles that don't take into account some minority cultures' norms and values

Answer 136

- One view is that the National Curriculum delivered in schools is ethnocentric (biased towards white European culture) - Many sociologists see the ethnocentric curriculum as a prime example of institutional racism because it builds a racial bias into the everyday workings of schools and colleges - The ethnocentric curriculum may lead to underachievement as ethnic minority students may feel undervalued, alienated and inferior, which undermines their self-esteem

Answer 137

languages, literature, art, music and history: - the National Curriculum ignores non-European languages, literature art and music - the history curriculum tries to create a 'mythical age of empire and past glories' while ignoring the history of black and Asian people - books that present stereotypical images of some minority groups or ignore them altogether

Education Flashcards

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