sociology education unit.doc

7/30/2019 sociology education unit.doc

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ClassMaterial vs Cultural factors for class underachievement

HousingWorking Class pupils are more

likely to experience overcrowding in

their households. They may have to

share a room for example meaningthey will have lack a quiet space to do

homework or reading. Those in

temporary accommodation also suffer in

seeing their education disrupted through

consistent moving.

LanguageFunctionalist Bernstein

points out Working Class pupils are

likely to be perceived as unintelligent as

their language does not reflect the middleclass norm. Where as MC children are

more likely to elaborate and

articulate, elaborated code, WE pupils

are likely to use much simper and

restrictive language, restricted code.

ResourcesParents are likely to lack to

resources which middle class parents will

be able to provide; revision guides,

textbooks or a tutor. Marxist Ball

pointed out the high cost of free

school for uniforms, trips, transport,

computers, calculators and otheressential tools for education which

Working Class pupils may have to do

without.

ValuesWC pupils, through their

socialisation, are likely to lack the values

which are needed for educational

achievement. Hyman calls this the

WCs self imposed barrierciting

things such as fatalistic attitudes,

believing that nothing can be done to

change their lot, and immediate

gratification as reasons for failure.

Feinstein also cites lack of parental

interest as largest factor for WC.

SchoolsGewirtz points out that those

from materially deprived backgrounds

lacking the financial resources of MC

parents are more likely to send their

children to the local comprehensive.Materially deprived areas account for

90% of all failing schools in the UK.

Cultural CapitalMarxist Bordieu

argues that WC socialisation lacks the

values, attitudes and knowledge of MC

socialisation, such as an interest in

classical music and current affairs,giving them a greater intellectual

understanding of abstract ideas. Sullivan

tested Bordieus ideas and found that

MC pupils who had more CC did

better at GCSE than those who did not.

Oxbridge- 40% Private intake but only

7% of children going to private schools.

Culture Keddie argues that there is

nothing wrong with the WC but the

education system is biased towards themiddle classes as the dominant culture

and isnt flexible enough to incorporate

WC values. Thus cultural explanationsblame the victim

SolutionNew Right and Functionalists

favour to deal with cultural deprivation

the creation ofcompensatory education

services such as SureStart being set up

in socially deprived areas. They work

with young children to help improve their

intellectual development to try and avoid

inequality. This is essential as WC

children are seen as 1.5 years behind

MC when they enter the educationsystem.


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ClassInternal vs External factors

IdealAs Becker found working class

pupils are likely to be discriminatedfrom the outset due to not matching what

she found as the ideal pupil whichtended to be MC.

Resources and HousingThose from

WC backgrounds are likely to live in

overcrowded accommodation and lack a

quiet space to do educational work. Ballalso points out the cost of free school

citing computers, calculators, trips and

even uniforms which put a massive

financial strain on the WC and some

have to do without.

Exam entryThis then goes further to

MC pupils being seen as bright and

WC lazy or dim based on the

behaviour and appearance. This then

becomes a self fulfilling prophecy,

when a label is placed on a pupil they

do not challenge it but believe and

reinforce it, as Cicourel and Kitsue

found that labels decide level of course

pupils were placed on in an American

High School.

SchoolsMaterially deprived areas

currently house 90% of all failing

schools. Gewirtz argued that due to a lack

of economic capital those from WC areas

are likely to go to the local

comprehensive. MC parents who hold

more economic capital can transport

their children to a school further away

or even move in a concept known as

selection by mortgage

StreamingBecause of these labels anti-

school subcultures are likely to arise

which also reinforce underachievement.

As Hargreeves found due to failure

those in the lower streams would benot take their work seriously and be

disruptive in order to gain prestige

from other pupils which they failed to

achieve through their academic work.Thus time is taken up dealing with them

thus those who want to learn fail.

BordieuMarxist Bordieu argued that

WC pupils are likely to lack the

attitudes, knowledge and values whichthe MC pupils have such as an interest in

classical music and knowledge of currentaffairs because of their parents interests

and encouragement. This gives Middle

Class pupils an advantage in the

education system as they will be more

able to deal with abstract intellectual

ideas.

RemovedMarxist Ball found that

when school streams are removed anti-

school subcultures quickly die out and

classes become more focused and

beneficial. However, since the 1988Education Reform Act streaming has

taken a larger role in education.

LanguageWC pupils are more likely to

suffer from material deprivation.

Functionalist Bernsteinargues WC

language is unlikely to reflect the

middle class norm of the educationsystem and thus they will be perceived

as dim and will fail. MC pupils are

more likely to elaborate and articulate

in their use of language. Bernstein

called this the elaborated and restricted

code of language.

Marketisation. The introduction of

open enrolment and the

encouragement for schools to compete

for pupils, through open days and

league tables, has left many WC pupilsforced to attend schools that get poor

ValuesHyman argues that values are

the self imposed barrier for WC

underachievement. She cites fatalistic

attitudes and immediate gratification

as reasons. Feinstein cites lack ofparental interest, due to their own bad


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results as good schools are more likely

to be selective or cream skimming as

Bartlett put it.

experiences, as the reason for WC

failure.

EthnicitySchool factors vs Outside

ExpectationsTeachers are more likely

to have racialised expectations of pupils

through labelling. Gillborn found that

male black pupils are more likely to be

disciplined as bad behaviour is

expected.Wright also found that Asian

pupils are thought to be less intelligent

then English pupils have a poor grasp

of English and girls are ignored from

class discussion. Yet many Indian pupils

do very well in the education system and

Bangladeshi and Pakistani pupils are

improving at a rapid rate.

MaterialPakistani and Bangladeshi

are 3 times more likely to be in povertythan any other group ethnic group in

society bring up Balls idea of the cost

of free school for resources. 15% of

ethnic minorities also live in

overcrowed accommodation meaning

they may lack a quiet place to perform

school work.

Self fulfilling prophecyThis is likely to

lead to Self fulfilling prophecy where

pupils will accept their label and thus

fail in the education system. Sewell

argues this leads black boys to take up a

black macho lad stereotype in anti-

school subcultures and thus fail.

However, Fuller found studying blackgirls reject negative labels and have

anti-school attitudes in having friends

with those who reject school values a not

contributing in lessons and still achieve.

LanguageThose who have English as a

second language are likely to be

disadvantaged in the education system.

Bowker argues this is the biggest barrier

to ethnic progress. To counter this

services such as SureStart and FE

colleges have encouraged free classes to

teach English to minorities. Mirzaargues that Indians still achieve speaking

Indian at home.

Ethno-CentricBall argues that ethnic

students are marginalised by being

forced to learn about British culture and

find their own ignored. History for

example he claims promotes an

attitude of little England focusing on

military victories. Coard argues thatby teaching of colonisation and of

Britain civilising countries it createspoor self esteem in Ethnic pupils. But

Indian and Chinese pupils outperform

whites in the education system.

Family structureMurray argues that

high amount of ethnic minorities are

lone parent families, 50% in Afro-

Caribbean community, which means a

lack of male role models and thus failure

for them. Other New Right sociologists

argue the failure to embrace Britishculture. Lupton states that Indian

families do well because of strong adult

authority which is similar to that of

schools.

MarketisationGilborn argues that

ethnic minorities give a school a roughand negative reputation thus the

introduction of open enrolment has led to

good schools turning down ethnic pupils

to protect their reputation and ensure anintake of white middle class pupils.

Racism in society - society still

discriminates against those from ethnic

backgrounds and are less willing to offer

support to them. Noon sent identical

letters to top 100 companies asking for

job opportunities under the names Patel

and Evans. Evans got more replies.


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EthnicityHow is school ethnocentric?

BallIgnores other cultures and instead

focuss on English achievements

portraying an image of little

Englishism. English Literature focussonly on English authors and History

only tells of British military victories.

HatcherArgues that disagreements

between ethnic pupils and racist eventsIn schools are given low priority by

school officials. Whereas MC pupilstended to get involved with school

officials to discuss their child this

rarely happens between officials and

ethnic minority families due to

language barriers and lack of

awareness.

CoardArgues that by teaching in

History that colonisation civilised

countries, such as Jamaica and India, it

affects the self esteem of ethnicminority pupils. Stone argues this does

not affect Black pupils. Indian pupils do

well in the education system. Explain

that.

KeddieThe curriculum and the whole

education system only reflects the

dominant Middle Class culture and is

not flexible enough to allow other

cultures to succeed within.

EthnicityChange in policy to help ethnic minorities?

MulticulturalismOther the 80s and

90s the curriculum has been changed to

focus on other cultures. Poetry inEnglish, for example, now focuses on

works from other cultures. History

tells of other countries plights and the

inequality they have faced from the

British such as in India.

EMAMany cite that material reasons

such as poverty is the reason for ethnic

failure. The introduction, under NewLabour, of Educational Maintenance

Allowance gave financial support to

ethnic minorities and incentives to stay

on in education.

Compensatory Education Initiatives

such as SureStart in socially deprived

areas have provided support for ethnic

minorities such as homework clubs.

Literacy and Numeracy Hours have

also been introduced in PrimarySchools which is useful for ethnic

minorities where English is not the first

language.

Faith SchoolsAnother introduction of

New Labour was the growth ofFaith

Schools meaning that parents could

send their pupils to schools which are

focused more towards their culture

such as a Jewish or Muslim school.

ResultsEthnic Minority groups now see

their results grouped and monitored to

ensure that any worrying trends can be

seen and dealt with.

CriticismsKeddie says there is

nothing wrong with ethnic minorities it

is the biased school system. Mirza says

they do not go far enough and should

focus on cultural and material reasons.


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GenderChanges in achievement due to changes in education system

Equal opsChanges in the education

system such as the introduction of the

National Curriculum In 1988 with core

subjects for Boys and Girls as well asinitiatives such as GIST to get girls into

science have accounted for achievement

for girls. Boaler states that the creation

of a more meritoric education system is

the key reason.

ExpectationsDue to the spread of

feminist ideas and the greater position of

women in society girls expectations and

aspirations of education have changed.Sue Sharpe did two studies; one in the

70s which found girls wanting to get

married and become homemakers

before a career. When she repeated it

in the 90s she found careers were now

aspired above all else.

Role ModelsGreater influx of female

teachers has inspired girls in giving them

a female role model of someone that has

achieved. Sewell, however, argues that

this has been negative for boys and has

led to education having a female

emphasis.

FamilyFamily types have changed.

The rise of Lone Parent families in the

United Kingdom, 1 in 4 90% headed by

women, provide a positive role model for

girls seeing their mother have to support

her family and go out to work. However,

the lack of a role model for boys has

had a negative effect. Murray discusses

how this leads ethnic minority pupils to

form anti-school subcultures.

CourseworkIt is argued that the

introduction of coursework has

benefitted girls as it plays to the

typically female strengths of

organisation and planning which it isargued is taught in socialisation. Boys,

however, are taught more to take risks

and as such tend to perform better in

exam conditions. Because of girls

advantage coursework is being removed

from many subjects.

LiteracyThere is a mass gender gap

surrounding male and female literacy.

This is thought to be because during

socialisation girls are more likely to be

read stories by their mothers. Boys,however, are not. Thus they associate

the activity with women. Boys are also

expected to spent leisure time outside

or on computers where as girls are

expected to stay at home reading or

talk with friends which will enhance

their intellectual skills.

SelectionMarketisation policies such as

open enrolment have allowed good

schools to be pickier in their intakes.

Jackson argues this has meant boyshave been left out as they give schools a

rough reputation and can cost more for

behaviour issues. Thus schools appeal

to girls.

IndustryEspecially for the Working

Class males. The decline of traditional

industry and the less need for manual

skills has led to less boys having anincentive in school. If they know they do

not have a job to go to whats the point?

Class Is a crucial factor. Although all

boys vs all girls leads to girls doing

better it shouldnt be forgotten that on

the most part middle class boys and

girls achieve equally in the education

system as McVeigh points out.


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GenderHow is the education system geared towards girls?

Feminised - Sewell argues that education

has become feminised. He feels that

boys traits such as competitivenessand risk takingwhich are still

encouraged in socialisationare

discouraged in the education systemwhereas girls traits such as systematic

learning, planning and tidiness are

rewarded and encouraged.

SubjectsThomas argues that education

is still discouraging girls. Her research

found that girls are put off studying thesciences as they feel it will challenge

their gender identity. According to

Thomas women feel they can either be

women or physicist and not both.

CourseworkSocialisation within the

home encourages girls tidiness and

planning skills (as discussed) thus they

tend to do better in coursework. Boys,

however, are encouraged to take

greater risk perform better underexam conditions. This has been

recognised and is being removed from

many subjects.

Male GazeFeminists argue that through

the male gazewhere men objectify

female pupils as sexual objectsthey

are disadvantaged. This puts girls off

studying male subjects, such as

computing, as they feel that being in

the minority will increase this.

Role ModelsThe lack of male

primary school teachers means that

from a young age boys lack

appropriate educational role models.This can mean that boys see education as

feminine and reject its values.

Peer pressureThe fear of being teased

in certain subjects such as PE puts girls

off doing subjects which are not

considered female. Dewar found that

girls risked being called dykes if they

had an open interest in sport. In all-girls schools girls are more likely to do

traditionally male subjects.

MarketisationJackson argues that the

policy of open enrolment has allowed

good school to become selective and

discriminate against boys who portray

a rough reputation and cost more in

behavioural costs.

ClassMcVeigh argues that class and

home factors dictate how a pupil

experiences the education system and

are the overriding factor in achievement.


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To what extent are different genders likely to pick different subjects?

Hidden curriculum Oakley argues that

subject choice comes down to earlygender socialisation. Whereas girls are

more likely to be read to when they areyoung this creates a gender association

thus girls are more likely to study English

than boys. Boys on the other hand are

more likely to be encouraged to take

risks and experiment and are thus

more likely to choose the sciences.

Liberal FeministsCite that girls do

better in all subjects at GCSE includingMaths and Computing. There are also

more women at universities in the

United Kingdom.

Gender identityThomas argues that this

gender division means that girls feel that

by taking the sciences, which are seen as

male, this questions their gender identity.

Thomas states they women feel they

can either by a physicist or woman and

not both.

Francisasking girls about their career

aspirations and found many had high

aspirations and most girls wished to do

not traditionally female jobs such asbeing scientists. This links with Sue

Sharpes study of changing aspirations.

Peer pressureSubject choice is also

determined by peer pressure. Dewer

found that girls are put off doing

subjects associated with sports as they

will end up being labelled dykes.

However, this does not occur in all-girlsschools. Similarly, boys may be put off

studying subjects such as Health and

Social Care or Theatre studies at the

risk of being branded gay.

ParsonsArgues that education is

meritoric and allows a pupils gender,

ethnic background and class to be left

at home as it does not matter once apupil enters the school gates. Thus

gender differences in education subjectare purely down to the individual.

Gendered careersEspecially true of

vocational education courses which are

focused on the students planned career

path. Whereas plumbing and building

is gendered to men hairdressing and

nursing is gendered to girls.


8/27

PolicyEffect of Marketisation

Choicethe 1988 Education Reform Act

created, as David puts it, Parentocracy

putting parents in control of choosinghow their child gets educated and not

the statethis led to a diverse selection

of schools such as grammar schools and

grant maintained schools, outside of

local authority control, which were

able to select and teach in any manner

they wished.

Choice? - Many grammar schools and

GMS required pupils to pass entrance

exams in order to gain admission. Asystem which had been eradicated in

1965 with the introduction of the

comprehensive system was returned. Ball

cites this as the myth of meritocracy.

Open enrolmentalso put the parent at

the forefront. Pupils were no longer

forced to go to their local

comprehensive and were able to shoparound for the best school that suits

their needs. This forced schools to

produce prospectuss and open days in

order to encourage the best pupils to

apply to them.

League TablesBy making the public

aware of good and bad schools it allowed

MC parents with the economic and

cultural capital to make greater efforts

to make sure their children went to the

best school, either by transport or

moving to the catchment area of a good

school known as selection by

mortgage, whereas those with less

economic and cultural capital are stuck

with the cream-skimmed, according to

Bartlett, comprehensive system.

League TablesThe publication of

school league tables meant that parentscould tell which schools were good

schools and which schools were bad

schools this promoted efficiency as it

forced those schools doing badly to

either improve or suffer from a lower

intake or less desirable pupils.

Formula FundingRewarding schools

who do well does not promote efficiency.It only widens the gap of inequality.

Whereas good schools, typically in MC

areas, did well each year and made

more and more money bad schools had

more and more funding losses every

year meaning they cannot afford to

improve their results like the good

schools, which are already doing well!,

can.

Formula Fundingworked by paying

schools a set amount for each pupil theytake. This applied rules of the business

market to schools; good schools, who

received the most applications, were

able to profit and provide high quality

resources whereas bad schools had to

work harder to drive up results.


9/27

PolicyNew Labour reduced inequality and increased diversity

NEETSEncouraged young people to

remain in education through the

introduction ofEMA which paid up to30 a week to fund the Working

Classes in education post 16.They also

put in proposals to changed the school

leaving age up to 18 by 2015 to target

youth unemployment. New Deal was set

up for those under 24 in long term

unemployment to get them in to work or

training.

WhittyWhitty argues that New

Labours policies were ascetic and in

reality promoted inequality and notequality. EMA may have been

introduced but so were tuition fees. In

Labours defence the Torries have just

shot up tuition fees and cut EMA and

thus even greater increasing inequality.

Inner CitiesSet up SureStart and

Excellence in Cities centres in socially

deprived areas to target those suffering

from material deprivation, which is

meant to be WC 1.5 years behind MC

when they start school, and offered

classes to intellectual stimulate very

young children, homework clubs,

Saturday schools and Easter revision

courses. They also offered English

lessons for those with English as a

second language.

Grammar//PrivateNew Labour

maintained the existence of Grammar

Schools which use entrance exams and

continue to maintain inequality. Private

Schools also encourage inequality as

although the fees can be paid by upper

and middle class parents they are out

of reach of the working class parents.

NumlitIntroduced Numeracy andLiteracy Hours in to the Primary

School curriculum which benefitted

those who were not being intellectualengaged at home and particularly those

who do not have English as their first

language.

CurriculumAlthough Labourpromoted diversity in some areas they

encouraged and fully supported the

National Curriculum which is

restrictive to schools in the subjects they

teach.

DiversityEncouraged diversity

through the growth of Faith Schools,

specialist schools and academies in

failing areas. This allowed for greater

choice for different types of education inthe Post Modernist ideology, as Kenneth

argues, not one size fits all education.

Formula FundingThey maintained

Formula Funding which rewards

schools filled with middle class pupils

whilst punishing schools for catering

for the socially deprived and thusincreasing inequality.


10/27

Perspectives on educationFunctionalist influence

SolidarityDurkeim argues that one of

the key roles education performs in toinstall a sense of social solidarity in to

young people in order to commit themto wider society. It achieves this via

teaching the countrys heritage through

history. School also achieves this by

acting as a microcosm of society in

forcing co-operation with many

different groups.

MythMarxist Bowls and Gintis

argue that the idea of meritocracy is amyth in stating that everyone has an

equal chance of achieving in the

education system. They argue this

ignores class inequalities and is used to

justify Working Class Failure as seen

in their Poor Are Dumb Theory.

MeritoricParsons argues that school

provides meritocracyby offering equal

opportunitiesand allows pupils to

leave their class, gender and ethnicity

at home. He argues this as achieved as

all students are judged in the same way

through examinationthus everyone

has an equal chance of achievement.

BrainwashesMarxist Althussier

argues that Social Solidarity is part of

the ideological state apparatus to

project the ideology of the ruling classand forcing the working class to accept

their exploitation. In History by

teaching of British elite like Henry the

8th

without focusing on the social

inequality experienced by the regular

people in the past. In doing this WC

are expected to accepted their position

in society.

Prepares for WorkDavis and Mooreargue that educationthrough

examinationsperforms a function of

role allocation to make sure that

everyone takes up a role that they are

suited to. Inequality is thus essential so

that the most appropriate people fill the

top positions in society. If it didnt exist

then someone who should be at

McDonalds could be a pilot!

Radical FeministArgue that theeducation system prepares women for

their future exploitation from men.

Instead of preparing them for work from

the hidden curriculum they are

encouraged for their future domesticrolesas Lobban found studying

childrens books where most womenwere subordinateThe education

system is also far from meritoric as girls

are forced out of studying certain

subjects which are seen as male, suchas physics, as it questions their gender

identity, as Thomas found, and even if

they overcome that as they will be in the

minority victims of the Male Gaze

where men objectify women as sexual

objects.


11/27

Perspectives on educationPurpose of Education is Social Solidarity

DurkeimArgues that by teaching the

countries heritage through history it gives

pupils a sense of shared commitment totheir wider society.

FunctionalistsArgue that other

essential roles are provided by the

education system. David and Mooreargue that through putting pupils

through examinations a process of role

allocation takes place to ensure that

pupils get jobs most suited to their

abilities.

DurkeimAlso argues that by forcing

pupils to co-operate with others who may

not be friends or family they are further

being prepared for life in greater society.

MarxistsAlso argue that a process of

role allocation occurs. However, they do

not take the positive view the

Functionalists do. Bowls and Gintis

argue that education corresponds

work for WC pupils by forcing them to

perform mundane taskssuch as

dictation and sumsand demanding

respect for adult authority without

question that they will face from their

bosses in the future.

ParsonsArgues that education works

as a half way house between the family

and wider society and teaches the

essential norms and values needed in

order to survive in society. He arguesthat this is taught the same to everyone

as education is meritoricso everyone

has a chance to shape their future society.

MarxistsArgue in Bowls and Gintis

Poor Are Dumb theory that by

portraying that education is meritoric

and ignoring class inequalities it justifies

working class failure by makingindividuals believe that failure is their

own fault.

MarxistAlthusser argues that social

solidarity does happen in education but it

is done in order to maintain the ruling

class ideology. By teaching history of

the elite and not focusing on the

inequality to the regular people of the

past the WC are forced to accept that

the system is fair. Althusser arguesthat this is part of the Ideological State

Apparatus.

FeministsArgue that education

maintains patriarchy through the hidden

curriculum. Lobban found that books

promote women in domestic roles and

Thomas found that girls are put off

doing sciences as they feel it questions

their gender identity.


12/27

Perspectives on educationPrepares for Work

Role AllocationDavis and Moore

argue that education performs aprocess of role allocation through

holding examinations and ensures that

everyone ends up doing the job that they

are most suited to. Inequality is good

because it means the most capable are

at the top of society.

SolidarityDurkeim argues that

education functions as social solidarity.By teaching pupils of a shared cultural

heritage in subjects like History it

commits pupils to the wider society.

MeritoricParsons argues that as

education allows pupils to leave their

class, ethnicity and gender at home itmeans that everyone has equal chance get

allocated a top role in society in their

working life. It also makes sure that no

one is left out.

AlthusserArgues that this does take

place but only to support the Ideological

State Apparatus. By teaching history

pupils learn of Kings and Queens and not

the suffering of the WC and thus accept

their position as fair.

MarxistBowls and Gintis argue that

by forcing WC pupils to do mundane

tasks such as sums and dictation

education corresponds to themundane manual labour they will be

expected to perform in future. They also

argue that in being forced to respect

adult authority without question theyare prepared for future exploitation

from their bosses.

MarxistBowls and Gintis argue that

education portrays a myth of

meritocracy which allows it to blame

WC failure on the individual in their

Poor are Dumb theory. In doing so people

accept exploitation and dont question the

ruling classes.

Feminists Through the hidden

curriculum education works to make

sure women dont want to work.Lobban states that books show women as

domestic. Thomas states that as

sciences are gendered women are put

off doing them.


13/27

Perspectives on educationMarxism influence

AlthusserArgues that education is

essential to the Ideological State

Apparatus. By teaching of Kings andQueens it teaches WC pupils that the

system is fair and their position is

unquestionable.

WillisArgues that WC rebel against the

Ruling Class System in his study of The

Lads. They would play-up and not co-operate with teachers as they knew

their fate supporting the capitalist

system and instead of rejecting it they

championed manual work and saw

academic work as boring, sissy and

undesirable. Here we can see how

Marxists have conflicting views on

education

Bowls and GintisArgue that education

prepares the working class for their

boring jobs support the ruling classes.

Dictation and sums mirror the manual

labour they will have to perform. Respect

for adult authority without question

also mirrors what they will have to do

to their future bosses.

Feministslike McDonald argue that

education supports patriarchy and

Marxism fails to recognise this

inequality. This can be seen in the Male

Gaze.

JustifiesBowls and Gintis also argue

that education works to justify WC

failure by stating that education is

meritoric and ignoring class factors WC

pupils accept their failure and dontquestion the ruling system.

Post ModernistsArgue that Marxism is

OUTDATED and reflects a Fordist world

where manual work was the norm for the

WC. Now we live in a Post-Fordist

work which needs specific skills such asICT and communication skills and the

education system reflects that.However, one could argue that Tesco and

McDonalds is manual work?

ParsonsArgues that education is

meritoric. Davis and Moore argue that

role allocation is essential to make sure

the right people do the right jobs.


14/27

Perspectives on Education - Labelling Theory most important

IdealBecker found that teachers are

more likely to describe their ideal pupil

as one that is middle class. This putslabels on MC pupils as bright and more

dangerously WC pupils as dumb.

Not allFullers study of Black Girls

found that even those that are labelled

negatively can still achieve. They simplyreject and ignore the label they are given.

Self Fulfilling ProphecyThis

judgement on behaviour and appearance

can go along way. Cicourel and Kitsue

found that because of this tutors would

decide what level pupils would be ableto study. This can mean that pupils may

be put in to lower streams of schools and

thus perform a self-forfiling prophecy

Cultural CapitalBordieu argues that

WC pupils are likely to lack the

attitudes, values and knowledge of theMC pupils, such as current affairs or

classical music, which puts Middle Class

pupils at an instant advantage in the

education system. Bernstein found that

WC pupils are also likely to be let

down by their language not fitting in

with the MC norm.

StreamingHargreeves found that

those in lower streams would form

anti-school subcultures in order to gain

the prestige they lacked from academic

achievement. This means a great amount

of time is spent to deal with disruptions

and those who want to learn simply cant.

AttitudesHyman argues that WC

attitudes work as a self imposed

barrier to achievement. She cites

things such as fatalism and immediate

gratification as evidence for this.

When removedBall found that when

streams are removed pupils are morelikely to behaviour calmly and

subcultures quickly disappear with

results on the up. But streaming is still

here to stay.

MaterialLess likely to have space to do

school work, be able to afford resourcesBalls cost of free school and go

to their local comprehensiveGewirtz

of which failing schools are 90% in

materially deprived areas


15/27

Perspectives on EducationNew Right contribution

AutonomyThe New Right believe

that the state should not be in control

of schools and that they need autonomyand the power to teach as they wishefficiently in order to get the best out of

their pupils. This was seen in the

introduction of GMS and Grammar

Schools in 1988 and in 2010 the

introduction of free schools.

AlthusserArgues that cultural heritage

in education is done to support the

Ideological State Apparatus. Historymerely shows us the behaviour of Kings

and Queens and shows pupils that

hierarchy is normal and unchangeable.

MarketisationSchools funding should

rely on the amount of pupils they intake

Formula Fundingthus they need to be

able to attract as many pupils as

possible. This is seen through school

prospectuses and open days. They argue

that the state has a role to play in

producing league tables and inspection of

school standards eg ofsted.

MarketisationGets rid of any

meritocracy in education and breeds

inequality in, as Bartlett put it, cream-

skimming the best pupils from

comprehensive schools and thus

making them worse. They also shift

difficult or disabled pupils to

comprehensive schools as they are

expensive to deal with. Formula

Funding rewards only good schools

and keeps those who need the funds

down.

EconomyNew Right feel that the state

fails to provide workers suited to the

genuine needs of the economy. The riseof New Vocationalism, under Thatcher,

attempted to deal with this by offering

NVQs in practical trades which were

lacking such as Plumbing and Health

and Social Care. These exist today as

BTECHs and Applied A-Levels.

VocationalismCohen states that New

Vocationalism only gives the Working

Class low-skilled jobs and careers anddoes little to improve their social status.

Buswell argues that girls are pushed in

to gender stereotypical roles such as

hairdressing or retail.

CultureEducation should teach pupils a

shared cultural heritage of the countries

cultural, military and social achievements

to make sure the next generation are

committed to their culture.

Choice and autonomyGewirtz argues

only benefits MC parents and pupils

who are able to exploit the greater

choice. Those who are materially

deprived dont have the economic orcultural capital to navigate the greater

choice end up sending their children to

the local comprehensive. 90% of failing

schools are in materially deprived

areas.


16/27

Perspectives on EducationPost Modernism

Post FordismWe no longer live in a society where the WC are forced in to manual

work. Work is now more likely to rely on human capital and take place small

companies in small markets. Thus education needs to provide skills to suit this suchcommunication and ICT skills.

FlexibleEducation now needs to teach flexible skills as people are no longer staying

in one job for life and education has to reflect this. Thus general skills need to be

taught which will be appropriate for a number of different tasks. Learning also cannot

just end at school and needs to be lifelong to retrain people for society. An example of

this would be training the elderly computer skills.

DiversityThey are against curriculums and one type of school. People now live

different and diverse lifestyle which have different needs thus a one size fits all

education is no longer appropriate. This is reflected in New Labours policies of faith

schools and specialist schools.

CriticismsMales and female still do traditional roles. Working Class are likely to

have low skilled jobs and not improve on their social position. Most people still go to

comprehensives. Lifestyles are not as diverse as Postmodernists would like us to

think.


17/27

Resource MethodsQuestionnaires

Easyto distribute in large numbers.

They are also cheap and quick if the

researcher has a short amount of time toconduct their research.

Low Response RateAround 30% end

up getting returned. The effects how

representative they are which is badfor Positivists. Those who do respond

are likely to be different from the greater

population. Thus skews the data.

RepresentativeThey can be

distributed to a representative sample

of society. Postal Questionaires can be

sent anywhere in the country and be

generalised allowing for trends to be

picked up. This is what Positivists like.

Not RepresentativeThey dont allow

for some groups to fill them in. Children

cant. Certain ethnic groups cant and

they can easily be misinterpreted

meaning your results arent accurate.

QuantatativePositivists like this. It

can easily be turned into statistics. It

can also be easily repeated. This gives

them a high amount of reliability.

Lack validityThey are very shallow

and only reflect responses to the

researchers preplanned questions that

might not be the respondents true view

just the one that most represents them.Even in open-ended questionnaires

people do not respond with detailed

information. Interpretivists claim this.

Postal questionnaires

RepresentativeThey can be

distributed to a representative sample

of society. They are easily to be

distributed across the UK and canidentify trends This is what Positivists

like.

AnonymousResearch doesnt know if

respondent is giving socially desirable

responses.

ReliableThey can be easily turned in to

statistics and can easily be repeated.

CircumstanceIf they filled it in by

themselves or not or if they cared

AnonymousThey never meet the

researcher thus are more likely to answer

truthfully getting rid of the interviewereffect and the need to answer in a socially

desirable manor. Helping Validity

Misunderstanding // not taking research

seriouslycan easily skew results if

there are issues. But pilot studies shoulddeal with this. Lacking validity. And bad

for Positivists.

Questionaires given out

Higher response rateMore

representative. Reliability.

PeersMay influence participants

choice.

Any misunderstandings can be dealed

withValidity.

May not be taken seriouslyif within a

school setting.


18/27

Participant Observation

ValidityProvides a lot of qualitativedata. Allows for sociologists to find a

large amount of information without

having to ask any questions through body

language and behaviour. This makes it

highly valid and preferred by

Interpretivists.

EthicalCovert allows for ethical issues.Participants are being deceived and what

if they conduct in illegal behaviour?

NaturalAllows sociologists to witness

participants in their natural

environment. This allows the researcher

to get a true picture of a specific group.

As Lord Humphreys said on his research

on homosexual activities in public toilets

the only way to truly relate to someone is

to be in the same mess they are.

Observer EffectMay not actually be

behaving naturally. But this may pass in

time as they gain the researchers trust and

may take him/her for granted.

Deviant GroupsAllows Sociologists to

get access to difficult social groups. It is

hard to imagine Patrick being able toget in to the Glasgow gang with a

clipboard.

Flexible - No need for hypothesis. Noquestions need to be asked. Information

can just materialise itself to the

researched.

SnapshotThe researcher will only ever

get a snapshot of the groups behaviour.

It is far from reliable or repeatable data

and it cant be generalised. Positivists

dont like this.


19/27

Non Participant observation

ReliableCan record how much time is

spent with male pupils as opposed tofemale pupils for example. Creating

Quantitative data. Which is good for

Positivists.

MisunderstandingLacking validity. It is

from a distance the sociologist cannot besure if they know what is going on. Lacks

validity.Skew results. Lacks reliability.

ValidCan observe people in their

natural setting and thus gain a large

amount of valid data and a true picture of

participants behaviour.

EthicalParticipants dont know they are

being watched. Could be a problem

getting permission to perform in a school.

FlexibleNeeds no hypothesis. Needs no

questions. Answers and points of interest

can just appear to the sociologist.

Observer effectIf they know they are

being observed this will affect results.

Thus lack validity.

Deviant GroupsCan be monitored

when it would usually be difficult to

monitor.


20/27

Structured Interviews

Standardisedeveryone gets asked the

same thing. Answers can be generalised,compared depending on social group and

trends and patterns can be seen.

Positivists like this.

Lacks validityanswers are shallow.

Respondents are restricted and cannotrespond with further points.

Interpretivists dont favour this.

ControlResearcher will find out just

what they set out to find as they maintain

control throughout

Interviewer effectNo rapport can be

gained like in Unstructured Interviews.

This means participants may respond in

the way they think the interview wants.

Skewing results. Bad for Positivists.

ReliableCan easily be repeated as it is

standardised. This makes it favoured by

Positivists. It can also be used for

statistics easily. This is a clear advantage

over Unstructured

Social desirabilityas researcher is

forced to remain neutral in the situation.

RepresentativeDue to being time

consuming unlikely to include much of

the population. Thus not representative.

Bad for Positivists.

Unstructured Interviews

Rapportcan be gained. So participantsact more naturally and more truthfully

then they normally would do. Giving it

validity.

UnreliableThey are difficult to repeatas each is unique. Bad for Positivists.

ValidityAllows researchers to get a

true picture of peoples feelings, opinions

and attitudes.

QualitativeHard to turn in to

quantitative data. How does a researcher

shift through hours of dialog? You cant

make generalisations or identify trends

clearly!

FlexibleInterviewees can raise points

of interest to discuss and interview can

ask more questions. Researchers canpossibly find out more than they set out

to. Preferred by Interpretivists.

Time consumingUnlikely that the

sociologist will be able to conduct a large

number of interviews. Not representative.

Non HierarchalFeminists dont like

Interviews because they treat women as

isolated. Unstructed ones allow them to

discuss how they may be oppressed.


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Group Interviews

Safety in NumbersParticipants may notfeel intimidated and thus unlikely to be

effected by the interview effect. This may

encourage more fuller answers allowing a

true picture and greater validity. Preferred

by Interpretivists.

ControlUsually lack control and aremore likely to be informal and

unstructured.

Devient GroupsMay be willing to be

interviewed as a group but not

individually. An example of this would

be Anti-School subcultures.

ReliableLacks reliability because it is

hard to repeat. A one off. Also, how do

you generalise or turn in to quantitative

data? Positivists dont like it.

Non ValidCertain members of the

group are likely to dominate discussion

with certain members taking the lead and

quieter members simply agreeing in order

not to create conflict.


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Research MethodsLab Experiments

ControlSociologist has complete

control of the situation. No unknown

variables that would be difficult to deal

with.

UnnaturalThe environment is unnatural

thus it is unlikely that that the behaviour

being seen will be natural. This effects

validity. Interpretivists are against this.

ReliabilityThey can easily be repeated

as they are in an isolated environment.

Positivists like this.

Expensiveand time consuming

meaning it is hard to conduct many of

these experiments in order to make it

representative. Positivists dont like this.

ScientificThey allow for precise,

objective and quantitative data to be

found out. Tests can be done in a

scientific way and get scientific results.

Establishing social facts.

Cant establish social facts in an unsocial

environment. It also can be unethical and

could never be used in education.

Field experiments

NaturalTake place in the real world

which allows for accurate results to be

found of peoples actual behaviour. This

gives a true picture and thus

Interpretivists favour this.

Ethical issuesPeople are being

deceived in their natural environment.

FlexibleCan be used in order to gain

high in validity qualitative data or

quantitative data for reliability. This

means that both Positivists and

Interpretivists favour this method.

No controlHard to control the

variables of situations in the realworld. Anything could happen to

interrupt experiment. This can skew

results.

No ControlAllows for whole new

meanings and understandings to be found

out. No set hypothesis is needed a

question and answer can just appear.

One offThey are hard to repeat and

hard to get qualitative data from, due to

the risk of variables, this is bad for

Positivists who may prefer a more

controlled environment such as Lab

experiments.HollowOnly observe. You dont get to

ask questions. Bad for true meaning. Bad

for Interpretivists. Positivists claim it is

just assumptions..So bad for them too.


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Research MethodsOfficial Statistics

Hard Stats = Death Rate, Birth Rate etc

Soft Stats = Unemployment, Crime etc.

EasyTo access. Usually free. Cover

many different areas of social life.

HollowStatistics are just numbers and

do not give true meanings. Interpretivists

dont like them.

Representativecategorise and show a

representative sample of people in the

UK. The Census for example. Good for

Positivists

Not accurateThey can easily be wrong,

effecting validity, Marxists argue that

government statistics, like unemployment

and crime, are changed so they look

better and maintain the Ruling Classes.

Crime also has a lot of variables. This

means they lack validity.

QuantitativeAllow for trends to be seen

in the population. They can be compared

and are easily repeatable. Good for

Positivists.

MistakesCan easily be made by people

who fill in forms or admin staff who

compile them. Even in Hard statistics this

can occour. NOT VALID.

Research MethodsPublic Documents

Easyand cheap to get hold of. Usuallygovernment//Charity//Business and will

provide both qualitative and quantitative

data which is good for both Positivists

and Interpetivists.

Lack ValidityThey have been madewith a bias. They thus are likely to lack

proper validity as they have beenrose

tinted. Bad all round.

Validity- Provide detailed information

with reflections which are likely to be

accurate. Thus they are valid.

RepresentativeTrends can be identified

between similar documents and their take

on events.

Research MethodsPersonal Documents

ValidInterpretivists like these because

they are full of valid data giving true

opinions and incite.

Hard to findThey are personal

documents thus they are hard to get hold

of. The writer may have thought that they

may one day be publishedAnne Frank

etcthus this effects the light they show

themselves in and effects validity.

HonestLikely to be trustworthy as they

were not made with publication in mind.This is good for validity.

Not representativeespecially with old

ones. They do not show the opinions ofthe illiterate population and only show


24/27

the opinions of those who are more able.

This affects their reliability and

representativeness. Positivists dont like

this they cant generalise.

Research MethodsContent Analysis

FlexibleCan be used to collect either

quantitative or qualitative data. The

former, a sociologist may look for social

groups associated with certain types of

media stories. Latter, a sociologist may

look at the amount of time something is

given. Good all around

ReliabilityYou are only taking one

person or organisations view and are not

getting the view of the population. This

affects validity as it is subjective. It is

also not representative of the population.

Affecting its reliability.

ValidAllows a proper insight in to

social behaviour and the messages of the

mass media towards certain groups and

events. This is good for Interpretivists.

HollowStatistical data collected will

be hollow and will not explain the

reasons for the amount of time donated

to certain groups etc but more that what

the researcher seeks to find out does

exist. Bad for validity and.

RepeatableCan be checked for trends

and turned in to statistical data. This can

make it representative and reliable. Good

for Positivists.

Research MethodsCase Studies

Initial ideasCan obtain initial ideas and

research questions about a particular

group which can be used later in a larger

survey.

Too smallCan not be claimed to be

representative. Because they just simply

arent. Positivists dont like them.

ValidityBecause the focus is on one

group it is likely to a large amount of

meaningful information will be found

which will give an accurate picture of the

individuals situation. This is good forvalidity. Interpretivists favour.

RepresentativenessThus you cannot

see trends or patterns in society or

anything. So they lack a clear purpose on

their own.

FlexibleBecause it is in-depth on one

group allowing for a large amount of

information to be collected hypotheses

and questions do not need to be

formulated. Ideas can appear throughout

the study.


25/27

Research MethodsLongitudinal Studies

Not just a snapshotUnlike

Questionnaires of Interviews which only

show the opinion right there and then

allow for real opinions and meaning to be

developed over time. Such as Seven Up

repeated every 7 years which has gone on

for more than 50 years.

ExpensiveIt takes a lot of money and a

lot of time and travelling. People may

move across the world!

ValidBecause of this it is able to

provide a large amount of valid data.

Drop out rateTends to be very high.

Meaning that the sample is not as

representative as it once was. In a study

on education the non-successful

participants may no longer wish to

participate this means the sample

remaining are not representative. This

effects validity and representativeness.

Bad all round. This is called Sample

attrition.

TrendsIt allows for trends in the

population to be identified. One time the

study takes place can be entirely differentto the next. This is good for Positivists.

Sample sizeIs likely to be small and

unlikely to be representative of the entire

population. Thus Positivists dont reallysee the point.


26/27

Research MethodsWhat might affect choice of topic?

Personal InterestFeminists for example. Study Womens Rights because intereststhem. Teachers may be interest in aspects of the education system they wish to study.

Flavour of the monthFeminism, Racism and Poverty have all had heydeys where a

number of studies have been done about them. It is likely to that important social

issues at the time will be studied due to public interest.

FundingMany Sociologists research is determined by those willing to fund it.

Businesses may wish them to study a commercial issue. The government, for

example, is making some research dependent that they study the idea of the Big

Society. This is something which Sociologists will have a big influence in.

Practical IssuesIt is hard for a man to gain access to a maternity ward to study the

womens feelings of childbirth. Similarly it would be hard for a woman to study a

group of football hooligans or male anti-school cultures.

Knowledge gapsSomething which has not been studied in detail before may inspire

a Sociologist to try and plug the gap in the market. Just like business.

Research MethodsWhat Practical Issues can materialise?

Large scaleIt would be hard to do

interviews to test the link between social

class and educational failure in the UK as

you would need a big sample which

would take time. Thus Questionnaires arelikely.

Time and moneyCan effect the type of

research a sociologist would do.

Interviews, Observation and Longitudinal

studies take a long time and are very

expensive. If they are doing research for auniversity they are likely to have a budget

and time frame.

Deviant groupsUnlikely to respond to

things such as questionnaires or requests

for interviews. They may prefer

participant observation like the Glasgow

gang did in Patricks research.

FundingSociologists are likely to be

sponsored by either the government or

universities or commercial companies.

This will affect the type of research.

Many want quantitative data for example

as it appears scientific and can be

comparable.

Research MethodsWhat Ethical issues can arise?

According to BSA need informed consent from respondents before performingresearch. Thus participant observation covertly and some field experiments

ethically challenging.

Studies have to ensure respondents privacy. Especially if researching a deviantgroup as any information could lead them to trouble with the law.


27/27

Research MethodsWhat Theoretical issues? Positivists likely to do research which is representative and can be repeated so

they look like scientists. Lad experiments, interviews, questionnaires

Interpretivists are unlikely to do this and are more likely to do research withobservation or unstructured interviews or even field experiments to get a truer

picture of events.

Feminists are likely to do research which focuses on womens rights. Marxistswith class conflict and New Right with attacking state intervention.