Transcript Education unit revision guide

SCLY2 The Specification.
1 The role and purpose of education, including vocational education and
training, in contemporary society.
• Functionalist and New Right views of the role and purpose of education: transmission of
values, training workforce.
• Marxist and other conflict views of the role and purpose of education: social control,
ideology, hegemony; ‘deschoolers’ (Illich, Friere): socialisation into conformity by coercion.
• Vocational education and training: the relationship between school and work: human
capital, training schemes, correspondence theory.
2 Differential educational achievement of social groups by social class, gender
and ethnicity in contemporary society.
• Statistics on educational achievement by class, gender and ethnicity; trends over time.
• Social class and educational achievement: home environment; cultural capital, material
deprivation; language (Bernstein); school factors, relationship between achievement by
class in education and social mobility.
• Gender and educational achievement: feminist accounts of gender-biased schooling; the
concern over boys’ ‘underachievement’ and suggested reasons; subject choice; gender
identities and schooling.
• Ethnicity and educational achievement: patterns; reasons for variations; multicultural and
anti-racist education; experience of minorities in different types of schools.
• The relationship between class, gender and ethnicity.
• The effects of changes on differential achievement by social class, gender and ethnicity.
3 Relationships and processes within schools, with particular reference to
teacher/pupil relationships, pupil subcultures, the hidden curriculum, and the
organisation of teaching and learning.
• School processes and the organisation of teaching and learning: school ethos; streaming
and setting; mixed ability teaching; the curriculum; overt and hidden.
• The ‘ideal pupil’; labelling; self-fulfilling prophecy.
• School subcultures (eg as described by Willis, Mac an Ghaill) related to class, gender and
ethnicity.
• Teachers and the teaching hierarchy; teaching styles.
• The curriculum, including student choice.
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4 The significance of educational policies, including selection,
comprehensivisation and marketisation, for an understanding of the structure,
role, impact and experience of education.
• Independent schools.
• Selection; the tripartite system: reasons for its introduction, forms of selection, entrance
exams.
• Comprehensivisation: reasons for its introduction, debates as to its success.
• Marketisation: the 1988 reforms – competition and choice; new types of schools (CTCs,
academies, specialist schools, growth of faith schools).
• Recent policies in relation to the curriculum, testing and exam reforms, league tables,
selection, Special Educational Needs (SEN), etc.
• Recent policies and trends in pre-school education and higher education.
5 The application of sociological research methods to the study of education.
This may be taught either integrated with the content listed above, or at the end of study of
the topic, or by a combination of both approaches:
• Quantitative and qualitative data in education; the dominance of statistics (eg exam
results, league tables).
• Positivist and interpretivist approaches as applied to education.
• Issues, strengths and limitations and examples of the application to the study of education
of the main sources of data studied (see Sociological Methods section):
o questionnaires
o interviews (formal/structured; informal/unstructured)
o participant and non-participant observation
o experiments
o use of documents, official statistics and other secondary data
• The theoretical, practical and ethical considerations influencing choice of topic, choice of
method(s) and the conduct of research on education.
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It’s essential you
keep your eye on
the time.
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Theory – summary.
1. From a Functionalist perspective, education performs the following
functions:
•
Developing and reinforcing social solidarity;
•
Providing the skills and knowledge required for a specialised division of
labour;
•
Developing value consensus and preparing young people for adult roles;
•
Assessing young people in terms of their talents and abilities and allocating
them to appropriate roles in the wider society.
2. From a Marxist perspective, education:
•
Transmits ruling class ideology;
•
Prepares pupils for their role in the workplace;
•
Legitimises inequality and disguises exploitation;
•
Rewards conformity and obedience;
•
Reproduces new generations of workers, schooled to accept their place in
capitalist society.
3. From a feminist perspective, education has promoted, and to some extent still
does promote, male dominance by,
• the use of gendered language and gender stereotypes;
• leaving women out from the curriculum – concentrating more on men;
• Defining certain subjects as ‘girls’ subjects’ and others as ‘boys’ subjects’;
• Discriminating against female students in terms of grammar school, further
and higher education places.
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Theory – summary.
4. From a Social Democratic perspective, education:
• should provide every young person with an equal chance to develop their
talents and abilities;
• this will benefit society as a whole by producing economic growth;
• however, social class is a barrier to equality of educational opportunity.
5. According to neo-liberal / New Right perspectives, the role of education is to
instil drive, initiative and enterprise. This will come from:
• competition between schools and colleges;
• motivating teachers to improve standards;
• providing parents and students with a choice of schools and colleges.
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Theory – concepts.
Functionalist concepts:
Concept
Definition
Social solidarity
Specialised division of
labour
Secondary socialization
Value consensus
Collective conscience
Individual achievement
Equality of opportunity
Role allocation
Meritocracy
Focal socializing agency
Particularistic
standards
Universalistic standards
Ascribed status
Achieved status
Differential reward for
differential
achievement
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Theory – concepts.
Marxist concepts:
Concept
Definition
Ruling class ideology
Legitimation of
inequality
Correspondence
principle / theory
Social reproduction
Counter(anti)-school
culture
Hidden curriculum
Fragmentation
Myth of meritocracy
Shop-floor culture
Penetrations
Ideological state
apparatus
Subservient workforce
Acceptance of
hierarchy
‘Jug and mug’ principle
Motivation by external
rewards
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Theory – concepts.
Social democratic concepts:
Concept
Definition
Vocational education
Meritocracy
New Right / Neo-Liberal concepts:
Concept
Definition
Welfare dependency
Public choice theorists
Competition
Voucher system
League tables
Marketization
Cream-skimming
Globalization
Postmodern concepts:
Concept
Definition
Metanarratives
Cultural pluralism
Decentring of
knowledge
Decentring of the self
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1858-1917
He wrote
Moral Education
(1961)
A structuralist, macro approach to the role of
education in society.
KEY CONCEPT: Social solidarity
SUMMARY OF THEORY:
* A major function of education is transmission of society’s norms and values.
* Without similar attitudes in people, social life would be impossible.
* Education, particularly the teaching of history, provides links between the
individual and society. Children will come to see that they are part of something
larger than themselves they will develop a sense of commitment to the social
group.
* School makes children learn to co-operate with other members of society
besides friends and family, it is like a mini society.
* Education also teaches children skills for their future roles.
RESEARCH METHOD: this was what we call ‘Armchair theorising’ because
Durkheim didn’t actually carry out empirical research…he was simply expressing
his opinion based on his functionalist beliefs.
WEAKNESSES: Durkheim assumes the norms and values transmitted by the
education system are those of society as a whole, rather than those of a ruling
elite or ruling class.
11
He wrote
The school as a social system
(1961)
A structuralist, macro
approach to the role of
education in society.
KEY CONCEPTS: Focal socializing agency; particularistic and universalistic
standards; ascribed/achieved status; meritocracy; role allocation.
SUMMARY OF THEORY:
[ School acts as a bridge between the family and society, preparing children
for their adult roles.
[ School prepares children for the transition between their particularistic
standards and ascribed status of the family to the universalistic standards and
achieved status of society.
[ Status is achieved on the basis of merit (or worth).
[ Advanced, industrial society requires a highly motivated, achievementorientated workforce. By using the principle of differential reward for differential
achievement, this value is instilled in a society.
[ Schools match children to occupations based on aptitude and achievement.
RESEARCH METHOD: this was what we call ‘Armchair theorising’ because
Parsons didn’t actually carry out empirical research, he was simply expressing his
opinion based on his functionalist beliefs.
WEAKNESSES: The idea of meritocracy is undermined by the statistical patterns
which show that not all children have equal chances of success. Like Durkheim,
Parsons fail to recognise that the value consensus may be that of the ruling elite.
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MOCK EXAM QUESTIONS ON FUNCTIONALIST THEORIES OF THE ROLE
OF EDUCATION IN SOCIETY.
1 Read Item A below and answer parts (a) to (d) that follow.
Item A
According to functionalists, the education system encourages open
competition while giving everyone an equal chance to succeed. As a
result, all pupils can show what they are capable of achieving and what
kind of future work role they are best suited for. The system is then able
to provide each child with an education appropriate to their talents and
to fit each individual with the knowledge, skills and attitudes they will
need in their adult role.
Functionalists see this as having two main advantages. For the
individual, it allows social mobility and rewards people according to
their ability, not their social background. For society, it promotes a
successful economy by ensuring each job is filled by someone with the
appropriate talents. This leads to higher living standards for everyone.
(a) Explain what is meant by differential reward for differential
achievement. (2 marks)
(b) Suggest three criticisms that could be made of Functionalist views of
education. (6 marks)
(c) Outline the ways in which education integrates individuals into
society’s shared culture. (12 marks)
(d) Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the view that the
function of the education system is to select and prepare individuals
for their future work roles. (20 marks)
MQP(i)
He wrote
for marx. 1969.
A structuralist, macro approach to the role of
education in a capitalist society.
KEY CONCEPTS: ideological state apparatus.
SUMMARY OF THEORY:
* In modern society the education system has largely replaced the
church as the main agency for ideological control.
* The ruling class cannot hold power for long simply by the use of force.
Ideological control through influencing the way people think, is the
most effective way for the ruling class to maintain power over the
subject class.
* Schools transmit an ideology which states that capitalism is just and
reasonable.
* Schools prepare pupils to accept their future exploitation.
* Pupils who become managers and decision makers through their
qualifications which legitimate their power over others.
RESEARCH METHOD: this was what we call ‘Armchair theorising’
because Althusser didn’t actually carry out empirical research, he was
simply expressing his opinion based on his Marxist beliefs.
WEAKNESSES: his work lacks empirical support.
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They wrote
Schooling in capitalist america.
1976.
A structuralist, macro approach to
the role of education in a capitalist
society.
KEY CONCEPTS: Correspondence principle; hidden curriculum; subservient
workforce; acceptance of hierarchy; ‘jug and mug’ principle; fragmentation;
myth of meritocracy; motivation by external rewards.
SUMMARY OF THEORY:
* There is close correspondence between the ways in which people and
children are treated in the workplace and the school. This is to get children
used to their future exploitation. It achieves this through the hidden
curriculum.
* By maintaining power over children, teachers are training children to
become a subservient and docile workforce who will not challenge the
power of capitalism.
* The fragmentation of the school day and subjects corresponds to the
fragmentation of the workforce. By keeping workers unaware of the overall
running of a business, they cannot use this knowledge to set up in
competition.
RESEARCH METHOD: they conducted a study based on 237 members of the
senior year in a New York high school.
WEAKNESSES: Trunacy rates and behavioural issues show children are not
docile and unquestionning. Also, can we apply findings of the American
education system to the British one?
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He wrote
learning to labour. 1979.
(humanist)
A structuralist, macro approach to the role
of education in a capitalist society.
However, Willis used a micro approach to
examine experiences of school.
KEY CONCEPTS: counter-school culture; shop-floor culture; penetrations.
SUMMARY OF THEORY:
* There isn’t a simple relationship between the economy and the education
system; students are active participants – some of whom choose to fail.
* ‘The lads’ formed their own friendship group which had a counter-school
culture which was against the values of the school and doing well. They focused
on ‘having a laff’ to cope with the boredom they felt at school & in work. But
they clearly just try to cope with tedium and oppression instead of actively
challenging it.
RESEARCH METHOD: As well as drawing upon Marxist sociology, Willis used
some of the research techniques of interactionism and micro theory. His
ethnographic method used observation in class, recorded discussions, informal
interviews and diaries. He focused on 12 working class lads in their last 18
months at school and their first few months at work.
WEAKNESSES: unrepresentative sample size which focuses only on male
experiences.
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MOCK EXAM QUESTIONS ON MARXIST THEORIES OF THE ROLE OF
EDUCATION IN SOCIETY.
1 Read Item A below and answer parts (a) to (d) that follow.
Item A
Marxist sociologists believe that the primary role of education is simply
to reproduce the existing class system. However, they disagree as to
how this occurs. For example, Bowles and Gintis believe that it is the
product of the hidden curriculum and the correspondence principle,
namely that schooling in capitalist society mirrors the world of work. By
contrast, Paul Willis believes that working-class pupils end up in
working-class jobs because they actively reject the values of the school.
Another Marxist, Pierre Bourdieu, argued that reproduction occurs
because the middle class possess cultural capital, which they are able to
turn into educational success because schools are themselves middle
class institutions. Although Bourdieu can be described as a Marxist,
there are similarities with Bernstein’s ideas about the role of restricted
and elaborated speech codes in producing unequal educational
achievement.
(a) Explain what is meant by cultural capital. (2 marks)
(b) Suggest three criticisms that could be made of Marxist views of
education. (6 marks)
(c) Outline the ways in which schooling in capitalist society may mirror
the world of work. (12 marks)
(d) Using material from Item A and elsewhere assess the different
functions that the education system may perform for individuals and
society, according to Marxism. (20 marks)
MQP(ii)
Competitive advantage &
parental choice. 1994.
“My teacher said that the
school has tough new
standards and I need to
improve my vocabulary.
What’s vocabulary?”
Their focus was to examine the effects of parental
choice and competition between schools on the
education system and opportunities for students
from different social groups.
KEY CONCEPTS: privileged/skilled choosers, semi-skilled choosers, disconnected choosers.
FINDINGS OF STUDY:
•The use of school league tables, open enrolment & formula funding (bums on seats) had a
number of consequences for education. This was because schools wanted to attract and
select more ‘able’ students to boost their place on the table and their reputation.
• “There is a shift of emphasis from student needs to student performance, from what the
school can do for the students to what the students can do for the school.”
• Shift in values from comprehensive and social justice to market values, money and
reputation. There was also suspicion and hostility between schools now.
• They examined parental choice and found that it was limited by availability of schools and
ability of parents (in terms of their motivation and money).
• Found three types of parents when it came to choosing schools:
i) Privileged/skilled choosers – had strong motivation and skills to fight for the ‘best’ school,
had money to move to catchment area or pay for private school. More than likely to be
middle class with university education.
ii) Semi-skilled choosers – strong motivation but little ability to ‘engage with the market’.
Lack social contacts & cultural skills to fight for the best choice. Less likely to appeal if their
children are rejected from their first choice. More thank likely to be working class and to
choose local school.
iii) Disconnected choosers – not involved & don’t see it as important, more than likely to
choose the nearest school. More concerned with their children’s happiness than their
academic performance. More likely to be working and underclass.
RESEARCH METHOD: conducted surveys of 15 schools in 3 neighbouring Local Education
Authorities (LEAs). Mix of LEA controlled schools, grant maintained schools, two church
schools & a City Technology College. There was a mix of middle and working class schools
and areas of high to no ethnic variety. Attended meetings, interviewed head teachers,
parents and teachers. Examined a variety of documents about patterns of choice.
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MOCK EXAM QUESTIONS ON NEW RIGHT THEORIES OF THE ROLE OF
EDUCATION IN SOCIETY.
1 Read Item A below and answer parts (a) to (d) that follow.
Item A
Writers from a New Right perspective have suggested that giving more
power to schools and to parents will help drive up standards as schools
compete to provide a better service. This means allowing schools to
decide their spending priorities and allowing them more control over
what type of pupils they admit. They propose giving more power to
parents so that they can force schools to be more responsive to
parents’ wishes. They point to the academic success of many private
schools and suggest that this is due to the fact that they are answerable
to their customers, the parents.
Alternatively, Gewirtz (1995) suggests that increased competition
between schools has mainly benefited middle-class pupils and parents
because they have the means to gain access to the best schools. This
means that the more academically successful schools attract middleclass parents and pupils who have cultural and material advantages.
(a) Explain what is meant by marketization? (2 marks)
(b) Suggest three criticisms that could be made of New Right views of
education. (6 marks)
(c) Outline some of the policies introduced by governments to create
an education market in the United Kingdom. (12 marks)
(d) Using material from Item 1C and elsewhere, assess the extent to
which policies of encouraging competition between schools and
increasing parental choice have improved the achievement of
working-class pupils. (20 marks)
MQP(iii)
Differential achievement SOCIAL CLASS – summary.
1. Class, ethnicity and gender make a difference to educational attainment.
Class makes the greatest difference.
2. The following explanations have been given to explain why pupils with
working class backgrounds are less successful:
a) Material deprivation – a lack of money and the things that money can buy
(extra tuition, books, trips etc);
b) A lack of encouragement, stimulation and interest from parents that
probably had negative experiences of education.
c) Working-class subculture with its emphasis on fatalism, present-time
orientation and immediate gratification.
d) Cultural deprivation – an absence of the norms, values and skills needed for
high attainment. This view has been strongly criticised.
e) The use of the elaborated speech code in schools which disadvantages many
working class pupils;
f)
A lack of cultural capital. According to Diane Reay, it is mothers who have the
main influence on their children’s education. Their effectiveness largely
depends on the amount of cultural capital at their disposal. Middle class
mothers have most.
g) A lack of social capital. Ball’s research argues that social capital is vital when
choosing schools. Middle class mothers with wide social networks, have
most.
h) In general, students with larger amounts of cultural and social capital will
choose to attend the more prestigious universities.
i)
Middle-class pupils are more likely to be placed in higher streams, workingclass pupils in lower streams. In general, research indicates that streaming
and setting have little or no affect on pupils’ achievement. However, they
may raise attainment in the top groups and lower it in the bottom sets.
j)
What does have an effect is a tendency to enter more working-class pupils
for lower level exams, so denying them the opportunity to obtain the top
grades.
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Differential achievement SOCIAL CLASS – concepts.
Concept
Definition
Material deprivation
Cultural deprivation
Social deprivation /
exclusion
Social class subcultures
Restricted code
Elaborated code
Dominant culture
Cultural capital
Social capital
Fatalism
Immediate gratification
Present-time
orientation
Collectivism
Particularistic meanings
Universalistic meanings
Compensatory
education
Education Action Zones
Cultural reproduction
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Differential achievement SOCIAL CLASS – concepts.
Concept
Definition
Habitus
Elimination
Poverty penalty
Parental interest
Skilled choosers
Semi-skilled choosers
Unskilled choosers
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He wrote
the home and the school. 1964.
JWB Douglas was
interested in the
effect of social class
on educational
attainment.
KEY CONCEPTS: Parental interest.
SUMMARY OF THEORY:
* He found that children from lower working class backgrounds were
less likely to stay on at school while more affluent children were more
likely to take their A levels.
* He related educational success to student’s health, size of family and
quality of the school. Poorer children are more likely to come from big
families, attend poorer schools and to be less healthy.
* Middle class parents were more likely to encourage their children to
succeed and socialize them more effectively to achieve in education.
RESEARCH METHOD: Longitudinal study of 5,362 children born in the
first week of March 1946, which continued until they were 16 in 1962.
Participants were divided into groups in terms of their ability which was
measured by IQ tests. They were sub-divided into four social class
groups.
WEAKNESSES: IQ tests are unreliable, cultural capital misrepresents
ability of working class children, high drop out rate common in
longitudinal studies.
19
He wrote
social class, values and behaviour in
schools.
1970.
Barry Sugarman took a subcultural approach to the study
of the relationship between
class and education.
KEY CONCEPTS: fatalism; immediate gratification; present-time
orientation; deferred gratification; collectivism.
SUMMARY OF THEORY:
* Because middle class occupations provided more opportunity for
advancement (promotion), such families had an attitude of deferred
gratification. Their children were therefore socialized into these values
and did better in school as they valued long-term goals.
* Working class socialization emphasised present-time orientation and
immediate gratification as their work did not allow the same
opportunities for advancement. Therefore working class children didn’t
have the attitude to stick with education and wanted to earn money
instead. They were more focused on collectivism (through parents’
Trade Union involvement), than individual achievement.
RESEARCH METHODS: used interviews & questionnaires.
WEAKNESSES: social class differences in response to interviews &
questionnaires may not reflect what happens in ‘real life’.
20
He wrote
social class & linguistic
development.
1961.
He used an experimental approach
to make links between language and
educational achievement.
KEY CONCEPTS: elaborated code; restricted code.
SUMMARY OF THEORY:
* He found that working class children tended to speak in a restricted
code which had limited expression and implicit meaning. It also had
limited grammatical complexity, vocabulary & are a kind of short-hand
speech.
* Middle class children tended to use the elaborated code is more
detailed and the meanings are more clear through the use of more
specific vocabulary.
* Because education relies on an elaborated code as its common mode
of communication, working class children are disadvantaged in terms of
their understanding & expression.
* Middle class jobs tend to demand the use of more elaborated codes
while working class jobs, often manual do not rely on verbal expression
or complex language.
RESEARCH METHOD: one method was when he used two 5 year old
boys to explain a series of four pictures.
WEAKNESSES: the method is hardly representative. Rosen argues
Bernstein has a very simplistic approach to class. There is little sound
evidence for his claims.
21
He wrote
the school as a conservative force.
1974.
He had a Marxist perspective towards
the education system and saw it as an
agent of social control for the benefit
of capitalism.
KEY CONCEPTS: cultural capital; cultural reproduction.
SUMMARY OF THEORY:
* Bourdieu argued that working class failure is the fault of the
education system and not working class culture. The education system
is biased towards the culture of the dominant social classes and
devalues the knowledge and skills of the working class.
* The possession of the dominant culture by an individual is referred to
as cultural capital because, via the education system, this can be
translated into wealth and power. (Success in education = superior
qualifications = professional and powerful occupations/careers).
RESEARCH METHOD: the theory of cultural capital was developed on a
theoretical, therefore non-empirical basis, by Bourdieu and his
colleagues at the Centre for European Sociology in Paris.
WEAKNESSES: this theory does not have any empirical basis as
Bourdieu’s work was purely theoretical.
22
Class Work; Mothers’ InvolveMent In theIr
ChIldrens’ PrIMary sChoolIng. (1998).
Reay used the concept of ‘cultural
capital’ in the more practical setting of
primary education.
KEY CONCEPTS: cultural capital; material capital.
SUMMARY OF THEORY:
* Reay found that “it is mothers who are making cultural capital work
for their children”. She found that the amount of cultural capital
possessed by middle class mothers meant that their children succeeded
more in education that their working class peers. Reay ascribes this to
cultural capital.
* Middle class mothers had the knowledge and skills to help their
children more effectively with homework and to challenge the school
and negotiate with teachers for the benefit of their children.
* Middle class mothers could afford to have domestic help (giving them
more time for their children) and pay for private tutors.
RESEARCH METHOD: Reay interviewed mothers of 33 children at two
primary schools in London.
STRENGTHS: Provides the empirical support for Bourdieu’s cultural
capital theory.
WEAKNESSES: Based on a London sample of the mothers of a relatively
small group; not representative of whole population.
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MOCK EXAM QUESTIONS ON DIFFERENTIAL EDUCATIONAL
ACHIEVEMENT DUE TO SOCIAL CLASS.
1 Read Item A below and answer parts (a) to (d) that follow.
Item A
Most sociologists see material deprivation as a major cause of underachievement. However, according to cultural deprivation theory, some
working class and ethnic minority children fail because their parents do
not socialise them into the appropriate norms, values and skills. For
example, Douglas (1964) found that many working class parents were
uninterested in their children’s progress and did little to support their
education; they failed to attend parents’ evening, did not help them
with their homework and did not read to them.
As a result, such children are poorly equipped to take advantage of
educational opportunities. For cultural deprivation theorists,
government and educational bodies need to introduce policies to
remedy the situation and give such children the chance to succeed.
However, while cultural deprivation has been used to explain class and
ethnic differences in achievement, most sociologists consider that
when it comes to gender, other factors are more important, particularly
as the pattern of achievement has changed rapidly in recent years, with
girls now generally out-performing boys at all levels of schooling.
(a) Explain what is meant by material deprivation. (2 marks)
(b) Identify three features of the restricted speech code. (6 marks)
(c) Outline some of the cultural differences between the classes that
may explain class differences in achievement. (12 marks)
(d) Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the view that
working class underachievement in education is the result of home
circumstances and family background. (20 marks)
MQP(iv)
Differential achievement GENDER – summary.
1. The educational performance of females has improved significantly since the
1980s. They have overtaken males at every level from primary to higher
education.
2. Overall, the performance of males has also improved, but at a slower rate.
3. The following reasons have been suggested for the improvement in female
performance:
a) Changes in attitudes – eg, increasing concern with financial independence
for which they need a career and hence qualifications;
b) Changes in the labour market – more women in the workplace;
c) Changes in marriage – rising divorce rate and growth of lone-parent families
further instil the idea that women need to be financially independent;
d) Changes within schools – eg, reduction of gender bias and more senior
female teachers;
e) Changes in society – risk, uncertainty and individualisation all make girls
think more about their lives and their prospects; they need to look out for
themselves and give themselves the best chance to get on in life.
4. The following reasons have been suggested for the relatively low attainment
of boys, particularly some working class boys:
a) The threat to working class masculinity resulting from the reduction in
traditional working class jobs and the growth in female headed families;
b) The development of an anti-school culture which rejects the values of the
school and helps rebuild a masculine identity in a society in which they feel
pretty useless, particularly as obsolete breadwinners in the family;
c) The spread of laddish behaviour as a response to the fear and shame of
failure.
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Differential achievement GENDER – concepts.
Concept
Definition
Gendered language
Stereotype
Curriculum
Early socialization
Girls’ aspirations
Sexism
Subject choice
Three Fs
Crisis in masculinity
Deindustrialization
Individualization
Risk / uncertainty
Hegemonic masculinity
Subordinated
masculinities
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Differential achievement GENDER – concepts.
Concept
Definition
The ‘poor boys’
discourse
The ‘boys will be boys’
discourse
The ‘problem boys’
discourse
The ‘at-risk’ discourse
The ‘macho lads’
The ‘academic
achievers’
The ‘new enterprisers’
The ‘real Englishmen’
Women’s movement
26
She wrote
Just Like a Girl. 1994
A structuralist, macro approach to the
role of education in a patriarchal
society.
KEY CONCEPTS: Girls’ aspirations.
SUMMARY OF THEORY:
* The sample of girls interviewed in the 1970s expressed a preference
for feminised jobs such as nursing and shop assistants and their roles as
wives and mothers while the sample from the 1990s stated they were
more career focused in traditionally male sectors.
* Girls from the 1990s were also more focused on their financial
independence from men and were more likely to see education as a
means to this financial independence because it gives them greater
opportunities to secure a career.
RESEARCH METHOD: this was a longitudinal, comparative study which
used an interview technique to elicit qualitative data. By using two
samples from two different time periods, Sharpe was able to show how
there had been changes in girls’ aspirations.
WEAKNESSES: was her sample representative of the British population
of young females?
27
He wrote
The making of men;
masculinities, sexualities
and schooling. 1994.
Because Mac an Ghaill used interviews to
gather qualitative research, he has used a
micro perspective. He does not seem to have
a clear theoretical focus.
KEY CONCEPTS: Crisis in masculinity; Laddism, the Three F’s, the New
Enterprisers, the Real Englishmen, the Academic Achievers, the Macho
Lads.
SUMMARY OF THEORY:
* Mac an Ghaill found four subcultures of male students at the school
he examined.
* The ‘Macho Lads’ were into the three F’s, they also had a clear
counter-school culture, not doing homework & answering back. The
‘Academic Achievers’ were mainly Asian or white from skilled working
class homes who were ridiculed by others. The ‘New Enterprisers’ were
focused on future jobs.
* The ‘Real Englishmen’ had a superior attitude and felt they had to
work very little to achieve high results.
RESEARCH METHOD: an ethnographic study of a school, using
interviews to gather qualitative data.
WEAKNESSES: Not representative of the wider British population of
male students.
28
They wrote an article in;
Sociology Review; Volume 8. No 1.
Mitsos and Browne analysed a
range of secondary sources; other
research and statistics.
KEY CONCEPTS: Women’s movement; laddism.
SUMMARY OF THEORY:
* Girls’ achievement has increased for a number of reasons including;
women’s movement raising the expectations of girls, effort in schools to
include girls in non-traditional subjects, increase in feminised service
sector opportunities, girls’ greater maturity and motivation to do well.
* Boys’ achievement has suffered because teachers may be less strict
with boys, they are more disruptive (exclusion), laddism emphasises
counter-school culture, decline in manual work, overestimation of their
ability, non-academic leisure pursuits.
RESEARCH METHOD: they analysed a wide range of secondary data,
including statistics (quantitative data).
WEAKNESSES: they sometimes fail to give references to the relevant
research which makes it difficult to evaluate how well-founded their
claims are.
29
MOCK EXAM QUESTIONS ON DIFFERENTIAL EDUCATIONAL
ACHIEVEMENT DUE TO GENDER.
1 Read Item A below and answer parts (a) to (d) that follow.
Item A
In general, girls now outperform boys in education. For example, girls
are more successful in tests at 7, 11 and 14, and at GCSE. This continues
at AS and A level, where girls do better than boys even in so-called
“boys’ subjects”. For example, girls are now more likely than boys to
gain A, B and C grades even in subjects such as maths, physics and
chemistry. More females than males now enter higher education.
Yet other gender differences remain. Girls are more likely to opt for
languages, literature and social sciences at A level; on vocational
courses, few boys opt for hairdressing and few girls choose
construction.
In addition, the everyday experiences of girls and boys in school can
differ greatly. Both teachers and other pupils may apply unequal
standards and expectations to the behaviour of girls and boys, and use
different sanctions and forms of control when these expectations
appear not to be met.
(a) Explain what is meant by crisis in masculinity (2 marks)
(b) Suggest three reasons which might explain why boys tend to do less
well than girls in school. (6 marks)
(c) Outline some of the reasons why gender influences subject choice.
(12 marks)
(d) Using material from Item 1A and elsewhere, assess sociological
explanations of gender differences in education. (20 marks)
MQP(v)
Differential achievement ETHNICITY – summary.
1. There are significant differences in the educational attainment of ethnic
groups. However, these differences change over time – eg, over the past 20
years – and vary from one level to another – eg, from secondary to higher.
2. The following factors outside the school have been seen to affect ethnic
differences in attainment:
a) Social class – affects the attainment of all ethnic groups, but its influence
varies from one group to the next. Ethnic minority groups are most likely to
be working class. White students appear most affected by class.
b) Cultural factors – there is evidence that cultural factors, such as the value
parents place on education and peer group subcultures, may partly account
for ethnic differences in attainment.
3. The following factors within schools have been seen to affect ethnic
differences in attainment:
a) Racism – particularly directed against African Caribbean students;
b) Discrimination in setting;
c) Discrimination in everyday class interaction – there may be racist students.
30
Differential achievement ETHNICITY – concepts.
Concept
Definition
Prejudice
Discrimination
Racism
Ethnocentric
curriculum
Educational triage
Street culture
Conformists
Innovators
Retreatists
Rebels
Ethnocentrism
Myth of
underachievement
Teacher expectations
Black masculinity
‘Overt Racists’
‘The Christians’
‘The Crusaders’
‘The Liberal
Chauvenists’
31
Early Education: Multi-Racial
Primary School Classrooms.
(1992).
Wright used an ethnographic method to
investigate the issue of race in education.
KEY CONCEPTS: ethnocentrism; labelling.
SUMMARY OF THEORY:
* Despite the fact that “the vast majority of staff… seemed genuinely
committed to the ideals of equality of educational opportunity”, Wright
found many instances of discrimination in the classroom.
* Many Asian children were excluded from group discussions because
teachers assumed they wouldn’t understand the language. Asian girls
received less attention and were treated with resentment on account
of cultural differences; particularly in PE lessons.
* Teachers expected Afro-Caribbean children to fail, were negatively
labelled and criticised for behaviour exhibited by white children which
was left unchallenged.
RESEARCH METHOD: an ethnographic study of four multi-racial innercity primary schools; observation of 970 pupils and 57 staff; interviews
with staff and head teachers; interviews with parents of children and
examination of test results in three of the four schools.
STRENGTHS: extremely thorough method which provides
representative empirical support.
32
Race, Ethnicity and
education: Teaching and
Learning in Multi-Ethnic
Schools. 1990.
Gillborn used an ethnographic method to
investigate the issue of race in education.
KEY CONCEPTS: labelling.
SUMMARY OF THEORY:
* He found that the vast majority of teachers tried to treat students
fairly. However, they interpreted the actions of Afro-Caribbean students
as threatening and responded by punishing them. This leads to
negative labelling which can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy and
ultimately, failure.
* Afro-Caribbean students were more likely to be punished than white
students for the same behaviours.
* Gillborn found considerable tension between black students and
white teachers.
RESEARCH METHOD: Gillborn spend a total of two years studying an
inner-city comprehensive school. He gathered qualitative data from
carrying out classroom observations and interviews with students and
teachers.
WEAKNESSES: Unrepresentative sample; just studying one inner-city
comprehensive school.
33
Young, gifted and black. 1988.
Mac an Ghaill used an
ethnographic method to
investigate the issue of race in
education.
KEY CONCEPTS: counter-school culture; labelling.
SUMMARY OF THEORY:
* Mac an Ghaill found that the system of streaming worked by putting
boys into lower sets who were exhibiting poor behaviour; not poor
ability. There was a disproportionate amount of Afro-Caribbean boys in
the lower sets.
* “There are boys of relatively high ability in the lower sets, especially
among the West Indians. I’ve told you before Johnson and Brian were
marvellous at Maths, especially problem-solving. But it’s their … it’s the
West Indians’ attitude and that must decide it in the end. You can’t
promote a boy who is known to be a troublemaker, who’s a dodger. It
will look like a reward for bad behaviour.” (A teacher from the sample
interviewed).
* Mac an Ghaill found that many African-Caribbean students responded
to this by forming a counter-school culture, called the ‘Rasta Heads’.
This rejected the school’s norms and values and was clearly focused on
race.
RESEARCH METHOD: ethnographic study of a boys’ comprehensive
school; interviews with pupils and teachers.
WEAKNESSES: unrepresentative to use one school.
34
Coming of Age in 1980s
England: Reconceptualizing
BlaCk students’ exPerIenCes.
(1992).
Mac an Ghaill used an ethnographic method to investigate the issue
of race in education.
KEY CONCEPTS: labelling; survival strategies.
SUMMARY OF THEORY:
* His research found that ethnic-minority students’ attitudes to
education were influenced by their ethnic group, their gender and the
class mix of their previous schools.
* Students who had attended working class inner-city schools said their
teachers had expected them to fail.
* Gender was clearly an issue. “The teachers treated black boys much
worse than Asians and whites. Like, if we were standing together, they
would break us up, saying gangs were bad. But they didn’t seem to feel
threatened in the same way with Asian and white boys.”
* Some students felt teachers saw Asian girls as having more academic
potential than Black girls.
RESEARCH METHOD: an ethnographic study of 25 African-Caribbean
and Asian students doing A levels in a sixth form college in the
Midlands (1986-1988). Observation and interviews with students,
parents and teachers.
STRENGTHS: thorough method which attempts a multi-dimensional
understanding (verstehen) of actors’ perspectives.
35
Young, Female and Black.
(1992).
Mirza used a feminist approach
to examine issues of racial
identity among female
students.
KEY CONCEPTS: myth of under-achievement.
SUMMARY OF THEORY:
•Mirza argues there is a ‘myth of under-achievement’ for black women.
The girls in her sample performed better in exams than black boys and
white pupils. Educational achievements of women are underestimated. Despite being negatively labelled by teachers, Mirza found
the girls actively resisted the label and were not undermined.
• Mirza identified types of teachers; ‘overt racists’; ‘the Christians’; ‘the
Crusaders’ and ‘the liberal chauvinists’. There was also a small group of
black teachers who showed no preference for any racial group.
RESEARCH METHOD: an ethnographic study of 198 young women and
men, including 62 black women aged 15-19 who were the main focus
of the study. She researched two comprehensive schools in south
London. Mirza used classroom observation, questionnaires to obtain
basic data, informal interviews with sample and parents. Also used
school records and exam results. Also did three detailed case studies.
STRENGTHS: thorough method which attempts a multi-dimensional
understanding (verstehen) of actors’ perspectives.
WEAKNESSES: assumes all white teachers are racist.
36
Racism, Gender Identities
and Young Children. 1998.
Connolly used an ethnographic
method to investigate the issue
of race in education.
KEY CONCEPTS: teacher expectations.
SUMMARY OF THEORY:
* Black boys were heavily criticised by teachers, seen as being in danger of turning into
violent criminals. ‘Bad Boys’ based their behaviour on hyper-masculinity and gained status
from their peers through toughness, football and kiss-chase.
* Black girls were labelled by their teachers as only being good as sport and music. They
were also seen as disruptive. The girls challenged poor behaviour towards themselves.
* South Asian boys were seen as non-challenging and therefore passive and conforming.
Peers saw them as feminised. They had a hard time gaining any peer status but teachers had
high expectations of them.
* South Asian girls were seen as the most obedient and hard working. Teachers expected
them to get on with it without any support. High status in terms of academic achievement
but low status among peer group – cultural differences meant they couldn’t be involved in
kiss-chase.
RESEARCH METHOD: an ethnographic study of 3 classes of 5-6 year olds
in multi-ethnic primary school. Observations of lessons, interviews with
parents, staff, governors, group interviews with children, examined
secondary data.
STRENGTHS: thorough method which attempts a multi-dimensional
understanding (verstehen) of actors’ perspectives, also draws on
secondary data from school.
37
Black masculinities
and schooling. 1997.
Sewell focused on a group of black
students in a boys’ 11-16
comprehensive school. He wanted to
investigate the relationship between
family life, their identity, street life
and how their schooling fitted in with
all this.
KEY CONCEPTS: street culture, black masculinity, conformists, innovators,
retreatists, rebels.
FINDINGS OF HIS STUDY:
• There was a high proportion of the sample of black boys who were raised by a single
mother. Sewell argued that, lacking the disciplinarian figure of a father, made these black
boys more susceptible to peer group pressure.
• Many were drawn into gang life which focused on an aggressive and macho form of
masculinity which rejected authority from teachers and police and provided them with a
‘comfort zone’. Gangsta rap and fashion simply reinforces and validates their behaviour.
• Sewell identified four types of black students; 1) Conformists – largest group, saw
education as route to success; 2) Innovators – anti-school but tried to keep out of trouble;
3) Retreatists – loners who often had special educational needs; 4) Rebels – rejected
education and felt rejected by racist attitudes in and out of school, they were
confrontational and challenging and brought black street culture into school.
RESEARCH METHOD: qualitative – interviews.
WEAKNESSES: He has been accused of blaming black kids, their fathers and the
black community for their underachievement while ignoring the role of racism in
society.
38
MOCK EXAM QUESTIONS ON DIFFERENTIAL EDUCATIONAL
ACHIEVEMENT DUE TO ETHNICITY.
1 Read Item A below and answer parts (a) to (d) that follow.
Item A
According to Tony Sewell (1998), one reason for the under-achievement
of black boys is labelling by teachers who hold racist stereotypes of the
‘black macho lad’. According to this stereotype, all black boys are antischool and resentful of authority. Teachers see them as not equipped to
learn and they leave school with few qualifications. However, Sewell
found that only a small minority of black boys in fact belonged to such a
‘rebel’ subculture. Most either accepted the school’s goals or were
opposed to the school but still wanted to achieve.
Sewell also argues that factors outside school play a part in underachievement. These include the absence of fathers in some black
families and the image of the ultra-tough ghetto superstar put forward
as a role model by commercial youth culture.
(a) Explain what is meant by ethnocentric curriculum. (2 marks)
(b) Suggest three examples of how the curriculum and / or the ways
school is organised may be ethnocentric. (6 marks)
(c) Outline some of the ways in which subculture can impact on the
educational achievement of different ethnic groups. (12 marks)
(d) Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess sociological
explanations of ethnic differences in educational achievement.
(20 marks)
MQP(vi)
Relationships and processes within schools – summary.
1.
The hidden curriculum transmits messages to pupils which are not spelled out. It
consists of ideas, beliefs, norms and values which are embedded in the normal
routines and procedures of school life.
2.
From a functionalist view, the transmission of society’s core values can be seen as
part of the hidden curriculum.
3.
From a Marxist view, social reproduction and the transmission of ruling class
ideology are part of the hidden curriculum.
4.
Pupil subcultures can reflect:
•
Neighbourhood subcultures;
•
Ability groupings within the school;
•
A combination of both.
5. Pupil subcultures are influenced by:
•
Social class; gender and ethnicity.
6. The way teachers define, classify and evaluate pupils can affect pupils’ behaviour
and teacher –pupil relationships.
7.
Teachers’ evaluation of and relationship with pupils is affected by their perception
of pupils’ ability.
8.
Teachers’ views of ability are affected by pupils’;
•
Social class; gender and ethnicity.
9.
There are two main types of teaching groups – ability groups and mixed ability
groups.
10. Research indicates that in general, ability groups, eg sets or streams, compared
with mixed ability groups have no significant effect on overall attainment.
11. However, there is some evidence that higher ability groups increase attainment
levels and lower ability groups decrease attainment levels.
12. The pressure in schools to improve exam results has led to an increase in setting.
13. Setting for exams can have a real effect on attainment – for example, placing
students in sets for GCSE foundation tiers denies them any opportunity of
achieving the higher grades.
39
Relationships and processes within schools – concepts.
Concept
Definition
Pupil subcultures
Differentiation
Polarisation
Ability groups
Setting
Streaming
Banding
Mixed ability groups
Tiered exams
Counter school culture
Labelling
Self fulfilling prophecy
Self concept
40
Relationships and processes within schools – concepts.
Concept
Definition
Typing
Speculation
Working hypothesis
Elaboration
Stabilization
Survival strategies
Pupil adaptations
Typology of
adaptations
41
The social organisation of the high
school and deviant adolescent careers.
1971.
KEY CONCEPTS: labelling.
SUMMARY OF THEORY:
Cicourel used an interactionist and
micro perspective to examine how
students were judged by teachers on
the basis of class.
* Although the ‘counsellors’ claimed that they used exam grades and IQ
tests as a way of classifying students’ achievement, Cicourel and Kitsuse
found that the students’ social class had great implications on their
college careers.
* Students from upper-middle and middle class homes were more likely
to be stereotyped as academic achievers and placed on courses with
more prospects.
* Other factors influenced the ‘counsellors’ impressions of students;
dress, manner, their parents and their conduct.
RESEARCH METHOD: an ethnographic study of how students in
American schools are placed on appropriate courses (like the
Enrollment process).
STRENGTHS: acknowledges reasons why intelligent working class
students can fail in education.
WEAKNESSES: unrepresentative sample which is based on the American
system and is therefore not generalisable to the British population.
42
Pygmalion in the classroom.1968.
Rosenthal and Jacobson used an
interactionist and micro
perspective to explore the selffulfilling prophecy.
KEY CONCEPTS: labelling; self-fulfilling prophecy.
SUMMARY OF THEORY:
* They believed that teachers’ expectations can significantly affect their
pupils’ performance. Based on such definitions or labels, the teacher
makes predictions or prophecies about the achievement of the pupil.
They may expect more from brighter pupils therefore they will
encourage them more.
* The pupils’ self-concepts tend to be shaped by teachers’ definition of
them; if they are defined as bright, pupils’ will act accordingly and the
label will have been fulfilled.
RESEARCH METHOD: they selected a random sample of 20% of the
student population in an elementary school in California. They
informed the teachers that the children selected could be expected to
see rapid intellectual growth. They tested all pupils’ IQ at the beginning
of the experiment. All were tested again after one year and the 20%
sample did in fact show significant improvement.
WEAKNESSES: rather unethical method; what about the 80% who were
relatively unsupported? Sociologists have cast doubt on the plausibility
of the IQ test, stating they were of poor quality. No observations carried
out to check extent of encouragement given to high achieving students.
43
Banding at Beachside
Comprehensive. 1981.
KEY CONCEPTS: banding.
SUMMARY OF THEORY:
Ball used an interactionist and
micro perspective to explore
banding and the self-fulfilling
prophecy.
* Ball found that children were placed in one of three bands in the
school. This was meant to be on the basis of academic ability however,
Ball found other factors were influential.
* Ball found that children whose fathers were non-manual workers
(more likely to be middle class), were more concentrated in the top
band.
* When the pupils first came to the school, all of them were pretty
much conforming. However, they soon became like the stereotypes
applied by their teachers; band three children experienced problems
with learning and band two were the most disruptive.
* Teachers’ expectations of the three different bands had a great
impact: band one pupils were encouraged to have higher aspirations
while band two and three were directed towards more practical and
less prestigious subjects.
RESEARCH METHOD: ethnographic research of a comprehensive school.
WEAKNESSES: not all band two children failed, this weakens the
relationship between banding and performance.
44
Classroom Knowledge.1973.
(In Tinker, Tailor – The Myth of Cultural
Deprivation).
KEY CONCEPTS: streaming.
Keddie used an interactionist and
micro perspective to explore the
relationship between teachers and
pupils.
SUMMARY OF THEORY:
* Nell Keddie's study illustrated the way classroom interaction affects
both the self-perception and performance of children. In the school
she studied, a humanities course was introduced, to be taught to all
pupils of a particular age group. Although the school streamed pupils
on the basis of educational ability, this particular course was designed
to be taught to pupils of all abilities, in mixed-ability classes. Thus,
although the school itself was streamed, no streaming by ability tookplace on this particular course.
* What Keddie found was that teachers brought to the classroom a
range of personal, social and work-related experiences that informed
their perceptions of a child's ability. Thus, the fact that a pupil had
attracted the label as an "A stream" or a "C stream" pupil informed
teacher expectations of the respective abilities of each type of student.
In addition, the way different pupils behaved in the classroom further
served to confirm teacher expectations and behaviour.
RESEARCH METHOD: ethnographic research of a comprehensive school
and a particular humanities course.
STRENGTHS: really showed how labelling theory worked in the
classroom.
45
The Divided School 1979;
KEY CONCEPTS: pupil adaptations; typology of adaptations.
SUMMARY OF THEORY:
* Pupils’ ways of dealing with school life depend on whether they
accept or reject the ethos of the school. Woods identifies 8 different
modes of adaptation to the school;
1) Ingratiation (most positive, ‘teacher’s pets’).
2) Compliance (they just try hard to achieve, not to please).
3) Opportunism (fluctuate between trying to achieve approval of their
teachers and their peers).
4) Ritualists (they turn up, don’t try, but aren’t any trouble).
5) Retreatists (don’t do work, daydream and reject the values of the
school).
6) Colonization (try to keep their nose clean and will cheat if they think
they can get away with it).
7) Intransigence (they reject accepted standards of behaviour, not
bothered about success and aren’t afraid to be caught out).
8) Rebellion (rejection of both the school and its objectives).
RESEARCH METHOD: ethnographic research of a comprehensive school
in a rural area of the Midlands “Lowfield”.
WEAKNESSES: Woods relates his views in a very general way to social
class, but ignores the complexities of interactions between teachers
and pupils in schools.
46
Deviance in Classrooms. 1975.
KEY CONCEPTS: typing, speculation.
Hargreaves et al used an
interactionist and micro
perspective to explore how
teachers type their pupils.
SUMMARY OF THEORY:
* They were interested in how teachers got to know their new pupils in
their first year at school.
* They used limited knowledge of children during the speculation
phases where teachers type children according to; their appearance,
how far they conformed to discipline, ability and enthusiasm for work,
how likeable they were, their relationships with other children, their
personality, whether they were deviant.
* From this teachers form a working hypothesis. The elaboration phase
follows where childrens’ behaviour confirms or contradicts the working
hypothesis. During the final stabilization phase, all pupils’ actions are
evaluated in terms of the type their teachers have labelled them as.
RESEARCH METHOD: their study was based upon interviews with
teachers and classroom observation in two secondary schools.
WEAKNESSES: Unrepresentative research method based on only two
schools.
47
MOCK EXAM QUESTIONS ON RELATIONSHIPS AND PROCESSES IN
SCHOOLS THAT AFFECT LEARNING.
1 Read Item A below and answer parts (a) to (d) that follow.
Item A
Students of all social classes are achieving more highly than ever
before, but major differences in educational achievement persist. For
example, those
from professional and managerial background (classes I and II) are
about two and a half times more likely to get five or more A* to C
GCSEs than pupils from the unskilled manual class V. Similarly, class I
students are five to six times more likely to go on to higher education
than those from class V.
Such differences are the result of a variety of factors. Within schools,
processes such as teachers’ expectations of an interactions with their
pupils, labelling and the self-fulfilling prophecy, all tend to disadvantage
working class pupils and negatively affect their achievement. However,
some sociologists argue that material factors outside school are more
important, while others argue than cultural differences between the
classes are the key to explaining differences in achievement.
(a) Explain what is meant by self-fulfilling prophecy. (2 marks)
(b) Identify three other factors or processes within schools, apart from
those mentioned in item A, that may negatively affect working-class
pupils’ achievement. (6 marks)
(c) Outline some of the in-school factors that can impact on the
educational achievement of different social groups. (12 marks)
(d) Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the role of
processes in schools in producing different educational achievement
among pupils from different social groups. (20 marks)
MQP(vii)
Educational policies by Governments – summary.
1. 1870 Education Act provided the first state-run schools for 5-10 year olds.
2. The 1944 Butler Education Act set up the tripartite system of secondary
education – grammar, technical and secondary modern schools.
3. The tripartite system provided schools of unequal status and unequal
quality. Middle class pupils tended to go to high-status grammar schools,
working class pupils to low status secondary modern schools.
4. The comprehensive system (from 1965) was designed to provide equality of
opportunity by replacing the tripartite system with a single type of school for
all young people. Streaming helped to provide them with the most
appropriate level of education.
5. Class differences in attainment remained, partly because pupils were placed
in streams or sets with a disproportionate number of middle class pupils in
higher ability groups and working class pupils in lower ability groups.
6. Conservative governments form 1979 to 1997 introduced work related
training schemes and vocational qualifications.
7. The Education Reform Act of 1988 aimed to provide competition between
schools and choice for parents. In theory, standards would rise as parents
chose successful schools, while failing schools would go out of business.
What happened was that working class parents and those without the
means or pro-school attitude ensured that poor schools stayed full of
challenging learners.
48
Educational policies by Governments – summary.
8. Choice usually meant limited places and selection at the more popular
schools. In this situation, the middle class with their cultural and social capital
have the advantage.
9. The National Curriculum, introduced in 1988, was assessed by SATs in its core
subjects. The results of these tests were published as league tables and provided
parents with information to judge the performance of schools and choose the
‘best’ one.
10. Labour’s education policy was influenced by both neo-liberal / New Right and
social democratic perspectives.
11. Labour continued the Conservatives’ policy of diversity and choice in a
competitive educational market-place, where parents and children became
consumers. Standard comprehensives were steadily replaced by specialist
schools.
12. Labour introduced a range of measures designed to raise standards in lowincome, inner-city areas. These included Sure Start, Education Action Zones,
Excellence in Cities and academies.
13. The number of places in higher education was rapidly expanded by Labour.
The middle class gained most from this as they had the money and the attitude.
14. The New Deal offered education and training for young people who had
been out of work for over six months. (This helped to keep the unemployment
statistics down).
15. While New Labour education policy did attempt to address social inequality
through its initiatives such as the EMA, Sure Start and Education Action Zones,
class differences in educational attainment have remained largely unchanged.
16. The Coalition Government of the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats,
which came to power in May 2010, has tried to place a greater emphasis on
academic rigor, pupil discipline through teacher empowerment, equipping
learners with the skills to achieve independence and economic success & the
injection of more market values into education. The overriding characteristic of
the Coalition Government’s approach to education is the withdrawal of the State
from schools’ & colleges’ business by making them more self-governing.
49
Educational policies by Governments – concepts.
Concept
Definition
1870 Forster Act
1944 Butler Act
Tripartite system
Grammar school
Secondary modern
school
Technical college
Parity of esteem
O Levels
CSEs
Social mobility
Comprehensivization
Comprehensive schools
Education Reform Act
1988
Grant maintained
schools
Local education
authorities
National curriculum
Formula funding
National testing
50
Educational policies by Governments – concepts.
Concept
Definition
Parental choice
Privileged / skilled
choosers
Semi-skilled choosers
Disconnected choosers
New Labour Education
Policies
Academies
Beacon schools
Vocationalism
GNVQs
New Deal
Numeracy / literacy
hour
Tuition fees
Over-subscribed
schools
Pupil premium
51
Technical school – 5%
Secondary Modern
75%
WHAT WAS IT?
In a nutshell:
Life chances / prospects
Grammar school
20%
Between 1944-1965 children
were selected to go to one of
three schools; grammar,
technical or secondary modern.
This was intended to provide
clever working class children to
experience high quality
education which they would
usually pay for.
•All eleven year olds sat the 11+ (Eleven Plus) exam and they were selected for one of three
schools on the basis of the result.
•Those passing the 11+ went to Grammar School which provided all students with the
opportunity to study O Levels (the predecessor to GCSEs) and A Levels. Grammar Schools
were and still are considered to provide the highest standard of education. Only 20% of all
children went to Grammar Schools.
•Those children whose test results showed an aptitude for technical skills went to Technical
Schools, although there were very few and catered for only 5% of the high school
population.
•Children who did not pass the 11+ attended Secondary Modern schools where they could
not take O Levels but instead sat the ‘easier’ and therefore less credible CSE exams. Around
75% of the school population attended these.
HOW DID THIS BENEFIT THE INDVIDUAL / SOCIETY?:
* Bright working class children could access high quality education and gain O Levels which
led to a great deal of social mobility.
WHAT WERE THE DISADVANTAGES OF IT?:
•The likelihood of working class children actually getting to Grammar School was very low
and they were full of middle class children who had the cultural capital and the money to
get private tuition to pass the exam.
•No parity of esteem – Grammar schools and their pupils were seen as ‘better’ than
Secondary modern schools and their pupils. Also, the 11+ was extremely unreliable – a lot of
52
people develop academically far later.
In a nutshell:
WHAT WAS IT?
From 1965 the Tripartite system
was replaced with
comprehensivisation which
provided local schools which
catered for all abilities under one
roof. This policy was directed by
social democratic ideas about
equality of opportunity & giving
everyone a chance to succeed.
• Provided one school for everyone of all abilities and all social backgrounds in a local area.
• Promised equal opportunities to all children by allowing them to sit the most appropriate
exam, the O Level or the CSE.
• Children were put into ability groups within the school itself through the processes of
streaming and setting. They then had the opportunity to move up the ability groups.
HOW DID THIS BENEFIT THE INDVIDUAL / SOCIETY?:
• Provided all children with an opportunity to mix with children from different social
backgrounds and was intended to break down social class barriers to promote social
solidarity.
• Gave all children the opportunity to develop their skills instead of judging them at the
tender age of eleven.
• Critics of the comprehensive system
WHAT WERE THE DISADVANTAGES OF IT?:
• Streaming and setting was simply another form of selection. Working class children were
frequently labelled as ‘thick’ and put into the lower sets and not given the opportunity to sit
the O Level exams.
• While exam results improved, the gap between the middle and working class continued to
grow wider. This was partly because schools located in particular areas usually drew in a
homogenous (similar) group of students so if they were from a middle class area, it was a
middle class school.
53
In a nutshell:
WHAT WAS IT?
* Before the 1988 Education Reform Act, the
Conservatives introduced Vocational Education which
aimed to train young people in specific workplace
skills. The Youth Training Scheme was such as
example.
A raft of changes to education
brought about by The
Education Reform Act in 1988.
It aimed to raise standards in
teaching by encouraging
competition between schools
for pupils who were now able
to choose which school to
attend. Schools were funded
per pupil so the more students
a school attracted, the more
money it got…
* The 1988 Education Reform Act brought about the following changes:
• Competition and choice – used league tables to compare exam successes between schools
which allowed parents to make an informed choice about which school to send their
child(ren) to through a system of open enrolment.
• Diversity of schools and choice – introduced Grant Maintained Schools (self-governing, not
run by LEA) which specialised in particular subjects and City Technology Colleges which
concentrated mainly on teaching of maths, English and technology, funded partly by private
business and enterprise.
• The National Curriculum – where the government told teachers exactly what to teach on
highly specific Specifications. All students to study three core subjects of English, maths and
science.
• Formula Funding – sometimes referred to as ‘bums on seats’, this is where schools
received an amount of money for each student. This encouraged schools to compete for a
large number of students in order to get the most money.
• Testing and assessment – National Testing introduced for all students at the ages of 7, 11
and 14. This was to bring everyone up to a common standard.
WHAT WERE THE DISADVANTAGES OF IT?:
• Parental choice was really only exercised by middle class parents with cultural and social
capital.
• League tables are unfair and misleading – many students achieve grades that are amazing
54
for them given their background.
Education,
education,
education….
WHAT WAS IT?
In a nutshell:
The New Labour government
attempted to tackle child poverty
by injecting private cash into
schools in poor areas & by
introducing the EMA to
encourage kids from low-income
families to attend college. Clearly,
a focus to improve young people’s
social mobility.
• Diversity and choice – expanding specialist schools which focus on particular subjects
which can select up to 10% of their pupils with particular aptitude for the specialist subject.
• Tackling underachievement in deprived areas – The Excellence in Schools document (1997)
proposed the following new types of school to tackle demotivation in inner city areas:
Beacon Schools (‘centres of excellence’ who share expertise with other schools), Academies
(failed schools taken over by partnerships of government and churches or businesses,
Education Action Zones – run by forum of parents and representatives from local businesses
and government and given £1 million to spend on flexible learning.
• Vocationalism and training – new qualifications in GNVQs and the New Deal to get people
of working age some training.
• Numeracy and literacy hour – where all primary school children work on numeracy and
literacy for an hour each in the classroom.
• EMA – the Educational Maintenance Allowance was introduced in 2004 and entitled
children from relatively low-waged families to a weekly payment of between £10-30,
conditional upon full attendance at college. Bonuses were available for those who could
evidence good progress, until September 2010 when the Coalition Government scrapped
them.
• Tuition fees for university – student maintenance grants scrapped, now all students have
to take out student loans and pay tuition fees. Those from very low income homes can
access funds.
WHAT WERE THE DISADVANTAGES OF IT?
The middle class still gain and these strategies have done little to reduce class inequality in
educational achievement. Cultural deprivation – not having the attitude to put the effort in
to succeed in education, is widespread amongst the poor who don’t see themselves as
having a valued part in a society that constantly derides them as ‘CHAVs’.
56
This critically assessed the impact of
New Labour Educational Policy.
New Labour has narrowed
education down to an economic
function; it’s there to provide a
skilled workforce. It’s not there now
to provide any fun in learning about
the world.
New Labour’s
preoccupation with
‘raising standards’ means
that the middle class
children are favoured
because over-subscribed
schools are able to select
(pick) the most able kids –
and they’re usually middle
class.
New Labour Education Policy is
obsessed with ‘raising standards’ to
look good against other European
countries in a global (world)
economy.
Schools are judged on exam results so teachers just teach stuff for the
exams and are restricted to a packed specification – teachers and
students can’t learn for the joy of it, off the cuff. It’s all about being
tested and getting a job.
57
In a nutshell:
WHAT IS IT?
Bringing in more business values into
education in an effort to raise standards
and imposing a Control View of childhood
in teacher-pupil relationships using
greater discipline & punishment. Set out
in the white paper ‘The Importance of
Teaching’.
Teaching and Leadership
* Initial teacher training only funded for 2.2 degree or above. This is the equivalent of a C
grade. The idea is to bring in more academic rigor to teaching and learning.
* Introducing Free Schools which are run by a board of parents who appoint the staff they
want and set the curriculum of subjects they think are important for their kids.
* More academies; less government control – more do-it-yourself, self-controlling.
Behaviour
* Strengthen powers to search students for anything deemed offensive by the school.
* Reinstate no-notice detentions – teachers can keep students back the same day.
* Use of reasonable force – staff can use force to control unruly students, particularly in the
case of fighting.
Curriculum, assessment and qualifications
* Review of national curriculum – looking at which subjects should be taught.
* Age 6 ‘reading’ test to allow parents to evaluate quality of schools.
* Introduce English Baccalaureat which is highly prestigious qualification.
School Funding
* Pupil Premium – schools will be funded an extra £430 per pupil whose parents earn less
than £16,000 per year.
* National Funding Formula – the idea that the education pot of money will be controlled by
the government, not the local authority but will be up to Head Teachers to decide how it is
spent.
* Abolishing EMA – as part of the public spending cuts.
* Allowing universities to raise their tuition fees to a maximum of £9K per year.
WEAKNESSES:
- Who decides what’s important to learn?
- League tables for age 6 reading test will divide schools into good & bad because it’s home
background that is often more important than teachers’ skill.
- But funding is already being cut – this is only the money schools should be getting anyway.
- Working class and underclass kids will continue to be socially excluded by schools that
58
don’t want them & a system that doesn’t give them incentive to study further.
MOCK EXAM QUESTIONS ON THE SOCIAL POLICIES PUT IN PLACE BY
POLITICIANS THAT AFFECT YOUR EXPERIENCE OF AND ACCESS TO
EDUCATION.
1 Read Item A below and answer parts (a) to (d) that follow.
Item A
The 1988 Education Reform Act included a range of policies that aimed
to introduce ‘market forces’ into education. Supporters of the Act
argued that the ‘marketisation’ of education would bring many
benefits, driving up standards in schools and making them more
accountable to the ‘consumers’ – parents, local communities and
employers – that they serve.
However, critics argue that marketisation policies tend to benefit the
more privileged groups, such as the middle class and whites. By
contrast, less privileged groups, including the working class, some
ethnic minorities and those with special educational needs, lose out.
Some critics claim that marketisation also disadvantages boys, since
schools often see them as under-achievers. As a result, some
sociologists believe that marketisation has led to greater inequality of
educational opportunity.
(a) Explain what is meant by parental choice. (2 marks)
(b) Identify three policies that government or educational bodies have
introduced to overcome children’s cultural deprivation. (6 marks)
(c) Outline some of the government policies that have been introduced
since 1988 in order to raise achievement in education.. (12 marks)
(d) Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the ways in which
educational policies may reproduce and justify social class inequalities.
(20 marks)
MQP(viii)
Sociological research methods in the study of education – summary.
1. Sociologists test their theories using quantitative or qualitative data. Sociologists
obtain primary data themselves, using methods including questionnaires, interviews
and observation. Secondary data are produced by others but used by sociologists.
In choosing a method, sociologists take several issues into account:
Practical issues include time and funding.
Ethical issues include whether the researcher deceives the subjects.
Theoretical issues include validity (does the method give a truthful picture?),
reliability (can it be replicated?) and representativeness (does it study a typical crosssection?).
Perspective also affects choice of method. Positivists prefer quantitative data;
interpretivists favour qualitative data. Choice of topic is also affected by society's
values and funding bodies.
2. Education is a research context with many distinctive characteristics. For example,
the need to protect pupils poses ethical problems. Classrooms are highly controlled
settings and this may make it difficult to uncover real attitudes. Teachers are
accustomed to being observed and may 'put on a show' when being studied. Schools
are closed, hierarchical organisations and this may make access difficult. Parents may
be difficult to contact without the school's cooperation.
3. In laboratory experiments, scientists manipulate variables to discover laws of cause
and effect. Although they produce reliable data, experiments are rare in sociology.
They suffer from practical problems (e.g. they cannot be used to study the past),
ethical problems of experimenting on humans, and are prone to the Hawthorne
Effect. Field experiments and the comparative method are used as alternatives to
laboratory experiments.
4. Surveys gather data by asking questions. Before conducting the survey, the
researcher needs a hypothesis (a testable statement) or aim, and concepts need to be
operationalised (defined so that they are measurable). A pilot study may be used to
iron out problems. A representative sample is essential if findings are to be
generalised.
5. Questionnaires are lists of written questions, usually closed-ended and often
posted. They can gather data on large numbers cheaply and quickly. Positivists favour
them because they are reliable and objective. However, low response rates can make
findings unrepresentative. Interpretivists claim they lack validity: they are inflexible,
superficial snapshots and don't give a true account of respondents' meanings.
59
Sociological research methods in the study of education – summary.
6. Structured interviews use closed-ended questions. They are quicker and cheaper
than unstructured interviews, cover larger numbers and produce reliable data, but
lack validity and flexibility.
Unstructured interviews use open-ended questions, producing valid data by allowing
interviewees to express themselves fully. However, they are less representative, and
quantification is difficult.
Interviews are social interactions and face problems of interviewer bias, status or
cultural differences between interviewer and interviewee.
Group interviews are relatively unstructured; they can be useful in revealing group
dynamics.
7. Participant observation (PO) involves joining in with a group to gain insight, and can
be overt or covert. Research goes through three phases: getting in, staying in and
getting out. Covert PO may produce more valid data, but is ethically questionable and
faces practical problems of maintaining one's cover. Interpretivists claim that PO
produces valid data, but positivists argue that it is unreliable, unrepresentative and
lacks objectivity. They prefer structured observation, which is usually non-participant
and collects quantitative data.
8. Secondary data include official statistics and documents.
Secondary sources save time and money and provide useful data, but they may not
always be available. Statistics may lack validity, measuring officials' decisions rather
than real events. Documents, such as diaries, letters and government reports, may not
be authentic or representative. Some sociologists apply content analysis to
documents.
9. Case studies involve the detailed examination of a single case or example.
Longitudinal studies follow the same sample over an extended period of time. Life
histories involve collecting and recording individuals' experiences. Sociologists often
use triangulation, where two or more methods complement one another. Often this
involves combining a qualitative with a quantitative source of data.
60
Sociological research methods in the study of education – concepts.
Concept
Definition
Research methods
Research participants
Primary data
Secondary data
Positivist approaches:
Concept
Definition
Positivist approaches
Quantitative data
Official statistics
Questionnaires
Semi-structured
questionnaires
Closed questions
Experiments
Experimental group
Control group
Laboratory experiment
Field experiment
Comparative method
Social surveys
61
Sociological research methods in the study of education – concepts.
Interpretivist approaches:
Concept
Definition
Interpretivist
approaches
Qualitative data
Interviews
Formal / structured
interviews
Informal / unstructured
interviews
Group interviews /
focus groups
Open questions
Participant observation
Non-participant
observation
Covert PO
Overt PO
Ethnography
Cyber-ethnography
Documents
Historical documents
Public documents
Personal documents
62
Sociological research methods in the study of education – concepts.
Interpretivist approaches:
Concept
Definition
Authenticity
Content analysis
Case studies
Longitudinal studies
Life histories
Triangulation
Theoretical issues:
Concept
Definition
Representativeness
Objectivity
Validity
Ethics
Reliability
Hawthorne Effect
63
Sociological research methods in the study of education – concepts.
Practical issues:
Concept
Definition
Time and money
Requirements of
funding bodies
Personal skills / rapport
Subject matter
Research opportunities
/ access
Response rate
Ethical issues:
Concept
Definition
Informed consent
Confidentiality
Anonymity / privacy
Effect on research
participants
Vulnerable groups
Social desirability effect
‘Going native’
Bias
64
Sociological research methods in the study of education – concepts.
Sampling:
Concept
Definition
Sampling
Sampling frame
Research participation
Random sampling
Quasi random sampling
Stratified random
sampling
Quota sampling
Snowball sampling
Opportunity sampling
65
Look at page 72 for an example of how postal
surveys can be used and what their
limitations are.
Is this a qualitative or a
quantitative method?
The results are collated into statistics, so it’s a QUANTITATIVE method. For
example, according to a survey carried out by Mishcon de Reya / The
Times, one in three children whose parents have divorced or separated in
the past twenty years have permanently lost touch with one parent.
Is this a Positivist or
Interpretivist method?
Because this is a quantitative method, it is a POSITIVIST method.
What are questionnaires?
•A researcher chooses a topic, decides on a hypothesis (children from
Chinese families have a higher proportion of skilled choosers as parents)
and decides on a list of questions to ask a particular group of people. Once
it has been tested in a pilot study, the survey is conducted and the data
analysed.
•They can have open or closed questions. Open questions need more
detailed answers (“How did your parents encourage you to succeed at
school?”) while closed questions just require yes or no; (“Did your parents
encourage you to succeed at school?”).
•The questionnaire should operationalise the concepts identified by the
researcher. For example, to see if a child is suffering material deprivation,
questions such as “Do you receive free school meals?” would allow the
researcher to measure the extent of the occurrence of that concept.
•Sometimes questionnaires are distributed to a sample to do themselves
(self-completion questionnaire) via the post or done face-to-face.
What are the theoretical
considerations?
Questionnaires are great if you want a Positivist perspective that gathers
quantitative data which allows you to see an issue on a large-scale.
What are the practical
considerations of this
method?
How many people do you want to survey? Where will you find them? How
will you access them – this is particularly problematic in education where it
is now harder than ever to access schools & classrooms.
What are the ethical
considerations of this
method?
There are few ethical problems with questionnaires because despite
having the potential to ask fairly sensitive questions, no one is obliged to
answer them, they can just leave it.
What are the strengths of
this method?
* Quick, cheap and can access enormous samples which are more
representative; * no need to train / recruit interviewers when people can
fill these in themselves; * the data is easily quantified and analysed;
* relationships between different variables are easily identified as are
cause and effect relationships; * standardised questions produce reliable
data; * allow us to make comparisons over time by using the same
questionnaires and comparing the answers.
What are the weaknesses
of this method?
* Interpretivists reject them because they don’t fully allow respondents to
tell their story in their own words; * they produce limited and undetailed
data; * self-completion surveys have a high non-response rate; * the postal
service can be unreliable; * busy people are unlikely to fill surveys in and
this leads to a biased sample; * predetermined questions are inflexible and
don’t allow respondents to explore issues; * unreliable data produced by
respondents who lie, forget or don’t know; * questions are framed
according to what the researcher thinks is important.
66
Look at the following studies for examples:
Mac an Ghaill (pages 34-35) and Mirza
(page 36).
Is this a qualitative or
a quantitative
method?
Interviews are one of the QUALITATIVE methods because it produces
qualitative data that is detailed, non-numerical and very descriptive.
Is this a Positivist or
Interpretivist
method?
Interviews are an INTERPRETIVIST method because they want to find out
what people feel, whereas positivist method uses quantitative data that
deals in facts.
What are interviews?
•Unstructured / informal interviews. These are like an everyday
conversation, they ask open-ended questions and are flexible and flowing.
•Structured / formal interviews. This is like a questionnaire read out by
the interviewer, so all respondents are asked the same questions.
•Group interviews. This involves an interviewer and a group of
respondents where discussion is guided around specific topics.
•Semi-structured interviews. This is where the interviewer asks a standard
set of questions but can ask respondents to go into more detail.
What are the
theoretical
considerations?
Interviews are great if you want an INTERPRETIVIST perspective that
gathers qualitative data that allows closer examination of others’ feelings
and experiences – particularly good for verstehen – gaining understanding
of something you have no knowledge of.
What are the practical
considerations of this
method?
Because one-to-one interviews are very labour intensive (unlike
questionnaires), you can only access a relatively small sample. Also, what
are the time constraints of your research participants?
What are the ethical
considerations of this
method?
The interview may cause research participants to become upset if a
sensitive topic is being discussed. Some RPs may not want to be involved
for reasons of confidentiality, privacy and shame.
What are the
strengths of this
method?
Structured interviews provide comparable data & there is less chance of
interviewer bias. Semi-structured interviews allows more probing of the
issues discussed and more detail can come out. Unstructured interviews
completely allow RPs to tell their story, which is really important if the
interviewer has no empirical (when you know something through actually
experiencing it) knowledge of an issue. Sensitive groups (like crossdressing men) may feel more comfortable in this situation, being able to
build up rapport and trust with the interviewer. It produces richer, more
valid information.
What are the
weaknesses of this
method?
Structured interviews have rigid questions so this will limit the detail in
RPs answers. Semi-structured interviews lose the ability to standardise
questions (ask everyone the same) and compare the answers. This means
each interview is quite different. Unstructured interviews can produce
interviewer bias through unwitting discrimination (they might simply like
someone more). Social desirabiltity: people try to portray themselves in a
positive light to someone they’ve never met before. Replies often based
on retrospective data (memories) so can be unreliable. Data is very difficult
to compare so you can’t see cause and effect.
67
Look at pages 76-77 for examples.
Is this a qualitative or
a quantitative
method?
This is a QUALITATIVE method which derives very detailed information,
describing a slice of reality. It’s a way for a researcher to experience part of
life that others experience regularly.
Is this a Positivist or
Interpretivist
method?
This is an INTERPRETIVIST method and is one of the methods used in
ETHNOGRAPHY. Ethnography is where researchers study how a particular
community or group lives, ‘living in their shoes’. This allows the researcher
to understand where others are coming from.
What is participant &
non-participant
observation?
PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION is when the researcher actually takes part in
the activities or life or those they are studying. If they are COVERT, the
others don’t know that they’re observing and recording everything. If
they’re OVERT – then it’s out in the open. NON-PARTICIPANT
OBSERVATION is where the researcher watches what’s happening but
doesn’t get involved in the activities of the group (like OFSTED).
What are the
theoretical
considerations?
Not good for POSITIVIST research because it produces little or no
quantifiable data that can be turned into pretty graphs & statistics.
INTERPRETIVISTS really love this method: it allows them to understand
why people behave like they do and to understand their point of view.
What are the practical
considerations of this
method?
Perhaps THE most labour intensive method, this is sometimes the only way
to gain access to groups that are closed to the ordinary world, like deviant
gangs, for instance. How to gain access to the group and how to record
your data (especially if you’re covert), are big considerations.
What are the ethical
considerations of this
method?
Is it fair to observe people without their knowledge or consent? Will you
be able to protect their identity? If anything shady or illegal happens –
where does that leave you as both a researcher and a citizen?
What are the
strengths of this
method?
Very VALID method – what people say they do and what they actually do
can be very different. So it gets closer to the truth. It allows the researcher
to gain INSIGHT into an area and reveals fresh information and issues that
would never have occurred to the researcher. It may be the only way to
access hard to reach groups, such as football hooligans. By having an
INSIDER’S VIEW, it focuses far more on the concerns and priorities of
those being studies than a questionnaire would which reflects the things
the researcher thinks are important.
What are the
weaknesses of this
method?
Takes a lot of time, money and personal sacrifice if you’re undertaking a
full-on observation where you live with a community. You have to leave
your life behind and live a new one for the time it takes to gather all your
information. It can also be very dangerous if you’re busted or get into
bother. If the researcher gets more heavily involved, they will lose their
OBJECTIVITY as they become part of the community and forget that
they’re a sociologist and researcher. Some may even join the group they’re
studying. This is referred to as ‘going native’. Overt research changes
behaviour of those being observed – the HAWTHORNE EFFECT. So the
data is unreliable and not a reflection of reality. The sample sizes will be
very small, so they’re unrepresentative. Ethics of observing people
without their knowledge or consent is very dodgy.
68
Rosenthal & Jacobson selected a random sample of students &
told teachers that the children could be expected to see rapid
intellectual growth. They tested all pupils’ IQ at the beginning of
the experiment. All were tested again after one year and the 20%
sample did in fact show significant improvement. This experiment
was done to show development of self-fulfilling prophecy.
Is this a qualitative or
a quantitative
method?
Experiments are a QUANTITATIVE method because it uses SCIENTIFIC
methods to test a hypothesis. In order to prove or reject a hypothesis, the
evidence needs to be objective, so findings are expressed in numbers.
Is this a Positivist or
Interpretivist
method?
This is a shining example of a POSITIVIST method because it is using
elements of SCIENTIFIC method to carry out research. This method focuses
on reporting WHAT happens in a particular sociological scenario.
What are
experiments?
There are LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS which happen in an environment
where all variables can be controlled and where the quantified results are
used to show correlations and cause and effect. Then there are FIELD
EXPERIMENTS where research happens in normal social places and are
much more useful to Sociology. In both, a hypothesis is tested.
What are the
theoretical
considerations?
Great for POSITIVIST research as it gathers quantitative data which is
objective & devoid of bias, apparently. INTERACTIONISTS can’t be doing
with experiments: they don’t reflect real life, but this didn’t stop Rosenthal
& Jacobson doing one, (look at their study on page 43).
What are the practical
considerations of this
method?
You need to have an appropriate environment in which to set up your
experiment. Laboratory experiments are carried out in a controlled
environment while field experiments are done in real social settings.
What are the ethical
considerations of this
method?
Can be highly UNETHICAL if you are deliberately putting any of your
research participants at a disadvantage, particularly in education where
the research can jeopardise the academic success and ultimately, the job
prospects of participants.
What are the
strengths of this
method?
Allows the researcher to isolate the concept they want to operationalise by
controlling variables. Experiments show us cause and effect; that material
deprivation causes the effect of educational underachievement.
What are the
weaknesses of this
method?
There are ethical problems of basically lying to people or treating them like
a lab-rat, people might act very differently in a lab setting as well
(Hawthorn Effect). Conditions in a lab are artificial and nothing like real life.
It’s hard to isolate variables as social behaviour is the result of loads of
different factors.
What’s an example of
this method in the
study of education?
Rosenthal and Jacobson –
page 43.
69
Is this a qualitative or
a quantitative
method?
This is can be QUANTITATIVE or QUALITATIVE – it depends on
how the researcher wants to record, count or analyse the
information in front of them.
Is this a Positivist or
Interpretivist
method?
Because documents can be EXPRESSIVE like diaries, letters or
films, INTERPRETIVISTS love them. However, STATISTICS are an
official DOCUMENT so POSTIVISTS also like them.
What are documents?
It’s a WRITTEN TEXT which can be EXPRESSIVE such as a letter,
diary, film, autobiography, suicide note or even a piece of art.
Documents can also be OFFICIAL , and there’ll be a load about
you – your school/college records, health records, birth
certificate etc.
What are the
theoretical
considerations?
Great for INTERPRETIVISM because documents can describe
and explain how people feel about situations. This gives
researchers valuable insight into society. For POSITIVISTS,
official documents are certainly OBJECTIVE & RELIABLE but they
can’t reveal any cause and effect relationships.
What are the practical
considerations of this
method?
Official DOCUMENTS are fairly easy to access, expressive
DOCUMENTS are up to the individual, if they want others to see
them. But there’s nothing dangerous about DOCUMENTS & they
can be fairly cheap or even free to get hold of.
What are the ethical
considerations of this
method?
There are limited issues of CONSENT, except when accessing
expressive DOCUMENTS of living people, but CONFIDENTIALITY
with all documents is vital. AVOIDING DECEPTION – researchers
using DOCUMENTS should always be honest about what they’re
doing with them.
What are the
strengths of this
method?
Official DOCUMENTS in particular are very representative
because everyone has a birth certificate etc. Historical
DOCUMENTS allow us to see change over time. Comparing
DOCUMENTS from different times, particularly statistics, allows
us to observe social change.
What are the
weaknesses of this
method?
CONTENT ANALYSIS of speeches, films, letters or articles can be
influenced by the researcher’s opinions. HISTORICAL
DOCUMENTS can be hard to read if they’re really old because of
mad handwriting or damage. They might even be faked or
fabricated.
What’s an example of
this method in the
study of education?
Valerie Hey’s study, The Company She Keeps (1997), page 71.
70
She wrote:
The company she keeps,1997.
Hey used EXPRESSIVE DOCUMENTS to
carry out primary, qualitative research
into girls’ friendships in school.
KEY METHOD: expressive documents.
USING EXPRESSIVE DOCUMENTS TO RESEARCH GIRLS’ GENDER IDENTITY:
•Valerie Hey started her research into girls’ friendships in two
comprehensive schools in the late 1980s. During her time at the
schools, she got to know about fifty girls quite well, and twenty very
well. Some girls sent her notes they had stored away and offered her
diaries to read. The girls knew she was a researcher and that she was
researching their friendships and interactions.
• After several months into the research, Hey became interested in the
notes the girls were passing between themselves. These writings were
evidence of the emotional work invested by the girls in their
relationships. 90% of the writings were about the girls’ relationships
with each other, only a few spoke about boyfriends. The note would be
passed during a lesson, and the recipient would then write back. The
original author would respond and so on. The girls were experts in
these ‘invisible’ communication activities, and only a few teachers ever
noticed them. Hey collected the notes from the classroom floor, from
waste bins, and from where they were left on desks. Once she began
talking to the girls about them, they provided her with more. Some of
the girls had stored them for four years or more.
•Through an analysis of the notes Hey drew conclusions about how girls
define who they are, how they negotiate their positions in worlds
dominated by adults and boys, and how they manipulate prestige and
status within their friendship groups.
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They wrote:
ICT in schools, 2003.
They used POSTAL SURVEYS to investigate
how schools got their kids into ICT outside of
school hours.
KEY METHOD: postal surveys/questionnaires.
USING POSTAL SURVEYS TO RESEARCH HOW ICT WAS USED IN SCHOOLS:
• Schools have, to varying degrees, invested in a range of ICT resources
with the view to enhancing their teaching and learning. This study was
interested in the extent to which schools directed time and money into
ICT, enabling students to access a range of ICT-based resources both
during and outside normal school hours. In an ‘ever-open’ classroom
(like Moodle), classroom resources would be accessible to students and
their parents from any place, any time.
•To explore the issues outlined above, a postal questionnaire survey of
Head Teachers and teachers was carried out in primary and secondary
schools in England at the beginning of the 2002/03 school year. Five
hundred primary and five hundred secondary schools were randomly
selected, from which a total of 4,708 teaching staff were asked to
complete questionnaires. Responses were received from 46% of the
primary Head Teachers, 29% of primary teachers, 26% of secondary
Head Teachers and 20% of secondary teachers.
•Both primary and secondary schools reported a range of ICT facilities
in their schools, including the installation of systems in classrooms and
ICT suites to support teaching and learning opportunities for students.
Most schools had websites, although their intranet development has
not advanced at the same rate and few schools were prepared to allow
students to connect with the school. Very few schools were
comfortable with students or parents contacting them outside school
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hours.
This started in April 1970 & is ongoing.
This is a LONGITUDINAL study of all those people in
England, Wales and Scotland, born in one week of
April in 1970. Since then, they have been used to
provide information on their lives in order to generate
data on social change.
KEY METHOD: longitudinal study.
USING LONGITUDINAL RESEARCH TO GATHER DATA:
• In a week in April 1970, 17,200 babies were born and since then,
there have been five more attempts to gather information from this
group. With each successive ‘sweep’, the scope of the enquiry was
broadened and now covers physical, educational, social & economic
development.
• This is a LONGITUDINAL study based on social survey data collection
techniques, including interviews and self-completed questionnaires. In
the 1986 sweep, a total of 16 separate methods were used. In 1975 and
1980 immigrants to Britain who were born in the target week in 1970
were added to the sample, despite this addition over the period of time
that this study has taken place, the sample has reduced to 15,500.
• Jo Blanden, Paul Gregg and Steve Machin have used data from the
The British Cohort Study to compare the life chances of British children
with those in advanced countries. In comparison to eight European and
North American countries, Britain and the USA have the lowest social
mobility (movement between the classes / ‘rags to riches’).
• Comparing surveys of children born in the 1950s and the 1970s, the
researchers went on to examine the reason for Britain’s low and
declining social mobility. For these children, additional opportunities to
stay in education at age 16 generally benefitted kids from ‘better off’
backgrounds.
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She wrote:
sexIsM In ChIldren’s Books,
1976.
Loban used CONTENT ANALYSIS to
investigate sexist attitudes written
into childrens’ books – another form
of EXPRESSIVE DOCUMENT.
KEY METHOD: content analysis of documents – childrens’ books.
•Glynis Loban undertook a content analysis of six infants’ reading schemes, the
sort of books first used to teach children to read. “Because books for young
children explicitly articulate (blatantly communicate) the prevailing cultural
values, they are an especially useful indicator of societal norms. These books are
often read over and over again at a time when children are in the process of
developing their identities.”
•One of the things she did was to count up the numbers of activities, adult roles,
times taking the lead, and times learning a new skill, engaged in by boys and girls
in the stories. Some of her results are below:
Toys and
pets
Activities
Taking the lead
New
skills
Adult roles
Girls
only
Doll.
Skipping
rope.
Doll’s pram.
Preparing tea.
Playing with dolls.
Taking care of
young children.
Hopping
Shopping with
parents.
Skipping.
Taking
care of
younger
children.
Mother.
Aunt.
Grandmother.
Boys
only
Car.
Train.
Aeroplane.
Boat.
Football.
Playing with cars.
Playing with trains.
Playing football.
Lifting or pulling
heavy objects.
Playing cricket.
Watching adult
males in job roles.
Heavy gardening.
Going exploring
alone.
Climbing trees.
Caring for pets.
Sailing boats.
Building things.
Flying kites.
Washing Dad’s
car.
Taking
care of
pets.
Making /
building.
Saving /
rescuing.
Playing
sports.
Father, uncle,
grandfather,
postman,
farmer,
fisherman,
shop or
business
owner,
policeman,
builder, bus
driver, bus
conductor,
train driver /
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porter.
She concluded that the books presented limited
gender stereotypes to their young readers.
They wrote:
understanding low achievement in
english schools, 2007.
They used STATISTICS to investigate
underachievement at GCSE.
KEY METHOD: secondary numerical data.
USING STATISTICS TO RESEARCH EDUCATIONAL UNDERACHIEVEMENT:
• The study was based on data from the Pupil Level Annual School
Census and the National Pupil Database for 2003, Census and OFSTED
data were also used. Four different measures of low achievement were
used: students who received no passes at all in their GCSE / GNVQ
exams at Key Stage 4; those who obtain nothing better than a ‘D’ in any
exam; those who do not achieve a pass in at least one of English or
Maths; and those not achieving at least five passes at any grade
including English and Maths.
•Those with no passes at all number about 5% and those with no
passes better than a D make up about 25% of school leavers. They are
at risk of unemployment and low-level criminality.
•The analysis found nearly half of all low achievers are white British
males. White British students on average are more likely to persist in
low achievement. Low achievers are commonly found in poor urban
areas.
•Boys outnumber girls as low achievers by three to two. But the gender
gap is larger for some ethnic groups – Bangladeshi, Pakistani and
African – among those not achieving any passes above a D. The study
confirms that Chinese and Indian pupils are the most successful on
average, though their results have been improving faster than the
national average, and when compared with white British pupils of
similar economic backgrounds, they do no worse.
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He wrote:
chasing the big-time: football
apprenticeship in the 1990s, 1996.
He used COVERT PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION to
investigate professional youth football training.
KEY METHOD: covert participant observation.
•Between July 1993 and May 1994, Parker spent a full footballing
season inside a prestigious English professional Football League club.
“For the most part I attended the club for three days each week as a
participant observer, spending two days training, working and
socialising with the trainees and one day at a local FE college as a fellow
student.”
•Although he found it easier than anticipated to be accepted by the
trainees, he had difficulties with the club coach who was hostile to him.
“In order to gain access I had played down my academic background,
saying simply that I was ‘doing an essay for a college course’. As it was,
no one ever did find out what I was really doing.”
•Parker backed up his observations with tape-recorded interviews.
“Data collection and analysis was on-going throughout the research
period, so that, when the time came to synthesise theory, observations,
fieldnotes and seven hundred sides of tape-recorded conversation, the
task appeared decidedly unmanageable.”
•Parker found the football club a highly restrictive organisation that was
not used to the presence of outsiders. He felt that existing media
coverage of the life of trainees was presented from a managerial point
of view. Trainees were asked to ‘live in each other’s back pockets’, to
‘eat, drink and sleep football’ and to ignore all forms of career
distractions. The trainees live in a hostel and rarely come into contact
with non-football people. There was a strict, almost military, code of
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conduct; “It was total participation or nothing.”
She wrote:
The impact of gender
ConstruCtIons on PuPIls’
learning & educational
choice, 2005.
Francis used OVERT PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION to study how
gender affects students’ learning and ambition in school.
KEY METHOD: overt participant observation.
•Francis’ study involved research in three different London secondary
schools, observation was used to record classroom interaction and
behaviour during GCSE lessons as well as conducting individual
interviews.
•The observation was conducted in English lessons (a traditionally
feminine subject) and Maths lessons (a traditionally masculine subject)
– both important for acceptance onto A level and degree courses. A top
set and lower set were observed for each subject, so four classes were
observed at each school (12 in all) and each class had three lessons
observed (a total of 36 lesson observations). However, a limitation of
the classroom observation was an inability to record all the classroom
interaction due to the noise & bonkersness in some of the classes.
•Francis concluded that boys gained status by taking up ‘laddish’ or
‘class clown’ roles. Many used these roles to dominate the classroom
interaction, marginalizing girls and other boys. In eight of the twelve
classes, boys dominated the classroom by shouting, making greater use
of the space, being more disruptive & taking teachers’ attention.
•The research showed girls were seen as more ‘sensible’, concentrating
more & working harder. Girls’ ambition for a ‘good’ job & the need to
compete with men may have made them work harder at school.
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She wrote:
gender and schooling, 1983.
Stanworth used SEMI & UNSTRUCTRED
INTERVIEWS to see if girls and boys
were treated the same in high school.
KEY METHOD: semi-structured and unstructured interviews.
•Stanworth wanted to find out if the new comprehensives were
treating girls and boys equally now that the tripartite system was gone
& there was a big noise about equality. Girls had been underachieving
compared to boys; passing only 2/3 of the A levels boys did & only 1/3
going to university.
•Because she wanted to understand students’ and teachers’
experiences in high school, Stanworth allowed them to speak freely and
openly in her interviews.
•Stanworth used respondents from a Further Education College in
Cambridge where she’d already taught. Through quota sampling, she
selected six female students, six male students, three women teachers
and three male teachers – all of whom knew each other. They weren’t
told the study was about gender differences – they were told it was
about decision making, instead, in order to prevent socially desirable
answers.
•She concluded that boys dominated the classroom and took up more
of the teachers’ attention. It made the boys more confident, while it
made the girls less confident. The girls felt unnoticed in the classroom,
one girl describing herself as nothing more than ‘wallpaper’.
•The students valued male teachers more highly for academic
knowledge and discipline. But they preferred teachers their own sex in
inter-personal situations or discussion of personal problems.
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MOCK EXAM QUESTIONS ON USING SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
METHODS TO STUDY EDUCATION.
Read Item B below and answer the question that follows.
Item B
Investigating anti-school subcultures
Some pupils share sets of values and behaviour patterns that are in opposition to those
expected by schools. Sociologists refer to these as anti-school subcultures.
Some sociologists use group interviews to investigate anti-school subcultures. These largely
unstructured interviews may give younger pupils, in particular, greater confidence when
responding to a researcher’s questions because they are being interviewed together with
their peers. However, peer group pressure may distort pupils’ responses. Furthermore,
there are problems of time and access when it comes to gathering a group of pupils
together for research purposes.
An alternative research method is to use non-participant observation to investigate antischool subcultures. It allows researchers to see how pupils actually behave, rather than
simply hearing how they claim to behave. However, it may be particularly difficult for
researchers to observe behaviour in a covert manner. There are also particular ethical
problems associated with observing pupils, especially younger ones.
05 Using material from Item B and elsewhere, assess the strengths and
limitations of one of the following methods to investigating anti-school
subcultures:
EITHER
group interviews
OR
non-participant observation.
06 Explain what is meant by the term ‘secondary’ data.
(20 marks)
(2 marks)
07 Suggest two factors that may influence a sociologist’s choice of research
topic.
(4 marks)
08 Suggest two problems of using personal documents in sociological research.
(4 marks)
09 Examine the problems some sociologists find with using postal questionnaires
in their research.
(20 marks)
MQP(ix)
A closer look at the exam questions on research
methods in the context of education.
This was question 5 from May 2011’s exam paper. Across the country,
some students underperformed in this question.
Your examiner will mark it as follows:
L1 – only gets up to 11 (55%) marks if the candidate has focused purely
on a discussion of the method.
L2 – gets a maximum of 13 (65%) if the candidate has discussed the
issue and the method, but without any consideration of the specific
strengths or weaknesses of using that particular method to investigate
that particular issue.
L3 – gets up to 20/20 (100%) if candidate examines how the method
specifically aids or limits the study of a particular issue.
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These were questions 06-09 from May 2011’s exam paper:
Feedback from the examiners showed that:
* Many candidates confused validity with reliability.
* Many candidates didn’t know the difference between a sampling
frame and a sample.
* Most candidates wrote two clear bullet points which identified the
problems of using documents in sociological research.
* Many candidates had not revised experiments; those who hadn’t just
talked about research methods in general – observation, interviews etc.
These students got poor marks.
* Some students focused on the strengths and weaknesses of using
experiments in sociological research – this isn’t what the question
asked them to do, so they didn’t get particularly good marks.
* The students who did do well in this question differentiated between
natural, laboratory and field experiments and they focused on the
weaknesses, as the question asked them to do.
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