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7/30/2019 sociology education unit.doc
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ClassMaterial vs Cultural factors for class underachievement
HousingWorking Class pupils are more
likely to experience overcrowding in
their households. They may have to
share a room for example meaningthey will have lack a quiet space to do
homework or reading. Those in
temporary accommodation also suffer in
seeing their education disrupted through
consistent moving.
LanguageFunctionalist Bernstein
points out Working Class pupils are
likely to be perceived as unintelligent as
their language does not reflect the middleclass norm. Where as MC children are
more likely to elaborate and
articulate, elaborated code, WE pupils
are likely to use much simper and
restrictive language, restricted code.
ResourcesParents are likely to lack to
resources which middle class parents will
be able to provide; revision guides,
textbooks or a tutor. Marxist Ball
pointed out the high cost of free
school for uniforms, trips, transport,
computers, calculators and otheressential tools for education which
Working Class pupils may have to do
without.
ValuesWC pupils, through their
socialisation, are likely to lack the values
which are needed for educational
achievement. Hyman calls this the
WCs self imposed barrierciting
things such as fatalistic attitudes,
believing that nothing can be done to
change their lot, and immediate
gratification as reasons for failure.
Feinstein also cites lack of parental
interest as largest factor for WC.
SchoolsGewirtz points out that those
from materially deprived backgrounds
lacking the financial resources of MC
parents are more likely to send their
children to the local comprehensive.Materially deprived areas account for
90% of all failing schools in the UK.
Cultural CapitalMarxist Bordieu
argues that WC socialisation lacks the
values, attitudes and knowledge of MC
socialisation, such as an interest in
classical music and current affairs,giving them a greater intellectual
understanding of abstract ideas. Sullivan
tested Bordieus ideas and found that
MC pupils who had more CC did
better at GCSE than those who did not.
Oxbridge- 40% Private intake but only
7% of children going to private schools.
Culture Keddie argues that there is
nothing wrong with the WC but the
education system is biased towards themiddle classes as the dominant culture
and isnt flexible enough to incorporate
WC values. Thus cultural explanationsblame the victim
SolutionNew Right and Functionalists
favour to deal with cultural deprivation
the creation ofcompensatory education
services such as SureStart being set up
in socially deprived areas. They work
with young children to help improve their
intellectual development to try and avoid
inequality. This is essential as WC
children are seen as 1.5 years behind
MC when they enter the educationsystem.
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ClassInternal vs External factors
IdealAs Becker found working class
pupils are likely to be discriminatedfrom the outset due to not matching what
she found as the ideal pupil whichtended to be MC.
Resources and HousingThose from
WC backgrounds are likely to live in
overcrowded accommodation and lack a
quiet space to do educational work. Ballalso points out the cost of free school
citing computers, calculators, trips and
even uniforms which put a massive
financial strain on the WC and some
have to do without.
Exam entryThis then goes further to
MC pupils being seen as bright and
WC lazy or dim based on the
behaviour and appearance. This then
becomes a self fulfilling prophecy,
when a label is placed on a pupil they
do not challenge it but believe and
reinforce it, as Cicourel and Kitsue
found that labels decide level of course
pupils were placed on in an American
High School.
SchoolsMaterially deprived areas
currently house 90% of all failing
schools. Gewirtz argued that due to a lack
of economic capital those from WC areas
are likely to go to the local
comprehensive. MC parents who hold
more economic capital can transport
their children to a school further away
or even move in a concept known as
selection by mortgage
StreamingBecause of these labels anti-
school subcultures are likely to arise
which also reinforce underachievement.
As Hargreeves found due to failure
those in the lower streams would benot take their work seriously and be
disruptive in order to gain prestige
from other pupils which they failed to
achieve through their academic work.Thus time is taken up dealing with them
thus those who want to learn fail.
BordieuMarxist Bordieu argued that
WC pupils are likely to lack the
attitudes, knowledge and values whichthe MC pupils have such as an interest in
classical music and knowledge of currentaffairs because of their parents interests
and encouragement. This gives Middle
Class pupils an advantage in the
education system as they will be more
able to deal with abstract intellectual
ideas.
RemovedMarxist Ball found that
when school streams are removed anti-
school subcultures quickly die out and
classes become more focused and
beneficial. However, since the 1988Education Reform Act streaming has
taken a larger role in education.
LanguageWC pupils are more likely to
suffer from material deprivation.
Functionalist Bernsteinargues WC
language is unlikely to reflect the
middle class norm of the educationsystem and thus they will be perceived
as dim and will fail. MC pupils are
more likely to elaborate and articulate
in their use of language. Bernstein
called this the elaborated and restricted
code of language.
Marketisation. The introduction of
open enrolment and the
encouragement for schools to compete
for pupils, through open days and
league tables, has left many WC pupilsforced to attend schools that get poor
ValuesHyman argues that values are
the self imposed barrier for WC
underachievement. She cites fatalistic
attitudes and immediate gratification
as reasons. Feinstein cites lack ofparental interest, due to their own bad
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results as good schools are more likely
to be selective or cream skimming as
Bartlett put it.
experiences, as the reason for WC
failure.
EthnicitySchool factors vs Outside
ExpectationsTeachers are more likely
to have racialised expectations of pupils
through labelling. Gillborn found that
male black pupils are more likely to be
disciplined as bad behaviour is
expected.Wright also found that Asian
pupils are thought to be less intelligent
then English pupils have a poor grasp
of English and girls are ignored from
class discussion. Yet many Indian pupils
do very well in the education system and
Bangladeshi and Pakistani pupils are
improving at a rapid rate.
MaterialPakistani and Bangladeshi
are 3 times more likely to be in povertythan any other group ethnic group in
society bring up Balls idea of the cost
of free school for resources. 15% of
ethnic minorities also live in
overcrowed accommodation meaning
they may lack a quiet place to perform
school work.
Self fulfilling prophecyThis is likely to
lead to Self fulfilling prophecy where
pupils will accept their label and thus
fail in the education system. Sewell
argues this leads black boys to take up a
black macho lad stereotype in anti-
school subcultures and thus fail.
However, Fuller found studying blackgirls reject negative labels and have
anti-school attitudes in having friends
with those who reject school values a not
contributing in lessons and still achieve.
LanguageThose who have English as a
second language are likely to be
disadvantaged in the education system.
Bowker argues this is the biggest barrier
to ethnic progress. To counter this
services such as SureStart and FE
colleges have encouraged free classes to
teach English to minorities. Mirzaargues that Indians still achieve speaking
Indian at home.
Ethno-CentricBall argues that ethnic
students are marginalised by being
forced to learn about British culture and
find their own ignored. History for
example he claims promotes an
attitude of little England focusing on
military victories. Coard argues thatby teaching of colonisation and of
Britain civilising countries it createspoor self esteem in Ethnic pupils. But
Indian and Chinese pupils outperform
whites in the education system.
Family structureMurray argues that
high amount of ethnic minorities are
lone parent families, 50% in Afro-
Caribbean community, which means a
lack of male role models and thus failure
for them. Other New Right sociologists
argue the failure to embrace Britishculture. Lupton states that Indian
families do well because of strong adult
authority which is similar to that of
schools.
MarketisationGilborn argues that
ethnic minorities give a school a roughand negative reputation thus the
introduction of open enrolment has led to
good schools turning down ethnic pupils
to protect their reputation and ensure anintake of white middle class pupils.
Racism in society - society still
discriminates against those from ethnic
backgrounds and are less willing to offer
support to them. Noon sent identical
letters to top 100 companies asking for
job opportunities under the names Patel
and Evans. Evans got more replies.
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EthnicityHow is school ethnocentric?
BallIgnores other cultures and instead
focuss on English achievements
portraying an image of little
Englishism. English Literature focussonly on English authors and History
only tells of British military victories.
HatcherArgues that disagreements
between ethnic pupils and racist eventsIn schools are given low priority by
school officials. Whereas MC pupilstended to get involved with school
officials to discuss their child this
rarely happens between officials and
ethnic minority families due to
language barriers and lack of
awareness.
CoardArgues that by teaching in
History that colonisation civilised
countries, such as Jamaica and India, it
affects the self esteem of ethnicminority pupils. Stone argues this does
not affect Black pupils. Indian pupils do
well in the education system. Explain
that.
KeddieThe curriculum and the whole
education system only reflects the
dominant Middle Class culture and is
not flexible enough to allow other
cultures to succeed within.
EthnicityChange in policy to help ethnic minorities?
MulticulturalismOther the 80s and
90s the curriculum has been changed to
focus on other cultures. Poetry inEnglish, for example, now focuses on
works from other cultures. History
tells of other countries plights and the
inequality they have faced from the
British such as in India.
EMAMany cite that material reasons
such as poverty is the reason for ethnic
failure. The introduction, under NewLabour, of Educational Maintenance
Allowance gave financial support to
ethnic minorities and incentives to stay
on in education.
Compensatory Education Initiatives
such as SureStart in socially deprived
areas have provided support for ethnic
minorities such as homework clubs.
Literacy and Numeracy Hours have
also been introduced in PrimarySchools which is useful for ethnic
minorities where English is not the first
language.
Faith SchoolsAnother introduction of
New Labour was the growth ofFaith
Schools meaning that parents could
send their pupils to schools which are
focused more towards their culture
such as a Jewish or Muslim school.
ResultsEthnic Minority groups now see
their results grouped and monitored to
ensure that any worrying trends can be
seen and dealt with.
CriticismsKeddie says there is
nothing wrong with ethnic minorities it
is the biased school system. Mirza says
they do not go far enough and should
focus on cultural and material reasons.
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GenderChanges in achievement due to changes in education system
Equal opsChanges in the education
system such as the introduction of the
National Curriculum In 1988 with core
subjects for Boys and Girls as well asinitiatives such as GIST to get girls into
science have accounted for achievement
for girls. Boaler states that the creation
of a more meritoric education system is
the key reason.
ExpectationsDue to the spread of
feminist ideas and the greater position of
women in society girls expectations and
aspirations of education have changed.Sue Sharpe did two studies; one in the
70s which found girls wanting to get
married and become homemakers
before a career. When she repeated it
in the 90s she found careers were now
aspired above all else.
Role ModelsGreater influx of female
teachers has inspired girls in giving them
a female role model of someone that has
achieved. Sewell, however, argues that
this has been negative for boys and has
led to education having a female
emphasis.
FamilyFamily types have changed.
The rise of Lone Parent families in the
United Kingdom, 1 in 4 90% headed by
women, provide a positive role model for
girls seeing their mother have to support
her family and go out to work. However,
the lack of a role model for boys has
had a negative effect. Murray discusses
how this leads ethnic minority pupils to
form anti-school subcultures.
CourseworkIt is argued that the
introduction of coursework has
benefitted girls as it plays to the
typically female strengths of
organisation and planning which it isargued is taught in socialisation. Boys,
however, are taught more to take risks
and as such tend to perform better in
exam conditions. Because of girls
advantage coursework is being removed
from many subjects.
LiteracyThere is a mass gender gap
surrounding male and female literacy.
This is thought to be because during
socialisation girls are more likely to be
read stories by their mothers. Boys,however, are not. Thus they associate
the activity with women. Boys are also
expected to spent leisure time outside
or on computers where as girls are
expected to stay at home reading or
talk with friends which will enhance
their intellectual skills.
SelectionMarketisation policies such as
open enrolment have allowed good
schools to be pickier in their intakes.
Jackson argues this has meant boyshave been left out as they give schools a
rough reputation and can cost more for
behaviour issues. Thus schools appeal
to girls.
IndustryEspecially for the Working
Class males. The decline of traditional
industry and the less need for manual
skills has led to less boys having anincentive in school. If they know they do
not have a job to go to whats the point?
Class Is a crucial factor. Although all
boys vs all girls leads to girls doing
better it shouldnt be forgotten that on
the most part middle class boys and
girls achieve equally in the education
system as McVeigh points out.
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GenderHow is the education system geared towards girls?
Feminised - Sewell argues that education
has become feminised. He feels that
boys traits such as competitivenessand risk takingwhich are still
encouraged in socialisationare
discouraged in the education systemwhereas girls traits such as systematic
learning, planning and tidiness are
rewarded and encouraged.
SubjectsThomas argues that education
is still discouraging girls. Her research
found that girls are put off studying thesciences as they feel it will challenge
their gender identity. According to
Thomas women feel they can either be
women or physicist and not both.
CourseworkSocialisation within the
home encourages girls tidiness and
planning skills (as discussed) thus they
tend to do better in coursework. Boys,
however, are encouraged to take
greater risk perform better underexam conditions. This has been
recognised and is being removed from
many subjects.
Male GazeFeminists argue that through
the male gazewhere men objectify
female pupils as sexual objectsthey
are disadvantaged. This puts girls off
studying male subjects, such as
computing, as they feel that being in
the minority will increase this.
Role ModelsThe lack of male
primary school teachers means that
from a young age boys lack
appropriate educational role models.This can mean that boys see education as
feminine and reject its values.
Peer pressureThe fear of being teased
in certain subjects such as PE puts girls
off doing subjects which are not
considered female. Dewar found that
girls risked being called dykes if they
had an open interest in sport. In all-girls schools girls are more likely to do
traditionally male subjects.
MarketisationJackson argues that the
policy of open enrolment has allowed
good school to become selective and
discriminate against boys who portray
a rough reputation and cost more in
behavioural costs.
ClassMcVeigh argues that class and
home factors dictate how a pupil
experiences the education system and
are the overriding factor in achievement.
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To what extent are different genders likely to pick different subjects?
Hidden curriculum Oakley argues that
subject choice comes down to earlygender socialisation. Whereas girls are
more likely to be read to when they areyoung this creates a gender association
thus girls are more likely to study English
than boys. Boys on the other hand are
more likely to be encouraged to take
risks and experiment and are thus
more likely to choose the sciences.
Liberal FeministsCite that girls do
better in all subjects at GCSE includingMaths and Computing. There are also
more women at universities in the
United Kingdom.
Gender identityThomas argues that this
gender division means that girls feel that
by taking the sciences, which are seen as
male, this questions their gender identity.
Thomas states they women feel they
can either by a physicist or woman and
not both.
Francisasking girls about their career
aspirations and found many had high
aspirations and most girls wished to do
not traditionally female jobs such asbeing scientists. This links with Sue
Sharpes study of changing aspirations.
Peer pressureSubject choice is also
determined by peer pressure. Dewer
found that girls are put off doing
subjects associated with sports as they
will end up being labelled dykes.
However, this does not occur in all-girlsschools. Similarly, boys may be put off
studying subjects such as Health and
Social Care or Theatre studies at the
risk of being branded gay.
ParsonsArgues that education is
meritoric and allows a pupils gender,
ethnic background and class to be left
at home as it does not matter once apupil enters the school gates. Thus
gender differences in education subjectare purely down to the individual.
Gendered careersEspecially true of
vocational education courses which are
focused on the students planned career
path. Whereas plumbing and building
is gendered to men hairdressing and
nursing is gendered to girls.
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PolicyEffect of Marketisation
Choicethe 1988 Education Reform Act
created, as David puts it, Parentocracy
putting parents in control of choosinghow their child gets educated and not
the statethis led to a diverse selection
of schools such as grammar schools and
grant maintained schools, outside of
local authority control, which were
able to select and teach in any manner
they wished.
Choice? - Many grammar schools and
GMS required pupils to pass entrance
exams in order to gain admission. Asystem which had been eradicated in
1965 with the introduction of the
comprehensive system was returned. Ball
cites this as the myth of meritocracy.
Open enrolmentalso put the parent at
the forefront. Pupils were no longer
forced to go to their local
comprehensive and were able to shoparound for the best school that suits
their needs. This forced schools to
produce prospectuss and open days in
order to encourage the best pupils to
apply to them.
League TablesBy making the public
aware of good and bad schools it allowed
MC parents with the economic and
cultural capital to make greater efforts
to make sure their children went to the
best school, either by transport or
moving to the catchment area of a good
school known as selection by
mortgage, whereas those with less
economic and cultural capital are stuck
with the cream-skimmed, according to
Bartlett, comprehensive system.
League TablesThe publication of
school league tables meant that parentscould tell which schools were good
schools and which schools were bad
schools this promoted efficiency as it
forced those schools doing badly to
either improve or suffer from a lower
intake or less desirable pupils.
Formula FundingRewarding schools
who do well does not promote efficiency.It only widens the gap of inequality.
Whereas good schools, typically in MC
areas, did well each year and made
more and more money bad schools had
more and more funding losses every
year meaning they cannot afford to
improve their results like the good
schools, which are already doing well!,
can.
Formula Fundingworked by paying
schools a set amount for each pupil theytake. This applied rules of the business
market to schools; good schools, who
received the most applications, were
able to profit and provide high quality
resources whereas bad schools had to
work harder to drive up results.
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PolicyNew Labour reduced inequality and increased diversity
NEETSEncouraged young people to
remain in education through the
introduction ofEMA which paid up to30 a week to fund the Working
Classes in education post 16.They also
put in proposals to changed the school
leaving age up to 18 by 2015 to target
youth unemployment. New Deal was set
up for those under 24 in long term
unemployment to get them in to work or
training.
WhittyWhitty argues that New
Labours policies were ascetic and in
reality promoted inequality and notequality. EMA may have been
introduced but so were tuition fees. In
Labours defence the Torries have just
shot up tuition fees and cut EMA and
thus even greater increasing inequality.
Inner CitiesSet up SureStart and
Excellence in Cities centres in socially
deprived areas to target those suffering
from material deprivation, which is
meant to be WC 1.5 years behind MC
when they start school, and offered
classes to intellectual stimulate very
young children, homework clubs,
Saturday schools and Easter revision
courses. They also offered English
lessons for those with English as a
second language.
Grammar//PrivateNew Labour
maintained the existence of Grammar
Schools which use entrance exams and
continue to maintain inequality. Private
Schools also encourage inequality as
although the fees can be paid by upper
and middle class parents they are out
of reach of the working class parents.
NumlitIntroduced Numeracy andLiteracy Hours in to the Primary
School curriculum which benefitted
those who were not being intellectualengaged at home and particularly those
who do not have English as their first
language.
CurriculumAlthough Labourpromoted diversity in some areas they
encouraged and fully supported the
National Curriculum which is
restrictive to schools in the subjects they
teach.
DiversityEncouraged diversity
through the growth of Faith Schools,
specialist schools and academies in
failing areas. This allowed for greater
choice for different types of education inthe Post Modernist ideology, as Kenneth
argues, not one size fits all education.
Formula FundingThey maintained
Formula Funding which rewards
schools filled with middle class pupils
whilst punishing schools for catering
for the socially deprived and thusincreasing inequality.
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Perspectives on educationFunctionalist influence
SolidarityDurkeim argues that one of
the key roles education performs in toinstall a sense of social solidarity in to
young people in order to commit themto wider society. It achieves this via
teaching the countrys heritage through
history. School also achieves this by
acting as a microcosm of society in
forcing co-operation with many
different groups.
MythMarxist Bowls and Gintis
argue that the idea of meritocracy is amyth in stating that everyone has an
equal chance of achieving in the
education system. They argue this
ignores class inequalities and is used to
justify Working Class Failure as seen
in their Poor Are Dumb Theory.
MeritoricParsons argues that school
provides meritocracyby offering equal
opportunitiesand allows pupils to
leave their class, gender and ethnicity
at home. He argues this as achieved as
all students are judged in the same way
through examinationthus everyone
has an equal chance of achievement.
BrainwashesMarxist Althussier
argues that Social Solidarity is part of
the ideological state apparatus to
project the ideology of the ruling classand forcing the working class to accept
their exploitation. In History by
teaching of British elite like Henry the
8th
without focusing on the social
inequality experienced by the regular
people in the past. In doing this WC
are expected to accepted their position
in society.
Prepares for WorkDavis and Mooreargue that educationthrough
examinationsperforms a function of
role allocation to make sure that
everyone takes up a role that they are
suited to. Inequality is thus essential so
that the most appropriate people fill the
top positions in society. If it didnt exist
then someone who should be at
McDonalds could be a pilot!
Radical FeministArgue that theeducation system prepares women for
their future exploitation from men.
Instead of preparing them for work from
the hidden curriculum they are
encouraged for their future domesticrolesas Lobban found studying
childrens books where most womenwere subordinateThe education
system is also far from meritoric as girls
are forced out of studying certain
subjects which are seen as male, suchas physics, as it questions their gender
identity, as Thomas found, and even if
they overcome that as they will be in the
minority victims of the Male Gaze
where men objectify women as sexual
objects.
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Perspectives on educationPurpose of Education is Social Solidarity
DurkeimArgues that by teaching the
countries heritage through history it gives
pupils a sense of shared commitment totheir wider society.
FunctionalistsArgue that other
essential roles are provided by the
education system. David and Mooreargue that through putting pupils
through examinations a process of role
allocation takes place to ensure that
pupils get jobs most suited to their
abilities.
DurkeimAlso argues that by forcing
pupils to co-operate with others who may
not be friends or family they are further
being prepared for life in greater society.
MarxistsAlso argue that a process of
role allocation occurs. However, they do
not take the positive view the
Functionalists do. Bowls and Gintis
argue that education corresponds
work for WC pupils by forcing them to
perform mundane taskssuch as
dictation and sumsand demanding
respect for adult authority without
question that they will face from their
bosses in the future.
ParsonsArgues that education works
as a half way house between the family
and wider society and teaches the
essential norms and values needed in
order to survive in society. He arguesthat this is taught the same to everyone
as education is meritoricso everyone
has a chance to shape their future society.
MarxistsArgue in Bowls and Gintis
Poor Are Dumb theory that by
portraying that education is meritoric
and ignoring class inequalities it justifies
working class failure by makingindividuals believe that failure is their
own fault.
MarxistAlthusser argues that social
solidarity does happen in education but it
is done in order to maintain the ruling
class ideology. By teaching history of
the elite and not focusing on the
inequality to the regular people of the
past the WC are forced to accept that
the system is fair. Althusser arguesthat this is part of the Ideological State
Apparatus.
FeministsArgue that education
maintains patriarchy through the hidden
curriculum. Lobban found that books
promote women in domestic roles and
Thomas found that girls are put off
doing sciences as they feel it questions
their gender identity.
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Perspectives on educationPrepares for Work
Role AllocationDavis and Moore
argue that education performs aprocess of role allocation through
holding examinations and ensures that
everyone ends up doing the job that they
are most suited to. Inequality is good
because it means the most capable are
at the top of society.
SolidarityDurkeim argues that
education functions as social solidarity.By teaching pupils of a shared cultural
heritage in subjects like History it
commits pupils to the wider society.
MeritoricParsons argues that as
education allows pupils to leave their
class, ethnicity and gender at home itmeans that everyone has equal chance get
allocated a top role in society in their
working life. It also makes sure that no
one is left out.
AlthusserArgues that this does take
place but only to support the Ideological
State Apparatus. By teaching history
pupils learn of Kings and Queens and not
the suffering of the WC and thus accept
their position as fair.
MarxistBowls and Gintis argue that
by forcing WC pupils to do mundane
tasks such as sums and dictation
education corresponds to themundane manual labour they will be
expected to perform in future. They also
argue that in being forced to respect
adult authority without question theyare prepared for future exploitation
from their bosses.
MarxistBowls and Gintis argue that
education portrays a myth of
meritocracy which allows it to blame
WC failure on the individual in their
Poor are Dumb theory. In doing so people
accept exploitation and dont question the
ruling classes.
Feminists Through the hidden
curriculum education works to make
sure women dont want to work.Lobban states that books show women as
domestic. Thomas states that as
sciences are gendered women are put
off doing them.
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Perspectives on educationMarxism influence
AlthusserArgues that education is
essential to the Ideological State
Apparatus. By teaching of Kings andQueens it teaches WC pupils that the
system is fair and their position is
unquestionable.
WillisArgues that WC rebel against the
Ruling Class System in his study of The
Lads. They would play-up and not co-operate with teachers as they knew
their fate supporting the capitalist
system and instead of rejecting it they
championed manual work and saw
academic work as boring, sissy and
undesirable. Here we can see how
Marxists have conflicting views on
education
Bowls and GintisArgue that education
prepares the working class for their
boring jobs support the ruling classes.
Dictation and sums mirror the manual
labour they will have to perform. Respect
for adult authority without question
also mirrors what they will have to do
to their future bosses.
Feministslike McDonald argue that
education supports patriarchy and
Marxism fails to recognise this
inequality. This can be seen in the Male
Gaze.
JustifiesBowls and Gintis also argue
that education works to justify WC
failure by stating that education is
meritoric and ignoring class factors WC
pupils accept their failure and dontquestion the ruling system.
Post ModernistsArgue that Marxism is
OUTDATED and reflects a Fordist world
where manual work was the norm for the
WC. Now we live in a Post-Fordist
work which needs specific skills such asICT and communication skills and the
education system reflects that.However, one could argue that Tesco and
McDonalds is manual work?
ParsonsArgues that education is
meritoric. Davis and Moore argue that
role allocation is essential to make sure
the right people do the right jobs.
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Perspectives on Education - Labelling Theory most important
IdealBecker found that teachers are
more likely to describe their ideal pupil
as one that is middle class. This putslabels on MC pupils as bright and more
dangerously WC pupils as dumb.
Not allFullers study of Black Girls
found that even those that are labelled
negatively can still achieve. They simplyreject and ignore the label they are given.
Self Fulfilling ProphecyThis
judgement on behaviour and appearance
can go along way. Cicourel and Kitsue
found that because of this tutors would
decide what level pupils would be ableto study. This can mean that pupils may
be put in to lower streams of schools and
thus perform a self-forfiling prophecy
Cultural CapitalBordieu argues that
WC pupils are likely to lack the
attitudes, values and knowledge of theMC pupils, such as current affairs or
classical music, which puts Middle Class
pupils at an instant advantage in the
education system. Bernstein found that
WC pupils are also likely to be let
down by their language not fitting in
with the MC norm.
StreamingHargreeves found that
those in lower streams would form
anti-school subcultures in order to gain
the prestige they lacked from academic
achievement. This means a great amount
of time is spent to deal with disruptions
and those who want to learn simply cant.
AttitudesHyman argues that WC
attitudes work as a self imposed
barrier to achievement. She cites
things such as fatalism and immediate
gratification as evidence for this.
When removedBall found that when
streams are removed pupils are morelikely to behaviour calmly and
subcultures quickly disappear with
results on the up. But streaming is still
here to stay.
MaterialLess likely to have space to do
school work, be able to afford resourcesBalls cost of free school and go
to their local comprehensiveGewirtz
of which failing schools are 90% in
materially deprived areas
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Perspectives on EducationNew Right contribution
AutonomyThe New Right believe
that the state should not be in control
of schools and that they need autonomyand the power to teach as they wishefficiently in order to get the best out of
their pupils. This was seen in the
introduction of GMS and Grammar
Schools in 1988 and in 2010 the
introduction of free schools.
AlthusserArgues that cultural heritage
in education is done to support the
Ideological State Apparatus. Historymerely shows us the behaviour of Kings
and Queens and shows pupils that
hierarchy is normal and unchangeable.
MarketisationSchools funding should
rely on the amount of pupils they intake
Formula Fundingthus they need to be
able to attract as many pupils as
possible. This is seen through school
prospectuses and open days. They argue
that the state has a role to play in
producing league tables and inspection of
school standards eg ofsted.
MarketisationGets rid of any
meritocracy in education and breeds
inequality in, as Bartlett put it, cream-
skimming the best pupils from
comprehensive schools and thus
making them worse. They also shift
difficult or disabled pupils to
comprehensive schools as they are
expensive to deal with. Formula
Funding rewards only good schools
and keeps those who need the funds
down.
EconomyNew Right feel that the state
fails to provide workers suited to the
genuine needs of the economy. The riseof New Vocationalism, under Thatcher,
attempted to deal with this by offering
NVQs in practical trades which were
lacking such as Plumbing and Health
and Social Care. These exist today as
BTECHs and Applied A-Levels.
VocationalismCohen states that New
Vocationalism only gives the Working
Class low-skilled jobs and careers anddoes little to improve their social status.
Buswell argues that girls are pushed in
to gender stereotypical roles such as
hairdressing or retail.
CultureEducation should teach pupils a
shared cultural heritage of the countries
cultural, military and social achievements
to make sure the next generation are
committed to their culture.
Choice and autonomyGewirtz argues
only benefits MC parents and pupils
who are able to exploit the greater
choice. Those who are materially
deprived dont have the economic orcultural capital to navigate the greater
choice end up sending their children to
the local comprehensive. 90% of failing
schools are in materially deprived
areas.
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Perspectives on EducationPost Modernism
Post FordismWe no longer live in a society where the WC are forced in to manual
work. Work is now more likely to rely on human capital and take place small
companies in small markets. Thus education needs to provide skills to suit this suchcommunication and ICT skills.
FlexibleEducation now needs to teach flexible skills as people are no longer staying
in one job for life and education has to reflect this. Thus general skills need to be
taught which will be appropriate for a number of different tasks. Learning also cannot
just end at school and needs to be lifelong to retrain people for society. An example of
this would be training the elderly computer skills.
DiversityThey are against curriculums and one type of school. People now live
different and diverse lifestyle which have different needs thus a one size fits all
education is no longer appropriate. This is reflected in New Labours policies of faith
schools and specialist schools.
CriticismsMales and female still do traditional roles. Working Class are likely to
have low skilled jobs and not improve on their social position. Most people still go to
comprehensives. Lifestyles are not as diverse as Postmodernists would like us to
think.
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Resource MethodsQuestionnaires
Easyto distribute in large numbers.
They are also cheap and quick if the
researcher has a short amount of time toconduct their research.
Low Response RateAround 30% end
up getting returned. The effects how
representative they are which is badfor Positivists. Those who do respond
are likely to be different from the greater
population. Thus skews the data.
RepresentativeThey can be
distributed to a representative sample
of society. Postal Questionaires can be
sent anywhere in the country and be
generalised allowing for trends to be
picked up. This is what Positivists like.
Not RepresentativeThey dont allow
for some groups to fill them in. Children
cant. Certain ethnic groups cant and
they can easily be misinterpreted
meaning your results arent accurate.
QuantatativePositivists like this. It
can easily be turned into statistics. It
can also be easily repeated. This gives
them a high amount of reliability.
Lack validityThey are very shallow
and only reflect responses to the
researchers preplanned questions that
might not be the respondents true view
just the one that most represents them.Even in open-ended questionnaires
people do not respond with detailed
information. Interpretivists claim this.
Postal questionnaires
RepresentativeThey can be
distributed to a representative sample
of society. They are easily to be
distributed across the UK and canidentify trends This is what Positivists
like.
AnonymousResearch doesnt know if
respondent is giving socially desirable
responses.
ReliableThey can be easily turned in to
statistics and can easily be repeated.
CircumstanceIf they filled it in by
themselves or not or if they cared
AnonymousThey never meet the
researcher thus are more likely to answer
truthfully getting rid of the interviewereffect and the need to answer in a socially
desirable manor. Helping Validity
Misunderstanding // not taking research
seriouslycan easily skew results if
there are issues. But pilot studies shoulddeal with this. Lacking validity. And bad
for Positivists.
Questionaires given out
Higher response rateMore
representative. Reliability.
PeersMay influence participants
choice.
Any misunderstandings can be dealed
withValidity.
May not be taken seriouslyif within a
school setting.
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Participant Observation
ValidityProvides a lot of qualitativedata. Allows for sociologists to find a
large amount of information without
having to ask any questions through body
language and behaviour. This makes it
highly valid and preferred by
Interpretivists.
EthicalCovert allows for ethical issues.Participants are being deceived and what
if they conduct in illegal behaviour?
NaturalAllows sociologists to witness
participants in their natural
environment. This allows the researcher
to get a true picture of a specific group.
As Lord Humphreys said on his research
on homosexual activities in public toilets
the only way to truly relate to someone is
to be in the same mess they are.
Observer EffectMay not actually be
behaving naturally. But this may pass in
time as they gain the researchers trust and
may take him/her for granted.
Deviant GroupsAllows Sociologists to
get access to difficult social groups. It is
hard to imagine Patrick being able toget in to the Glasgow gang with a
clipboard.
Flexible - No need for hypothesis. Noquestions need to be asked. Information
can just materialise itself to the
researched.
SnapshotThe researcher will only ever
get a snapshot of the groups behaviour.
It is far from reliable or repeatable data
and it cant be generalised. Positivists
dont like this.
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Non Participant observation
ReliableCan record how much time is
spent with male pupils as opposed tofemale pupils for example. Creating
Quantitative data. Which is good for
Positivists.
MisunderstandingLacking validity. It is
from a distance the sociologist cannot besure if they know what is going on. Lacks
validity.Skew results. Lacks reliability.
ValidCan observe people in their
natural setting and thus gain a large
amount of valid data and a true picture of
participants behaviour.
EthicalParticipants dont know they are
being watched. Could be a problem
getting permission to perform in a school.
FlexibleNeeds no hypothesis. Needs no
questions. Answers and points of interest
can just appear to the sociologist.
Observer effectIf they know they are
being observed this will affect results.
Thus lack validity.
Deviant GroupsCan be monitored
when it would usually be difficult to
monitor.
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Structured Interviews
Standardisedeveryone gets asked the
same thing. Answers can be generalised,compared depending on social group and
trends and patterns can be seen.
Positivists like this.
Lacks validityanswers are shallow.
Respondents are restricted and cannotrespond with further points.
Interpretivists dont favour this.
ControlResearcher will find out just
what they set out to find as they maintain
control throughout
Interviewer effectNo rapport can be
gained like in Unstructured Interviews.
This means participants may respond in
the way they think the interview wants.
Skewing results. Bad for Positivists.
ReliableCan easily be repeated as it is
standardised. This makes it favoured by
Positivists. It can also be used for
statistics easily. This is a clear advantage
over Unstructured
Social desirabilityas researcher is
forced to remain neutral in the situation.
RepresentativeDue to being time
consuming unlikely to include much of
the population. Thus not representative.
Bad for Positivists.
Unstructured Interviews
Rapportcan be gained. So participantsact more naturally and more truthfully
then they normally would do. Giving it
validity.
UnreliableThey are difficult to repeatas each is unique. Bad for Positivists.
ValidityAllows researchers to get a
true picture of peoples feelings, opinions
and attitudes.
QualitativeHard to turn in to
quantitative data. How does a researcher
shift through hours of dialog? You cant
make generalisations or identify trends
clearly!
FlexibleInterviewees can raise points
of interest to discuss and interview can
ask more questions. Researchers canpossibly find out more than they set out
to. Preferred by Interpretivists.
Time consumingUnlikely that the
sociologist will be able to conduct a large
number of interviews. Not representative.
Non HierarchalFeminists dont like
Interviews because they treat women as
isolated. Unstructed ones allow them to
discuss how they may be oppressed.
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Group Interviews
Safety in NumbersParticipants may notfeel intimidated and thus unlikely to be
effected by the interview effect. This may
encourage more fuller answers allowing a
true picture and greater validity. Preferred
by Interpretivists.
ControlUsually lack control and aremore likely to be informal and
unstructured.
Devient GroupsMay be willing to be
interviewed as a group but not
individually. An example of this would
be Anti-School subcultures.
ReliableLacks reliability because it is
hard to repeat. A one off. Also, how do
you generalise or turn in to quantitative
data? Positivists dont like it.
Non ValidCertain members of the
group are likely to dominate discussion
with certain members taking the lead and
quieter members simply agreeing in order
not to create conflict.
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Research MethodsLab Experiments
ControlSociologist has complete
control of the situation. No unknown
variables that would be difficult to deal
with.
UnnaturalThe environment is unnatural
thus it is unlikely that that the behaviour
being seen will be natural. This effects
validity. Interpretivists are against this.
ReliabilityThey can easily be repeated
as they are in an isolated environment.
Positivists like this.
Expensiveand time consuming
meaning it is hard to conduct many of
these experiments in order to make it
representative. Positivists dont like this.
ScientificThey allow for precise,
objective and quantitative data to be
found out. Tests can be done in a
scientific way and get scientific results.
Establishing social facts.
Cant establish social facts in an unsocial
environment. It also can be unethical and
could never be used in education.
Field experiments
NaturalTake place in the real world
which allows for accurate results to be
found of peoples actual behaviour. This
gives a true picture and thus
Interpretivists favour this.
Ethical issuesPeople are being
deceived in their natural environment.
FlexibleCan be used in order to gain
high in validity qualitative data or
quantitative data for reliability. This
means that both Positivists and
Interpretivists favour this method.
No controlHard to control the
variables of situations in the realworld. Anything could happen to
interrupt experiment. This can skew
results.
No ControlAllows for whole new
meanings and understandings to be found
out. No set hypothesis is needed a
question and answer can just appear.
One offThey are hard to repeat and
hard to get qualitative data from, due to
the risk of variables, this is bad for
Positivists who may prefer a more
controlled environment such as Lab
experiments.HollowOnly observe. You dont get to
ask questions. Bad for true meaning. Bad
for Interpretivists. Positivists claim it is
just assumptions..So bad for them too.
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Research MethodsOfficial Statistics
Hard Stats = Death Rate, Birth Rate etc
Soft Stats = Unemployment, Crime etc.
EasyTo access. Usually free. Cover
many different areas of social life.
HollowStatistics are just numbers and
do not give true meanings. Interpretivists
dont like them.
Representativecategorise and show a
representative sample of people in the
UK. The Census for example. Good for
Positivists
Not accurateThey can easily be wrong,
effecting validity, Marxists argue that
government statistics, like unemployment
and crime, are changed so they look
better and maintain the Ruling Classes.
Crime also has a lot of variables. This
means they lack validity.
QuantitativeAllow for trends to be seen
in the population. They can be compared
and are easily repeatable. Good for
Positivists.
MistakesCan easily be made by people
who fill in forms or admin staff who
compile them. Even in Hard statistics this
can occour. NOT VALID.
Research MethodsPublic Documents
Easyand cheap to get hold of. Usuallygovernment//Charity//Business and will
provide both qualitative and quantitative
data which is good for both Positivists
and Interpetivists.
Lack ValidityThey have been madewith a bias. They thus are likely to lack
proper validity as they have beenrose
tinted. Bad all round.
Validity- Provide detailed information
with reflections which are likely to be
accurate. Thus they are valid.
RepresentativeTrends can be identified
between similar documents and their take
on events.
Research MethodsPersonal Documents
ValidInterpretivists like these because
they are full of valid data giving true
opinions and incite.
Hard to findThey are personal
documents thus they are hard to get hold
of. The writer may have thought that they
may one day be publishedAnne Frank
etcthus this effects the light they show
themselves in and effects validity.
HonestLikely to be trustworthy as they
were not made with publication in mind.This is good for validity.
Not representativeespecially with old
ones. They do not show the opinions ofthe illiterate population and only show
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the opinions of those who are more able.
This affects their reliability and
representativeness. Positivists dont like
this they cant generalise.
Research MethodsContent Analysis
FlexibleCan be used to collect either
quantitative or qualitative data. The
former, a sociologist may look for social
groups associated with certain types of
media stories. Latter, a sociologist may
look at the amount of time something is
given. Good all around
ReliabilityYou are only taking one
person or organisations view and are not
getting the view of the population. This
affects validity as it is subjective. It is
also not representative of the population.
Affecting its reliability.
ValidAllows a proper insight in to
social behaviour and the messages of the
mass media towards certain groups and
events. This is good for Interpretivists.
HollowStatistical data collected will
be hollow and will not explain the
reasons for the amount of time donated
to certain groups etc but more that what
the researcher seeks to find out does
exist. Bad for validity and.
RepeatableCan be checked for trends
and turned in to statistical data. This can
make it representative and reliable. Good
for Positivists.
Research MethodsCase Studies
Initial ideasCan obtain initial ideas and
research questions about a particular
group which can be used later in a larger
survey.
Too smallCan not be claimed to be
representative. Because they just simply
arent. Positivists dont like them.
ValidityBecause the focus is on one
group it is likely to a large amount of
meaningful information will be found
which will give an accurate picture of the
individuals situation. This is good forvalidity. Interpretivists favour.
RepresentativenessThus you cannot
see trends or patterns in society or
anything. So they lack a clear purpose on
their own.
FlexibleBecause it is in-depth on one
group allowing for a large amount of
information to be collected hypotheses
and questions do not need to be
formulated. Ideas can appear throughout
the study.
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Research MethodsLongitudinal Studies
Not just a snapshotUnlike
Questionnaires of Interviews which only
show the opinion right there and then
allow for real opinions and meaning to be
developed over time. Such as Seven Up
repeated every 7 years which has gone on
for more than 50 years.
ExpensiveIt takes a lot of money and a
lot of time and travelling. People may
move across the world!
ValidBecause of this it is able to
provide a large amount of valid data.
Drop out rateTends to be very high.
Meaning that the sample is not as
representative as it once was. In a study
on education the non-successful
participants may no longer wish to
participate this means the sample
remaining are not representative. This
effects validity and representativeness.
Bad all round. This is called Sample
attrition.
TrendsIt allows for trends in the
population to be identified. One time the
study takes place can be entirely differentto the next. This is good for Positivists.
Sample sizeIs likely to be small and
unlikely to be representative of the entire
population. Thus Positivists dont reallysee the point.
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Research MethodsWhat might affect choice of topic?
Personal InterestFeminists for example. Study Womens Rights because intereststhem. Teachers may be interest in aspects of the education system they wish to study.
Flavour of the monthFeminism, Racism and Poverty have all had heydeys where a
number of studies have been done about them. It is likely to that important social
issues at the time will be studied due to public interest.
FundingMany Sociologists research is determined by those willing to fund it.
Businesses may wish them to study a commercial issue. The government, for
example, is making some research dependent that they study the idea of the Big
Society. This is something which Sociologists will have a big influence in.
Practical IssuesIt is hard for a man to gain access to a maternity ward to study the
womens feelings of childbirth. Similarly it would be hard for a woman to study a
group of football hooligans or male anti-school cultures.
Knowledge gapsSomething which has not been studied in detail before may inspire
a Sociologist to try and plug the gap in the market. Just like business.
Research MethodsWhat Practical Issues can materialise?
Large scaleIt would be hard to do
interviews to test the link between social
class and educational failure in the UK as
you would need a big sample which
would take time. Thus Questionnaires arelikely.
Time and moneyCan effect the type of
research a sociologist would do.
Interviews, Observation and Longitudinal
studies take a long time and are very
expensive. If they are doing research for auniversity they are likely to have a budget
and time frame.
Deviant groupsUnlikely to respond to
things such as questionnaires or requests
for interviews. They may prefer
participant observation like the Glasgow
gang did in Patricks research.
FundingSociologists are likely to be
sponsored by either the government or
universities or commercial companies.
This will affect the type of research.
Many want quantitative data for example
as it appears scientific and can be
comparable.
Research MethodsWhat Ethical issues can arise?
According to BSA need informed consent from respondents before performingresearch. Thus participant observation covertly and some field experiments
ethically challenging.
Studies have to ensure respondents privacy. Especially if researching a deviantgroup as any information could lead them to trouble with the law.
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Research MethodsWhat Theoretical issues? Positivists likely to do research which is representative and can be repeated so
they look like scientists. Lad experiments, interviews, questionnaires
Interpretivists are unlikely to do this and are more likely to do research withobservation or unstructured interviews or even field experiments to get a truer
picture of events.
Feminists are likely to do research which focuses on womens rights. Marxistswith class conflict and New Right with attacking state intervention.