Sociology · Oct / Nov 2024 · Paper 21 · Question 2

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There are inequalities in patterns of educational achievement. Some students choose to join anti-school sub-cultures. Sociologists debate whether educational achievement is affected by the type of school attended. Setting occurs in most types of schools. 2

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2(a)[2]
What is meant by the term ‘setting’? One mark for a partial definition e.g. higher ability teaching. Two marks for a clear definition e.g. when children are taught in classes of similar ability for a particular subject.
2(b)[4]
Describe two examples of inequality in patterns of educational achievement. Possible answers:
gender – in some cultures boys’ education is prioritised over girls’, meaning boys achieve more;
gender – in many societies there is a gendered curriculum, meaning girls and boys may achieve success in very different subjects e.g. boys in woodwork, girls in textiles;
gender – in many MISs girls are now achieving better than boys in all levels of education e.g. STEM initiatives;
ethnicity – in most countries, ethnic minority students tend to do less well than the average for the country e.g. institutional racism;
ethnicity – black students in countries such as USA and UK do not tend to do well in education e.g. teacher labelling;
ethnicity – traveller and Roma children do not tend to do well in education e.g. ethnocentric curriculum;
ethnicity – cultures where education is highly valued tend to do well in education e.g. Chinese and Indian students (Archer);
social class – students from the lower social classes tend to do less well than those from the higher social classes e.g. material deprivation;
any other reasonable response. One mark for each point correctly identified (up to maximum of two). One mark for each point that is developed (up to a maximum of two).
2(c)[6]
Explain how a lack of cultural capital disadvantages some students. Possible answers:
values and attitudes – students brought up in a home environment where education is not valued and is seen as unimportant are disadvantaged in school;
fatalism – students who believe they cannot achieve educational success and/or social mobility are disadvantaged in education as they do not possess belief in meritocracy and social mobility;
immediate gratification – students who are socialised to want to leave education as soon as possible for the money that the workplace can bring are disadvantaged with future life chances as they will not achieve higher level qualifications;
restricted code – speaking in this code at home rather than the elaborated code used at school will disadvantage students in education who find the middle-class world of education and assessment more difficult to navigate and be successful in;
parents – students with parents who do not have regular contact with school and who do not push and expect them to do well are disadvantaged in education as there are lowered parental expectations;
home environment – students brought up with no access to literature, high cultural events, museum and art gallery visits etc are disadvantaged in education where these features are commonly discussed and, indeed, are often part of the curriculum;
any other reasonable response. Band 0 [0 marks] No creditworthy response. Band 1 [1–3 marks] Answers in this band will show only a limited awareness of the question. Responses may be short and un/underdeveloped. At the bottom of the band (1 mark), expect one weak point. Higher in the band (2–3 marks), candidates may offer more than one weak point, but there may be a tendency towards simplistic answers, engaging with sociological ideas without using sociological language. Band 2 [4–6 marks] Answers in this band will have clear and accurate explanation, showing good sociological knowledge and understanding. Sociological terms and concepts should be expected and explained. At the bottom of the band, the range of points covered may be narrow or lack detail. Higher in the band, answers will cover more than one point in a well-developed way or cover several points in less detail.
2(d)[8]
Explain why some students join anti-school sub-cultures. Possible answers:
sense of failure – failing academically in school may lead to some students rebelling and joining an anti-school sub-culture;
status frustration – unable to gain status legitimately through academic success, some students turn to an anti-school sub-culture to gain status instead (Cohen);
culture of masculinity – schools and education can be seen as feminine and thus some male students may turn to anti-school sub-cultures in order to ‘play up’ their masculinity;
teacher labelling – teachers have an image of an ‘ideal pupil’ and evidence suggests that students who do not match this may be placed into lower sets and streams – the anti-school sub-culture may thus be a way of dealing with this;
improved sense of self-esteem – the sense of belonging from an anti- school sub-culture may help students cope with the pressures and stresses of school;
racism – schools may be perceived as racist and ethnocentric by some ethnic minority students and thus they may turn to an anti-school sub- culture in order to resist this racism;
Willis ‘the lads’ – these working class boys knew that academic qualifications were not needed for the manual work they would go into after leaving school and therefore saw school as a place to ‘have a laff’ by joining an anti-school sub-culture;
Sewell – the black boys in his study joined anti-school sub-cultures to assert their masculinity and to resist the racism and discrimination they felt in schools and wider society e.g. ethnocentric curriculum;
any other reasonable response. Band 0 [0 marks] No creditworthy response. Band 1 [1–3 marks] Answers in this band will show only a limited awareness of the question. A tendency to description is likely. Responses may be short and undeveloped and points stated without explanation. Sociological terms and concepts are unlikely to be used. At the bottom of the band (1 mark), expect one weak point. Higher in the band (2–3 marks), candidates may offer more than one weak point. Band 2 [4–6 marks] Answers in this band will show basic sociological knowledge and understanding. Responses maybe underdeveloped and lacking in range. At the bottom of the band, candidates are unlikely to use sociological terms and concepts accurately. Higher in the band, candidates may be beginning to use sociological terms and concepts with greater accuracy. However, some aspects of the answer may only be partially developed/explained. Band 3 [7–8 marks] Answers in this band will show good sociological knowledge and understanding and will be well-developed and explained. Sociological terms and concepts will be used accurately overall. Answers will be well-focused on the question and there will be a range of points presented. At the top of the band explanations will be clear throughout.
2(e)[15]
To what extent does the type of school a student attends affect their educational achievement? Possible answers: FOR:
Rutter – attending a ‘good school’ is the key factor to determine educational achievement and is far more important than home or community or material or cultural factors;
private schools – paid for by parents, examination results are typically excellent – small class sizes, well resourced, prestigious. An academic culture prevails;
Marxism – private education maintains the ruling class elitism and privilege and reproduces the social inequalities e.g. those from the top private schools dominate elite universities e.g. Oxbridge and this is directly linked to educational achievement;
comprehensive schools – mixed ability, not all students will do well, perhaps due to setting and streaming, often under-funded, diverse mix of students and often less focus on academic education;
single-sex schools – educational achievement is typically higher in a single-sex school than in a co-ed when the distractions of the opposite sex are removed;
selective schools – entrance examinations ensure the brightest students are selected – students in these schools typically achieve highly e.g. grammar schools e.g. pro-school subcultures;
faith schools – education and the curriculum may be more religious in focus, examination results are typically high with supportive parents and high expectations;
scholarships – these are available to the brightest students from all backgrounds, allowing them to attend private schools where they achieve highly – showing it is the school, rather than other factors that determine educational achievement;
any other reasonable response. AGAINST
functionalism – meritocracy – the type of school attended is irrelevant. Educational achievement is determined by a person’ hard work and effort;
teacher labelling – educational achievement is not determined by the type of school but by the attitude and treatment of students by the teachers e.g. setting and streaming, Becker’s ‘ideal pupil’;
material factors – educational achievement is not determined by the type of school but by the amount of money the parents have e.g. students from the higher social classes achieve better in all types of schools e.g. private tuition, internet, quiet study space;
cultural factors – educational achievement is not determined by the type of school but by home and cultural factors such as parental aspirations, the value placed on education etc.;
linguistic factors – educational achievement is not determined by the type of school but by the language spoken e.g. bilingual children typically achieve well in all schools, students using restricted code do not typically do well and students whose home language differs from that of the schools do not tend to do well;
ethnicity – educational achievement may be determined more by institutional racism and the ethnocentric curriculum than by the type of school attended e.g. Sewell;
gender – girls are said to be more studious than boys, encouraged through socialisation and stricter social control and therefore it is this, rather than the type of school, that determines educational achievement;
gender – in some societies boys’ education is prioritised over girls’, therefore the type of school attended is irrelevant for educational success;
peer groups – it may be the type of sub-culture a student is involved in (pro or anti-school, for example) that determines educational achievement, not the type of school attended;
intelligence – educational achievement is determined by intelligence i.e. bright students do well in any type of school;
any other reasonable response. Band 0 [0 marks] No creditworthy response. Band 1 [1–4 marks] Answers in this band may be vague and largely based on common sense showing limited knowledge of the debate. Use of sociological terms or concepts is very unlikely. Responses may be short, undeveloped and one- sided. Lower in the band (1–2 marks), expect one or two weak points. Higher in the band (3–4 marks) candidates may offer more than two points and provide a weak definition of key terms in the question. Band 2 [5–8 marks] In this band candidates will show some basic knowledge of the debate. Alternatively, they may offer an answer which is list-like in nature but there will be no real attempt to assess the issues raised by the question. There may be limited/some use of sociological terms or concepts. Responses may be underdeveloped and lack range. Answers may be simplistic and two-sided or only cover one side of the debate. Lower in the band, the response may be rather narrow in the points covered and there may be some development. Higher in the band, more points are likely to be covered with some development. Alternatively, a list-like answer with some development covering both sides of the argument may score up to 8 marks. A one-sided answer cannot score higher than 8 marks. Band 3 [9–12 marks] Answers in this band will show good sociological knowledge and understanding of the debate. Sociological terms and concepts will be used with greater accuracy and/or frequency. For the most part, answers will be well-developed, focused on the questions and there will be a range of points presented. There will be a two-sided response but it may lack range on one side. At the bottom of the band, candidates may provide a narrower range of developed points. At the top of the band, expect a wider range of developed points and clear focus on the question. Band 4 [13–15 marks] Answers in this band will show excellent knowledge and understanding of the debate. There will be a strong grasp of the arguments as well as accurate and frequent use of sociological terms and concepts. Answers will be well- developed, clearly focused on the question and discuss a wide range of points. Responses will be two-sided and have a range of points on each side. At the bottom of the band (13 marks), the answer may lack a specific conclusion. Higher in the band, there will be a clear attempt to offer an assessment of the ‘To what extent.?’ part of the question through a focused conclusion.

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