Sociology · May / June 2025 · Paper 21 · Question 2
0495
As printed in the paper
Show the answer and mark scheme
2(a)(i)[2]
Define the term role allocation. Award one mark for a partial definition, e.g. schools decide your future job. Award two marks for a clear definition, e.g. sorting individuals into appropriate jobs and roles based on achievement in school.
2(a)(ii)[2]
Define the term institutional racism. Award one mark for a partial definition, e.g. schools treat ethnic groups differently. Award two marks for a clear definition, e.g. when the functioning of the education system involves systems and expectations that lead to discrimination against an ethnic group.
2(b)[2]
State two reasons why private schools get good examination results. Award one mark for each correct reason (up to a maximum of two). Possible responses:
classes are smaller – more individual attention helps with results;better facilities and resources – supports better results;parents are fee- paying customers so demand high levels of service – resulting in better results;
selection by ability – brightest students attend so get the best results;pro-school sub-cultures – work hard to achieve good results;high value placed on education by all stakeholders – meaning good results;opportunities – high social capital and social networking opportunities;any other reasonable response.2(c)[6]
Explain three ways education differs globally for girls. Award one mark for each point correctly identified (up to a maximum of three). Award one mark for each point that is developed (up to a maximum of three). Possible responses:
access to education for girls – in some developing countries boys are more likely to go to school than girls. This may be because of patriarchy, expectations of future gender roles etc.;norms, values and cultural differences – in some countries girls’ futures are seen in terms of marriage and children, therefore education is not prioritised or seen as important;experience of school – approx. 1 in 3 African schools have no toilets/poor quality toilets. This means that when menstruating girls may not attend for fear of embarrassment;poverty – in some countries girls are an economic necessity for the family therefore school is not an option;single sex education – girls in some countries will be educated only with other girls whereas in other countries education will be co-ed;positive discrimination – in some parts of the world girls are part of positive discrimination schemes to try and equalise their opportunities e.g. girls into STEM, priority access to lab equipment etc.;UN initiatives – they are strongly committed to improving education for girls and therefore member governments are likely to introduce initiatives and schemes into schools in those countries to focus on the education of girls;subject availability – in some areas of the world progressive subjects such as sociology are available for girls to study, allowing them to question the unequal systems they may be living under and so aspire for well paid, higher status, professional careers;any other reasonable response.2(d)[6]
Explain three positive functions of education. Award one mark for each point correctly identified (up to a maximum of three). Award one mark for each point that is developed (up to a maximum of three). Possible responses:
socialisation – schools pass on the norms and values of society from one generation to the next;social control – schools use positive and negative sanctions to control students behaviour, ensuring that they conform to societies expectations;economic function – education ensures that society has enough people with education, skills, qualifications and training to maintain the economy;selective function/role allocation – by testing and grading learners education ensures that individuals can find work that is appropriate for their ability and efforts;meritocracy – education is fair for all and everyone has the same opportunities for success therefore allowing for individuals to achieve social mobility;value consensus – schools teach individuals a shared set of norms and values which creates a sense of belonging and thus creates a more harmonious society;vocationalism – education for work allows learners to take courses that lead them directly into associated careers, ensuring there are trained people to fill these roles e.g. health care, car vehicle maintenance etc.;Marxism – education inculcates capitalist ideologies and is thus positive for the bourgeoisie as it ensures that capitalism is widely accepted as a fair and just system for all;feminism – education maintains the patriarchy in society and so is seen as positive for men who are able to maintain their higher status and power within society;any other reasonable response.2(e)[8]
Discuss why Marxists criticise the hidden curriculum. Use Table A to mark answers to this question. Possible responses:
hierarchies – students learn their place and the associated norms that go with their role – older students may have higher status than younger students and teachers definitely are higher in the hierarchy than students – this prepares lower class learners for the low position they will have in society and the workplace – they accept their place;norms and values – expected social norms and values that support the ‘status quo’ and discourage social criticism are learnt, normalised and reinforced when at school, leading to a culture of passivity;competition – sports and academic testing are both a form of competition found in schools – they give the message that doing better than others is important for success which benefits the bourgeoisie who will employ these students in the future as their workers – high productivity = maximum profit;importance of punctuality – students follow a timetable and are often ‘ruled by the bell’, they have to be in classrooms at particular times and will be sanctioned if late. This prepares them for the same level of control in their future world of work;social conformity – positive and negative sanctions are used in schools to ensure that student behaviour is controlled and students conform to the school rules and expectations, making them passive and thus benefiting the bourgeoisie later in life;Marxism – the hidden curriculum is about the bourgeoisie controlling the proletariat through ideology (ISA) – they learn not to have high expectations of work or of life, they accept orders from others and being bored is expected;fatalism – education persuades working class learners that it is their own fault that they do badly in school when in fact Marxists believe that the system has been designed to ensure that most of the working class do not do well at school;upper class children – Marxists believe that the hidden curriculum for the upper class is very different to that of the working class as they learn to expect a high-status occupation in which they will tell others what to do as they will be in positions of authority;any other reasonable response.2(f)[14]
Evaluate the view that in-school factors have the most influence on educational achievement. Use Table B to mark answers to this question. Possible responses for:
attending a ‘good school’ – Rutter’s research indicates that whether or not a child attends a ‘good school’ is the determining factor for a child’s educational achievement;quality of schooling – Morris’s research showed that schools in more deprived areas were not at the same educational standard as those in wealthier areas, thus affecting results;peer groups in school – middle class students are more likely to be supportive of their peer group and to value education whereas working class students are often the opposite and may form anti-school sub-cultures that reject the aims and values of education e.g. Willis ‘the lads’;type of school – Marxists believe students attending private and selective schools will achieve more than those in the state and non-selective sectors due to improved resources, funding, higher expectations and smaller class sizes;teacher labelling and expectations – teachers judge and classify learners in different ways, as hard working or trouble, as high or low achievers, and these expectations can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy that will affect educational achievement – particularly for boys, the working class and ethnic minorities;setting and streaming – research shows that students placed in the lower sets are not pushed and challenged as much as those in the higher sets. Behaviour is worse and homework is less. This affects educational achievement (Rosenthal and Joacobsen);ethnocentric curriculum – if the curriculum in a school favours the majority culture, then minority groups can feel alienated and reluctant to work hard – this affects their educational achievement;linguistic factors – schools operate in the elaborated code and expect students to do the same. Those that don’t have this linguistic skill are thus disadvantaged in education (e.g. lower class, ethnic minorities);role models – schools are often described as middle class institutions and thus if ethnic minority or working class students lack role models in school to encourage and motivate them to do well then they may believe that education is not for them and so not try or work hard;any other reasonable response. Possible responses against:material factors – material deprivation may be more important than in- school factors in determining educational achievement e.g. not having a quiet place to study, a lack of resources, having to work part-time, lack of access to digital resources, private tutors etc.;parental values – it may be the attitudes at home that are most influential when it comes to educational achievement e.g. the working class need for immediate gratification, parents not valuing education etc.;cultural capital – working class/ethnic minority parents may lack the cultural capital of wealthier parents – this lack of familiarity with books, museums, galleries, theatre etc. may be the main reason for differences in educational achievement;community factors – some areas may have issues with crime, drugs and gangs that interfere with the education of some students and disadvantage them when it comes to educational achievement;home factors – no one in the family may have done well in education previously and thus there is an absence of successful role models at home to motivate individuals, so affecting educational achievement;socialisation and social control – girls are thought to be more tightly socially controlled than boys and to be socialised to be more passive – this may advantage girls over boys when it comes to education;feminism – societal changes have meant that girls now do better than boys on average in education and this could be because they have higher aspirations and a desire to break the patriarchy;any other reasonable response.
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