AQA A-LEVEL SOCIOLOGY
3 main aspects of Interpretivism
- answersmeanings and motives e.g experiences, causes of actions, feelings
ethnographic research e.g observation of interviewees (empathetic understanding)
validity (truthful and accurate)
3 main aspects of Positivism
- answersdeductivism- hypothesis (a statement not a question)
identifying patterns and trends (establish social fact)
objectivity, without involvement of values so no bias
Action theorists (MICRO)
- answerswe can control society, bottom-up, free will and active
Agencies of socialisation
- answerssocial institutions which form part of the process of passing on to people the
norms and values of society e.g family
Capitalism
- answersclass based society; working class and ruling class. the ruling class controls
the working class and exploits them for profit
Conflict theorists
- answerstheories that regard society as being unequal, resulting in the oppression of
particular groups, power imbalance among groups and can be solved with large-scale
social change, because society is inherently unfair, they fail to acknowledge the positive
aspects of society e.g marxism
Consensus theorists
- answerstheorists that argue that the changes that have occurred in society are
positive, believe problems in society are warnings and can be solved, because of
optimistic view, they might overlook serious problems in society e.g functionalism
Culture
- answersthe language, beliefs, values, norms, behaviors, and even material objects
that characterize a group and are passed from one generation to the next
, Difference feminists
- answersdo not see all women as a homogeneous group, they argue that variation can
exist along many lines, such as sexuality, class, ethnicity and location
Explain the Comprehensive school system
- answersthe comprehensive school system is a UK secondary education model
founded in 1965, where students of all abilities and backgrounds attend the same
school. it replaced the selective system, aiming to provide equal opportunities for
everyone.
Explain the Tripartite system
- answersin 1944, children were selected based on their scores in 11+ exams, those
who passed went to Grammar schools, others went to secondary schools and few went
to technical schools
How are those 4 attitudes internalised?
- answersthrough primary socialisation as parents pass them on to their children
resulting in them underachieving
How does labelling lead to underachievement?
- answersWhen teachers label pupil according to class, appearance, intelligence,
behaviour etc. the pupil may act in terms of the label given
How does Willis believe that schools serve capitalism?
- answerskids from w/c backgrounds mess about at school and end up with poor exam
results which consequently lead to poorly paid w/c jobs, this benefits capitalism as the
ruling class can benefit from w/c employees
How does Willis combine social structure with social action in his study?
- answershe uses the marxist view that education is closely linked to the needs of
capitalism but doesn't believe there's a direct link between education and the economy,
he uses qualitative research methods (observation)
How does Willis' view differ from the viewpoint of previous Marxists (Althusser and
Bowles & Gintis)?
- answershis view shows that these children reject the ideology & resist indoctrination
as they see through the meritocratic ideology whilst the other Marxists say they're
passive and complacent
How is alienation mirrored between school and the workplace?
- answersschool:
- through student's 'lack of control' over education e.g what to study, timetables
workplace:
- through workers' lack of control over production e.g managers decide how, when and
where to produce
3 main aspects of Interpretivism
- answersmeanings and motives e.g experiences, causes of actions, feelings
ethnographic research e.g observation of interviewees (empathetic understanding)
validity (truthful and accurate)
3 main aspects of Positivism
- answersdeductivism- hypothesis (a statement not a question)
identifying patterns and trends (establish social fact)
objectivity, without involvement of values so no bias
Action theorists (MICRO)
- answerswe can control society, bottom-up, free will and active
Agencies of socialisation
- answerssocial institutions which form part of the process of passing on to people the
norms and values of society e.g family
Capitalism
- answersclass based society; working class and ruling class. the ruling class controls
the working class and exploits them for profit
Conflict theorists
- answerstheories that regard society as being unequal, resulting in the oppression of
particular groups, power imbalance among groups and can be solved with large-scale
social change, because society is inherently unfair, they fail to acknowledge the positive
aspects of society e.g marxism
Consensus theorists
- answerstheorists that argue that the changes that have occurred in society are
positive, believe problems in society are warnings and can be solved, because of
optimistic view, they might overlook serious problems in society e.g functionalism
Culture
- answersthe language, beliefs, values, norms, behaviors, and even material objects
that characterize a group and are passed from one generation to the next
, Difference feminists
- answersdo not see all women as a homogeneous group, they argue that variation can
exist along many lines, such as sexuality, class, ethnicity and location
Explain the Comprehensive school system
- answersthe comprehensive school system is a UK secondary education model
founded in 1965, where students of all abilities and backgrounds attend the same
school. it replaced the selective system, aiming to provide equal opportunities for
everyone.
Explain the Tripartite system
- answersin 1944, children were selected based on their scores in 11+ exams, those
who passed went to Grammar schools, others went to secondary schools and few went
to technical schools
How are those 4 attitudes internalised?
- answersthrough primary socialisation as parents pass them on to their children
resulting in them underachieving
How does labelling lead to underachievement?
- answersWhen teachers label pupil according to class, appearance, intelligence,
behaviour etc. the pupil may act in terms of the label given
How does Willis believe that schools serve capitalism?
- answerskids from w/c backgrounds mess about at school and end up with poor exam
results which consequently lead to poorly paid w/c jobs, this benefits capitalism as the
ruling class can benefit from w/c employees
How does Willis combine social structure with social action in his study?
- answershe uses the marxist view that education is closely linked to the needs of
capitalism but doesn't believe there's a direct link between education and the economy,
he uses qualitative research methods (observation)
How does Willis' view differ from the viewpoint of previous Marxists (Althusser and
Bowles & Gintis)?
- answershis view shows that these children reject the ideology & resist indoctrination
as they see through the meritocratic ideology whilst the other Marxists say they're
passive and complacent
How is alienation mirrored between school and the workplace?
- answersschool:
- through student's 'lack of control' over education e.g what to study, timetables
workplace:
- through workers' lack of control over production e.g managers decide how, when and
where to produce
