as sociology education with methods in context example ... · pdf fileusing one example,...

AS SociologyEducation with Methods in Context

Example Answers Specimen Paper

1. Define the term ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’. [2 marks]

2. Using one example, briefly explain how cultural deprivation may affect

educational achievement. [2 marks]

3. Outline three ways in which the organisation of schooling may be

ethnocentric. [6 marks]

4. Outline and explain two reasons for gender differences in subject choice.

[10 marks]

5. Read Item A below and answer the question that follows.

Applying material from Item A and your knowledge, evaluate the view that

differences in educational achievement between social groups are the result of

factors and processes within schools. [20 marks]

Methods in Context

Applying material from Item B and your knowledge of research methods, evaluate

the strengths and limitations of using self-completion written questionnaires to

investigate unauthorised absences from school. [20 marks]

Level of response marking instructions

Level of response mark schemes are broken down into levels, each of which has a descriptor. The descriptor for the level shows the average performance for the level. There are marks in each level.

Before you apply the mark scheme to a student’s answer read through the answer and annotate it to show the qualities that are being looked for. These include:

• Indicative content• Key thinkers & studies• Evaluation points.

Step 1 Determine a level

Start at the lowest level of the mark scheme and use it as a ladder to see whether the answer meets the descriptor for that level. The descriptor for the level indicates the different qualities that might be seen in the student’s answer for that level. If it meets the lowest level then go to the next one and decide if it meets this level, and so on, until you have a match between the level descriptor and the answer. With practice and familiarity you will find that for better answers you will be able to quickly skip through the lower levels of the mark scheme. When assigning a level you should look at the overall quality of the answer and not look to pick holes in small and specific parts of the answer where the student has not performed quite as well as the rest. If the answer covers different aspects of different levels of the mark scheme you should use a best fit approach for defining the level and then use the variability of the response to help decide the mark within the level, ie if the response is predominantly level 3 with a small amount of level 4 material it would be placed in level 3 but be awarded a mark near the top of the level because of the level 4 content.

Step 2 Determine a mark

Once you have assigned a level you need to decide on the mark. The descriptors on how to allocate marks can help with this. The exemplar materials used during standardisation will help. There will be an answer in the standardising materials which will correspond with each level of the mark scheme. This answer will have been awarded a mark by the Lead Examiner. You can compare the student’s answer with the example to determine if it is the same standard, better or worse than the example. You can then use this to allocate a mark for the answer based on the Lead Examiner’s mark on the example. You may well need to read back through the answer as you apply the mark scheme to clarify points and assure yourself that the level and the mark are appropriate. Indicative content in the mark scheme is provided as a guide for examiners. It is not intended to be exhaustive and you must credit other valid points. Students do not have to cover all of the points mentioned in the Indicative content to reach the highest level of the mark scheme.

An answer which contains nothing of relevance to the question must be awarded no marks.

Using one example, briefly explain how cultural deprivation may affect educational

achievement. (2 marks)

A. Paid compulsory trips may not be affordable for some pupil’s families.

B. People with cultural deprivation tend to use a restricted language code

whereas schools use the elaborated code.

C. In some cultures support education a lot, so the children would get support from

their family to do well in education.

D. By not being able to understand the elaborated code children may struggle

understanding teachers, textbooks and exams. This affects the working class as

they speak the restricted code.

Two marks for a clearly explained example or one mark for a partially explained

example, such as:

• Valuing immediate gratification (1 mark) may lead to pupils leaving school

early with fewer qualifications (+1 mark)

• Having a restricted speech code (1 mark) may prevent pupils

understanding teachers, textbooks or exam questions (+1 mark)

• Fatalistic subcultural values (1 mark) may lead to pupils not trying hard to

achieve (+1 mark).

Other relevant material should be credited. No marks for no relevant points.

Outline three ways in which the organisation of schooling may be ethnocentric.

[6 marks]

Student A:

Ethnocentric means being focused on just one Religion or Ethnicity and a way a school

does this is through the fact that schools only support black history week only in that time

and not all the time. Also school websites are only in English. This could be ignoring different

ethnicity also the fact that School food is generally only typically English food this could

mean other ethnicities may feel marginalised.

Student B• The school holidays only fall in Christian festivals such as Christmas and Easter.

• When students are taught history it’s only ever the history of Britain not other countries. This may give a biased view and may make other cultures feel excluded.

• The food sold is only suited to the British culture and not other cultures. Those requiring a special diet due to their culture may not be catered for eg Halal.

Two marks for each of three appropriate reasons clearly outlined or one mark for appropriate reasons partially outlined, such as:

• Uniform or dress requirements (1 mark) may conflict with cultural norms of some minorities (+1 mark)

• Timing of holidays (1 mark) may reflect Christian festivals rather than those of other faiths (+1 mark)

• Teaching only European languages (1 mark) devalues linguistic heritage of some minorities (+1 mark)

• Arrangements for PE/games (showers, changing etc) (1 mark) may conflict with

cultural requirements for modesty (+1 mark) • Teaching history from a British perspective (1 mark) may produce a biased view of

other cultures’ contributions (+1 mark).

Other relevant material should be credited. No marks for no relevant points.

Outline and explain two reasons for gender differences in subject choice.

[10 marks]

Boys tend to choose Computer Science, Mathematics and Physics whilst girls tend

to choose subjects like MFL and English. These are gendered subject choices.

One reason for gendered subject choices is that girls and boys undergo different

primary socialisation parents can often act as role models to their children and in

the home boys start to see reading and language as feminine activities.

Primary socialisation and view of reading may lead to boys and girls choosing

different tastes in reading. Boys are more likely to read factual literature and

information. Girls, as found by Elwood, prefer texts about people and fiction. This

may explain the difference in subject choice.

The school may also be responsible for this gendered pattern of subject choice.

Girls are more likely to see female teachers teaching RE, English and MFL whereas

boys will see male teachers teaching Physics and Mathematics.

The textbooks used in the classroom are also important. Many science books

convey the image that science is a male subject by using men or boys or by

relating science to examples which boys are more comfortable with.

Gendered subject images may also link to future career opportunities. Girls and

boys may choose those subjects which are seen as more appropriate to their future

careers. This is particularly in evidence in vocational courses such and Health and

Social Care and Construction.

All this means that boys and girls are more likely to take different subjects, even

when the National Curriculum means that they are forced, below the age of 16, to

take many different subjects.

It could be noted that the subjects are less ‘gendered’ in same sex schools.


[10 marks]

Level Marks Description

3 8 – 10 AO1 Answers in this band will show very good knowledge and understanding of two reasons for gender differences in subject choice.

AO2 There will be two applications of relevant material, eg the role of gender domains in making boys and girls feel at home in different subjects; the impact of ‘laddist’ subcultures on boys’ subject choices.

AO3 There will be appropriate analysis, eg the reasoned conclusion that gender differences in subject choice are often wider in vocational subjects because of the impact of the gendered occupational structure in shaping pupils’ ideas about career options.

2 4 – 7 AO1 Answers in this band will show a reasonable to good knowledge and understanding of one or two reasons for gender differences in subject choice.

AO2 There will be one or two applications of relevant material, eg peer groups exerting pressure to conform to gendered expectations about subject choice

AO3 There will be some basic analysis.

1 1 - 3 AO1 Answers in this band will show limited knowledge and little or no understanding of reasons for gender differences in subject choice.

AO2 There will be limited focus on the question, eg there may be some drift into outlining gender differences in achievement rather than subject choice.

AO3 There will be little or no analysis.

Indicative content Answers may include the following and/or other relevant points:

• peer pressure • pupils’ gender identities • primary socialisation • gender domains • school organisation and type (mixed vs. single-sex classes/schools) • teacher influence/teaching styles • gendered subject images • stereotyping in learning materials • career preferences/gender segregation in the labour market.

Read Item A below and answer the question that follows.




Interactionists believe that different social groups achieve differently because of what goes

on inside the school. One example is social class. Becker argued that teachers develop labels

about students based on their conduct and appearance rather than their ability. Because

working class student were not as well-behaved as middle class students teachers would

label them as less able.

Labelling can begin as early as primary school. Rist studied kindergartens and found that

appearance and background were used by leaders to put children into groups. These were

known as tigers for the high achievers and clowns for the low achievers. The leader gave the

tigers more attention.

Rosenthal and Jacobson argue that the labelling can produce a self-fulfilling prophecy. This

means that students who are labelled as less able will become less able. They get treated by

teachers as less able and they internalise this treatment and feel they are not able to achieve

in education. They may start to believe that these labels are true because of the way that

they are treated. The more times that they are told by a teacher in the classroom and by the

process of being streamed the more they are likely to believe that they cannot perform . They

will give up.

Middle class students will believe exactly the reverse process. Students labelled as clever will

get given the best resources and will get pushed the furthest. They will believe they can

succeed and they will work harder. Keddie argues that teachers will deny knowledge to

students they think are not as able. Whilst some people may argue that this is an old study

teachers still try to differentiate their resources and this could be seen as denying knowledge

to those student who are believed to be not as able

However other sociologists argue that this is too deterministic. Some pupils will try to

overcome the label. Fuller and Mirza have found that some girls will use the label as a

motivating factor. They want to disprove the label.

As well as teachers affecting achievement, pupils’ peer groups may create differences

in achievement between social classes. Pupils who are placed in lower sets in school,

who tend to be working class, are more likely to form anti-school subcultures. Lacey

found these subcultures encourage failure by placing value on fighting the school

system. Racism or gender stereotypes may also affect the achievement of ethnic

minority students or girls.

Students from ethnic minority groups may have low achievement due to the

organisation of the curriculum being ethnocentric, around British culture and values. Ball

found the curriculum excluded diversity. By focusing for example on European

languages or history, the curriculum ignores the heritage of black and Asian students.

Coard argues that school curriculum can make a big difference to the achievement of

ethnic minorities. In many places the word black is associated with evil whilst the word

white is seen as good. School textbooks tend to treat black as invisible. Schools which

concentrate on Shakespeare and Henry VIII exclude black history and culture. The result

is that ethnic minorities feel devalued and this along with the racism of teachers helps to

explain the failure of ethnic minorities. The problem with this argument is that it

generalises all ethnic minority groups do not achieve the same results. They are not all

affected by the ethnocentric curriculum, Indian and Chinese students have high

achievement.

Just looking at the school ignores the impact of processes outside the school. The home

background and society will also have an impact. Working class pupils may fail because

they are materially and culturally deprived. This is not connected to the school but it is a

major reason for their failure. The working class are socialised so that they do not care

about educational success. Bernstein argued that working class children are socialised

into the restricted code. This means that they cannot understand the middle class

teachers, books and exams as all the things are written in an elaborate code. Howard

argues that material deprivation means working class children do not get a decent diet

or housing and so are more likely to be sick and away from school.

Working class parents cannot afford the cost of private school and they cannot afford

to move into an area with a good school because houses cost more in these areas.

However these factors do not fully explain why students do badly. All schools in the

same area do not get the same results. This implies that factors and processes inside the

school can make a difference.

In order to fully understand why some groups fail and some groups succeed it is

important to combine factors outside and inside the school. In addition, pupils may be

affected by more than one factor, such as being from an ethnic minority and a poor

background.





5 17 - 20 AO1 Sound, conceptually detailed knowledge of a range of relevant material on the factors and processes in schools in relation to differences in achievement between social groups. Good understanding of the question and of the presented material.

AO2 Appropriate material applied accurately to the issues raised by the question.

AO3 Evaluation will be explicit and relevant. Evaluation may be developed, eg through a discussion of the relative importance of internal and external factors or of the interrelationships between them. Analysis will show clear explanation and may draw appropriate conclusions.

4 13 - 16 AO1 Broad or deep, accurate but incomplete knowledge. Understands a number of significant aspects of the question; reasonable understanding of the presented material.

AO2 Application of material is largely explicitly relevant to the question, though some material may be inadequately focused.

AO3 Some limited explicit evaluation, eg of whether/how far the self-fulfilling prophecy is inevitable, and/or some appropriate analysis, eg clear explanations of some of the presented material.

3 9 - 12 AO1 Largely accurate knowledge but limited range and depth, eg a broadly accurate, if basic, account of the effects of the labelling process. Understands some aspects of the question; superficial understanding of the presented material.

AO2 Applying material (possibly in a list-like fashion) from the general topic area but with limited regard for its relevance to the issues raised by the question, or applying a narrow range of more relevant material.

AO3 Evaluation limited at most to juxtaposition of competing positions or one to two isolated stated points. Analysis will be limited, with answers tending towards the descriptive.

2 5 - 8 AO1 Limited undeveloped knowledge, eg two to three insubstantial points about factors in school. Understands only very limited aspects of the question; simplistic understanding of the presented material.

AO2 Limited application of suitable material, and/or material often at a tangent to the demands of the question.

AO3 Minimal or no evaluation. Attempts at analysis, if any, are thin and disjointed.

1 1 - 4 AO1 Very limited knowledge, eg one to two very insubstantial points about education in general. Very little/no understanding of the question and of the presented material.

AO2 Significant errors, omissions, and/or incoherence in application of material.

AO3 No analysis or evaluation

Indicative content

Concepts and issues such as the following may appear: teachers’ labelling; stereotyping; self-fulfilling prophecy; pupil identities; the ethnocentric curriculum; institutional racism; peer group pressure; laddism; pupil subcultures; streaming; differentiation; polarisation.

Read Item B below and answer the question that follows.




Positivists like using self-completion questionnaires because they produce quantitative data.

The self-completion questionnaire means that there is nobody around to influence the

responses that are given and this is likely to make the data more valid as the person filling in

the questionnaire will not be influenced by people around them.

School pupils are likely to be influenced by peer group pressure but if they complete the

questionnaire by themselves they will not be affected by their friends. However it may be

difficult to get these pupils to fill in the questionnaire. This is because if they are truanting the

pupil will not be around to receive the questionnaire in the first place. It is also likely that the

pupil is a member of an anti-school subculture and will see the questionnaire as something

connected to the school. If this is the case the pupil will not fill the questionnaire in. In

addition the sample frame for self-completion questionnaire may provide problems. This is

because schools are judged on statistics about absence and they may be less willing to

record absence as unauthorised. This means that any sample drawn from school register is

going to be inaccurate and manipulated.

A problem may be that students who have unauthorised absence from school may also be

falling behind at school. Their literacy levels may be low and this means that they will not

understand the self-completion questionnaire. There is nobody around to explain difficult

words to them. In addition pupils will not be able to fill in the form well. They may misspell

words and their answers may not be understandable.

An advantage of using the questionnaires with adults, in particular parents, is that there is a

lot of blame and stigma attached to parents who cannot get their children to attend

school. They are not able to put forward their views openly and a self-completion

questionnaire will allow parents the chance to explain their views. A problem is the level of

parents’ literacy. If these groups come from those with the poorest literacy it is likely that

they will not be able to complete the questionnaire

Teachers also have careers at stake and would put on an artificial professional view if they

were in front of someone as they may feel their career is at stake. In the privacy of their

own room they are likely to be more honest. This would be an advantage of questionnaires.

Another advantage is that there may be very personal reasons why somebody is absent.

Their family may be undergoing difficult circumstances. If research was carried out face to

face this could lead to distress and be seen as unethical. Allowing somebody the chance

to do this in private would reduce their suffering. However the questionnaire may be

ignored due to the sensitive nature of the topic.

Another advantage is that self-completion questionnaires could be sent by post to a

widespread geographical area. This means that the patterns and trends will cover a large

number of people and allow generalisations to be made. This means that the differences

between, classes, ethnic groups and gender can quickly be seen. If working class students

are more likely to be absent this will be shown in the results.

A final problem is where the data will come from. How will the sociologist get access to the

list of students who are poor attenders. Information about attendance often may be

publicly available but it is unlikely a school will allow the names of individual students and

parents to be given to the sociologist without permission. The parents will not want to take

part because it appears that it is their fault and the schools will not want to become

associated with poor attendance.





5 17 - 20 AO1 Accurate, conceptually detailed knowledge and good understanding of a range of relevant material on self-completion written questionnaires.

AO2 Material will be applied accurately to the investigation of the specific issue of unauthorised absences from school. Students will apply knowledge of a range of relevant strengths and limitations of using self-completion written questionnaires to research issues and characteristics relating to unauthorised absences from school. These may include some of the following and/or other relevant concerns, though answers do not need to include all of these, even for full marks:

• The research characteristics of potential research subjects, eg individual pupils, peer groups, parents, teachers (eg class, ethnic and gender differences; parental literacy skills; teachers’ professionalism, self-interest or stereotypes of pupils)

• The research contexts and settings (eg classrooms; staffrooms) • The sensitivity of researching unauthorised absences from school

(eg policy and resource implications for schools; schools’ market and league table position; its impact on achievement or behaviour; stigmatisation; parental consent).

AO3 Evaluation of the usefulness of self-completion written questionnaires will be explicit and relevant. Analysis will show clear explanation and may draw appropriate conclusions.

4 13 - 16 AO1 Broad or deep, accurate but incomplete knowledge of the strengths and/or limitations of self-completion written questionnaires. Understands a number of significant aspects of the question; reasonable understanding of the presented

material.

AO2 Application of knowledge will be broadly appropriate but will be applied in a more generalised way or a more restricted way; for example:

• Applying the method to the study of education in general, not to the specifics of studying unauthorised absences from school, or

• Specific but undeveloped application to unauthorised absences from school,

• A focus on the research characteristics of unauthorised absences from school, or groups/contexts etc involved in it.

AO3 There may be some limited explicit evaluation, eg of one to two features of self-completion written questionnaires as a method, and/or some appropriate analysis, eg clear explanations of some of the features of self-completion questionnaires.


3 9 - 12 AO1 Largely accurate knowledge but limited range and depth, including a broadly accurate, if basic, account of some of the strengths and/or limitations of self-completion written questionnaires. Understands some limited aspects of the question; superficial understanding of the presented material.

AO2 Applying material (possibly in a list-like fashion) on self-completion written questionnaires, but with very limited or non-existent application to either the study of unauthorised absences from school in particular or of education in general.

AO3 Evaluation limited at most to briefly stated points. Analysis will be limited, with answers tending towards the descriptive.

2 5 - 8 AO1 Limited undeveloped knowledge, e.g. two to three insubstantial points about some features of self-completion written questionnaires. Understands only very limited aspects of the question; simplistic understanding of the presented material.

AO2 Very limited application of suitable material, and/or material often at a tangent to the demands of the question, e.g. perhaps drifting into an unfocused comparison of different methods.

AO3 Minimal/no evaluation. Attempts at analysis, if any, are thin and disjointed.

1 1 - 4 AO1 Very limited knowledge, e.g. one to two very insubstantial points about methods in general. Very little/no understanding of the question and of the presented material.

AO2 Significant errors, omissions, and/or incoherence in application of material. Some material ineffectually recycled from the Item, or some knowledge applied solely to the substantive issue of unauthorised absences from school, with very little or no reference to self-completion written questionnaires.

AO3 No analysis or evaluation.

Indicative content for the strengths and limitations of the method

Strengths and limitations of self-completion written questionnaires, as applied to the particular issue in education, may include: time; cost; access; inflexibility; hypothesis-testing; factual data; quantitative data; superficiality; lack of validity; reliability; large sample size; representativeness; response rates; generalizability; ethical issues.

Examiners Marks & Comments

Using one example, briefly explain how cultural deprivation may affect educational

achievement. (2 marks)

A. Paid compulsory trips may not be affordable for some pupil’s families.

B. People with cultural deprivation tend to use a restricted language code

whereas schools use the elaborated code.

C. In some cultures support education a lot, so the children would get support from

their family to do well in education.

D. By not being able to understand the elaborated code children may struggle

understanding teachers, textbooks and exams. This affects the working class as

they speak the restricted code.

0 marks – material deprivation not cultural.

1 marks – no effect on education

0 marks – too vague, not specfic to the question.

2 marks – covers both cultural deprivation and affect on educational achievement.

Outline three ways in which the organisation of schooling may be ethnocentric.

[6 marks]

Student A:

Ethnocentric means being focused on just one Religion or Ethnicity and a way a school

does this is through the fact that schools only support black history week only in that time

and not all the time. Also school websites are only in English. This could be ignoring different

ethnicity also the fact that School food is generally only typically English food this could

mean other ethnicities may feel marginalised.

Student B• The school holidays only fall in Christian festivals such as Christmas and Easter.

• When students are taught history it’s only ever the history of Britain not other countries. This may give a biased view and may make other cultures feel excluded.

• The food sold is only suited to the British culture and not other cultures. Those requiring a special diet due to their culture may not be catered for eg Halal.

3 marks awarded.

Two marks for Black History Week,

The second point made is not ethnocentric schooling. – debatable?

The third answer needs greater explanation eg Halal.

6 marks awarded

The answer makes three clear points and explains these.


[10 marks]

Boys tend to choose Computer Science, Mathematics and Physics whilst girls tend

to choose subjects like MFL and English. These are gendered subject choices.

One reason for gendered subject choices is that girls and boys undergo different

primary socialisation parents can often act as role models to their children and in

the home boys start to see reading and language as feminine activities.

Primary socialisation and view of reading may lead to boys and girls choosing

different tastes in reading. Boys are more likely to read factual literature and

information. Girls, as found by Elwood, prefer texts about people and fiction. This

may explain the difference in subject choice.

The school may also be responsible for this gendered pattern of subject choice.

Girls are more likely to see female teachers teaching RE, English and MFL whereas

boys will see male teachers teaching Physics and Mathematics.

The textbooks used in the classroom are also important. Many science books

convey the image that science is a male subject by using men or boys or by

relating science to examples which boys are more comfortable with.

Gendered subject images may also link to future career opportunities. Girls and

boys may choose those subjects which are seen as more appropriate to their future

careers. This is particularly in evidence in vocational courses such and Health and

Social Care and Construction.

All this means that boys and girls are more likely to take different subjects, even

when the National Curriculum means that they are forced, below the age of 16, to

take many different subjects.

It could be noted that the subjects are less ‘gendered’ in same sex schools.

8 marks awarded.

The first few lines show a reasonable introduction to the patterns of subject choice.

This answer looks at two reasons why there may be differences in subject choice

between genders. The first is primary socialisation and discusses how factors in the

home and wider society may impact on choices. The second point is about the

gendered aspects of subjects in schools and how teachers and other resources

such as textbooks may impact on choice. Both points are clearly explained with

examples to illustrate. There is some appropriate analysis.

Read Item A below and answer the question that follows.




18/20

Comment

Sound, conceptually detailed answer covering material on social class and ethnicity.

Only limited mention of gender. Considers labelling, self-fulfilling prophecy,

ethnocentric curriculum, peer group pressure and streaming. Give relevance

evidence in the form of studies.

Material is accurately applied to the question and makes links between the issue

raised and the effect on achievement, for example by considering how the

ethnocentric curriculum leads to ethnic minority students feeling undervalued.

Shows evaluation of some of the points and discusses the relative importance of

factors internal and external to the school e.g. how restricted code (external) may

means pupils are not able to understand school work (internal).

The conclusion is a little brief.

Read Item B below and answer the question that follows.




17/20

Comments

Overall this answer has a range of points of application of the method to the

specific issue of unauthorised absences from school. Not all of these are fully

developed but there are enough points to make this a top band answer. It also

includes a range of research characteristics of pupils, parent, teachers and schools.

The sensitivity of the research issue is addressed in a number of places.

as sociology education with methods in context example ... · pdf fileusing one example,...

Documents