Sociology GCSE

Key Studies
Ball
“Beachside Comprehensive” (1981)

Background
Ball wanted to find out why working
class children fail in education. Func-
tionalists say it is because they are less
able, Marxists say it is because the rul-
ing class deliberately reproduce class
inequality. Ball wanted to investigate.

Method Perspective
Ball conducted a case study of one Ball didn’t come from either side of
school on the south coast of Eng- the debate—he wanted to investi-
land. He did participant observa- gate who was correct, Marxists or
tion and interviews. Functionalists.

Key Findings
Ball followed two cohorts through the school, one taught in mixed ability
classes, the other banded by ability. He found that many students were put
into bands based on their social class rather than their academic potential.
Teachers labelled the students positively or negatively based on the band
they were in.
When the students were taught in mixed ability groups behaviour was bet-
ter, although teachers still informally banded their students and labelled
them when organising them into groups.

Criticisms
Ball’s study involved just one school and just two year groups. This is quite
a small sample size and might not be representative of the population—we
know that coastal towns have particular problems that other places don’t.
 Ball
“Beachside Comprehensive” (1981)

Gimme 5!: Answer the 5 questions without looking

back at the information sheet
1. What affected the set students were put into?

2. What research method did he use?

3. What perspective did he write from?

4. What effect did using mixed ability groups have ?

5. How can we criticise his work?

Exam Question:
Identify and explain one way in which material deprivation could influence educational achievement ( 4
marks)
 Sociology GCSE
Key Studies
Ball, Bowe and Gerwitz
“Market Forces and Parental Choice” (1994)

Background
In the 1980’s Margaret Thatcher’s gov-
ernment had introduced marketization
to education—the idea that parents
could choose which school to send their
children to and the competition be-
tween schools would raise standards.

Perspective
Method
Ball, Bowe and Gerwitz did not
They used a mixture of interviews
come from any one particular per-
and secondary data at 15 schools in
spective—they were testing the ef-
neighbouring areas.
fectiveness of marketization.

Key Findings
Pressures of things such as league tables caused some schools to focus on
their top students. Many schools reintroduced setting (which Ball had al-
ready found to be disadvantageous to working class pupils). They conclud-
ed that marketization benefits middle class children whose parents know
how to work the system .
They also found popular schools engage in cream-skimming (letting the best
students in) and silt-shifting (getting rid of weaker students to less popular
schools).

Criticisms
Some people claim what caused the difference in attainment was parental
attitudes, not the policy changes. Others say this research is no longer val-
id as things such as Pupil Premium have been introduced, reducing the in-
equalities Ball, Bowe and Gerwitz found.
 Ball, Bowe and Gerwitz
“Market Forces and Parental Choice” (1994)

Gimme 5!: Answer the 5 questions without looking

back at the information sheet
1. Which Conservative education policy were Ball, Bowe and Gerwitz investigating?

2. What research method did they use?

3. What perspective did they write from?

4. What did they mean by the terms ‘cream skimming’ and ‘silt shifting’?

5. How can we criticise their work?

Exam Question:
Identify and explain one effect of marketisation on Education in Britain ( 4 marks)
 Sociology GCSE
Key Studies
Durkheim
“Moral Education” (1925)

Background
As one of the founders of Sociology
Durkheim wrote about almost every top-
ic. He generally took a very positive
view of society, seeing most things as
good and helpful—even crime!

Perspective
Method
Durkheim wrote from a functionalist
Durkheim used the work of other
perspective. He believed that socie-
researchers.
ty is the way it is because that is
what works best.

Key Findings
Durkheim claimed the main function of the education system is the trans-
mission of societies norms and values. It helps to bond children to society
by teaching them things, particularly history, which help them feel like part
of something bigger. This helps children develop a sense of commitment to
society.
Durkheim also described schools as ‘societies in miniature’. This means
they prepared children for wider society by allowing them to learn discipline
and see the effect of deviant actions on a small scale.

Criticisms
Durkheim’s view of society and the education system is very positive, and
he ignores the problems it contains and creates.
 Durkheim
“Moral Education” (1925)

Gimme 5!: Answer the 5 questions without looking

back at the information sheet
1. How did Durkheim describe schools?

2. What research method he use?

3. What perspective does he write from?

4. What is the main function of the education system according to Durkheim?

5. How can we criticise his work?

Exam Question:
Identify and explain one criticism of Durkheim’s view of the role of the education system ( 4 marks)
 Sociology GCSE
Key Studies
Talcott Parsons
“The School Class as a social system” (1961)

Background
Talcott Parsons was born in 1902 and
had a very traditional view of the family.
He translated the work of other sociolo-
gists including Weber and Durkheim in-
to English.

Perspective
Method
Talcott Parsons was a Functionalist
Parsons used the work of other so-
sociologist who saw society like a
ciologists for this study.
human body. Its agencies, such as
education, are like the vital organs.

Key Findings
Parsons argued that school acts as a bridge between the family and society.
In the family children are judged on particularistic standards that apply only
to them. In school they learn to be judged by universalistic standards that
apply to everyone. School encourages value consensus where everyone
shares the same norms and values.
Parsons also argued that the education system is meritocratic, meaning
everyone has the chance to succeed if they work hard and have the ability.
Schools help to select the most able for the best jobs.

Criticisms
Marxists argue that the values the education system socialises us into are
those of the ruling class, not society as a whole. They also believe meritoc-
racy is a myth and status is ascribed, not achieved.
 Talcott Parsons
“The School Class as a social system” (1961)

Gimme 5!: Answer the 5 questions without looking

back at the information sheet
1. What did Parson’s compare the education system to?

2. What research method did he use?

3. What perspective did he write from?

4. What is the difference between particularistic and universalistic values?

5. How can we criticise his work?

Exam Question:
Identify and explain one function of the education system according to Parsons ( 4 marks)
 Sociology GCSE
Key Studies
Bowles and Gintis
“Schooling in capitalist America” (1976)

Background
Bowles and Gintis were both critical of
capitalism and saw the society it creat-
ed as very unfair.

Perspective
Method
Bowles and Gintis were Marxist so-
They used interviews and second-
ciologists. They believe that society
ary data.
is unfair and the ruling class exploit
the working class.

Key Findings
Bowles and Gintis developed the idea of a ‘correspondence principle’. This
suggests that there is similarity between school and work, so school is pre-
paring you to fit into your future roles. This is done not just through the aca-
demic subjects you are taught but through the ‘hidden curriculum’ where
students are encouraged to obey rules, be punctual, follow routines and
dress codes, value achievement and competition etc.
In this way the education system is creating an obedient workforce to serve
the needs of capitalism. They also reject the idea that education is merito-
cratic and say class has the biggest impact on your attainment.

Criticisms
Many writers say there is less correspondence between schools and the
needs of the economy than Bowles and Gintis suggest. They are also ac-
cused of ignoring other differences such as gender and ethnicity.
 Bowles and Gintis
“Schooling in capitalist America” (1976)

Gimme 5!: Answer the 5 questions without looking

back at the information sheet
1. What does the ‘Correspondence Principle’ mean?

2. What research method did they use?

3. What perspective do they write from?

4. What is the role of the education system according to Bowles and Gintis?

5. How can we criticise their work?

Exam Question:
Identify and describe one way in which the hidden curriculum socialises children ( 3 marks)
 Sociology GCSE
Key Studies
Paul Willis
“Learning to Labour” (1976)

Background
Willis conducted his study in the 1970’s.
Things were very different—there was
still a large manufacturing industry and
most of the lads Willis studied could ex-
pect to walk straight into factory jobs
after leaving school.

Perspective
Method
Willis wrote from a Marxist perspec-
This was a case study of 12 lads,
tive. He sees society as unequal,
using participant observation, un-
with the working class being disad-
structured interviews and diaries.
vantaged.

Key Findings
Willis argued that the education system was not very effective at socialising
children into the ruling class norms and values. He found they developed an
anti-school subculture where they challenged authority, avoided attending
lessons and had a ‘laff’. They also looked down on the teachers and con-
formist students, who they called ‘ear-’oles’.
Willis suggested that they were bored at school, and this, along with their
anti-school subculture did prepare them for working class jobs where they
would also be bored and have a similar subculture.

Criticisms
This was a case study of just 12 white boys, which is a very small sample
size. This means it may not be representative of working class boys in gen-
eral and he didn’t consider girls or ethnic minorities.
 Paul Willis
“Learning to Labour” (1976)

Gimme 5!: Answer the 5 questions without looking

back at the information sheet
1. What did the lads do in response to failure at school?

2. What research method did he use?

3. What perspective does he write from?

4. How did the context of Willis’ research differ from the experience of young working class males today?

5. How can we criticise his work?

Exam Question:
Identify the research method used by Willis and explain one disadvantage of using this method ( 4 marks)
 Sociology GCSE
Key Studies
Halsey, Heath and Ridge
“Origins and Destinations” (1980)

Background
Halsey, Heath and Ridge’s study was
longitudinal, and looked at young men
who had been educated during a period
of great change in British Education
(some before tripartite, some during
and some after).

Perspective
Method
Halsey, Heath and Ridge didn’t
Conducted a survey of 8000 men
come from any one particular per-
born between 1913 and 1952.
spective.

Key Findings
They divided the sample into three categories based on their fathers occu-
pation—service class (professionals and managers), intermediate class
(self employed, sales workers, technicians) and working class (manual
workers). They found that, compared to a boy with a working class parent
service class boys were 4 times more likely to be in school at 16, 10 times
more likely to be in education at 18, and 11 times more likely to go to Uni-
versity. They found educational success was down to not just material dep-
rivation at home but also parental attitudes to education and a lack of gram-
mar schools in working class areas.

Criticisms
This study did not include any women, which may have made a significant
difference to the findings. Also there have been major changes in educa-
tion since the men they studied had been at school, and questions about
the way they defined class.
 Halsey, Heath and Ridge
“Origins and Destinations” (1980)

Gimme 5!: Answer the 5 questions without looking

back at the information sheet
1. Which social class was most likely to continue in education?

2. What research method did they use?

3. What perspective did they write from?

4. What did they find affected educational attainment?

5. How can we criticise their work?

Exam Question:
Discuss how far sociologists would agree that outside school factors have the largest effect on a pupil’s
educational attainment. (12 marks)