Sociology
Miss Rowbotham
Education
Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the contribution of
functionalist sociology to an understanding of the role of education
in society
A) Explain what is meant by ‘streaming’. (2 marks)
Streaming is when you organise children into different classes in
school depending on their ability.
B) Give two examples of ways in which the school curriculum may
be seen as ethnocentric. (4 marks)
The school curriculum may be seen as ethnocentric as they only teach
main culture/religion subjects and they do not give children a broad
education.
C) Suggest three ways in which schools act as agencies of
socialisation. (6 marks)
Schools act as agencies of socialisation as they teach children
manors, the difference between right and wrong – i.e. deviance, and
they give children the chance to interact with other children and
other members of society.
D) Identify and briefly explain two reasons why females in
general are now achieving better GCSE grades than males. (8 marks)
One reason that I think females are achieving better GCSE grades than
males is that more pressure is being put on females nowadays due to
women being more determined to be treated equally to men in areas such
as jobs. Another reason, is that I think women are becoming more
independent are striving harder to reach their targets and goals.
E) Explain how the hidden curriculum and processes within
schools help to produce inequalities between children of different
social classes. (20 marks)
There are processes within the hidden curriculum which could help to...
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...ent of
socialisation, and that we are judged in terms of achieved status
which is produced though education, and then work. Whereas, he
believes that family is the primary agent of socialisation and we gain
ascribed status i.e. brother, sister, mother, etc. Parsons says that
education is a meritocracy and that everyone has a fair chance,
because if you have the ability and you put in effort, then you will
achieve merit and status to go with it.
Davis and Moore believe that social stratification is a means of
ensuring that the most talented people fill the positions that are
most functionally important for society.
Overall, functionalists believe that education is good for society, as
it prepares us for work in later on. It teaches us how to interact
with people as well as academic knowledge.
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the many things that can be learned from it, instead of looking at it passively. You grow
This essay will be explaining the definition of sociology, the sociological factors of obesity using Symbolic Interactionism Theory and the Functionalism Theory and a description of the medical condition obesity and how it may affect individuals suffering from it.
Social policy is based around the ideologies of those in government to ensure that every individual with in society is treated equally thought out life so that they are able to receive the same opportunities and access to all areas such as health care, education and welfare help according to their needs. Because of the harsh conditions that the country was, experiencing after World War 2 the Prime Minister Winston Churchill commissioned a report, Beveridge (1942) to try to overcome the country’s social problems and to help those who were suffering from the effects of poverty. One of the areas that the report covered was that of Ignorance which was considered the lack of education. The importance of education is seen as a vital stage in a child’s life not only as a way of teaching academics but also as a way to develop strong minded, independent and productive adults that will someday contribute to the economy and society. Politian’s have given education high priority and have implemented policies to help with the changes within society that effect the level and quality of education, which children receive today. These changes are happening at an exceptional rate, such as global recession, changes within families and environment. This essay will explore political ideologies in education and it will explore the areas such as gender, ethnicity, and social class and the effect and impact that these have on education within society.
One of the sociological theories is conflict theory. The conflict theory deals with people's level on wealth, or class. The conflict theory says that social change is beneficial, contrary to focuses on social order. In the story of the woman and her children, the conflict theory plays a big role on the situation. Police of higher class are threatening the homeless woman. The conflict theory is a constant struggle of people of higher class over powering people of lower class, or the weaker. The police are trying to over power the woman by telling her to leave. Even though the woman and her children were doing nothing wrong, the police used their power to tell her to leave. Also the people of the area showed their conflict theory by telling the police officers to come. They must have felt embarrassed to have a woman of such lower class to be around them. They used their power of class to have the woman removed from their community. The woman wants to be there because she has no home and it is a good community to be in, but the people look at it as an embarrassment to them because it makes their area look bad for someone of such lower class to be around them. The conflict theory is unique to all other theories because it separates people into categories determined by their wealth and standards. Their status is the element that categorizes them, weather it is class, race, or gender. The conflict theory do not always use class, race, and gender all at once. In this situation race and gender is not a main issue, although gender could be a reason, but it would fall under the feminist theory. This story is mainly dealing with class. Through all this conflict the woman feels over powered and domina...
Functionalist argue that stratification is "necessary and beneficial" to a society to ensure the highest qualified individuals will fill the best societal positions. Inequality in the distribution of desirables exist as a device for ensuring that the most important positions are filled by the most qualified people. Certain jobs are more important than others, and those jobs require special skill and talent. The cycle of unequal opportunity is intensifying, and the United States beneficiaries often slander those who are the most systemati...
In their sociological study, authors Amelia M. Arria, and Robert L. DuPont (2010) explore the topic of illicit non-medical prescription stimulant use among college students. Their research findings outline the non-medical use of stimulants such as Adderall, Ritalin, and Concerta among university students. Arria and DuPont (2010) also propose a possible approach to tackle the growing problem within the student community. These stimulant prescription drugs are originally prescribed to those who suffer from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). These drugs are adversely sought out by students who may not be succeeding academically (Arria, DuPont). The authors begin by defining the current issues aiding in the prevalence of stimulant
Anthropology proves to be satisfying and intellectually fulfilling to many in the field. However, there are also many challenges and bumps in the road along the way. Napolean A. Chagnon and Claire Sterk faced many of these challenges themselves.
The education system and the peer group within the school system are important socialisation agents in an individual’s life. Children from an early age absorb the values, attitudes and beliefs of the society in which they participate (Ashman & Elkins, 2009).
The functionalist perspective argues for education as a means of development from simple, traditional social structures to more complex, modern ones. Drawing heavily from biological theories, functionalism equates society with a living organism composed of various internal systems, asserting that an understanding of these systems, in our case social practices and institutions, requires an examination of the means by which they serve the ‘body’, society (Feinberg and Solitis, ). In assessing the relationship between education and development, it is imperative to note that functionalists associate the advent of formal, compulsory education with the requirements of modern society, with modernity seen as synonymous with industrialization. That
Before I started taking the course of sociology I wasn’t really expecting to learn anything, it was just supposed to be an easy online class. However, that was not the case. It challenged my mind. I started to see sociology all around me, starting with family, then friends, and how I see things overall in general. The fact that we have an everyday life in which there are patterns in ways of living is what sets a platform for a sociological breakdown and for being a part in what we do. A better way of understanding ourselves. We use sociology in many ways every day. One central and important study of sociology is the study of everyday social life. Everyday life and sociology are definitely two different words and situations, but they tend to hold a close relationship. While sociology is the study of the human interaction, everyday life consists of everyday human interaction. Everyday life is filled by human beings interacting with one another, ideas, and emotions. Sociology studies the interactions with all of these and shows how mere interaction resulted in things such as ideas. For an example, race and ethnicity are important concepts in the field of sociology and are ones that are studied a great deal. Race plays a large role in everyday human interactions and sociologists want to study how, why, and what the outcomes are of these interactions. Current sociological theories focus mainly on how there are many different factors in our everyday items of life, like movies. We were assigned a final to write a review for a movie in sociological form. The movie that was on the list that also happened to be one of my favorite movies, Toy Story. When we were assigned the assignment, I never thought about how in-depth it was with sociol...
Anthropology what a vulnerable observer you are! You may well have to jump into the arms of the scientists if you are going to try to keep your grass hut at the academy! -- Ruth Behar
Sociology and psychology is the study of the mind and the environment around us which makes us who we are. These theories assist us to understand behaviour from individual and societal levels.
Social institutions are an important element in the structure of human societies. They provide a structure for behavior in a particular part of social life. The five major social institutions in large societies are family, education, religion, politics, and economics. While each institution does deal with a different aspect of life, they are interrelated and intersect often in the course of daily life. For example, for schools to be able to exist they rely on funding from the government. This is an intersection between politics and education. Social institutions affect individual lives through other aspects of society such as culture, socialization, social stratification, and deviance. This paper will focus on the social institution of education, and how it affects individual lives through socialization, deviance, and social stratification.
well known in society than it is today. But on the other hand, if it
Socialization is the process of passing down norms, customs, and ideologies that are important to the society by the previous generations to the younger generations. The school system is a social agency that was created to enhance the processes of socialization through education. The importance of school as an agent of socialization can be best explained by the amount of time students spend in school and in activities happen around school. The manifest functions of school are to educate students the social norms, and the knowledge and skills that help them become economically productive in order to benefit the society. But students not only learn from the academic curriculum but they also benefit from socialize with their teachers and peers.