EDUCATION: GCSE SOCIOLOGY

• SOCIAL CONTROL: ways of keeping people in order using rules, rewards and punishments.
• SECONDARY SOCIALISATION: teaching of wider norms and vlaues like hierarchy and who is charge.
• SERVING THE NEEDS OF THE ECONOMY: preparing young people for jobs, reading writing and basic arithmatic.
• SOCIAL MOBILITY: improving yuor life through hard work-influenced by education and qualifications.
• SOCIAL COHESION: to give sense of belonoing through shared goals.

Functionalist or Consensus View:

• education is good as it gives us shared values.
• education gives all an equal chance of improving ones lives- a MERITOCRACY.
• education prepares us for the workplace and teaches us our position in society.

Marxist or Conflict View:

• education benefits the rich-for jobs and teaching them their position in society.
• education is bad for the poor, it is NOT meritocratic and does NOT offer equal opportunites to all.

HOW?

• using SATs-assessment method given at the end of every key stage.
• doing GCSEs-national exams taken at the age of 16.
• DIPLOMA- qualification for 14-19 year olds.
• 

WHY?

• provides teachers with information on pupil progress.
• offeres essential data to the government on national standards providing data for league tables.

LEAGUE TABLES provide school, parents and students an indication of the success of each school.

• COMPREHENSIVE: open to anyone ususally children from local communitites, large and has better facilites. BUT not socially mixed and teach in the middle range.
• GRAMMAR: sleective and choose best pupils after an admissions exam is taken. BUT have now become elitist so bad for middle class.
• SPECIALIST: specialise in one particular area.
• FAITH: religious foundation-encourage children to follow religion BUT no cultural mixing.
• INDEPENDANT: pay a fee to attend, choose curriculum and admissions policy, less students=more personal education. BUT lack of social cohesion.
• ACADEMIES: select lowest and highest ability, so lower get to learn whilst higher get to excel. BUT children of middle class get no chance.
• FREE:free of local authority, set up by anyone, decide admissions an curriculum. BUT negative impact on local schools as they take their funding.
• SPECIAL NEEDS: cater for children with special needs, learn skills to help their disability, teachers know how to help the children BUT lack of socialisation for workplace and may be exculded/left out.

formal curriculum things on you timetable.

hidden curriculum things learnt indirectly.

1. hierarchy                     2. competition

3. social control               4. gender role allocation

5. lack of satisfaction       6. routine

7. dress code

LABELLING:

names and labels given to individuals by teachers which then influence the behaviour of the pupil.

SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY:

the pupil believes the label and act as the label is true so therefore ultimately the label becomes true.

SETTING:

children are placed in classes according to their ability in each individual subject. a child could be in high set for maths and low for english. you work to your own ability.

STREAMING:

children are placed in groups according to their ability in one subject.. NOTE most schools stream as its easier to do.  

• social class
• parental attitiude-whether the parents are interested in their childs education or not influences the childs success.
• material deprivation-lack of money so cannot buy right resources needed to succeed, also makes it hard to study at home as conditions are usually cramped.
• cultural deprivation-when parents dont have knowledge of middle class norms and values.  
• gender-girls do better than boys at every stage of the national curriculum.

• research suggests some ethnic groups are placed in lower sets.
• teachers and pupils hold rascist attitudes.
• some groups feel rejected at school and so reject it.

1944- educational reform aimed at improving society. TRIPARTITE system (technical schools, secondary modern and grammar schools).

1965- introduction of comprehensive schools.

1979-new vocationalism desgined to train and equip young people with skills and education required for meeting needs of the ever changing economy.

1988-education reform act for; marketisation of schools, league tables, SATs and natinoal curriculum.

1990s- saw range of changes. (EMA) educational maintenance alloowance for staying on to 6th form. GNVQ's and GCSE's, specialist schools and academies.

Curriculum 2000-introduced A2's and AS's at post 16yrs making them broader.

2007-schools leaving age rose to 18yrs from 2013 and Childrens Plan formed.