DOCSLIB.ORG

AQA a Level Sociology Topic Essays: EDUCATION Page 5

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
AQA a Level Sociology Topic Essays: EDUCATION Page 5 AQA A Level Sociology topic essays: EDUCATION Page 5 Item A Although Marxist sociologists essentially agree with functionalists that the education system teaches people norms and values and sifts and sorts them into their future roles, they argue that the education system does not work in everyone’s interests but instead supports capitalism and the interests of the ruling class. Applying material from Item A, analyse two ways in which the education system could be said to support capitalism. (10 marks) A first way is clearly identified, drawn from a hook in the item One way in which the education system supports capitalism is (“sifting and sorting”) and by reproducing inequalities in society, thereby producing the explained and analysed in bourgeoisie and proletariat of the next generation. For some detail. Marxists, meritocracy is a myth. Yes, the education system “sifts and sorts” people into their social roles but, for the most part, this is a straightforward process of ensuring that the children of working-class parents leave school and do Good use of sociological working-class jobs, and the children of the owners of the concepts. means of production leave school and own the means of production themselves. The myth of meritocracy manages to create an illusion of fairness about this system, keeping the workers pacified and hardworking. School produces this effect in many ways: first, admissions policies ensure that Good use of children from high-income backgrounds tend to go to higher- practical/empirical examples performing schools (whether because they pay for an and explanations. independent school, pay for coaching to pass a test to go to a selective grammar school, because they live in a wealthier catchment area or because their parents play the system or a combination of all of these). Second, a number of factors mean that, for the most part, children from high-income backgrounds achieve better results than those from low- income backgrounds. Finally, even when both have achieved a Some evaluation but tightly high grade, the bourgeois child is much more likely to get to focused on the question. the prestigious university and move into the highest-paid jobs. Some question whether this is still true today, as universities come under a lot of pressure to widen participation, but statistics mostly bear out the Marxist claim. The second way is again clearly described and linked to A second way the education system supports capitalism is by a hook in the item “(norms and ensuring a correspondence between school and the capitalist values”). workplace, preparing children to be exploited as wage-labour. While functionalists might see this positively, as teaching Bowles and Gintis’ study is children the norms and values of society and preparing them explained but in a way that for life, Marxists see it is as producing a docile and obedient keeps it tightly focused on the workforce. This correspondence can be seen in various features of school and workplaces, such as the hierarchy, the Copyright tutor2u Limited / School Network License / Photocopying Permitted www.tutor2u.net/sociology Page 6 AQA A Level Sociology topic essays: EDUCATION question, rather than being too descriptive. strict timings, the fragmentation of work and the systems of rewards and sanctions. Many point out that children at school today often seem anything but passive and docile (sometimes Again there is some evaluation rather unruly!) and workplaces have changed a great deal and this is tied neatly back to since Bowles and Gintis wrote about this in 1976. However, the question at the end. contemporary changes to schools may well be in part to meet the changes in the workplace and are therefore still seeking to serve the interests of capitalism. [388 words] Mark Band 8-10 ExaminerThis was comfortably in the top band and is quite a detailed answer. Comments: The candidate has identified two clear and distinct ways as asked and has presented them in two clear, detailed and well- argued paragraphs. You will often find that the “hooks” in the item lead the candidate towards particular responses, but do not provide the answers themselves. Some application is required, for example here taking two functionalist roles of the education system and developing them into ways the system benefits capitalism (and therefore Marxist views). This is done neatly here and the development from the item is clear. If the student had gone straight into Althusser and ideological state apparatus, etc. they might well have been able to get the marks, but they would need to show that this was developed from something in the item (norms and values would work). There is no need to directly quote the item, but don’t expect the examiner to make the links for you. www.tutor2u.net/sociology Copyright tutor2u Limited / School Network License / Photocopying Permitted.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Public School Admissions and the Myth of Meritocracy: How and Why Screened Public School Admissions Promote Segregation
    BUERY_FIN.DOCX(DO NOT DELETE) 4/14/20 8:46 PM PUBLIC SCHOOL ADMISSIONS AND THE MYTH OF MERITOCRACY: HOW AND WHY SCREENED PUBLIC SCHOOL ADMISSIONS PROMOTE SEGREGATION RICHARD R. BUERY, JR.* Public schools in America remain deeply segregated by race, with devastating effects for Black and Latinx students. While residential segregation is a critical driver of school segregation, the prevalence of screened admissions practices can also play a devastating role in driving racial segregation in public schools. New York City, one of the most segregated school systems in America, is unique in its extensive reliance on screened admissions practices, including the use of standardized tests, to assign students to sought-after public schools. These screens persist despite their segregative impact in part because they appeal to America’s embrace of the idea of meritocracy. This Article argues that Americans embrace three conceptions of merit which shield these screens from proper scrutiny. The first is individual merit—the idea that students with greater ability or achievement deserve access to better schools. The second is systems merit—the idea that poor student performance on an assessment is a failure of the system that prepared the student for the assessment. The third is group merit—the idea that members of some groups simply possess less ability. Each of these ideas has a pernicious impact on perpetuating racial inequality in public education. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................. 102 I. THE APPEAL OF THREE DIMENSIONS OF MERIT .................... 104 A. Merit of the Individual .................................................... 104 B. Merit of the System ......................................................... 107 C. Merit of the Group .......................................................... 109 II. THE MYTH OF MERITOCRACY IN K12 ADMISSIONS .............
    [Show full text]
  • Plutocracy: the Marketising of ‘Equality’ Within Neoliberalism
    City Research Online City, University of London Institutional Repository Citation: Littler, J. (2013). Meritocracy as plutocracy: the marketising of ‘equality’ within neoliberalism. New Formations: a journal of culture/theory/politics, 80-81, pp. 52-72. doi: 10.3898/NewF.80/81.03.2013 This is the published version of the paper. This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Permanent repository link: https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/4167/ Link to published version: http://dx.doi.org/10.3898/NewF.80/81.03.2013 Copyright: City Research Online aims to make research outputs of City, University of London available to a wider audience. Copyright and Moral Rights remain with the author(s) and/or copyright holders. URLs from City Research Online may be freely distributed and linked to. Reuse: Copies of full items can be used for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge. Provided that the authors, title and full bibliographic details are credited, a hyperlink and/or URL is given for the original metadata page and the content is not changed in any way. City Research Online: http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/ [email protected] MERITOCRACY AS PLUTOCRACY: THE MARKETISING OF ‘EQUALITY’ UNDER NEOLIBERALISM Jo Littler Abstract Meritocracy, in contemporary parlance, refers to the idea that whatever our social position at birth, society ought to facilitate the means for ‘talent’ to ‘rise to the top’. This article argues that the ideology of ‘meritocracy’ has become a key means through which plutocracy is endorsed by stealth within contemporary neoliberal culture.
    [Show full text]
  • Examples of Racial Microaggressions
    Examples of Racial Microaggressions Theme Microaggression Message Alien in own land “Where are you from?” You are not American When Asian Americans and Latino “Where were you born?” You are a foreigner Americans are assumed to be “You speak good English.” foreign-born A person asking an Asian American to teach them words in their native language. Ascription of Intelligence “You are a credit to your race.” People of color are generally not as Assigning intelligence to a person of “You are so articulate.” intelligent as Whites. color on the basis of their race. Asking an Asian person to help with a It is unusual for someone of your Math or Science problem. race to be intelligent. All Asians are intelligent and good in Math / Sciences. Color Blindness “When I look at you, I don’t see Denying a person of color’s racial / Statements that indicate that a White color.” ethnic experiences. person does not want to “America is a melting pot.” Assimilate / acculturate to the acknowledge race “There is only one race, the human dominant culture. race.” Denying the individual as a racial / cultural being. Criminality – assumption of criminal A White man or woman clutching You are a criminal. status their purse or checking their wallet as You are going to steal / You are poor A person of color is presumed to be a Black or Latino approaches or / You do not belong / You are dangerous, criminal, or deviant on passes. dangerous. the basis of their race. A store owner following a customer of color around the store.
    [Show full text]
  • Dispelling the Meritocracy Myth: Lessons for Higher Education and Student Affairs Educators Lorriz Anne Alvarado
    The Vermont Connection Volume 31 Think Globally, Act Locally, Care Personally: Connecting Personal and Professional Article 2 Discoveries in Student Affairs January 2010 Dispelling the Meritocracy Myth: Lessons for Higher Education and Student Affairs Educators Lorriz Anne Alvarado Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/tvc Part of the Higher Education Administration Commons Recommended Citation Alvarado, Lorriz Anne (2010) "Dispelling the Meritocracy Myth: Lessons for Higher Education and Student Affairs Educators," The Vermont Connection: Vol. 31 , Article 2. Available at: https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/tvc/vol31/iss1/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Education and Social Services at ScholarWorks @ UVM. It has been accepted for inclusion in The eV rmont Connection by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks @ UVM. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 10 • The Vermont Connection • 2010 • Volume 31 Dispelling the Meritocracy Myth: Lessons for Higher Education and Student Affairs Educators Lorriz Anne Alvarado “Just work hard and you will succeed.” This phrase and others like it represent the belief in meritocracy, which is repeated and perpetuated in our society by role models, friends, government, media, and ourselves. The myth of meritocracy is a part of the utopian belief in the Ameri- can Dream, which continues to be an active narrative in Americans’ lives that many do not realize is simply a dream and not based on reality. As educators, how do we confront the meritocracy narrative and better understand how it affects our work and our impact on students? This article updates professionals on current literature and the myth’s effect on higher education.
    [Show full text]
  • The Myth of Meritocracy Is Increasing Inequality, Book Argues 25 October 2017, by Ed Grover
    The myth of meritocracy is increasing inequality, book argues 25 October 2017, by Ed Grover 'meritocratic deficit' – or how those already socially disadvantaged in terms of gender, ethnicity and class have been doubly disadvantaged over the past few decades by being incited so forcefully to climb the ladder." Meritocracy and neoliberalism Credit: kmlmtz66 / Shutterstock.com The first part of Against Meritocracy discusses the history of the idea and where it comes from. The second part discusses case studies that present myths of social mobility and the 'parables of Society is becoming more divided because wealthy progress'. and powerful figures are promoting the notion of a meritocracy while failing to address inequality, The examples include the idea of the according to a new book by a sociologist at City, 'mumpreneur', a mother who juggles childcare University of London. while running her own business, the row over racial diversity on HBO reality TV show Project Dr Jo Littler says people in Britain, as in a wide Greenlight, and representations of the 'deserving' range of countries from the US to Singapore, are rich in programmes like The Apprentice and CEO being told that they live in a meritocracy – a 'fair' autobiographies. society in which citizens can achieve anything with enough hard work, regardless of their social Dr Littler, a Reader in the Department of Sociology position at birth. at City, says the rise in the promotion of meritocracy has come with the rise of neoliberalism However, she argues this is a myth because many – the political theory that suggests society works people are increasingly disadvantaged in various best if people are encouraged to take individual ways, often by their gender and ethnicity, as well responsibility and public services are privatised.
    [Show full text]
  • The Myth of Meritocracy: Linguistic Anthropology, Education, and Equity
    The Myth of Meritocracy: Linguistic Anthropology, Education, and Equity Instructor: Dr. Haleema Welji Course Website: www.sakai.duke.edu Course Overview “Pull yourself up by your bootstraps.” “I’m self-made.” “I earned this.” Hard work for the American Dream. These clichés center around the idea that as long as you work hard, you will be successful. It is easy to find examples of individuals who earned their “American dream.” The ideal that one is judged and rewarded by their merit is a powerful concept. But does everyone have the same access? In this course, we use the lens of linguistic anthropology to examine the overt and subtle ways in which the myth of meritocracy justifies, excuses, and perpetuates inequity. Linguistic anthropology is the study of people, society, and culture through the lens of language, language use, and the speakers of language. This includes looking at the ways in which language can be used to create or reinforce hierarchies. We also look at the intersection between language and social justice to consider how the ideology of a “standard language” impacts speakers of non-standard varieties of a language or minority languages. The course is structured around 4 key questions: 1. How does the ideology of meritocracy impact an education system? In this section, we explore the concept of linguistic ideologies to understand the myth of meritocracy and explore some of the challenges the ideology perpetuates in the US educational system. 2. What does an anthropological method reveal about the experience of students disadvantaged by the ideology of meritocracy? Here, we look closely at ethnographies analyzing the impact of ideologies like meritocracy, success, belonging, and intelligence have on individual students and their experience in the classroom.
    [Show full text]
  • Cultural Impediments to Diversity in Natural Science Programs
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 418 847 SE 061 297 AUTHOR Jones, Leslie S. TITLE The Myth of Meritocracy and Delusions of Equity: Cultural Impediments to Diversity in Natural Science Programs. PUB DATE 1998-04-14 NOTE 12p.; Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (San Diego, CA, April 13-17, 1998). PUB TYPE Speeches/Meeting Papers (150) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Critical Theory; *Employed Women; Ethnography; Higher Education; Interprofessional Relationship; *Minority Groups; Sciences; Scientific Attitudes; Scientific Methodology; *Scientists; *Sex Bias; *Social Bias IDENTIFIERS Critical Ethnography; *Culture of Science; Meritocracy; *Women in Science ABSTRACT In an effort to determine why there is continued scarcity of all women and of men of color in the sciences, this study turns the lens of the social sciences onto social aspects of the sciences. Interviews with academic science faculty examined gender and racial/ethnic issues in the professional domain of a variety of scientists for clues as to how the culture of science might influence demographic participation in science programs. As a study of culture with an explicitly sociopolitical agenda, this study adheres most closely to the traditions of Critical Ethnography. Interviews were conducted with 34 practicing scientists sampled demographically across science and applied science fields with respect to sex and racial/ethnic background. The interviewees were half female, half male, half Caucasian, and half people of color (from several ethnic groups). Results indicate that the scientific method and its associated worldview are the most readily identifiable source of the problem of minority representation in the sciences. Scientists believe they can remove subjectivity from their treatment of people, because they are convinced they can do this in their empirical work.
    [Show full text]
  • The Organizational Reproduction of Inequality
    r Academy of Management Annals 2020, Vol. 14, No. 1, 1–36. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2017.0033 THE ORGANIZATIONAL REPRODUCTION OF INEQUALITY JOHN M. AMIS1 University of Edinburgh JOHANNA MAIR Hertie School of Governance and Stanford University KAMAL A. MUNIR University of Cambridge With societal inequalities continuing to increase and organizations providing the vast majority of people with their income, we wanted to assess the ways in which organi- zational practices are implicated in the burgeoning of social and economic inequality. Following an integrative review of the literature drawn from across the social sciences, we found that the multiple ways in which five major organizational practices—hiring, role allocation, promotion, compensation, and structuring—are enacted emerged as being central to the reproduction of inequality. We also uncovered how the persistence of these practices, and the inequality they induce, can be largely attributed to a con- stellation of three highly institutionalized myths, efficiency, meritocracy, and positive globalization. Our analysis further reveals how, as scholars, we bear a corresponding responsibility to reconsider how we engage in research on and teaching about organi- zations. The implications of this for our future work are discussed. “For the great enemy of truth is very often not the remain largely invisible; when organizations are con- lie—deliberate, contrived and dishonest—but the sidered, they are mostly viewed as rational entities myth—persistent, persuasive and unrealistic.” (John comprising neutral structures and practices. This is F. Kennedy, 1962) particularly problematic when considering inequality Over the last three decades, economic inequality because organizations not only play a central role in all of has emerged as one of society’s most pressing chal- our lives but also demarcate employment and other lenges (e.g., Atkinson, 2015; Dorling, 2011; Oxfam, opportunities that in turn define social and economic 2019; Piketty, 2014; Wilkinson & Pickett, 2010).
    [Show full text]
  • Dispelling the Meritocracy Myth: Lessons for Higher Education and Student Affairs Educators
    10 • The Vermont Connection • 2010 • Volume 31 Dispelling the Meritocracy Myth: Lessons for Higher Education and Student Affairs Educators Lorriz Anne Alvarado “Just work hard and you will succeed.” This phrase and others like it represent the belief in meritocracy, which is repeated and perpetuated in our society by role models, friends, government, media, and ourselves. The myth of meritocracy is a part of the utopian belief in the Ameri- can Dream, which continues to be an active narrative in Americans’ lives that many do not realize is simply a dream and not based on reality. As educators, how do we confront the meritocracy narrative and better understand how it affects our work and our impact on students? This article updates professionals on current literature and the myth’s effect on higher education. Recommendations on how to challenge and change our views on meritocracy are offered for higher education and student affairs educators. The United States (referred to as America for the purposes of this article) is seen as the “land of opportunity.” Anyone who comes here has the opportunity to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps” and succeed as long as they work hard and persevere; you get out as much as you put in. This belief is one aspect of the American Dream, the belief that anyone in the United States has the equal opportunity for prosperity. Those who are most worthy of America’s bounty are the meritorious. This social ideal promulgates the belief that, “those who are the most talented, the hardest working, and the most virtuous get and should get the most rewards” (McNamee & Miller Jr., 2009, p.
    [Show full text]
  • Oprah, Obama, and Cosby Say Blacks Should Just Work Harder, Isn't That
    ESSAY 6 “Oprah, Obama, and Cosby Say Blacks Should Just Work Harder, Isn’t That distribute Right?” or The Myth of Meritocracy Paula Ioanidepost, Ithaca College Paula Ioanide is an assistant professor of comparative race and ethnicity studies in the Center for thecopy, Study of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity at Ithaca College in New York. Her research focuses on institutional forms of gendered racism in the post-civil rights era, including mass incarceration and policing, immigrant exclusion and detention, welfare reform, and warfare. Dr. Ioanide teaches courses about prisons, race and sexualnot politics, and social movements. Do ften, when we hear Black celebrities promote the American ideals of hard work, merit, and individualism, our tendency is to cast them as authorities O on “the Black experience” and racial realities in the United States, and thus we give their comments greater weight. Furthermore, iconic television sitcoms like The Cosby Show not only encourage Americans to believe that all dreams are 67 Copyright ©2015 by SAGE Publications, Inc. This work may not be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means without express written permission of the publisher. 68 PART II DEBUNKING INDIVIDUAL ATTITUDES achievable in U.S. society if a person simply works hard enough; they also popular- ize the notion that a person’s race, gender, and class status do not present significant obstacles to realizing those dreams. Rags-to-riches stories of celebrities like talk show host Oprah Winfrey or rapper Jay Z tend to make people believe that U.S. society now has a structure of equal access and opportunity.
    [Show full text]
  • Cultural Labor, Competitive Reality TV, and the Reproduction of Neoliberal Capitalism
    International Journal of Communication 15(2021), 1685–1702 1932–8036/20210005 “It’s Do or Die”: Cultural Labor, Competitive Reality TV, and the Reproduction of Neoliberal Capitalism AIDEN JAMES KOSCIESZA Temple University, USA This article argues that creative competition reality television, a distinct genre within the reality TV format, reproduces capitalist hegemony by naturalizing neoliberal values, the myth of meritocracy, and the precarity of cultural labor. Drawing from a case study of Amazon Studios’ 2020 fashion design competition Making the Cut, I examine the pedagogical role of creative competition shows as they shape the labor conditions of the cultural workforce. Keywords: creative competition reality television, cultural labor, attention economy, neoliberal capitalism, meritocracy, Marxist critique, Making the Cut, Amazon Studios In a hotel bar decked out in gold drapery and hanging chandeliers, a group of hopeful fashion designers gather to begin their journey as reality show contestants. This is the first episode of Amazon Studios’ unscripted series Making the Cut (2020), hosted and coproduced by Project Runway veterans Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn. Gunn lauds the designers’ credentials—“We scoured the world to find you”—and Klum warns them not to rest on their laurels, because “you will never know what’s coming next. Ever” (Romany, 2020d, 02:12–02:30). They tout the brand-building mentorship the winning contestant will receive, and the “unprecedented opportunity” that person will have to design a collection of clothing to be sold worldwide on Amazon (Romany, 2020d, 02:55). Gunn imitates a drumroll, and Klum drops the bombshell: The winner will receive $1 million.
    [Show full text]
  • And Their Others: Racialized Women Entrepreneurs and Poverty Finance
    Journal of International Women's Studies Volume 22 Issue 7 Gendering the Labor Market: Women’s Article 6 Struggles in the Global Labor Force July 2021 'Noble Mothers' and their Others: Racialized Women Entrepreneurs and Poverty Finance Heather Montes Ireland Follow this and additional works at: https://vc.bridgew.edu/jiws Part of the Women's Studies Commons Recommended Citation Ireland, Heather Montes (2021). 'Noble Mothers' and their Others: Racialized Women Entrepreneurs and Poverty Finance. Journal of International Women's Studies, 22(7), 69-82. Available at: https://vc.bridgew.edu/jiws/vol22/iss7/6 This item is available as part of Virtual Commons, the open-access institutional repository of Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, Massachusetts. This journal and its contents may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, re-distribution, re-selling, loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. ©2021 Journal of International Women’s Studies. 'Noble Mothers' and their Others: Racialized Women Entrepreneurs and Poverty Finance By Heather Montes Ireland1 Abstract Microfinance has become standardized within global development policy, disproportionately impacting the lives of women of the global South and, increasingly, in the global North with the dismantling of the welfare state. Poverty finance policies employ an entrepreneurial model to facilitate women’s labor market participation whereby borrowers are extended microcredit, or small loans, to invest in their microbusinesses. Global poverty finance is, however, deeply gendered and racialized in ideology and practice. This paper explores the ways that entrepreneurialism, as a cultural formation, privatizes women’s labor into normative gendered, feminine, and domestic labor sectors alongside the expansion of markets and neoliberal restructuring of economies.
    [Show full text]