Sociology component 1

• Norms are expected behaviours
• Culture is the norms, values, traditions and laws of a society
• Same-sex marriage is legal from 2014
• Up until 1967 it was illegal to be homosexual
• In Algeria, the punishment for same-sex relations is 3 years in prison
• Socialisation is the process through which children learn how to live in society
• Children learn through agents of socialisation such as family, peer group, education, and media
• Common ways children learn through agents of socialisation are instruction, sanctions, imitation, and role models
• Children develop certain identities related to gender, class, ethnicity, and nationality
• Gender identities refer to how children see themselves in terms of male and female, influenced by agents of socialisation
• Class identities are influenced by agents of socialisation, with families passing on values and influencing what children see as important
• Ethnic identities involve children learning how to act in terms of their ethnicity, influenced by agents of socialisation
• National identities are promoted by families encouraging children to support their national teams at sport
• Observation:

  • Participant observation: The researcher takes part in the research, joining in with those being observed, but does not reveal who they are
  • Non-participant observation: The observer doesn’t take part but makes notes from afar
  • Advantages of observation:
  • Can provide a detailed picture of life over time
  • Allows observers to enter into a relationship with people
  • Allows researchers to study sensitive and deviant issues
  • People unaware they are being studied, so more likely to behave naturally
  • Research more likely to be valid
• • Disadvantages of observation:
  • Observers may get involved and see issues from the view of the group
  • The bias of the observers may affect their observations
  • The research takes time and money so has to be limited and is therefore not representative
  • There are ethical issues with the observer concealing their true identity
  • There are ethical issues as people are not always aware they are being observed
• • All respondents answer the same questions, so answers can be quantified and used to identify trends and patterns
  • Disadvantages of interviews:
  • Interviewees may give the answers they think are desirable
  • Interviewees may be influenced by the interviewers and their gender, ethnicity, class and age
  • Different interviewers may get different results; this will affect reliability
  • Numbers may be limited because of expense; this will affect representativeness
  • Interviewers may influence answers
  • Respondents answer pre-set questions .research is less likely to be valid
• • Research is less likely to be valid
• Interviews:

  • Unstructured interviews: The interviewer has a general aim, but questioning is based on answers given by participants
  • Structured interviews: The interviewer has a pre-prepared set of questions that are asked in a fixed order
  • Advantages of interviews:
  • Allows interviewer to build up a rapport
  • Interviewees answer in their own words as opposed to choosing from categories
  • Interviewers are free to set the direction of the interview rather than having fixed categories
  • Research therefore more likely to be valid
• Questionnaires:

  • Questionnaires can produce quantitative or qualitative data
  • Advantages of questionnaires:
  • Relatively cheap and quick, so larger numbers can be completed. This will affect representativeness
  • All respondents answer the same questions, so answers can be quantified and used to identify trends and patterns
  • Answers are anonymous – may affect validity
  • Answers can be compared for different groups
  • Disadvantages of questionnaires:
  • Respondents answer pre-set questions, so answers less likely to be detailed and valid
• • Disadvantages of questioninaires: Respondents cannot explain their answers
  • Respondents may not return their questionnaires; high non-response rates affect representativeness
• Types of families and family diversity:

  • Nuclear, extended, symmetrical, beanpole, reconstituted, cohabiting family, lone parent, patriarchal, single-sex families, divorce, singlehood, household
  • Families in Britain have become more diverse, moving away from one family type
• Theories on families:

  • Functionalism (Murdock Parsons): Family is essential for society's survival, carries out unique functions
  • New right (Charles Murray): Two-parent nuclear family is superior, provides children with two role models
  • Marxism (Zaretsky): Family benefits capitalism and capitalists, not its members
  • Feminism (Delphy and Leonard Oakley): Family is patriarchal, benefits men
• Social change and families:

  • Changes in the family structure due to social changes in the last century
  • Leading to more single-parent families, cohabitation, and changing domestic roles
• Legal changes:

  • Changes to divorce laws and legal aid
  • Single-sex marriage and adoption laws
  • Equality and Equal Pay Act
• Economic changes:

  • More women in the workplace with greater financial independence
• Values, norms, decline of religion:

  • Acceptance of living together or having a child outside of marriage
  • Acceptance of divorce, remaining unmarried, living with someone of the same sex, and sharing domestic tasks
• Changing expectations:

  • Expectation of women working
  • Expensive weddings
• Immigration/ethnic diversity:

  • Settlement of different ethnic groups leading to extended families living together
• Debates on families:

  • Is the nuclear family in decline?
  • Are there more equal roles between partners in the family?
  • Legal changes vs. other reasons for changes in the divorce rate
  • Negative effects of families on members and society
• Functionalism:

  • Education performs valuable functions for society
  • Schools are agents of secondary socialisation and socialise children into norms and values
  • Schools promote a sense of unity
  • Schools prepare children with the qualities they need for work
  • Schools work on meritocracy and reward the most able and hard-working
  • Durkheim and Parsons
• Marxism:

  • Education benefits capitalism and the upper classes
  • The upper and middle classes possess cultural capital, ensuring their success and the reproduction of the class system
  • Schools correspond to work and promote qualities needed for workers to comply with bosses
  • Meritocracy is a 'giant myth' promoted by schools
  • Bourdieu, Bowles and Gintis
• Interactionism:

  • Inequalities in education result from interactions in the classroom, mainly between teachers and pupils
  • Teachers label students and treat them based on these labels, often associated with social class characteristics
  • Labels may affect how students see themselves and lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy
  • Hargreaves, Ball and Becker
• Feminism:

  • School is patriarchal, benefiting boys more than girls
  • Schools pass on patriarchy through the hidden curriculum
  • Boys dominate the playground and classroom, receiving more of the teachers' time
  • Becky Francis
• • Some theories refer to money and resources that can help children succeed, such as equipment, tuition, and internet access
  • Living conditions like housing, space for homework, heating, and adequate food and clothing can affect achievement
  • Noble, Ball
  • School:
  • The school attended, its organization, and resources available can affect achievement
  • Schools with a middle-class ethos or irrelevant curriculum may cause disengagement
  • Teachers may label children based on social class, gender, and ethnicity, with middle-class pupils more likely to be labeled as ideal
• Influences on educational attainment:

  • Cultural factors:
  • Working-class groups may lack appropriate values, language codes, and parental encouragement needed for success
  • Some argue that the working class lacks cultural capital, referring to economic and cultural factors like language skills and knowledge of art, theatre, and literature
  • Others argue that some working-class groups may lack social capital, the ability to navigate the education system and achieve success
  • Hyman, Bourdieu, Becky Francis
• • Material factors: Children may disengage and form anti-school subcultures, and some schools may have a patriarchal or racist culture
  • Diane Reay, Hargreaves, Willis
• Sociology is about studying society and social behaviour
• Sociology analyses groups of people based on commonality such as culture, territory, gender, race, disability, ethnicity, and age
• Sociology studies structures, hierarchy, and power in society
• Sociologists study society to find and resolve social problems