Functionalists focus on the positive functions of education
Creating social solidarity:
School makes individuals feel like they are part of something bigger
Subjects like history and English give a shared sense of identity
School prepares individuals for cooperating with others in wider society
Teaching specialist skills for work:
In an advanced industrial economy, a complex Division of Labour is required
School teaches diverse skills necessary for different professions
Vocational education provides specific skills for particular professions
Teaching core values:
Education acts as the central socializing agency in modern society
School takes over from primary socialization to adapt children to societal norms
Children are judged by universalistic standards in school and wider society
Role Allocation and meritocracy:
Education allocates individuals to suitable jobs based on talents
Examinations and qualifications ensure the most talented are allocated to important occupations
Meritocracy ensures equality of opportunity and fair chance for success
Positive evaluations of the Functionalist view on education:
School performs positive functions for most pupils most of the time
Link between education and economic growth
Low exclusion and truancy rates
Schools foster solidarity and offer diverse vocational courses
Criticisms of the Functionalist View of Education:
Education system not fully meritocratic
Functionalist view is ideological and reflects the views of the powerful
Modern education systems focus more on individual development
Ignores negative aspects of school like bullying and exclusion
Contemporary Evidence to Evaluate Functionalism (2022 update):
Government plans to make 90% of pupils sit GCSEs from the Ebacc suite of subjects by 2025
Shift towards a more similar educational experience for students
Potential exclusion of poorer students from creative subjects
Requirement to teach British Values in schools emerged from the PREVENT agenda
Teaching British Values may not promote value consensus effectively
The EU Referendum in 2015 split the UK population down the middle, with approximately half voting to stay in the EU and half voting to leave
This was the only time the UK Population had the chance to vote directly on a specific social policy
The split in the nation suggests there is no meaningful value consensus on how Britain should relate to the wider world
Graduate Labour Market Statistics in 2021 show that 86.7% of graduates were employed compared to 67.2% of non-graduates
Graduates were three times as likely to be in 'highly skilled' jobs compared to non-graduates
Around 25% of graduates end up in lower skilled jobs, indicating the system isn't fully effective
Apprenticeship data from 2021-22 shows approximately 750,000 people were doing apprenticeships, with main sectors being health and social care and business administration
The majority of apprentices are under 25, suggesting apprenticeships work alongside traditional further and higher education institutions for role allocation
A Level Sociologyexam
Sociologists use a range of quantitative and qualitative, primary and secondary social research methods to collect data about society
Main types of research methods include:
Social surveys (questionnaires and structured interviews)
Experiments (Lab and Field)
Unstructured interviews
Participant Observation
Secondary qualitative data
Official Statistics
Research Methods Top Ten Key Concepts:
Includes simple explanations of terms such as validity, reliability, representativeness, Positivism and Interpretivism
An Introduction to Research Methods:
Basics of different types of research method
Factors influencing choice of research methods
Distinction between Positivism and Interpretivism
Factors Effecting Choice of Research Topic in Sociology:
Theoretical, ethical, and practical factors affecting the choice of research methods
Factors Effecting Choice of Research Method in Sociology:
Theoretical, practical and ethical factors
The nature of the topic affecting the choice of research method
Positivism and Interpretivism:
Positivists prefer quantitative methods
Interpretivists prefer qualitative methods
Stages of Social Research:
Research design, operationalising concepts, sampling, pilot studies, data collection and data analysis
Primary Quantitative Research Methods:
Social Surveys:
Advantages and disadvantages
Preferred by positivists
Good for simple topics
Structured Interviews:
Different contexts and stages
Strengths, limitations, and criticisms
Primary Qualitative Research Methods:
Favored by Interpretivists
Allow respondents to speak for themselves
Risk of researcher's subjective views interfering with results
Participant Observation:
Overt and Covert
Strengths and limitations of covert participant observation
Recent examples of sociological studies using participant observation
Secondary Research Methods:
Official Statistics:
General strengths and limitations
Examples include crime statistics, school league tables, and education statistics
Univariate Analysis in Quantitative Social Researchinvolves looking at one variable at a time
Strengths and limitations of bar charts, pie charts, and box plots are covered in this post
Secondary Qualitative Data Analysis in Sociology includes private and public documents
Public documents are written or visual documents produced with an audience in mind, such as government reports and newspapers
Private documents refer to personal documents like diaries and letters not intended to be seen by their authors
Content Analysis of the Media in Social Research covers formal content (quantitative) analysis and semiology
Personal documents like diaries and letters are discussed in detail regarding their strengths and limitations as sources of data
Autobiographies in social research are popular with the British public, but their usefulness as data sources for social researchers is questioned
Sociology, Science, and Value Freedom is part of A2 Theory and Methods
Methods in Context includes Research Methods Applied to Education
Field Experiments applied to Education are discussed, focusing on whether Chinese Teaching Methods are the best
Participant Observation in Education focuses on the work of Paul Willis and Mac An Ghail