ReviseSociology

Category: A level sociology exam practice

  • Evaluate the importance of cultural factors in explaining patterns of educational achievement [30 marks] 

    This question appeared in a recent AQA A-level sociology paper, The Education with Theory and Methods paper.

    This post considers the question, mark scheme and then suggests a top and middle band answer.

    Top band answers should address all of ethnicity, gender and class in terms of educational achievement.

    EXAM QUESTION

    Read Item B below and answer the question that follows.

    Item B  There are differences in patterns of educational achievement between groups of pupils. These differences can be based on class, gender or ethnicity, or a combination of these. Some sociologists argue that cultural factors are the main explanation for differences in educational achievement.  Differences in primary socialisation may mean that some groups find it easier to engage with the culture of the school.   However, other sociologists argue that material factors, such as access to resources, are also important. 

    Applying material from Item B and your knowledge, evaluate the importance of cultural factors in explaining patterns of educational achievement [30 marks] 

    —

    Mark Scheme 

    Top Band

    Answers in this band will show sound, conceptually detailed knowledge of a range of relevant material. This knowledge will include the importance of cultural factors in explaining patterns of educational achievement.  Sophisticated understanding of the question and of the presented material will be shown.   Appropriate material will be applied accurately and with sensitivity to the issues raised by the question.   Analysis and evaluation will be explicit and relevant.  Evaluation may be developed. For example, a debate can occur between different perspectives such as functionalism, Marxism, feminisms, interactionism, and the New Right. Alternatively, one can examine how cultural and material factors are important. One can also explore how these factors interrelate in explaining patterns of educational achievement.  Analysis will show a clear explanation.  Appropriate conclusions will be drawn.  

    Middle Band

    Answers in this band will show largely accurate knowledge but limited range and depth, eg a broadly accurate, if basic, account of some ways that cultural factors explain patterns of educational achievement.  Understands some limited but significant aspects of the question; superficial understanding of the presented material.   Applying listed material from the general topic area but with limited regard for its relevance to the issues raised by the question, or applying a narrow range of more relevant material.   Evaluation will take the form of juxtaposition of competing positions or one or two isolated stated points.  Analysis will be limited, with answers tending towards the descriptive. 

    Top Band Answer: Evaluating the Importance of Cultural Factors in Educational Achievement

    Educational achievement varies across different social groups, with differences observed based on class, gender, and ethnicity. Some sociologists argue that cultural factors primarily explain these differences. They shape students’ attitudes, values, and engagement with education. Others, however, emphasize the role of material factors, such as economic deprivation and access to resources. This essay will evaluate the importance of cultural factors in explaining educational achievement. It will also consider the role of material factors. Furthermore, it will examine their interrelation.

    The Role of Cultural Factors

    Cultural factors refer to the norms, values, and practices that influence students’ attitudes towards education. Cultural capital, cultural deprivation, and differing socialization processes all contribute to patterns of achievement.

    Cultural Deprivation Theory

    Cultural deprivation theorists argue that working-class children underachieve because they lack the cultural resources necessary for educational success. Bernstein (1971) identified differences in speech codes. Middle-class children use the elaborated code. This aligns with the language of the school. Working-class children tend to use the restricted code. This limits their ability to engage fully with academic content. Similarly, Douglas (1964) found that working-class parents placed less emphasis on educational achievement. They were also less involved in their children’s schooling. This led to lower attainment levels (Revisesociology, 2014).

    Cultural Capital

    Bourdieu (1984) introduced the concept of cultural capital. He argued that middle-class students benefit from the knowledge, skills, and experiences. These align with the education system. Middle-class parents are more likely to engage in cultural activities, such as museum visits. They also favor reading. These activities enhance their children’s intellectual development. Research supports the idea that middle-class students use their cultural capital to navigate the education system more effectively than their working-class peers (Revisesociology, 2015).

    Ethnicity and Cultural Attitudes to Education

    Ethnic differences in educational achievement can also be explained by cultural factors. Research suggests that Chinese and Indian students often achieve high academic results. This is due to strong parental expectations and a work ethic emphasizing discipline and perseverance. In contrast, some Black Caribbean students may experience conflicts between their home culture and school expectations, contributing to underachievement (Revisesociology, 2015).

    The Role of Material Factors

    While cultural explanations are significant, material factors also play a crucial role in shaping educational outcomes.

    Social Class and Economic Capital

    Material deprivation affects access to educational resources, such as private tutoring, high-quality schools, and extracurricular activities. According to government statistics, students from lower socio-economic backgrounds consistently achieve lower GCSE grades than their wealthier peers (Revisesociology, 2020).

    Gender and Educational Inequality

    While girls now outperform boys at most educational levels, gender disparities remain in subject choices and career aspirations. Socialization processes encourage girls to be more diligent and compliant, contributing to their academic success. However, boys may be influenced by laddish subcultures that devalue academic effort (Revisesociology, 2020).

    Interaction Between Cultural and Material Factors

    Cultural and material factors often interact, reinforcing educational inequalities. Working-class students may lack financial means. They may also lack cultural capital to access high-achieving schools or engage with enrichment activities. Similarly, ethnic minority students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds may face additional challenges, such as institutional racism and lower teacher expectations (Revisesociology, 2020).

    Conclusion

    Cultural factors play a significant role in explaining educational achievement. This occurs particularly through differences in cultural capital, socialization, and attitudes toward education. However, material factors cannot be ignored, as economic deprivation significantly impacts students’ access to educational opportunities. A comprehensive understanding of educational inequality must consider the interplay between cultural and material influences.

    Middle Band Answer: Evaluating the Importance of Cultural Factors in Educational Achievement

    Educational achievement differs among students based on class, gender, and ethnicity. Some sociologists believe that cultural factors are the main reason for these differences, while others argue that material factors, like poverty, are also important. This essay will examine the role of cultural factors in educational achievement and consider the impact of material factors.

    Cultural Factors and Education

    Cultural factors refer to how children are brought up and what values they are taught at home. Some sociologists argue that differences in upbringing affect how well students do in school.

    Cultural Deprivation

    Cultural deprivation theory suggests that some working-class children do not have the skills or knowledge that help them succeed in school. Bernstein (1971) identified two speech codes: the elaborated code, used by the middle class and schools, and the restricted code, used by the working class. Because the school system favors the elaborated code, working-class students may struggle to succeed (Revisesociology, 2014).

    Cultural Capital

    Bourdieu (1984) argued that middle-class students have cultural capital, meaning they have experiences and knowledge that help them do well in school. For example, middle-class parents are more likely to take their children to museums and encourage reading at home, which helps their academic success (Revisesociology, 2015).

    Ethnicity and Cultural Differences

    Different ethnic groups have different cultural attitudes towards education. Chinese and Indian families often place a high value on education, which can help explain why their children perform well in school. On the other hand, Black Caribbean students may experience cultural clashes with the school system, which can contribute to lower achievement levels (Revisesociology, 2015).

    Material Factors

    Although cultural factors are important, material factors also impact educational achievement. For example, students from poorer families may not have access to resources like private tutors, a quiet study space, or good schools. Statistics show that students from low-income backgrounds generally achieve lower grades than wealthier students (Revisesociology, 2020).

    Conclusion

    Cultural factors such as speech codes and parental attitudes play a key role in educational achievement. However, material factors also have a strong influence. A full explanation of educational differences must consider both cultural and economic factors.

  • Two reasons why the media represents young people in negative ways

    This question came up on the June 2022 A-Level Topics in Sociology paper (7192/2).

    Below are my thoughts on the question and a model answer.

    a 10 mark question with item from the AQA's A-level topic 2 sociology paper, media topic.

    The full 10 mark question, with item

    Item M

    The content of the mass media is often produced and controlled by professionals who are middle aged or older. It also concentrates on exciting stories and sensational headlines to attract audiences. The content of the mass media sometimes represents young people in negative ways. 

    Applying material from Item M, analyse two reasons why the content of the mass media sometimes represents young people in negative ways (10).

    Guidance on how to answer

    This is an interesting question on WHY young people are sometimes portrayed negatively. This is relatively easy to answer by drawing on a range of material from the media topic.

    There are two very clear hooks in the item here:

    • Media content is controlled by professionals who are middle aged or older
    • The media concentrates on exciting and sensationalist stories. 

    These should be the two reasons you refer to.

    What you need to do is draw the links between these two reasons and negative portrayals of younger people. You can get marks for developing points using studies, theories and concepts. You can also get analysis points for contrasting to older people and marks for evaluating.

    NB be careful not to go off on a tangent evaluating, keep evaluations short and focused on previous points

    A model answer

    This should get you 10/10…

    Media content controlled by professionals (point 1)

    Traditional media outlets are more likely to be managed by older people who do not fully understand youth culture. Thus older journalists and editors may put a negative spin on some youth events because they don’t fully understand what is happening. 

    This has been the case with several moral panics over youth culture. Stan Cohen’s study of the mods and rockers in the 1960s demonstrated this. For the most part Mods and Rockers were just about style and having fun. However when a minority of them clashed the media picked up on this and misrepresented all mods and rockers (youth) as violent and opposed to one another. This was due mainly to older people not fully understanding the underlying reality. 

    This also happened with Rave Culture in the 1990s. Sarah Thornton pointed out that mainstream media portrayals focused on the one death of Leah Betts, demonising drug culture and exaggerating how dangerous it was. In reality millions of young people took ecstasy and were all fine, it was just part of normal youth. 

    This is in contrast to the lack of reporting of older people dying of alcohol related diseases which is far more likely to cause early deaths among the old than younger people taking ecstasy. 

    Ironically young people are drinking less than older generations did when they were young, but instead of reporting this the media focus on exaggerating drug use. 

    There does seem to be something of a bias against young people, as in the case of The Sun reporting on Sam’s Journey (on TikTok). Sam was buying lunch boxes on special offer from Tesco to resell them for a profit on Amazon. The Sun demonised him for doing this, and yet the media generally celebrates entrepreneurs more generally. This seems to be a clear case of the media demonising the young in particular, this could be because the professionals at The Sun are older. 

    Media concentrates on sensationalist stories (point 2)

    According to Galtung and Rouge, media companies select news items based on news values. News values include such things as negativity and extraordinariness, thus the more negative an event, the more likely news media are to portray it. 

    Young people are generally more likely to engage in publicly deviant and criminal acts than older people, for example they are more likely to be involved in protests and were more involved in the London Riots than older people.

    Younger people are also more likely to be engaged in violent crimes such as knife crime, again a very newsworthy topic. 

    And if they are more involved in these kinds of events which are more newsworthy, they are more likely to be portrayed negatively. 

    From this point of view it doesn’t matter whether young people are, overall, more likely to engage in positive acts than older people, these won’t get reported on because they are not newsworthy. 

    Older people may do more harm to society than younger people, but they are more likely to be engaged in state or corporate crime and these are not as sensationalist, so are less likely to be reported on. 

    However in the postmodern age there is more youth reporting of youth culture, and so a much wider variety of young people writing and filming about non sensationalist aspects of what they are doing, such as with YouTube and TikTok, which is much more representative than just the news. 

    Sources and find out more…

    This material is relevant to the media topic within A-level sociology.

    For more advice on how to answer exam questions please see my exams and essay advice page.

    The AQA topic 2 paper this is taken from.

    Model answers to this paper from the AQA.

  • Two ways globalisation has influenced religious beliefs and practices of ethnic minorities

    Below is a question and answer to one 10 mark question on the AQA’s 7192/2 Topics Paper: Beliefs in Society section.

    The Question

    Outline and explain two ways in which globalisation may have influenced religious beliefs and practices of minority ethnic groups in the UK (10)

    My thoughts on the question

    This is NOT a good question. It’s what I call a technical question. By this I mean there is VERY little you can say, hardly any ability to use theories concepts which are directly relevant to both the specific parts of the question.

    You have to be REALLY careful to make the links between chain in the logic of your answer, see below.

    The Mark Scheme

    NB you can see from the mark scheme that they’re not expecting too much. The fact that you need to analyse by comparing to non ethnic minorities which ISN’T about the question shows how tough this is.

    This is in COMPLETE CONTRAST to how you would normally answer a 10 mark question, which would be 100% focus on the two parts of the question, in this case globalisastion and Ethnic Minorities.

    Seems like the AQA are changing the way they mark these papers year on year.

    An answer which should get you 10/10

    One aspect of globalisation is increasing migration of ethnic minorities to the UK.

    The 1950s – 1970s saw relatively high levels of migration from the Caribbean and Asia, and ethnic minorities generally had higher levels of religiosity. 

    Cultural Defence theory argued that ethnic minorities turned to religion as a source of both comfort and identity in the face of hostility from the white British population. Thus initially cultural defence theory argues globalisation results in ethnic minorities in the UK being MORE religious. 

    For Asian communities mosques, for example, were mainly attended by ethnic minorities only, and this remains the case largely today. Thus one consequence of globalisation is more segregated religious communities. 

    We possibly see evidence of this where Caribbean migrants were concerned. They were not made to feel welcome in mainstream British churches and so formed their own Pentecostal churches. 

    According to the 2011 Census and other surveys, Muslims, Sikhs and Hindhus are between 2-3 times more likely to practice their religion than white Christians, and black Christians are 3 times more likely to attend church than white Christians. Thus religion is clearly more important. 

    The higher levels of religiosity among ethnic minorities in the UK also suggests that secular aspects of globalisation haven’t impacted them as much as White Britons. 

    Point Two…

    A second aspect of globalisation is the increasing interconnectedness of the media which means ethnic minorities within the UK have more information about religious practices and beliefs abroad.

    The global media is more likely to report on news events which are sensationalist, such as when Fundamentalist groups engage in terrorist attacks abroad.

    This may have encouraged some minority ethnic groups to hide aspects of their traditional religious practices for fear of a backlash from the British public. For example some Muslim girls may be less inclined to wear headscarves, both male and female Muslims may pray less if this makes them stand out at work or school for the same reasons. 

    On the other hand Fundamentalist views spread on social media may attract some ethnic minorities and lead them into extremist practices. The possibility of increased radicalisation has led to the PREVENT agenda in schools, which means Muslims especially are under increased surveillance. Some Muslim groups work with authorities to try to deradicalise people, this is very much a change in practices because of globalisation. 

    However increased targeted surveillance may mean some Muslim children feel persecuted which may radicaliSe them further. These views may well remain hidden for years and result in unexpected extreme radical practices, such as with Shemina Begum leaving the country to join ISIS. 

    Another religiously related global event we know about because of the media is the Israel-Palestine war, and although mainly political, this is most definitely related to religion. This has led to tensions between Jews and Muslims in the UK, increasing divisions for the most part, polarising religious views. 

    So globalisation of the media has resulted in increasing differentiation of religious views in the UK among ethnic minority groups as some get more extreme and others maybe hide away aspects of their religious practice to not attract attention. 

    Find out more and related posts

    Mark Scheme for this paper is here. If you follow the links back the AQA also has a model answer of its own for this question which gets 9/10!

    Reasons why Ethnic Minorities have higher levels of religiosity.

    Exams, Essays and Short Answer Questions – Further exam advice for A-level sociology including paper 2!

  • Evaluate the pluralist view of the ownership and control of the media.

    Read Item N below and answer the question that follows.

    pluralism essay question.PNG

    Applying material from Item N and your knowledge, evaluate the pluralist view of the ownership and control of the media.

    Commentary on the Question

    This seems to be a standard question, with the item picking up on the fact that the media are democratic and provide equality of opportunity and that they respond to the needs of the audience.

     Answer (plan)

    Intro – outline Pluralism

    • content of the media broadly reflects the diverse range of opinions found in any democratic society.
    • audiences control media content as media professionals and owners produce what audiences demand because they are motivated primarily by profit.
    • media companies are in competition and if a media company doesn’t produce what audiences want, another company will and will attract more viewers.
    • In this essay I will evaluate the two points brought up in the item, using Marxist theories to develop my evaluation points.

    Media are part of the democratic process

    • media are an important part of the democratic process: give different interest groups the opportunity to put forward their views (in item!)
    • Elections/ Brexit – media play a crucial role. no way that parties can get their views across to millions of voters without access to the Media.
    • The news has commentators from different political parties, suggesting that the people are well represented.
    • Social media the above seems especially true –political leaders and parties use Twitter and other outlets to voice their opinions, Donald Trump/ Momentum.
    • However, Marxists argue that there is a subtle bias in news broadcasting which favours right wing views because media owners and journalists are themselves part of the elite.
    • Gatekeeping used to keep issues damaging to the right out of the news agenda
    • Agenda setting skews debates in favour of right-wing arguments – the Green Party gets hardly any air time compared to the Brexit Party.
    • Fiona Bruce is notorious – sides with the right and is barely able to hide her sneering contempt for those on the left (e.g. Dianne Abbot). Perpetuates Dominant Ideology.
    • Some radical thinkers have been censored by social media platforms – Tommy Robinson is one example of this.
    • Advertising in political campaigns costs money – so the more money a party can spend, the more of a voice it has – the Trump campaign spent a fortune on the last election for example. Supports the Instrumentalist Marxist view that those with money control media content.
    • Social media encourages ‘echo chambers’ – while most groups are free to express themselves, they are only ever preaching to the converted – Labour’s views probably won’t be reaching Brexit voters, for example. Thus the media isn’t quite working democratically – it isn’t encouraging debate.

    Media respond to the demands of the audience

    • Advertising is used effectively in the media by a range of companies to advertise their products and provide people with information about what they want.
    • Amazon, with its cheap products and peer reviews of products provide people with access to consumer goods and useful information more efficiently than ever.
    • However, from a Marxist point of view, the internet is primarily about advertising, and it is used by companies such as Facebook to manipulate people into buying things they wouldn’t otherwise – creating false needs.
    • This isn’t helped by concentration of ownership – especially vertical integration and lateral explanation
    • The fact that advertising revenue accounts for so much profit of the big four tech companies suggest more support for Marxist theories rather than pluralism –most people do not advertise anything online.
    • Advertising even influences what search results one gets on Google – suggesting that the answer to any question you ask is influenced by money.

    Conclusion

    In conclusion, while there is some support for the fact that New Media do allow more freedom of expression than traditional media, so there is some support for Pluralism, the content of such media does appear to be biased and limited in subtle ways, so that in terms of what we actually see, there isn’t equality of opportunity, and we are not provided with the information we want or need, so I reject the Pluralist view of the media, it remains too simplistic!

  • Evaluate the view that the media have a direct and immediate effect on their audiences [20 marks]

    This is an example of a 20 mark essay question written for the AQA’s A-level sociology paper 2, Topics in Sociology, Media option.

    Read Item N below and answer the question that follows.

    evaluate view media direct effect audience.PNG

    Applying material from Item N and your knowledge, evaluate the view that the media have a direct and immediate effect on their audiences [20 marks]

    Commentary on the question

     A classic essay, asking you to evaluate the Hypodermic Syringe Model, picking up on the relationship between violence and the media as an example.

    Answer

    Introduction – hypodermic syringe model key points

    • the media can have a direct and immediate effect on the audience, audience as a ‘homogeneous mass’ (all the same), and as passive
    • content creators can manipulate vulnerable audiences
    • associated with neo-Marxists Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer (A and H), from the the 1940s
    • They noted that there were similarities between the ‘propaganda industry’ in Nazi Germany’ and what they called the ‘Culture Industry’ in the United States.
    • A and H saw popular culture in the USA was like a factory producing standardized content which was used to manipulate a passive mass audience. The point was to creat false psychological needs and keeping capitalism going.
    • Pluralists and postmodernists would criticise the above theory – people have diverse needs which they actively meet through media, and especially New Media.

     

    Other evidence that media messages can have a direct and immediate effect on audiences:

    • Orson Welles’ radio adaptation of ‘War of the Worlds‘ in 1938.
    • However, people are more media literate now.
    • The ‘beauty myth’, especially the representations of size zero as normal, have encouraged an increase in eating disorders.
    • However, evidence of women (and men) resisting such messages – and setting up ad campaigns which celebrate diverse body shapes criticises this.
    • Campaigns behind Trump and Brexit used sophisticated targeted advertising to nudge voters into voting for Trump and Brexit, suggesting the media can have a very direct and immediate effect on specific populations.
    • However, it is not quite accurate to say this is the media having a direct and immediate effect –they don’t even bother targeting the people who they know will make ‘oppositional readings’ – thus the two-step flow and reception analysis models may be more applicable.

    Violence (in item)

    • There is some evidence that media violence can ‘cause’ people to be more violence in real-life…
    • The Bandura ‘Bobo Doll’ experiment
    • However, this experiment was carried out in such an artificial environment, it tells us little about how violence happens in real life.
    • A more nuanced version is ‘desensitisation’

    Conclusion

    • There are enough criticisms which can be made of the Hypodermic syringe model to say that it is mostly invalid today….
    • model may have been true in the 1940s when the media was relatively new and audiences less literate, but in today’s new media age, audiences are more likely to criticise what they see rather than just believing it, and to check what they see with other sources.
    • Audiences are also clearly more diverse, active, and USE media for their own devices rather than the other way around.
    • Finally, it is just too simplistic a theory to explain social problems – societal violence has many causes, and it’s all too easy to scapegoat the media
    • This model explains little about how the media and audiences are interrelated in a complex postmodern age.

     

     

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  • Analyse two reasons why the media portray minority ethnic groups negatively. [10 marks]

    Read Item M below and answer the question that follows.

    AQA 10 mark question item.PNG

    Applying material from Item M, analyse two reasons why the media often portray minority ethnic groups negatively. [10 marks]

    Commentary on the question

    A non-standard question about representations, focusing on ‘why’ rather than on ‘how’ one group is represented. There are two clear hooks in the item – the first about power and the second just about difference, suggesting that candidates make two points – one from a broadly hegemonic perspective, the other focussing on the public/ pluralism.  Remember that you can pick up marks for evaluating in this type of 10 mark ‘with item’ question.

    Before reading the answer you might like to review the material on ethnicity and representation, and some of the theories of ownership and control such as Pluralism, Instrumental Marxism and Hegemonic Marxism, all of which can be applied to this question.

    Answer

    The first reason why minority groups are represented negatively is because they have different values/ beliefs and practices from ‘mainstream’ society and are perceived by the wider public as not being fully integrated into the ‘British way of life’. The public at large is thus prejudiced against ethnic minorities, and anything which seems to threaten British identity.

    By focusing on negative representations of minorities – Islamic terrorists, benefit claiming immigrants, Romanian beggars, for example, newspapers such as The Sun and the Daily Mail can sell more newspapers and make more profit – it is easier to do this by perpetuating stereotypes compared to running stories which challenge such negative representations.

    It is relatively easy for papers to find stories about ethnic minorities which have many news values because some ethnic minorities do engage in activities which are ‘shocking’, and it’s maybe understandable why newspapers may choose not to publish stories in which minority groups are just ‘being British’ – because there’s nothing ‘newsworthy’ about such stories.

    This theory fits in with the pluralist view – newspapers aren’t deliberately prejudiced against ethnic minorities, they just run stories which reflect public bias to increase profits.

    Hegemonic Marxists would argue that ethnic minority groups are represented negatively because they are underrepresented in positions of power – both in society/ government and within the media itself.

    According to Stuart Hall, ethnic minorities have been used as scapegoats for society’s larger economic problems – knife crime by black youths in London in the late 1970s was turned into a moral panic by negative reporting in the press, even though the rate of that crime was declining.

    In a similar way gang crime today is largely constructed in the media as a black problem, rather than a multi-ethnic phenomenon.

    A further reason why such negative representations are so common could be the lack of black voices among media professionals, meaning the white majority just go along with the racial victimization of young black youth by the government and police.

    However, such negative representations may be changing in the age of New Media, which gives more power to ethnic minorities to challenge stereotypes and power inequalities in society more directly.

  • Outline and explain two ways in which the new media may be creating a global popular culture. [10 marks]

    Outline and explain two ways in which the new media may be creating a global popular culture. [10 marks]

     Commentary on the question

    This seems to be a good question – there are some obvious links between new media and global popular culture, and two obvious points can be made – contrasting the neophiliac perspective with the cultural imperialist perspective.

    Neophiliacs tend to emphasise the positive ways in which new media, such as social media sites, are creating a global popular culture. In short, neophiliacs believe new media is creating a global popular culture characterised by more choice and individual freedom of expression than ever before in human history.

    Sites such as Facebook allow people to connect with others who share similar interests, instantaneously, in any part of the world, and thus there are now thousands of new ‘global tribes’ – groups of people with shared interest, connect globally through social media.

    New Media has led to a more diverse global popular culture – as groups who have been historically invisible and marginalised due to lack of access to the mainstream media have proved to be very active in their use of new media – there are many disable and LGBT bloggers and vloggers for example. In fact it might even be the case that the greater diversity and choice offered through new media has led to broader representation of minority groups in mainstream popular culture forms such as films and television.

    It is also possible that new media is leading to a new consensus of acceptance of diversity and equality, as minorities who are oppressed in one country feel a sense of solidarity with those who are not oppressed in other countries, which puts pressure on oppressive governments to become more liberal. For example, it is harder for some less developed countries to keep homosexuality illegal, or to oppress women, when social media connections constantly remind people that such things are not acceptable in (typically) more developed countries.

    Cultural Pessimists on the other hand argue that New Media is largely responsible for creating a narrow and homogeneous global popular culture which transmits the dominant ideology and distracts people from important political issues with a diet of trivia.

    Cultural pessimists argue that the New Media are primarily own by four large media conglomerates – namely Facebook, Google, Apple and Amazon – ownership is concentrated in the hands of these four companies and they use their platforms primarily to make a profit by selling advertising space – thus global popular culture mainly exists and is transmitted to sell advertising space and keep consumer culture going.

    Constant advertising results in a very distracting experience for users as they are constantly bombarded with media messages telling them to buy things they don’t need, which creates false needs and keeps people confused and anxious, especially if they don’t have the money to buy the things they are told they should have.

    Global popular culture is also quite narrow – consisting of ‘approved cultural products’ such as music and films which for the most part do not challenge the dominant ideology – Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have even DE platformed some radical commentators from both the left and right ends of the political spectrum, for example.

    Finally,  cultural pessimists argue that new media creates a fragmented, divided and polarised global popular culture as we are increasingly fed news from those we follow, rather than those we might disagree with, which creates bubbles or echo-chambers, which makes us less tolerant of those with different points of view.

  • How important is it to using the Item in A-level sociology essay questions?

    Many teachers I know give their students ‘model essay plans’ for the classic topics in sociology, which students can use and adapt if they get a question on that general topic area.

    For example, an essay plan on the question ‘ assess the view that home based factors are more important than in-school factors in explaining class based differences in education achievement’ might have a model plan as below:

    1. Intro
    2. Home based factors – material
    3. Home based factors – cultural deprivation
    4. Home based factors – cultural capital
    5. In-school factors
    6. Conclusions.

    (Obviously one could elaborate on this a lot further!)

    Students can then change the order if the question is slightly different, such as on in-school factors, in which case in-school factors would be placed at no/2 after the intro and so on….

    HOWEVER, I’m not convinced that such an approach will get students into the top mark band. If you check the 30 mark mark scheme carefully, it refers ‘appropriate material being carefully selected and sensitively applied to the question’. To my mind, carefully using the item and using that to structure the question might be a better way to go!

    Take the example of the following question take from the 2016 AS sociology specimen paper. The item is clearly pointing you to address only certain aspects of home factors…..

     

     

    An item-based structure for the above essay would look like this:

    1. Parenting practices encouraging intellectual development – links to cultural capital theory
    2. More involvement – links to cultural deprivation theory
    3. Evaluative paragraph dealing with material deprivation
    4. Evaluative paragraph dealing with policy
    5. Evaluate using in-school factors, explaining how they are interlinked with school factors!

    Make sure you discuss all levels of education!

    My thoughts are that this could well be an important strategy when dealing with especially 20 mark essay questions as your time is quite limited on these!

  • Applying material from the item, analyse two reasons why younger people are generally less religious than older people

    This is one possible example of a 10 mark ‘with item’ question which could come up in the AQA’s A level sociology paper 2: topics in sociology (section B: beliefs in society option). 

    Read the item, and then answer the question below.

    Item

    Older people are more likely to both attend church and express religious beliefs than younger people.

    Some sociologists have suggested that this is due to changes which occur during the life-course. Other sociologists believe this trend is more about social changes resulting in generational differences.

    Applying material from the item, analyse two reasons why younger people are generally less religious than older people

    The first reason why older people are more religious is that as they come to the end of their ‘life course’, they are simply biologically closer to death which means they start to think more about what happens after death. This is something which all religions deal with, and so it could simply be that older people become more religious because they find a suitable explanation to their questions about the afterlife in religion.

    This could be especially the case today, as modern society is obsessed with ‘youth and life’ and so religion is one of the few places people close to death might find solace.

    A related life course related factor is social isolation. As people enter retirement, they lose their work place connections, and are more likely to see their friends die. Attending church could be a way of making up for these lost connections.

    The second possible reason is social changes – meaning that each successive generation is less religious than the previous generation.

    The church has gradually become disengaged from society and so has less influence over social life: thus children today are much less likely to see religious authority being exercised in politics, and religion has also lost its influence in education: RE is now somewhat watered down compared to what it used to be: presenting religion as a choice rather than a necessity.

    Also, now that society has become more postmodern, it emphasizes, fun, diversity and choice, all of which traditional religion at least doesn’t offer as much of: people would rather spend Sunday relaxing rather than in church, and this is very much normal today.

    As a result of all the above, parents are much less likely to socialize their children into religious beliefs and practices, which explains the decline in religion across the generations and between younger and older people today.

  • Applying material from the item, analyse two criticisms of the view that religion is merely a tool of oppression

    This is one possible example of a 10 mark ‘with item’ question which could come up in the AQA’s A level sociology paper 2: topics in sociology (section B: beliefs in society option). 

    Read the item, and then answer the question below.

    Item

    Karl Marx famously argued that religion was the ‘opium of the masses’ and Simone de Beauvoir argued that religion compensated women for their second class status. Both theorists believed that religion was an ideological tool which pacified the oppressed.

    These views have, however, been criticized:

    Applying material from the item, analyse two criticisms of the view that religion is merely a tool of oppression (10)

    Firstly, Marxist and Feminist views tend to downplay the positive functions of religion.

    As Functionalists have pointed out, it is quite likely that some form of religious belief and organisation is functional (i.e. beneficial for the individual and society) given that religion is practically universal (i.e found in nearly all societies).

    Functionalists have pointed to many positive functions of religion – such as helping people deal with death and societies deal with transition and times of uncertainty. Rather than this being about simply keeping inequality in place, it could be that religion benefits everyone by keeping society stable.

    Furthermore, people still practiced religion in secret in communist countries when religion was banned, suggesting that they actively wanted religion for their own comfort, rather than it simply being something forced on them by elites.

    You could argue that a similar thing is found with religion today in the form of ‘civil religion’ – where people find comfort in quasi-religious ceremonies such as Football matches and Royal Weddings… again this seems to be a matter of choice, and because attendance is optional, it’s hard to argue that these ‘shallower’ forms of religion have a  sinister social control function like Marxists and Feminists suggest!

    Secondly, The above theories assume that people simply passively accept an elitist interpretation of religious doctrines. There is plenty of evidence that this is not always the case.

    Liberation theology is a good example of this: where Catholic Church leaders in Latin America took the side of the landless peasants, and argued against the elitist interpretation that inequality was God’s will: instead helping the poor fight back against inequality and elite institutions and attempting to bring about a more equal society.

    This is supporting evidence for the Neo-Marxist view that religion is not simply controlled by elites, but is relatively autonomous, thus meaning it can be a tool for social change.

    From an Islamic Feminist point of view, Nawal el Sadawi argued that Islam was not inherently patriarchal, but rather that it had been interpreted in a patriarchal way in patriarchal societies (patriarchy comes first, if you like!). She further argued that it was perfectly possible for women to challenge Patriarchal interpretations of Islam, as she herself did, thus meaning it doesn’t have to be a tool of social control and pacification.

    A postmodern analysis of religion further supports the ‘active intepretation’ criticisms of Marxism and Feminism – today people are much more likely to pick and mix their religious beliefs, and reject anything they don’t like, and use religion at selected times when they find it useful. This is hardly religion controlling and pacifying the population!