Category Archives: Social Action Theory (Interpretivism and Interactionism)

In-School Processes in Education: Knowledge Check List

Posted on May 12, 2017 by

Main Sub Topics The Interactionist Perspective – Introduces the topic area, make sure you can explain the difference between Interactionism and Structural Theories School Ethos and The Hidden Curriculum The School Ethos The Hidden Curriculum Teacher Stereotyping and the halo … Continue reading →

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Max Weber’s Social Action Theory

Posted on January 26, 2017 by

Max Weber (1864-1920) was one of the founding fathers of Sociology. Weber saw both structural and action approaches as necessary to developing a full understanding of society and social change. In one of his most important works ‘Economy and Society’, … Continue reading →

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Social Action Theories for Second Year A Level Sociology – A Summary

Posted on January 18, 2017 by

We can divide sociological theories into two broad types: structural and action theories. Functionalism, Marxism and Feminism are all structural theories, are interested in ‘society as a whole’ and ask ‘societal level questions’ such as ‘what functions does education perform … Continue reading →

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Labelling Theory of Crime – A Summary

Posted on September 2, 2016 by

People do not become criminals because of their social background, crime emerges because of labelling by authorities. Crime is the product of interactions between certain individuals and the police, rather than social background. Crime is Sociology Constructed There is no … Continue reading →

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The Labelling Theory of Crime

Posted on August 20, 2016 by

The labelling Theory of Crime is associated with Interactionism – the Key ideas are that crime is socially constructed, agents of social control label the powerless as deviant and criminal based on stereotypical assumptions and this creates effects such as … Continue reading →

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Social Action Theory – A Summary

Posted on July 13, 2016 by

Unlike structural theorists, social action theorists argue that people’s behaviour and life-chances are not determined by their social background. Instead, social action theorists emphasises the role of the active individual and interactions between people in shaping personal identity and in … Continue reading →

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The Presentation of the Self in Everyday Life – Extended Summary

Posted on February 4, 2016 by

An ‘extended summary’ of Erving Goffman’s ‘Presentation of Self in Daily Life’ including his concepts of front and backstage, performers and audiences,  impression management, idealisation, dramatic realisation, manipulation, discrepant roles and tact.  CHAPTER ONE – PERFORMANCES Belief in the part … Continue reading →

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Participant Observation to Research Education

Posted on January 29, 2016 by

A brief summary of Young, Gifted and Black (1988) by Mairtin Mac an Ghaill and a consideration of the practical, ethical and theoretical advantages and disadvantages of the method in this educational context. In Young, Gifted and Black (1988) Mairtin Mac … Continue reading →

Posted in education, Ethnicity, research methods, Social Action Theory (Interpretivism and Interactionism) | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Learning to Labour by Paul Willis – Summary and Evaluation of Research Methods

Posted on January 25, 2016 by

Participant Observation in the Context of Education Given the practical and ethical problems of conducting participant observation in a school setting, there are only a handful of such studies which have been carried out in the UK, and these are … Continue reading →

Posted in education, research methods, Social Action Theory (Interpretivism and Interactionism), Social class, wealth and income inequalities | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

The Presentation of the Self in Everyday Life – A Summary

Posted on January 12, 2016 by

A summary of The Presentation of the Self in Everyday Life by Erving Goffman, and a brief discussion of its relevance to A level Sociology.  Executive Summary The best way to understand human action is by seeing people as actors … Continue reading →

Posted in Social Action Theory (Interpretivism and Interactionism), Social Theory (A2) | Tagged , , | 8 Comments