Assess the reasons for gender differences in Educational Achievement

Assess the reasons for gender differences in Educational Achievement Charlotte McCaffrey Sociology Essay Traditionally, in education, females have underachieved, and males have excelled. But in recent years, the females have surpassed the males 11+ level, GCSE level, and A Level. Some reasons put forward for this were Biology, Culture, and Discrimination in school. Some people would say that biologically, females were less able than males. Although, this ideology is generally rejected today, throughout the 20th century, it was accepted by doctors, and even educationalists. This belief led to women being actively discriminated against in the education system. This was based on the idea, that academic education could be harmful to them. It was believed that it could lead to a break down, as the amount of information the female brain could handle was limited. This idea was contradicted, when females started to do better than males in the 11+, but even then, the number of passes allocated between the genders was equalised, based on the theory that males matured later than females, and this gave the females an unfair advantage. Until recent years, the acceptance of these biological theories lead to a gender differentiated curriculum. The next possible idea is Culture. These explanations suggest that the stereotyped gender roles are promoted by the culture of

  • Word count: 1055
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Sociology
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To the study of effect of industrialisation in Kolam village of Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh, I stratified 50 out of 75 households in the village for the survey to find out the situation of villagers, land holding patterns and resource availability be

7. THEME PAPER . 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 7.1. Title of the Theme Paper The title of the theme paper is "Effect of Industrialisation in People-People, People -Resource, Resource-Resource relationship, and Coping Mechanism and challenges and opportunities at Raigarh district" 7.2. Selection of Study Area The area allotted to me for study was a village Kolam which is 55 kms away from Raigarh. It was specifically chosen as since the last 2 - 3 years, there has been many land sales by farmers to the in steel giant Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) established here. The study is to find the effect of industrialisation on the lives of the people as well as their interaction with their environment. 7.2.1. Methodology To the study of effect of industrialisation in Kolam village of Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh, I stratified 50 out of 75 households in the village for the survey to find out the situation of villagers, land holding patterns and resource availability before and after industrialisation drive in the village. 7.2.2. Source of Information I conducted the following exercises for collection of information: * Field observations: My field observations exposed me to the various agricultural practices of the villagers, the cropping patterns, land type, * PRA exercises: In PRA exercise I came to know about the real problems faced by the villagers. In this

  • Word count: 3498
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Sociology
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Assess sociological explanations of the relationship between gender, religious belief and organizations.

Assess sociological explanations of the relationship between gender, religious belief and organizations. (40 marks) Gender issues are a great importance in contemporary society and culture. Although they concern both men and women at present, gender studies are still mainly focused on women because women have been voiceless for so long. Feminism see religion as a product of patriarchy as it only serves the interest of men. Jean holm argues that all religion preaches equality but they do not practice it. This argument derived from her study of cotemporary religions which showed that women are subordinated to the role of men as they do not have a part to play in many religions. For example, in Japanese religions, the women arrange and organize public rituals, but only the men can take part in it. Thus showing devalued and important women are within religious organizations. A Marxist feminist DeBeauvoir believes that there must be a religion for women because if women have their own religion, they cannot be oppressed. So therefore, they have created a feminine bible, where everything is equal between both sexes. Sociologists such as Stark believe that women are physically deprived as they suffer more life crisis than men; so therefore, women are more likely to turn to God as someone that can help them. DeBeauvoir reinforces this statement by saying that religion gives a divine

  • Word count: 1003
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Sociology
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How it works Dewey decimal system

How it works The DDC attempts to organize all knowledge into ten main classes that, excluding the first class (000 Computers, information and general reference), proceed from the divine (philosophy & religion) to the mundane (history & geography). DDC's cleverness is in choosing decimals for its categories; this allows it to be both purely numerical and infinitely hierarchical. It also is a faceted classification, combining elements from different parts of the structure to construct a number representing the subject content (often combining two subject elements with linking numbers and geographical and temporal elements) and form of an item rather than drawing upon a list containing each class and its meaning. Except for general works and fiction, works are classified principally by subject, with extensions for subject relationships, place, time or type of material, producing classification numbers of not less than three digits but otherwise of indeterminate length with a decimal point before the fourth digit, where present (e.g. 330 for economics + 94 for Europe = 330.94 European economy; 973 for United States + 005 form division for periodicals = 973.005, periodicals concerning the United States generally); class marks are to be read as numbers, in the order: 050, 220, 330.973, 331 etc. Any letter should be read as preceding any number that might have occupied the same

  • Word count: 349
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Sociology
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Assess The Extent To Which Marxist & Feminist Theories Help Our Understanding Of Religion In Society Today

Assess The Extent To Which Marxist & Feminist Theories Help Our Understanding Of Religion In Society Today Two sets of sociologists, which give their perspective on religion, are the Marxists and the Feminists. These two sets of theorists provide two different definitions on how religion affects society today; however their meanings differ only slightly. While Marxism argues that religion legitimises the, "subordination of the subject class and the domination and privilege of the ruling class", Feminists see religion as a product patriarchy, serving the interest of men under the subordination of women. Whilst both see religion as tools of domination and oppression, the parties involved in this domination and oppression are different. Marxist theories are often known as conflict theories, as they see a conflict between the capitalist ruling class and the proletariat subject class, the two main classes, which compose the industrial society. Therefore religion is used to keep the proletariat in their place. This is done in a variety of ways. One way in which this is done is via maintaining a false ideology, a false consciousness for the proletariat. Marx said that, "religion acts as an opiate to dull the pain produced by the oppressed." To maintain societies class, religion does nothing to solve the problems of the imbalance and oppression, instead it tries to make life more

  • Word count: 2138
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Sociology
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Assess the importance of evidence from studies of social mobility for the main theoretical debates about social class

Assess the importance of evidence from studies of social mobility for the main theoretical debates about social class. There are two main theoretical debates about social class; firstly the debate as to whether society is a meritocracy or whether it is based on ascription and secondly the debate as to whether class matters anymore and whether the lines between classes are still clear or whether they are now blurring. Functionalism holds the view that society is a meritocracy, that is, people gain their jobs and pay based on merit; the more they are valued and the harder that they work, the better they do in society eg. according to Functionalism, a banker only earns in the region of £4million a year because people value what they do and thus are seen to deserve their money. This theoretical debate is supported by evidence from a study conducted by New Right sociologist Peter Saunders (1996). In this study, Saunders examined the results of the National Child Development Study (NCDS), a longitudinal study which focuses on a sample of people born in 1958 and 1970 and follows them and their children. Saunders found that the rate of absolute mobility according to this study was 52%. This means that 52% of children in the study were in a different social class to their parents. He also found that in relation to relative mobility, those that were born in the middle class were

  • Word count: 1562
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Sociology
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How do race and ethncity impact on formation of identity?

How do 'race' and 'ethnicity' impact on the formation of identity? Identity is a key concept within the social sciences, revolving around how individuals or groups of people in society are identified. The formation of identity is a complex process. 'Race' and 'ethnicity' are key elements impacting upon the formation of identity. This essay will explain what is meant by 'race' and 'ethnicity' and how identities are formed. It will then explain how structure shapes the formation of identity and explain how social changes cause uncertainties leading to the formation of new identities. 'Race' is a term used to categorize humans by their visible differences i.e. White, Asian or Black. However, in social sciences, 'race' is put in quotation marks to emphasize the fact that it should not be classified on the basis of physical characteristics only but, should account for the fact race is socially constructed term and serves an essential purpose in relation to the formation of identity. 'Ethnicity' is a term used to describe those that share the same language or nationality, although sometimes they do not share the same identity e.g. the meaning of the term black. During the early 1980's black was used to describe those of Asian decent. During the later part of the 1980's, black, reverted to only describing those of black decent. Woodward (2004, p 119) argues that the

  • Word count: 839
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Sociology
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Globalisation and its effects on society

The aim of this assignment is to investigate the significance of the term 'Globalization', to bring an understanding of its repercussions, in doing so, giving a broader meaning and clarify the effects that the globalization processes may have on both the economical and employment structures in Britain and its society. The expression 'Globalization' was first coined in the 1960's, the term was not only used in an academic manner, but additionally in a popular way in order to illustrate a practice, a procedure, a condition and an era. Unfortunately, due to the different manner in which the word globalization is utilised, it has a tendency to be somewhat ambiguous and leads to confusion. The general idea of globalization, although in the forefront of many societies' economies since the 1960's, it is not a complete new concept, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels made mention of a 'truly global market' in their 1847 publication "The Communist Manifesto" (Steger, 2003). It cannot de denied that referring to globalization solely as an ensemble of social procedures is very simplistic, and regrettably offers just a limited point of view, omitting other existing processes that may enhance the subject area. The general idea of globalization is quite subjective, as many theorists beg to differ on the different forms of 'social processes' that are at the base of its elaboration, which

  • Word count: 1011
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Sociology
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To what extent has Bedstone undergone gentrification?

AS Level Geography Coursework Chris Fray To what extent has Bedstone undergone gentrification? Firstly I feel it would be a very sensible idea to write down my definition of gentrification, as at the end of the day that is what this coursework is about. "Conversion and renovation of redundant farm buildings into dwellings or different crafts by changing the structure (façade) of them to get it up to date, essentially modernisation. This is often done by wealthier people moving in from the outside community and results in a raise of the settlements' socio-economic status, i.e. the community goes from a working class one into a middle class one due to people moving in. Also there is a change of a villages' function\ purpose to its community." However, has Bedstone undergone gentrification at all? Yes, I feel it has and by quite a considerable degree. Using my definition above I will investigate the many factors involved to come to an intelligent decision. Bedstone originated as an agricultural functioned village and the local area was covered with working farms. The population was also quite large, much more than it is today (at its highest in 1821 it was 165). This is backed by the variety of industry that was stationed here in the late 19th and early to mid 20th century. The village population was able to support a diary (1876- approx 1940's), a school

  • Word count: 1099
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Sociology
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Recruiting from Ethnic Minority Groups.

Recruiting from Ethnic Minority Groups The poster is an image of a young Afro-Caribbean man aggressively pointing to the camera with the words "who are you calling a coconut?" slashed across his mouth. He looks quite aggressive, angry and proud because he is disgusted at the remarks of being called a coconut but he is proud to be in the army. He looks like he's on the attack ready to make his point and be heard. He is pointing his finger at other people of ethnic minorities challenging them to join the army. He wants to know why they are calling him a coconut. He wants to show them that its not only white people in the army. He's asking them if they know anything about the army. The Language used in the poster indicates a challenge being made. This challenge is to persuade people to join the army. To try and attract more ethnic minority men and women to join and also to realise that there are already some there. However, it is an aggressive piece of language and could be taken offensively by the very people they want to attract. The poster is designed to persuade ethnic groups to join the army. I feel they may have failed to do this as it could be regarded as offensive and could put them off. The words used are very blunt and could be taken as a challenge. If ethnic minorities want to stamp out racism in the army one way it can be done is by joining it and make

  • Word count: 646
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Sociology
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