Assess the strengths and limitations of participant observation for the study of labelling in schools
Assess the strengths and limitations of participant observation for the study of labelling in schools. AO1 (8 marks) / AO2 (12 marks) - 25 mins By Kirsty Malins Participant observation is where the researcher takes part in the event that they are observing or the everyday life of the group whilst observing it. There are two different types of participant observation. Firstly, overt observation is when the researcher firstly makes all the participants aware that they are being studied and makes sure they give their permission before the observation takes place. This makes their research ethically sound, however observer effect can occur which is where people behave differently because they are being observed, giving unreliable results. The other type of participant observation is covert studies. This means participants do not know they are being watched. This means they are more likely to behave like they normally would, giving valid results, however raises ethical concerns such as the right to withdraw and deception. This essay will look at the strengths and limitations of participant observation for the study of labelling in schools. Firstly, strength of participant observation is that results are usually valid. Rather than getting a participant to fill out a questionnaire when there is no real way of telling if they are giving accurate answers, participant observation
Examination of the Functionalist view that schools serve the interests of both society and individuals.
Examination of the Functionalist view that schools serve the interests of both society and individuals. The functionalist perspective is that society consists of institutions that are required to perform functional pre-requisites that are necessary for society to function. Schools are one of these institutions, and contribute to society by educating children and providing them with the necessary skills needed in working life later on. Also, schools provide secondary socialisation, taking over from the family, to instil societies beliefs and values in children and this is important to maintain social order by ensuring value consensus. Functionalist Emile Durkheim saw this secondary socialisation as being the main function of the education system. He looks at social solidarity, which teaches children a commitment to society and expresses the sense of the social unit being more important than the individual. Schools teach social solidarity through such things as assemblies, sports days, and in Durkheim's research in America, through saluting the flag before school. Durkhiem also sees the teaching of history in schools as being vital to creating solidarity, all of these giving children a sense of commitment and identity. Durkheim also looked at how schools teach social rules and how the school is a 'society in miniature'. School allows these social rules to be learnt in an
The recent rise in support for NRMS comes mainly from an increased desire to reject mainstream religious values. Evaluate this claim
The recent rise in support for NRMS comes mainly from an increased desire to reject mainstream religious values. Evaluate this claim. (40) The concept "New Religious Movements" embraces both cults and sects. Eileen Barker (1984) created this term to avoid the negative connotations of "cults" and "sects". "New" usually refers to "of recent origin" and "different from existing religions". NRMS have grown over the past 30years and which may have stemmed from political, economic, technical and ideological changes. These movements are more likely to develop in societies in which the power of the church is in decline. It is estimated that there now may be as many as 25,000 new religious groups in Europe, with over 12,000 from the UK alone. Peter Berger (1970) argues traditional religious values have declined as a result of urbanisation and industrialisation, as individuals have become more socially and geographically mobile. Individuals have become more accustomed to different belief systems and NRMS have appealed to some people, offering a better lifestyle. However, some sociologists have offered other reasons for the growth of NRMS. Roy Wallis (1984) divides NRMS into three main groups, distinguishing them according to whether they reject, accommodate or affirm the world. Troeltsch argues that World-rejecting NRMS have the same characteristics as a sect, in that their
Using the pre-release material and your wider sociological knowledge, explain and evaluate the use of semi-structured interviews to research the importance of work in shaping peoples identity.
Using the pre-release material and your wider sociological knowledge, explain and evaluate the use of semi-structured interviews to research the importance of work in shaping people’s identity. A semi-structured interview is a form of discussion which is used to collect qualitative data by setting up a situation (the interview) that allows a respondent the time and scope to talk about their opinions on a particular subject. It is not structured however the researcher does have a list of key themes, issues, and questions to be covered. In this type of interview the order of the questions can be changed depending on the direction of the interview. Nayak’s research in the Pre-release material ‘Displaced Masculinities’ explores how Working-class young men have had to rethink what it is to be a ‘man’ beyond the world of industrial paid employment and how it re-shapes it into a whole ‘way of life’ with the decline of traditional work and leisure lifestyles. First of all, when researching the importance of work in shaping people’s identity the researcher attempts to build a rapport, with the interviewee which allows them to create some sort of relationship bonding which enables them to trust one another. The interview therefore becomes like a flowing conversation, in Nayaks study: he wasn’t able to communicate/have access to the Charver Kids as ‘their school
Assess the view that vocational education and training schemes have done nothing to reduce social inequalities.
Using Information from item B and elsewhere assess the view that vocational education and training schemes have done nothing to reduce social inequalities. There are a range of different schemes available within the new vocational education system such as NVQ's, apprenticeships, YTS's and GNVQs. These are work based awards which are achieved through training and assessment. These awards are usually equivalent to 2 A levels and usually schemes like apprenticeships put you straight into a job when you finish the course; this is an extremely popular vocational course as job's are hard to come by in this economic climate. The training scheme was also introduced around the same time as students experiencing difficulty with their traditional subjects. The aim was to help 14-16 year olds get more out of their education. The students were allowed to attend college for one/two days a week to study for vocational qualifications that were not available at school. Most schools used this to re-engage disaffected young people. Although many schemes may have helped working class students it has also helped middle class and so it does not appear to have helped reduce social inequality but instead give students more choice over their education. Although vocational education and training schemes do help some students and provided people with more qualifications they have not reduced social
Obesity is not the individual's problem. The spark in obesity rates means that many people are forced into becoming obese.
Arjun Bhatnagar Ms. Tsakirellis College Writing /19/12 Obesity is a problem, but not yours It is about time that people stop feeling that they are to blame for their obesity. If obesity is affecting a little less than ? of the entire adult population in the U.S. and a little less than ? of the children then it is impossible to force the blame onto each individual. Such large numbers indicate that there must be other factors leading people into becoming obese. Living a healthy life does not mean eating healthy, it means eating in balanced portions with the right amount of exercise. The spark in obesity rates means that many people are forced into becoming obese. Malevolent factors are to blame for obesity in all ages in lieu of one's individual choice. Right now corporations enforce their own selfish schemes in order to raise profits at the cost of the people in this nation. Unhealthy food options become prevalent through corporate ploys and clever tactics. If the average diet of an individual in the U.S. could be examined then anyone could see, as Martin Binks states, "calorie-dense foods are far more readily available than ever before" (Motluk 563). Kids and adults alike devour far too much 'junk food', and it is not their fault because corporations make it possible to only see high calorie foods wherever an individual goes. Corporations place the food in front of the
Outline some of the ways in which some marketisation and selection policies may produce social class differences in educational achievement.
Outline some of the ways in which some marketisation and selection policies may produce social class differences in educational achievement. (12 marks) Marketisation is the policy of introducing market forces of supply and demand into areas run by the state, in this case education. The 1988 Education Reform Act began marketisation of education by encouraging competition between schools and choice for parents. Marketisation includes funding formulas, exam league tables, cream-skimming and silt shifting. A funding formula is a formula that gives a school the same amount of funds for each pupil. This can affect a working class child's education because if other schools have a higher fund because they are more popular due to better exam results then working class children are unlikely to be able to get a placement at that school so they will be silt-shifted to a less popular school which has lower exam results because of its lack of funding due to its lack of pupils. However, this idea can be criticised because if an unpopular school gets too bad they will be put into special measures by ofsted, this then gives them more funding to try and help improve the school, if this is achieved then their popularity will improve. Silt-shifting is when a school off-loads pupils with learning difficulties who are expensive to teach and so get poor results. This benefits middle class pupils
Using material from item B and elsewhere assess the strengths and limitations of group interviews for investigating anti-school subcultures.
Adaeze Ifeacho Using material from item B and elsewhere assess the strengths and limitations of group interviews for investigating anti-school subcultures. There are two types of attitudes that pupils show towards school, these include: the pro-school subculture and the anti-school subculture. According to Item B Sociologists refer to anti- school subcultures as pupils who share sets of values and behaviour patterns that are in opposition to those expected by schools. To investigate such pupils, an ideal research method would be the non-participant observation, though making use of such a method poses some issues. Generally, studying the lifestyle of anti-school subcultures will be difficult. The students may be unwilling to complete a questionnaire or answer to an interview and the defensiveness of their parents may prevent the sociologists from undergoing their research, therefore, the use of a covert (non- participant) observation would be ideal. A covert observation is a primary research method in which the sociologist (identity and purpose are kept secret) studies a group by taking a role within it and participating in its activities. The main practical advantage of covert observation is that it reduces the risk of altering peoples’ behaviour. Due to the rapport and the trust that James Patrick had established with the Glasgow gang he was studying, he was able to
Assess the Postmodernist view that we are free to adopt any identity through our leisure choices
Assess the Postmodernist view that we are free to adopt any identity through our leisure choices (24 marks) A postmodernist perspective sees the boundaries between social class and leisure have become blurred. This is because, regardless of our social class, we can all pick and choose how we spend our leisure time. Postmodernists have an optimistic view about everyone having the ability to express their identity through their activity as consumers. However, it is important to recognise that while most people can afford a range of leisure activities such as holiday, income does limit our choices in leisure and consumption. We can all visit the same shops, but some can afford more choices than others; some leisure activities are not accessible to all. A postmodernist researcher called Baudrillard says we live in a media saturated society - in a globalised popular culture the mass media presents us with massive choice of leisure, lifestyle, images and identities drawn from across the world. Others like Lyotard (1984) argue metanarratives (an explanation for everything that happens in a society) no longer explain the identities people adopt. Rojeck (1995) and Roberts (1978, 1986) believe leisure and consumption are far more important in shaping our identities than our social position Bocock (2004) asserts that people are not shopping for products they are shopping for
Comment on the strength and weakness of the social security system in Hong Kong
Comment on the strength and weakness of the social security system in Hong Kong Introduction Although Hong Kong is a developed city in the world, there are still many people in HK living under poverty. Most of the poor are the elderly, disabled, single parent family and unemployed. Moreover, the problem is worsening because of the 150 immigrants per day from the mainland China. They cannot live on their own especially in this economic downturn. They need the help from the government to through their hard time. Social security is a form of social welfare provided by the government. It is the societal and collective measure to provide security to people of the community against certain risk in and contingencies of life (e.g. retirement, accidents, misfortune, maternity, illness, death, poverty, disability etc.) It provides both financial and psychological security to people of the community against certain risks or contingencies in life. In the financial aspect, it provides direct cash subsidy. In the psychological aspect, the money may be given to the needy through the social workers who can offer mental support for them. In this paper, I will first briefly describe the key events of development of social security in HK which is the history of the social security system. Then, I will introduce the three models of the system and the scheme under each model of it. Next, I