Education- Unit 2
Past Paper Questions starting from January 2001, then June 2001 and so on up
to June 2005
2 mark questions
 Explain what is meant by ‘stereotypical views’?
Where people are judged by pre-conceived opinions of their race, gender or social
class
 Explain what is meant by ‘meritocracy’?
An educational system where everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed and
where individual’s rewards are achieved by their own efforts
 Explain what is meant by ‘deferred gratification’?
Postponing immediate rewards or pleasures, generally with the aim of producing a
greater reward at a later date
 Explain what is meant by ‘value consensus’?
A shared culture, agreement on what is important
 Explain what is meant by the ‘hidden curriculum’?
All those things that are learnt by pupils without them being formally taught as
part of the official curriculum
 Explain what is meant by the ‘self fulfilling prophecy’?
When a pupil comes to live up to the label given to him/her
 Explain what is meant by the ‘reproduction’ of class inequality?
Maintaining or transmitting class inequality from generation to generation
 Explain what is meant by ‘material deprivation’?
Poverty, hardship, inadequate standard of living, lacking basic necessities
 Explain what is meant by ‘streaming’?
Separating children of different ability into different classes, or teaching pupils of
similar ability in the same class
4 mark questions
 Identify 2 educational reforms which might reduce ‘class-based
differences in educational achievement’
National Curriculum, student grants/ loans, abolition of tuition fees
 Suggest two ways in which interactions between pupils and teachers may
affect attainment and/or behaviour
If teachers have low expectations of certain children and communicate these
expectations in their interactions, these children may develop a negative selfconcept.
 Suggest 2 ‘class linked material factors external to the school’ that may
affect pupil’s attainment levels
Poverty, parental unemployment, having to take a job while studying, lack of
study aids (books, computers), overcrowding, substandard housing
Education- Unit 2
Past Paper Questions starting from January 2001, then June 2001 and so on up
to June 2005
 Identify and briefly describe one way in which the education system
mirrors the world of work
Both offer extrinsic rewards, satisfaction from schoolwork comes from the
certificates, badges , gold stars etc gained not from the enjoyment of learning- just
as satisfaction from paid work comes from the money made, not from performing
the task itself
 Briefly describe 2 examples of ways in which a ‘gender regime’ may
operate in school
Bullying of boys who don’t fit the dominant model of heterosexuality, boys status
gained through sporting prowess, boys shouting down girls in class, girls fear of
getting a ‘reputation’, teachers techniques of classroom control
 Suggest 2 ways in which school mirrors features of the workplace
Extrinsic rewards, hierarchy, division of subjects/labour, lack of control
 Identify 2 factors or processes within schools that may negatively affect
working- class pupil’s achievement
Anti-school pupil subcultures, streaming/banding, setting, truancy, bullying
 Identify 2 reasons why some parents are better able than others to choose
which school their child attends
Some can afford to pay for private schooling, some can afford to move to areas
with better schools, some can afford to travel to areas with better schools, cultural
capital : some know how to navigate the application/ appeals procedure, M/C
parents/ pupils are more likely to be sought after by ‘good’ schools
 Suggest 2 reasons apart from lack of interest why many working class
parents may fail to attend parents evenings
feelings of social inferiority to teachers, lack of education/ unable to understand
the schoolwork, cannot afford childminders for other children, more likely to be
shift workers
 Identify one criticism made of the labelling theory of educational underachievement
Is deterministic, assumes no other causes are important, assumes those labelled
are aware of the label, doesn’t explain origins of labels, relies on flawed
methodology
6 mark questions
 Suggest 3 reasons why girls’ examination performance has improved in
recent years
National Curriculum, Coursework, changes in the family, equal opportunities
policies in education
 Suggest 3 other educational policies that may have affected educational
attainment apart from those mentioned in Item A
SATs, National Curriculum, Free nursery places
Education- Unit 2
Past Paper Questions starting from January 2001, then June 2001 and so on up
to June 2005
 Suggest 3 examples of ways in which pupils’ experiences of school help
shape their identities
Through subject choice (gender identity), through conflict with teachers (ethnic,
class identity), peer group/ subcultures, by labelling/ typing pupils, by grouping
pupils into streams, teams, houses etc
 Suggest 3 functions that the education system performs
Gender role socialisation, child minding (allows parents to go to work), selecting
by ability for future roles, equipping individuals with occupational skills, teaching
social/ interpersonal skills
 Suggest 3 factors that may explain why girls often choose to study
different subjects from boys
Peer group influence, role models in school or wider society, teachers’
encouragement/ discouragement, the mass media, early socialisation (gendered
with toys/ books etc)
 Suggest 3 factors that may ‘help to explain gender differences in
achievement and subject choice’
Peer group pressure, employment opportunities, role models, parents expectations,
primary socialisation
 Suggest 3 ‘material factors’ that may be responsible for working class
under-achievement
Overcrowding, insecure accommodation, cannot afford home learning resources,
having to earn money so cannot study, moving home into different catchment
areas, HE fees, stigma of free school meals leading to non- attendance
 Identify 3 policies that government or educational bodies have introduced
to overcome children’s cultural deprivation
Headstart, sure start, EAZs, parenting classes, pre-school provision, educational
TV programmes
 Suggest 3 examples of how the curriculum and/or the ways school is
organised may be ethnocentric
Dress/ uniform requirements based on western norms, religious assemblies based
on 1 religion only, holidays based on the Christian calendar, arrangements for PE/
games (showers, changing etc), subject content
8 mark questions
 Identify 2 factors in pupil’s home background which may affect their
educational performance
Two marks for each of two appropriate identified, such as:
Poverty, social class, single parent family, ethnicity
A further two marks for each of these satisfactorily explained, such as:
poverty, if students cannot afford home learning resources they may be at a
disadvantage and an inadequate diet can lead to illness and lack of concentration
Education- Unit 2
Past Paper Questions starting from January 2001, then June 2001 and so on up
to June 2005
 Identify and briefly describe 2 reasons why a school’s position in
examination ‘league tables’ may be an unsatisfactory measure of its worth
or effectiveness
Two marks for each of two appropriate identified, such as:
value added, private education
A further two marks for each of these satisfactorily explained, such as:
Schools are ranked ion order of their exam results however value added could be
greater in schools where many of the students are EAL and who show huge progress
even though exam results appear low
 Identify and briefly describe 2 factors or processes within the school
system that may influence working- class pupils’ level of achievement
Two marks for each of two appropriate identified, such as:
streaming, labelling by teachers, pupil subcultures, selection (e.g 11+), quality of
schools, the curriculum (hidden or official), schools use of elaborated code, self
fulfilling prophecy
A further two marks for each of these satisfactorily explained, such as:
Streaming, evidence shows that working class pupils are more likely to be placed in
lower streams, in which pupils achieve less, quality of schools, schools in working
class areas are more likely to have worse amenities, higher staff turnover etc or be
failing schools
 Identify and briefly explain 2 criticisms of the Marxist view of education
Two marks for each of two appropriate factors identified, such as:
deterministic, that education has no clear or single purpose/ function, ignores non
class inequalities, ignores cultural factors
A further two marks for each of these satisfactorily explained, such as:
deterministic, most Marxists (like Bowles & Gintis) wrongly assume that education
automatically makes pupils conform to meet the requirements of capitalism, whereas
in fact pupils can actively choose their course of action, ignores non- class
inequalities, Marxism is pre-occupied with class inequalities and ignores ways in
which education reproduces gender, ethnic inequalities
 Identify and briefly explain 2 changes in policies which may have led to
improvements in girls’ performance
Two marks for each of two appropriate factors identified, such as:
The National Curriculum, introduction of coursework, policies encouraging girls into
non- traditional subjects, same sex schooling
A further two marks for each of these satisfactorily explained, such as:
Introduction of coursework at GCSE, AS and A level has benefited girls more than
boys because girls give more time and effort to their work and this is rewarded in
coursework
 Identify and briefly explain 2 reasons why labelling theory may be ‘an
inadequate explanation of class differences in achievement’
Two marks for each of two appropriate factors identified, such as:
Over focused on micro level analysis, doesn’t explain consistency of labels to
particular groups, Over deterministic, Ignores material factors, Ignores cultural
deprivation, Ignores meritocracy
A further two marks for each of these satisfactorily explained, such as:
Education- Unit 2
Past Paper Questions starting from January 2001, then June 2001 and so on up
to June 2005
Over deterministic, labelling theory doesn’t explain why some working class pupils
reject labels or succeed/ assumes wrongly that everyone internalises their label,
ignores material factors, it is to pre-occupied with factors inside school and neglects
the importance of poverty/ material deprivation on achievement
 Identify and briefly explain 2 ‘cultural differences between the classes’
that may explain class differences in achievement
Two marks for each of two appropriate factors identified, such as:
Language/ speech codes, parental encouragement/ attitudes to education, culture
capital/ parental knowledge of education, immediate vs deferred gratification, present
vs future- time orientation
A further two marks for each of these satisfactorily explained, such as:
Language/ speech codes, M/C use the same elaborated code as teachers, textbooks,
exam papers etc so are better equipped for success than working class who only have
the restricted code. Present vs future- time orientation , M/C are future orientated, so
more likely to see education as a meaningful part of a long term career plan, whereas
W/C are present orientated so don’t see education as a stepping stone to the future.
 Identify 2 educational policies apart from those mentioned in Item A that
may have affected differences in educational achievement, and briefly
describe how each policy has done this
Two marks for each of two appropriate factors identified, such as:
The Tri- partite system, the comprehensive system, compensatory education,
maintenance grants, student loans, grant maintained schools, coursework, national
curriculum
A further two marks for each of these satisfactorily explained, such as:
The Tri- partite system, enabling a minority of able working class pupils to improve
their level of achievement by going to grammar school, which they generally would
not have been able to do prior to 1944, compensatory education, putting additional
resources into early years care and education of poor children/ ethnic minorities may
have boosted their development and improved their prospects.
 Identify and briefly explain 2 reasons why girls are generally now outperforming boys at all levels of schooling
Two marks for each of two appropriate factors identified, such as:
Introduction of coursework, changes in the family, changes in the labour market, the
impact of feminism, equal opportunities policies in education
A further two marks for each of these satisfactorily explained, such as:
Introduction of coursework, has enabled girls to do better as they are more organised,
meticulous, persistent than boys and this is rewarded in coursework, changes in the
family e.g. more divorce has given girls a greater incentive to gain useful
qualifications, as they cannot now expect to be full time housewives permanently
provided for by their husbands
 Identify and briefly explain 2 factors apart from those referred to in Item
A that may account for the educational under-achievement of boys
Two marks for each of two appropriate factors identified, such as:
lack of male role models in lone parent families, education perceived as feminine,
anti-school subcultures, lack of male job opportunities, over confidence in own
abilities, more behavioural problems.
Education- Unit 2
Past Paper Questions starting from January 2001, then June 2001 and so on up
to June 2005
A further two marks for each of these satisfactorily explained, such as:
education perceived as feminine e.g. mothers not fathers read to children, teaching is
an increasing feminised profession, so few educational male role models, anti-school
subcultures are often macho and anti-school and those who appear to take school
seriously may be bullied, lack of male job opportunities a decline of traditional male
jobs de-motivates boys who conclude there is nothing to strive for in school