Lesson 4.1.1.2

4.1.1.2 Differential educational achievement by class, gender and ethnicity Quiz: AQA Sociology, Unit 1

20 questions

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Lesson 4.1.1.2, Differential educational achievement by class, gender and ethnicity: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Sociology (7192), Unit 1: Education with Theory and Methods, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Which sociologist's study of primary-school children argued that parents' attitudes and home circumstances were a major factor in class-based educational achievement?

    • Douglas (1964), who linked parental interest and encouragement to children's achievement
    • Pierre Bourdieu, who argued that symbolic violence is exercised through the school curriculum
    • Basil Bernstein, who argued that schools always favour the elaborated code of the middle class
    • Paul Willis, who argued that working-class boys reject school in favour of manual work

  2. Bernstein's distinction between restricted and elaborated codes concerns which aspect of pupils' experience?

    • The forms of language used at home and their match with the language used in school
    • The proportion of pupils from each ethnic group who attend a particular school
    • The types of examinations taken by pupils at the end of compulsory schooling
    • The ways in which pupils are grouped by ability within a single school year group

  3. Since the 1990s, girls have outperformed boys at GCSE and A level in the United Kingdom. Which sociological explanation focuses on changes in girls' aspirations and their response to the labour market?

    • The New Right explanation that girls benefit from the abolition of selective single-sex schools
    • Positivist explanations that girls' brains develop faster than boys' in the early years of schooling
    • Functionalism, which argues that girls are more naturally suited to academic learning than boys
    • Feminist explanations that girls' aspirations have risen as traditional routes to male-dominated work have narrowed

  4. Which ethnic group is most commonly reported in UK data as achieving well above the national average in education?

    • Black Caribbean pupils, who achieve above the national average at every key stage
    • White British pupils from working-class homes, who achieve above the national average
    • Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils, who achieve above the national average at most key stages
    • Chinese pupils, who achieve above the national average at most key stages of schooling

  5. Gillborn and Mirza argue that teachers' expectations of pupils from some ethnic groups contribute to lower attainment. Which concept is this most closely linked to?

    • Anomie, the breakdown of norms that results from rapid social change and inadequate regulation
    • Labelling and self-fulfilling prophecy, in which expectations shape how pupils are treated and how they respond
    • Cultural capital, the knowledge and tastes that give pupils an advantage in the education system
    • Ideological state apparatus, the use of education to secure consent to the dominant ideology

  6. Which explanation of working-class underachievement emphasises the role of the labour market and the attraction of manual work?

    • Positivism, which argues that class differences in attainment are caused by biological differences
    • The New Right, which argues that comprehensive schools hold back all pupils equally
    • Functionalism, which argues that working-class pupils lack the talent needed to succeed
    • Willis's counter-school culture, in which some working-class boys reject school for the masculine values of manual work

  7. Which explanation focuses on material deprivation, such as poor housing, low income and lack of resources, as a cause of lower attainment?

    • Cultural deprivation theory, which blames the values of working-class parents for poor achievement
    • Material deprivation explanations, which link low income and poor conditions to reduced learning and attendance
    • Feminist theory, which argues that patriarchal structures in the family limit girls' achievement
    • Labelling theory, which argues that teachers' classifications of pupils create lower attainment

  8. Which statement about gender and subject choice is best supported by sociological research?

    • Gender differences in subject choice have disappeared entirely, so subject choice now reflects only ability
    • Boys have overtaken girls in every subject at every level of education since the 1990s
    • Girls and boys tend to choose different subjects, and these choices are linked to later gendered occupations
    • Subject choice is determined only by the school's timetable and has no link to gender identity

  9. Which concept describes the tendency for pupils from middle-class backgrounds to use knowledge and skills that schools reward, giving them an advantage?

    • Deviance amplification, in which labelling leads to increased rule-breaking by labelled groups
    • Cultural capital, which gives advantage through familiarity with valued knowledge, tastes and language
    • Symbolic violence, the imposition of standards that are misrecognised as natural and legitimate
    • Social solidarity, in which shared norms bind pupils together regardless of their background

  10. A sociologist finds that boys from some Black Caribbean backgrounds are more likely than other boys to be excluded from school. Which explanation would labelling theorists most likely offer?

    • Exclusion is a neutral response to behaviour, with no role for teachers' interpretations or expectations
    • The national curriculum is designed to exclude pupils from minority groups from academic subjects
    • Teachers may label these boys as troublemakers, leading to sanctions that increase the likelihood of exclusion
    • Boys from these groups have inherently lower intelligence than pupils from other ethnic groups

  11. Which conclusion about social class and achievement is best supported by large-scale statistical studies of schooling in the UK?

    • Pupils from all social classes achieve identical results when they attend the same type of comprehensive school
    • Pupils from higher socio-economic backgrounds tend to achieve higher average attainment, even allowing for prior attainment
    • Pupils from working-class backgrounds are equally likely to achieve top grades when measured ability is the same
    • Social class has no measurable relationship with educational outcomes once school funding is taken into account

  12. Which explanation of differential achievement sees the school's own structures, such as setting and streaming, as a source of inequality?

    • Institutional explanations, which argue that school organisation can channel pupils into groups with different outcomes
    • Cultural deprivation theory, which blames pupils' home values for their poor performance in school
    • Biological determinism, which argues that differences in attainment are caused by innate ability
    • Compensatory education, which argues that extra support for disadvantaged pupils always removes inequality

  13. Which feminist critique of girls' improved results is most often raised?

    • Girls' higher attainment shows that single-sex schools are always more effective than mixed schools
    • Girls' higher attainment does not automatically translate into equal pay or equal access to top positions
    • Girls' higher results show that gender inequality has been completely eliminated in education and work
    • Girls' higher attainment proves that boys are naturally less able than girls in academic subjects

  14. Which factor is most often linked by sociologists to the lower attainment of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils?

    • Their pupils having greater natural ability in practical subjects than in academic ones
    • Their families' preference for home-schooling, which makes state assessment impossible to carry out
    • Their experience of mobility, discrimination and low levels of school attendance and engagement
    • Their families choosing schools with the lowest standards so that pupils can enter work early

  15. A researcher uses GCSE data to show that pupils from low-income families are less likely to achieve five good GCSEs than pupils from high-income families. What type of data is this?

    • Quantitative primary data, collected through participant observation of pupils in classrooms
    • Qualitative primary data, collected through in-depth interviews with pupils and their families
    • Quantitative secondary data, collected from official statistics and existing examination records
    • Qualitative secondary data, derived from the written diaries of teachers about their own classes

  16. Which argument best explains why a 'compensatory' policy may not eliminate class-based achievement gaps?

    • Schools cannot influence pupils' outcomes at all, so any policy aimed at attainment is bound to fail
    • Gaps only exist in the first year of secondary school and disappear once pupils reach their final exams
    • Extra resources alone may not change the cultural capital and home factors that shape how pupils use schooling
    • Extra support for disadvantaged pupils always raises their attainment to the level of the most advantaged group

  17. Which view would a Marxist most likely take of class-based educational achievement?

    • That it reflects the reproduction of class inequality through schooling that legitimises unequal outcomes
    • That it proves working-class children lack the cognitive ability required for professional work
    • That it shows the meritocracy works well, with rewards going to those who put in the most effort
    • That it is a temporary effect of poverty that will disappear as the economy continues to grow

  18. Which evaluation is most appropriate for a study that uses only exam results to explain differential achievement?

    • It is limited only because exam results cannot be compared across different types of school in the UK
    • It is strong because exam results are collected by the government and therefore must be representative
    • It is limited because it cannot show how pupils' identities, teacher relationships and home experiences shape attainment
    • It is strong because exam results are a complete and objective measure of all pupils' learning experiences

  19. Which statement about ethnicity and educational achievement in the UK best reflects sociological debate?

    • Ethnic differences in achievement are fully explained by differences in family income and nothing else
    • Ethnic differences in achievement are caused entirely by language and do not relate to schooling at all
    • Ethnic differences are complex, varying between groups, and are shaped by factors including class, expectations and school practice
    • Ethnic differences in achievement have no relationship to social class, gender or the local area

  20. Which concept refers to the idea that a pupil who is labelled as low ability may come to behave in ways that confirm that label?

    • Structural functionalism, in which each part of the education system performs a stable role
    • Cultural relativism, in which each subculture's values are judged by its own standards
    • Ideological hegemony, in which the dominant class secures consent to its own rule through culture
    • Self-fulfilling prophecy, in which expectations lead to behaviour that confirms the original expectation

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