Lesson 4.1.1.3

4.1.1.3 Relationships and processes within schools Quiz: AQA Sociology, Unit 1

20 questions

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Lesson 4.1.1.3, Relationships and processes within schools: 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. What is meant by the 'hidden curriculum' in sociological accounts of schooling?

    • The optional subjects that pupils may study outside the official timetable on a voluntary basis
    • The secret examination content that is withheld from pupils until the final year of compulsory education
    • The unwritten lessons pupils learn about norms, values and conformity through the everyday routines of school
    • The curriculum taught in private schools, which is kept confidential from state-school pupils

  2. Which sociologist is most associated with the idea that schools teach pupils to accept authority through routines such as waiting, queuing and obeying bells?

    • Karl Marx, who described the capitalist mode of production as the basis of all social institutions
    • Phillip Jackson, who described the hidden curriculum of crowds, praise and waiting in classrooms
    • Pierre Bourdieu, who described the transmission of cultural capital through family habitus
    • Basil Bernstein, who described the restricted and elaborated codes of language in homes and schools

  3. Howard Becker's study of teachers in American schools argued that teachers tended to label pupils according to which criteria?

    • Their performance in standardised national tests, which were used as the sole basis for all judgements
    • Their conformity to the ideal pupil, judged by factors such as social class and attitude to school
    • Their musical ability and sporting skills, which teachers used to allocate pupils to academic streams
    • Their parents' occupations, which teachers were legally required to record for every pupil

  4. Hargreaves' study of a secondary school in the 1960s argued that streaming and labelling produced which pattern in pupils' subcultures?

    • A uniform middle-class culture shared by all pupils, regardless of stream or social background
    • An increase in pupils' commitment to academic goals, as streaming gave everyone a clear route to success
    • Polarisation, in which the pupils in the top and bottom streams developed opposing subcultures
    • A complete disappearance of subcultures, as the school's rules replaced all informal peer groups

  5. Which concept describes the process by which a pupil's behaviour and identity are shaped by the labels that teachers and peers attach to them?

    • Labelling, in which categories applied by others shape how individuals are treated and how they see themselves
    • Hegemony, in which the ruling class secures consent to its authority through the cultural values it promotes
    • Functional prerequisites, in which institutions meet the needs of society in a stable and orderly way
    • Cultural relativism, in which each subculture is judged only by the standards that apply within itself

  6. Which type of teacher-pupil relationship is described as 'interactionist' in sociological explanations of schooling?

    • A relationship in which pupils are sorted into jobs by a computer assessment without any direct contact with teachers
    • A relationship in which pupils have no influence on their learning, and teachers transmit knowledge in a single direction
    • A relationship in which teachers and pupils negotiate meanings, expectations and behaviour during everyday classroom interaction
    • A relationship in which the state dictates every aspect of teaching through a fixed and invariable national curriculum

  7. Which term describes the way in which schools allocate pupils to groups within a year group based on their perceived ability in all subjects?

    • Vocational routing, in which pupils are selected for training courses on the basis of their parents' occupations
    • Streaming, in which pupils are placed in ability groups across all subjects for the whole school year
    • Mixed ability teaching, in which pupils of all levels are taught together in a single group for every lesson
    • Setting, in which pupils are placed in ability groups for individual subjects, which may differ from each other

  8. Which evaluation of setting and streaming is most consistent with sociological research?

    • They guarantee that every pupil reaches the same attainment level because teaching is adjusted to their ability
    • They improve the attainment of all pupils equally, since the top and bottom groups benefit from the same resources
    • They can reinforce social class inequality, because ability judgements often reflect background and early labels
    • They have no effect on pupils' identities, because pupils do not notice which group they have been placed in

  9. Which pupil identity is most closely associated with the rejection of school values in Paul Willis's study of 'the lads'?

    • A commitment to academic success as a route into professional work and higher education
    • A conformist identity that accepted the school's rules without question in every lesson
    • A cosmopolitan identity that valued international study and multilingual achievement
    • A masculine identity that valued manual work, toughness and resistance to teachers' authority

  10. Which feature of the hidden curriculum is shown when pupils learn to see some knowledge as more worthwhile than other knowledge?

    • The random distribution of examination grades across all pupils in the same school each year
    • The transmission of ideas about which knowledge counts as legitimate and valued within the school
    • The exclusive use of practical activities, with no teacher-led explanation or formal assessment
    • The strict separation of pupils by gender in every lesson in every subject across the curriculum

  11. A teacher consistently praises pupils who are quiet and well presented, and gives more attention to those who answer questions quickly. Which idea does this best illustrate?

    • Positivist measurement, in which social facts are recorded through standardised observation of pupils
    • Marketisation, in which pupils choose their teachers and the teachers compete for the attention of pupils
    • Functionalist meritocracy, in which all pupils are equally rewarded for the effort they put into learning
    • Interactionist labelling, in which teacher attention shapes pupils' sense of their own ability and place

  12. Which evaluation of interactionist studies of schools is most often made by critics?

    • They rely entirely on official statistics, which makes them unable to explain any pupil's experience in school
    • They assume that schools have no influence on pupils' identities, so they cannot explain subcultures
    • They are too focused on individual meanings, which may underplay the structural constraints that shape schooling
    • They ignore the way that individuals interpret and negotiate their situations in classrooms and school life

  13. Which sociological term describes the group identities that pupils develop in opposition to the dominant values of the school?

    • Anomie, which is the breakdown of social norms when rules are weak or contradictory in a society
    • Cultural reproduction, which is the process by which social institutions maintain the same social structure
    • Subcultures, which are groups with distinctive values and styles that differ from the mainstream
    • Ideological state apparatuses, which are institutions that secure the consent of the population to state power

  14. A sociologist observes that pupils in a school's lowest set are often disruptive, and that teachers spend less time with them. Which explanation best links these observations?

    • Teachers choose to spend less time with these pupils because the school budget is allocated by set
    • Disruptive pupils are always placed in the lowest set by a neutral computer system based on behaviour records
    • Pupils in the lowest set have less natural ability, so teachers spend time only on those who can benefit
    • Teacher expectations and the set placement may combine to reduce attention and opportunities for low-set pupils

  15. Which argument best supports the view that the organisation of teaching and learning is not neutral?

    • Because teaching is entirely governed by the national curriculum, leaving no room for teacher judgement
    • Because decisions about grouping, curriculum and assessment reflect values and can benefit some groups over others
    • Because examinations are marked by computers, which removes any possibility of human bias or interpretation
    • Because all schools use the same timetable and the same teaching methods regardless of their intake

  16. Which concept describes a pattern in which pupils' informal peer groups help them cope with school and resist its authority at the same time?

    • Equal opportunities, in which every pupil has the same chance of success regardless of background
    • Counter-school culture, in which pupils develop shared values that oppose the values of the school
    • Meritocratic selection, in which pupils are placed on the basis of demonstrated academic achievement alone
    • Compensatory education, in which schools provide extra support to pupils who fall behind in their studies

  17. Which evaluation is most appropriate for a study that uses a small sample of pupils in one school to explain relationships within schools?

    • It is conclusive because small samples always produce more reliable results than large national surveys
    • It is objective because the researcher was not present in the school during the period of the study
    • It offers rich, detailed insight but may not be generalisable to all schools in different local areas
    • It is representative of all schools in the country because the school was chosen at random from a list

  18. Which statement best describes the teacher-pupil relationship in a school where pupils are expected to conform to the teacher's authority?

    • It is a relationship defined only by examination results, with no shared activity between teacher and pupil
    • It is a relationship of authority, in which teachers exercise control and pupils are expected to accept rules
    • It is a relationship of equals, in which pupils and teachers share control over all aspects of the lesson
    • It is a relationship without interaction, in which pupils learn entirely through private study at home

  19. Which feminist critique of schools is most often made in relation to pupil identities?

    • Schools have eliminated gender differences in behaviour, so feminist concerns about schooling are now outdated
    • Schools can reinforce gender stereotypes through subject expectations, classroom interaction and peer pressure
    • Schools only affect academic outcomes, and have no effect on identity, relationships or peer groups
    • Schools treat boys and girls identically, so gender identities have no influence on classroom interaction

  20. Which example best illustrates the hidden curriculum rather than the formal curriculum?

    • Pupils study the national curriculum in science, which includes laboratory practical work and written tests
    • Pupils learn to queue quietly for lunch, which teaches them to accept waiting and orderly conformity
    • Pupils attend a timetabled lesson in mathematics, which covers algebra, geometry and statistics
    • Pupils take a formal examination in history, which assesses their knowledge of specified historical events

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