Lesson 4.2.2.4

4.2.2.4 The nature of childhood Quiz: AQA Sociology, Unit 2

20 questions

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Lesson 4.2.2.4, The nature of childhood: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Sociology (7192), Unit 2: Topics in Sociology, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Which historian argued that childhood as a distinct, protected stage of life was a modern social construction rather than a universal feature of human society?

    • Emile Durkheim, who argued that childhood is a stage in which children are socialised into collective norms
    • Philippe Aries, who argued that childhood as a separate life stage emerged in the early modern period
    • Max Weber, who argued that childhood is a period in which children develop the rational capacities for action
    • Talcott Parsons, who argued that childhood is a period in which children learn the roles of the social system

  2. Which view of childhood is associated with the 'new sociology of childhood'?

    • Children are social actors who shape their own lives and experiences, not simply passive recipients of socialisation
    • Children are biologically incomplete adults, whose social lives have no value in themselves for sociology
    • Children are passive recipients of adult socialisation, with no capacity to influence their own lives at all
    • Children are irrelevant to sociology, because social structures apply only to adults in modern societies

  3. Which legislation is most associated with recognising children's rights in the UK and internationally?

    • The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, which set out the rules for relief of the poor through workhouses
    • The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted in 1989 and ratified by the UK in 1991
    • The Housing Act 1980, which gave council tenants the right to buy their homes at a discount
    • The Education Reform Act 1988, which introduced the national curriculum and parental choice of school

  4. Which Victorian and early twentieth-century development is commonly cited as a change in the status of children, through the regulation of child labour?

    • The creation of the welfare state in 1948, which removed all responsibility for children from families
    • The abolition of all schools, which allowed children to work full time in factories from the age of five
    • The Factory Acts and compulsory schooling, which restricted child employment and removed children from many workplaces
    • The introduction of the 11-plus examination, which allowed children to choose their own careers from age eleven

  5. Neil Postman argued in The Disappearance of Childhood that which development has contributed to the blurring of the boundary between childhood and adulthood?

    • Child labour legislation, which keeps children out of the workplace and restricts their contact with adults
    • Electronic media, which exposes children to adult information and blurs the distinction between the two worlds
    • Children's rights legislation, which prevents children from engaging with the adult world at all times
    • Compulsory schooling, which separates children from adults and creates a clear boundary between the two worlds

  6. Which concept describes the way in which childhood is shaped by social and cultural meanings rather than being a purely biological stage?

    • Functional prerequisite, in which childhood exists to meet the needs of the social system for a future workforce
    • Ideological hegemony, in which childhood is controlled by the dominant class to secure its future interests
    • Biological determinism, in which the stages of childhood are fixed by natural development in all societies
    • Social construction of childhood, in which the meanings and status of children vary across societies and history

  7. Which statement describes the view of Chris Jenks about the way that childhood is represented in adult society?

    • Childhood is defined only by biological maturity, so social representations of children have no significance
    • Childhood is defined entirely by children themselves, with no influence from adult society at any point
    • Childhood is defined only by the economy, which determines the age at which children begin paid work
    • Childhood is often defined in contrast to adulthood, as a state of dependency, innocence and incompleteness

  8. Which argument would a sociologist use to show that childhood varies between societies?

    • Children experience identical lives everywhere, because all childhoods share the same biological stages of growth
    • Children's experiences depend only on their genetic inheritance, which is the same in all human populations
    • Children's responsibilities, play and education differ considerably between societies and across historical periods
    • Children have no social roles in any society, so there is nothing to compare between different cultures

  9. Which evaluation of the view that childhood is a social construction is most consistent with sociological debate?

    • It is irrelevant, because only adults have social experiences, and children are simply copies of adults
    • It is entirely inaccurate, because childhood has never changed in any society across the course of history
    • It highlights variation over time and place, but biological development still shapes what is possible at each stage
    • It is entirely accurate, because biological development has no influence on children's lives in any society

  10. Which concept describes the way in which children are treated as dependants whose needs are met through the family and the state?

    • Autonomy, in which children make independent decisions about their education, work and family life
    • Dependency, in which children rely on adults for protection, provision and decisions until they reach maturity
    • Meritocracy, in which children are rewarded for their achievements regardless of the family support they receive
    • Marketisation, in which children are treated as consumers who choose services in competitive markets

  11. Which statement about children's consumption is most consistent with sociological research?

    • Children consume only goods provided by the state, so commercial markets have no contact with them at all
    • Children are increasingly targeted as consumers, and their purchasing influences family spending and identity
    • Children consume only traditional goods, such as folk toys, which are unaffected by commercial culture
    • Children have no influence on consumption, because they have no money and never make decisions about purchases

  12. Which concept describes the way that children's status has changed as they have been given more rights and protection, but also more regulated?

    • The disappearing status of children, which has no connection with legal, educational or family change
    • The changing status of children, shaped by legal rights, schooling and the regulation of their lives
    • The unchanging status of children, which has remained the same across all historical periods and societies
    • The fixed status of children, which is determined only by their biological maturity in each stage of life

  13. Which argument about the nature of childhood is most associated with Ariès and later historians?

    • Childhood is determined by the age at which children first enter the labour force in every society
    • Childhood is a historically specific idea, which emerged and changed with social and economic development
    • Childhood has always existed in the same form, with children playing identical roles in every society
    • Childhood is determined by the number of children in the family, which has been constant throughout history

  14. A researcher listens to children's own accounts of their friendships and decisions about school. Which approach does this reflect?

    • An approach that treats children as passive objects whose views have no bearing on the research at any point
    • An approach that treats children as a category of the workforce whose value is measured only by future wages
    • An approach that treats children as biological beings whose behaviour can only be explained by their genes
    • An approach that treats children as social actors whose views and experiences should be recognised in research

  15. Which concept describes the extension of compulsory education and the protection of children from paid work, which together define childhood as a period of dependency?

    • Commodification of childhood, in which children are treated as sources of profit for employers and marketers
    • Deinstitutionalisation of childhood, in which education and legal protection are removed to give children freedom
    • Institutionalisation of childhood, in which education and legal protection define children's separate social status
    • Secularisation of childhood, in which religious institutions lose their influence over the upbringing of children

  16. Which evaluation of the claim that childhood is disappearing is most consistent with sociological debate?

    • It is irrelevant, because only the economic status of children matters, and their experiences are not sociological
    • It is entirely inaccurate, because children have not changed at all in the last hundred years in any respect
    • It is entirely accurate, because children have no protected status, and they have been fully absorbed into adult life
    • It draws attention to real changes in boundaries, but it may overstate the change and underplay the value of protection

  17. Which statement describes the view that childhood is a period in which children are protected from adult responsibilities?

    • Childhood is viewed as a time when children are excluded from education and expected to learn only at work
    • Childhood is viewed as a time of dependency and protection, distinct from the responsibilities of adulthood
    • Childhood is viewed as a time of full economic responsibility, in which children support their families through paid work
    • Childhood is viewed as a period in which children have the same rights and responsibilities as adults in society

  18. Which argument is most often made about the rise of compulsory schooling in relation to childhood?

    • Compulsory schooling removed all rules from childhood, so children were free to choose their own occupations early
    • Compulsory schooling helped to separate childhood from adult work and to create a distinct and dependent period of life
    • Compulsory schooling had no effect on childhood, because children continued to work in the same way as before
    • Compulsory schooling increased the number of children in paid employment, since schools trained them for factories

  19. Which concept describes children being treated as consumers whose purchasing and preferences are targeted by commercial markets?

    • Children as citizens, in which children have formal voting rights and take part in national political decisions
    • Children as patients, in which children are treated primarily through the healthcare system for medical needs
    • Children as consumers, in which children are marketed to and influence family spending on goods and services
    • Children as workers, in which children are employed in factories and workshops to produce goods for the market

  20. Which statement best describes the status of children in the family according to modern children's rights perspectives?

    • Children are increasingly recognised as having rights to be heard and to participate in decisions that affect them
    • Children have rights only in school, and they have no rights at all in the family or in the wider community
    • Children are recognised as having full adult rights from birth, so no protection is needed for them in law
    • Children have no rights in the family, because they are the property of their parents in all legal respects

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