A Level Sociology Exam Questions by Topic

Item A: Some sociologists argue that the education system operates in the interests of society as a whole, teaching shared values and matching people to the jobs they are best suited for. Others argue that state education has failed because it is a monopoly protected from the competitive pressures that improve quality in other areas of life. Applying material from Item A and your knowledge, evaluate functionalist and New Right views of the role of education. (20 marks)

1. Underline the two claims in the item: 'shared values and matching people to jobs' points to Durkheim and Davis and Moore; 'a monopoly protected from competitive pressures' points to the New Right critique of state provision.
2. Plan paragraph one from the item's first claim: Durkheim's social solidarity and specialist skills, then Davis and Moore's role allocation, each explained with the reasoning behind the claim, not just the label.
3. Plan paragraph two from the item's second claim: the New Right argument that a state monopoly is inefficient and unaccountable, linking to Murray's underclass thesis on how welfare dependency undermines the values education is meant to instil.
4. Plan the evaluation paragraph: use Marxist evidence that role allocation is not meritocratic (class background predicts attainment more strongly than ability) to challenge Davis and Moore, and note that the New Right's own preferred solution, marketisation, has itself been criticised for widening rather than closing inequality.
5. Write a conclusion that takes a position, for example that both perspectives correctly identify education as serving society's needs but overstate how fairly or efficiently it currently does so, since neither fully explains persistent class-based inequality of outcome.
6. Check the answer used the item explicitly in its opening lines, named every theorist, and evaluated by comparison rather than by listing unconnected criticisms.