School Sociology
 from Bryn Hafren and the Barry Sixth Form     

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GCSE questions and revision topics

Contents

• Learn the vocabulary of sociology

• Learn the following lists of things

• Twenty practice questions for you to work out


Learn the Vocabulary of Sociology
 These pages will offer you some words and meanings. Learn them off by heart. Get friends and family to test you if necessary. Show understanding by writing your own examples next to the words.

Word

Meaning

Example

Socialisation Is the process of learning how to behave  
Informal socialisation We are trained by friends and families  
Formal socialisation We are trained by people who set out to change us  
Nature theory We behave as we do because we are like animals  
Nurture theory We behave as we do because other people train us into this.  
Deviant Someone who breaks the rules of society  
Norms The behaviour that is normal for any situation.  
Values The things that we think are important about society  
Mores Our sense of right and wrong
  
Sex The physical differences between males and females  
Gender The social differences between male and female  
Moral codes The sense we have of right and wrong.  
Legal codes The laws that are made
  
Formal sanctions These are punishments that come from breaking the rules  
Informal sanctions These are punishments from breaking moral rules  
Inequality The differences between people’s chances in life  
Life chances or life style The differences between people’s quality of life  
Culture The set of rules we have about who we are and where we belong in society  
Ethnicity The national group that you think that you belong to  
Value laden Contains opinions  
Value free Is a statement of fact  
Objective Is value free and scientific  
Subjective Contains personal feelings and is unscientific  
Absolute poverty When people have none of the things that they need for life  
Relative poverty When people are poor compared to other people  
Stereotype A simple belief about someone based on appearance or culture  
Working class People who work with their skills with their hands for a living  
Middle class People who work with their brains for a living  
Overt curriculum Things we are taught in school deliberately  
National curriculum Things that the government says all children should learn  
Hidden curriculum Things that we are taught in school by accident but which contain values  
Social stratification The layers that we have in society  
Marxist theory The world is divided into rich and poor for the benefit of rich people  
Nuclear family Mum, Dad and the children in one house  
Extended family Lots of relatives live close to or even with each other and support each other  
Labelling theory People are labelled by other people and then behave in that way  
Moral panic People get hysterical about things in newspapers  

Learn the following lists of things - you can find them in your units

You are advised to concentrate on the lists that are from the topics that you will study for the examination first. If you try to learn everything it will be hard work.

If you work with a friend, you could talk through ideas.

It is sensible to swap your notes. Print or photocopy two copies and give one set to your friend.

  • Five reasons why divorce rates have gone up since the turn of the century
  • Four reasons why some children do not do as well in school as others
  • Three reasons why sociologists reject nature theories of human behaviour
  • Five reasons why some people are nervous about what the newspapers tell us about the world.
  • Four different reasons why some people like to go to work
  • Five ways in which women’s lives have changed
  • Five reasons why women’s lives have changed
  • Five ways in which people from another culture are different from us
  • One family style that is very different from our ideas of family
  • Five things that can influence what an editor chooses to put into a newspaper
  • Three reasons why girls commit crime less than boys do
  • Three reasons why people wanted comprehensive schools
  • Three reasons why people rejected comprehensive schools
  • Three reasons why some people are racist
  • Four laws that tell children what they can and cannot do
  • Four differences between social class and caste
  • Four reasons why rich people tend to have easier or better lives than poor people
  • Four reasons why we need schools for the good of society
  • Four ways in which you can do better in school

Here are some practice questions for you to have a go at:

  1. What is the difference between primary and secondary socialisation? (5)
  2. What is the difference between nature and nurture theories of human behaviour? (5)
  3. Explain the meaning of cultural relativity with reference to a culture other than our own. (8)
  4. What is the difference between sex and gender? (5)
  5. How do the mass media influence our leisure time activities? (10)
  6. Can sociologists rely on official statistics when looking at crime? (10) Your answer here should criticise official statistics but also point out how they can be useful.
  7. Why have divorce rates risen since the beginning of this century? (8) Do not give personal reasons why some people divorce. Talk about society.
  8. What is streaming in school? How may it cause some children to do less well than they ought to do? (10) Talk about labelling theory and the idea of an anti-school subculture.
  9. What is meant by the term social mobility? (4)
  10. Why have some people criticised the Registrar General’s Index of Social Class? (10) Talk about the new social class index that will be used in 2001 as well as about the problems that there are with the old Index.
  11. What is meant by youth culture? (4)
  12. Suggest ways in which the mass media can actually cause crime. (8) Look up folk devils and moral panics for this one.
  13. Give three reasons why people may have come from other cultures to live in Britain. (6)
  14. Why are some people racists? (9) Revise the reasons for racism from the units and use the technical terms. Do not rely on your common sense but show sociological knowledge.
  15. Suggest reasons why girls have begun to do better in GCSE than boys in recent years. (10) Give a nice wide variety of suggestions backed up with some facts here.
  16. Why do people from middle class backgrounds tend to do better in school than children from working class backgrounds? (10) Offer a lot of ideas here and think around the topic. Do not forget to mention values and norms!
  17. What effects will the increasing number of old people have on our society? (10)
  18. Why are most people in prison male and working class? (10) Offer a lot of ideas here and think around the topic. Do not forget to mention values and norms!
  19. Explain the Marxist theory of social class and offer some criticisms of this view of society. (10)
  20. The index of social class has changed for the 2001 census. Explain how and why. (10)

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