AQA A LEVEL SOCIOLOGY
EDUCATION EXAM
COMPLETE
Question 1: Which sociologist argued that education creates social solidarity by transmitting society's culture?
Choices:
1) Talcott Parsons 2) Emile Durkheim 3) Karl Marx 4) Louis Althusser
Correct Answer: Emile Durkheim
Explanation: Emile Durkheim argued that education acts as a 'society in miniature', transmitting shared values to create social solidarity.Page 1
Question 2: According to Talcott Parsons, school acts as a bridge between the
family and wider society because it operates on:
Choices:
1) Particularistic values 2) Universalistic values 3) Ascribed status 4) Inherited wealth
Correct Answer: Universalistic values
Explanation: Parsons believed schools operate on universalistic values and achieved status, bridging the gap from the family's particularistic values and ascribed status.
Question 3: Davis and Moore argue that education serves the function of 'role
allocation'. This is based on the principle of:
Choices:
1) Meritocracy 2) Social reproduction 3) Cultural capital 4) The correspondence principle
Correct Answer: Meritocracy
Explanation: Davis and Moore argue education shifts and sorts people according to their ability in a meritocratic system, allocating them to appropriate future roles.Page 2
Question 4: What term do Bowles and Gintis use to describe the way school mirrors the workplace in capitalist society?
Choices:
1) Ideological state apparatus 2) The correspondence principle 3) Myth of meritocracy 4) Hegemony
Correct Answer: The correspondence principle
Explanation: The correspondence principle suggests that relationships and structures in education mirror those of the capitalist workplace.
Question 5: Which Marxist concept describes the idea that the education system
creates a false class consciousness by convincing workers that inequality is fair?
Choices:
1) Repressive State Apparatus 2) The myth of meritocracy 3) Cultural deprivation 4) The hidden curriculum
Correct Answer: The myth of meritocracy
Explanation: Bowles and Gintis argue the education system promotes the 'myth of meritocracy' to justify existing inequalities and prevent the working class from rebelling.Page 3