AQA A-Level Sociology: The Role of Education and Differential Achievement (7192)

This guide covers two of the four content strands within 3.1.1 Education, from AQA AS and A-level Sociology (7191/7192), Version 1.2, 14 October 2021: the role and functions of the education system, and differential educational achievement of social groups.

Scope of this guide

3.1.1 Education has four strands: the role and functions of education (including its relationship to the economy and class structure); differential educational achievement by class, gender and ethnicity; relationships and processes within schools; and the significance of educational policies. This resource covers the first two strands, the theoretical and empirical foundation the other two build on; in-school relationships/processes and educational policy are left for a separate resource.

Syllabus coverage

AQA AS AND A-LEVEL SOCIOLOGY (7191/7192) — 3.1.1 EDUCATION (ROLE AND FUNCTIONS; DIFFERENTIAL ACHIEVEMENT)

Students are expected to be familiar with sociological explanations of: the role and functions of the education system, including its relationship to the economy and to class structure; and the differential educational achievement of social groups by social class, gender and ethnicity in contemporary society.

How to approach it

For the role and functions strand, organise your revision around competing sociological perspectives rather than a single agreed account, since this is where the specification’s theoretical demands are heaviest. The functionalist perspective sees education as performing positive functions for society — secondary socialisation, social solidarity, and role allocation matching individuals to jobs suited to their abilities. The Marxist perspective instead sees education as reproducing class inequality and serving the interests of capitalism, preparing a compliant workforce through what Bowles and Gintis termed the “correspondence principle” — the structure of schooling mirroring the structure of the workplace. Being able to state both perspectives’ claims about the same function of education (for example, role allocation) and explain how they differ is a frequently tested essay skill.

For differential achievement, keep the three named social variables (class, gender, ethnicity) analytically separate, since each has its own body of explanations, even though questions may ask you to compare across them or discuss their interaction. For class, weigh material/economic explanations (such as the cost of educational resources) against cultural explanations (such as Bourdieu’s cultural capital, or restricted/elaborated speech codes). For gender, be ready to discuss both explanations for boys’ current underachievement relative to girls (including critiques of laddish subcultures) and explanations for girls’ historical underachievement and subsequent improvement. For ethnicity, weigh explanations rooted in material deprivation against those rooted in in-school processes such as teacher labelling and setting/streaming.

Worked example: comparing functionalist and Marxist views of role allocation

A question asks candidates to compare the functionalist and Marxist views of education’s role in allocating people to jobs.

Functionalist:  education fairly allocates individuals to jobs suited
                to their talents and abilities, through a meritocratic
                system of qualifications and assessment, benefiting
                both the individual and society by matching skills to
                roles efficiently
Marxist:        education appears meritocratic but actually reproduces
                existing class inequality, since working-class
                students are systematically disadvantaged by the
                system (through cultural capital, resources, and
                school processes), so allocation to jobs in practice
                reflects and reinforces social class background rather
                than genuine ability
Contrast:       functionalism presents the allocation process as
                broadly fair and beneficial to all; Marxism presents
                the same process as serving to reproduce inequality
                behind an appearance of fairness

This claim-claim-contrast structure is the assessed skill behind most “compare two perspectives” questions in this content.

Key terms to define precisely

Correspondence principle — Bowles and Gintis’s concept that the social relationships and structure of schooling (hierarchy, discipline, extrinsic reward) directly mirror those of the capitalist workplace, preparing students for their future roles as workers. Role allocation — the function of education in sorting individuals into different social and occupational roles based on their perceived abilities and qualifications. Cultural capital — Bourdieu’s concept of the knowledge, tastes, and ways of speaking and behaving that higher-class families pass on to their children, giving them an advantage in an education system that implicitly values these traits. Material deprivation — a lack of the physical and financial resources (such as books, a quiet study space, or nutritious food) that can affect a student’s ability to achieve in education. Labelling — the process by which teachers or the education system attach a definition or expectation to a student (such as “able” or “disruptive”), which can then influence that student’s behaviour and outcomes, sometimes through a self-fulfilling prophecy. Being able to name the specific theorist or concept behind each explanation — not just describe the idea in general terms — strengthens an answer: named theorists appear in AQA’s mark schemes as indicative content, though citing one is not itself a requirement for full marks.

Common mistakes

Describing only one sociological perspective when a question asks for comparison or evaluation. Discussing differential achievement without distinguishing which of the three named variables (class, gender, ethnicity) a particular explanation applies to. Treating material and cultural explanations for class-based achievement gaps as interchangeable rather than as two distinct types of explanation. Asserting a perspective’s claim without a specific named theorist or concept (correspondence principle, cultural capital, labelling) to support it.

Quick revision checklist

• Learn at least two competing perspectives (functionalist, Marxist) on the role and functions of education, with a named concept for each.
• Build separate explanation sets for class, gender and ethnicity differential achievement.
• Distinguish material/economic from cultural/in-school explanations within each social variable.
• Practise the claim-claim-contrast structure for comparing perspectives.

Official syllabus

AQA AS and A-level Sociology (7191/7192) specification, Version 1.2 — aqa.org.uk/7192.