AQA GCSE Sociology: Families and Education — Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, in the style and at the standard of the examination. They are not reproduced past-paper questions — examination boards hold copyright in their own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers available free from your board.

Related: Families and Education revision notes

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Section A

1. Name four types of family and describe each. [4]

2. State four functions of the family according to functionalists. [4]

Section B

3. Explain three reasons for the increase in divorce since the 1960s. [6]

4. Explain two consequences of divorce for family structure. [4]

5. Explain the difference between the functionalist and Marxist views of the role of education. [8]

6. Explain three in-school and two out-of-school factors that contribute to differential educational achievement by social class. [10]

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Section C

7. Explain the feminist view of the family, referring to the dual burden. [4]

8. Explain the New Right view of family diversity. [4]

9. Explain two reasons for the gender gap in educational achievement, with girls now outperforming boys. [4]

10. Explain why ethnic differences in educational achievement are said to “overlap with class”. [3]

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Answers

1. Nuclear — two generations: parents and their dependent children living together [1]. Extended — includes relatives beyond the nuclear family, either vertically (grandparents) or horizontally (aunts, uncles) [1]. Reconstituted (blended) — a stepfamily formed when partners with children from previous relationships live together [1]. Lone-parent — one parent living with dependent children [1]. (Also accept: same-sex family, single-person household.)

2. Primary socialisation of children into society’s norms and values [1]; stabilisation of adult personalities, providing emotional support — Parsons’s “warm bath” [1]; reproduction, ensuring the next generation [1]; economic support, providing for members materially [1].

3. Any three, 2 marks each: changes in the law — the Divorce Reform Act 1969 allowed “irretrievable breakdown” and later reforms made divorce cheaper and simpler, so divorce became accessible rather than more common in reality [1] [1]. Changing social attitudes and secularisation — divorce carries far less stigma, and religious opposition has weakened, so couples are more willing to end an unhappy marriage [1] [1]. Women’s economic independence — as more women work and can support themselves, they are less financially trapped in an unsatisfactory marriage [1] [1]. Higher expectations of marriage — couples now expect emotional fulfilment and companionship, so are less tolerant of an empty-shell marriage [1] [1].

4. Any two, 2 marks each: an increase in lone-parent families, most headed by women, which is associated with a higher risk of poverty [1] [1]. An increase in reconstituted families, as divorced people remarry or cohabit, creating step-relationships and more complex household structures [1] [1]. An increase in single-person households, contributing to a rise in the total number of households and to demand for housing [1] [1].

5. Functionalist view: education performs secondary socialisation, transmitting shared norms and values and creating social solidarity [1] [1]. It acts as a bridge between the family and wider society, teaching universalistic standards where achievement replaces ascribed status [1]. Through role allocation it sorts people by ability into appropriate jobs, so it is meritocratic and functional [1]. Marxist view: education reproduces class inequality by passing on the advantages of the middle class to their children [1] [1]. The hidden curriculum teaches obedience, punctuality and acceptance of hierarchy, producing a compliant workforce — Bowles and Gintis’s “correspondence principle” [1]. The myth of meritocracy legitimises inequality by persuading those who fail that it was their own fault, which prevents challenge to the system [1].

6. In-school factors, 2 marks each: labelling — teachers form expectations of pupils based partly on class and appearance, which can become a self-fulfilling prophecy as pupils live up or down to the label [1] [1]. Setting and streaming — working-class pupils are disproportionately placed in lower sets, which are taught a restricted curriculum by less experienced staff, limiting attainment [1] [1]. Anti-school subcultures — pupils denied status by the school seek it from peers by rejecting school values, further depressing achievement [1] [1]. The language of the school — Bernstein argued schools use an elaborated code that middle-class pupils are already familiar with [1] [1]. Out-of-school factors, 2 marks each: material deprivation — overcrowded housing, no quiet study space, no computer, and pressure to take paid work all reduce the ability to study [1] [1]. Cultural capital — middle-class parents possess the knowledge, confidence and connections to navigate the school system, choose better schools and support learning at home [1] [1]. (Also accept: parental attitudes to education; immediate versus deferred gratification.)

7. The family reproduces patriarchy [1], with women carrying a disproportionate share of domestic responsibility [1]. The dual burden refers to women combining paid work with unpaid domestic labour [1]; some feminists add a “triple shift” of emotion work as a further, largely invisible demand on women’s time [1].

8. The New Right argue the nuclear family (a married heterosexual couple and their children) is the ideal family structure [1]. Alternatives, particularly lone-parent families, are blamed for undermining children’s socialisation and contributing to social problems such as crime or welfare dependency [1] [1]. Critics argue this stigmatises lone parents and ignores evidence that family structure alone does not determine a child’s outcomes [1].

9. Any two, 2 marks each: changing aspirations — women now expect careers rather than only a domestic role, motivating greater achievement at school [1] [1]. Equal-opportunity policies — initiatives removing barriers that previously limited girls’ subject choices and progression have widened opportunity [1] [1]. Crisis of masculinity — the decline of traditional manual jobs for men has reduced some boys’ motivation to achieve academically [1] [1].

10. Ethnic differences in achievement significantly overlap with class differences [1] — some minority ethnic groups are disproportionately represented in lower social classes [1], so much of the apparent “ethnic” effect narrows once class is statistically accounted for [1].

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Where marks are usually lost

• Saying divorce increased “because people are less religious” without explaining the mechanism.
• Confusing an increase in divorce with an increase in marital unhappiness.
• Describing the hidden curriculum as the subjects taught.
• Giving in-school factors when out-of-school ones are asked for.
• Treating the New Right view as neutral description rather than a value-laden judgement about which family type is “ideal”.
• Explaining the gender gap or ethnicity gap without linking it back to a specific mechanism (aspirations, policy, or the overlap with class).