KEARNEY SOCIOLOGY



Institutions EssayThursday 16th June Marks and feedback will be returned by Monday 21st June in preparation for exam on Monday 27th June (collect from my office – E503) In-class (you may use an A4 cheat sheet) 1 hour time limitYou need to choose between writing an essay on CHANGES (to family and work) or an essay on STRATIFICATION (within family and education). How to do well:Continuously refer to the essay questionUse sociological language (terms and concepts)Use at least TWO sociological theories and ensure you point out a weakness of each of the theories you use. Refer to the stimulus in every paragraphStimulus 1 – Family 1976-2011the proportion of couples without children has increased (28% in 1976 compared to 37.8% in 2011)one parent families with dependent children has also increased (6.4% in 1976 compared to 10.6% in 2011)the proportion of couples with dependent children decreased (48.4% in 1976 compared to 36.7% in 2011)Source: Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS, 2013) Stimulus 2 – EducationIt is mid-morning at a state coeducational secondary college serving a working- and lower middleclass community on the edge of a large Australian city. A group of year 9 girls is struggling with mathematics: their teacher regards them as not very engaged, as not really putting in much effort ... He thinks they will not last the distance at school. The girls themselves do not like the teacher much, as they believe he thinks they are dumb and bad at maths, and that he does not really try to help them understand. When asked why they do not ask more questions, the girls simply shrug their shoulders and say, ‘What’s the point? He’d just ignore us, or make us feel even dumber’, and, ‘He doesn’t really respect us.’ In the staffroom, the teachers talk about the kids coming from families that do not really value education. ‘They’re not your professional background type of parents.’ The teachers lament the attitudes of some of their students, wishing they could be more ambitious or adventurous, perhaps even finding ways to get out of the local area—an area that many teachers find depressing and from which they hurriedly escape at the end of the working day. The teachers also feel abused and ‘put down’ by the kids, who do not seem to show much interest in the classes they have been preparing or the assignments they have spent all weekend correcting.Source: Extract from Germov & Poole (2013) Stimulus 3Women in the workforce:Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS, 2013) Casual workers and underemployment:The increased prominence of casuals across diverse industries may help to explain the?very high rates of underemployment?in the current labour market. As of February 2012, over 900,000 Australian workers had insufficient work (531,500 women and 384,800 men) comprising around 8% of the workforce (in addition to an unemployment rate of around 5%).Source: Article from The Conversation, written by Sheen (2012) Essay questionsQuestion 1Institutions are not fixed. They transform over time. Construct an argument using alternative theoretical explanations for the way the family has changed over time. Relate this change to change in one other institution.Question 2Sociology theories that social stratification is created and maintained in social institutions. Construct an argument using alternative theoretical explanations for the way education creates and maintains social stratification. Relate this stratification process to one other institution. How to structure a CHANGES essay:Introduction:The introduction should start broadly and become more specific.Introduce the topic of the essay:For example: “While it tends to be a gradual process, institutions are subject to change over time, and they usually change together.”Focus in on the institutions being discussed:“The family form has changed considerably over the last … years, as has the institution of work…”Briefly refer to the stimuli (Do not go into detail yet – you’re simply summarising) “As shown in the ABS graph (2013)….Very briefly explain how the different theories would try to explain this change:“Functonalist theorists might view this change as problematic, as it suggests a move away from the status quo…Conflict theorists, on the other hand, would view this change as causing further inequality in society…Theorists such as Bauman and Giddens would explain that….” Body paragraphs:You might like to focus each body paragraph on a particular theory. For example:Paragraph 1: Functionalist theory (How would Durkheim/Parsons view the changes to family and work?) Paragraph 2: Conflict theory (How would Marx view the changes to family and work? Think about Annabel Crabb’s findings, as well as the potential problems with the rise of the knowledge society/automation for the working class/less educated here)Paragraph 3: Feminist theory (Relates closely to Conflict theory - Use your textbook to find info on this theory) Paragraph 4: Late Modernity/Liquid Modernity (How would Giddens and Bauman view/explain the changes to family and work) ***Note: this is simply providing IDEAS. You might choose to write more than one paragraph on a particular theory, if there are a number of ideas within that theory. Conclusion:Summarise your points. Do not introduce any new information. Make sure you re-address the question. ................
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