Current issues and stories
Examiners are looking for contemporary references from students and I often get asked where they can find them. I usually start with stories in the news. Here are some quick summaries of stories and studies from April.
recent_issues_in_family_Apr2011.doc
recent_issues_in_education_Apr2011.doc
recent_issues_in_media_Apr2011.doc
recent_issues_in_crime_Apr2011.doc
AV Referendum
Perhaps more political than sociological (and certainly historical), but a useful discussion of the merits of AV versus first past the post.
AV vs FPTP
Who giveth this woman to this man?
Don’t seem to be able to embed this, so check it out here. In yesterday’s royal marriage ceremony there was a bit in the service which I’d forgotten about. At one point (follow the link) the Archbishop of Canterbury (and when is someone going to tell him to get his hair cut?) said ‘Who giveth this woman to this man?”. Mr Middleton then gave his daughter’s hand to the Archbishop, who placed Kate’s hand upon Prince William’s hand. Well, I know you can say it’s ‘just’ a tradition, but what would feminists make of that I wonder? Surely the symbolism and the language is clear? The woman is a piece of property - she is ‘given’ by the father, to her husband. The husband-to-be however, is treated differently. He, it seems, is regarded as a fully independent being, who no one has the power to ‘give away’. A marriage of equals? Make of that what you will.
read more...»nature vs nurture
More fuel for the nurture versus nature argument. This BBC article discusses how success is determined more by effort than talent, and the importance of a ‘growth mindset’ rather than a ‘fixed’ one. Dweck’s experiment should prove fertile ground for discussion.
Men Kissing
This little story seems to be getting a lot of media coverage. But for a simple bonus point, identify one public place in the UK where men are allowed to kiss? It’s a good example of the relative nature of deviance - in terms of place that is.
Material deprivation
The ATL has produced a study of the impact of poverty of pupils’ learning, reported by the BBC. There is perhaps nothing unusual or unexpected in the findings, but as it is a report of teachers’ perceptions, it could be a useful discussion point on subjectivity as well as material deprivation.
read more...»Ethnicity and higher education
David Cameron has raised a stink about ethnic minorities going to Oxford University. Much of the argument relates to how you read the statistics! Read it here.
Sociology, Post Modernism, Art and the Handbag?
Time for a little light relief for the end of term? This new book from the French Sociologist Jean-Claude Kaufmann has been all over the British press this week; The Times, The Guardian and The Express. In it he collates 18 months of research looking at what a handbag says about its owner. According to Kaufmann, “I’m like an ethnologist except that, instead of observing a tribe, I observe women. It is perfectly understandable, given that the advent of the handbag coincided with the dawn of choice, so it highlights the way in which women have been able to construct their own identities.
On a similar theme the French video artist Pierre Klein simply asks women to empty the contents and explain what the contents say about the owner. So there you have it, a perfect end of term ‘Starter’ activity - get your students to empty the contents of their bags!
What happens to our census forms?
Students who have been discussing the census may be interested in following up by looking at this clip.
social mobility
Nick Clegg has been talking about social mobility, as reported by the BBC. Alongside the usual politican-speak, is a nice graph that should prove a good discussion point.
boy or man?
This story on the BBC struck me today, not just because of the events, but because of the question of the point at which we stop being children and start being adults. Do we draw the line between boy, youth and man differently depending on the context? Food for thought.
Puzzle Maker
I was going to write something about the royal wedding ring and there’s a nice clip on the BBC about what happens to the census form. However, time has flown, so I will direct you instead to this helpful site where you can make your own crosswords. In fact, I’m going to make one now.
‘feminism trumps egalitarianism’
David Willets, the Universities Minister, claims that feminism has held back working class men. Read the article - what do you think?
Official statistics - census
Nice article from the BBC about the census and the difficulties of counting people - useful evaluation points for students to use.
The Changing Face of Motherhood
Some interesting findings reported on the BBC this week looking at the complex range of pressures facing mothers today compared to their mums and grannies. The new research is from The Social Issues Research Centre (SIRC). Obviously this will be helpful for students as an up to date case study for ‘Family’ on SCLY1. Also useful for Methods on SCLY2, as the study employs triangulation, consisting of Official Statistics, Focus Groups and an Online Poll. One stand out finding of resonance for me was that the 70’s and 80’s were seen as the best time to raise children; I must let my mum know!
Useful Video on Newsworthiness
I found this really useful clip on YouTube. It does about 5 mins on newsworthiness and is just right for GCSE although no reason why you couldn’t use it for AS either. It’s American and you might not like the voice over or teach kids who think they must laugh at anyone who differs from them, but my lot seemed happy enough with it. Just slightly cheesy point at the end about writing whatever you like, so I guess it must be aimed at some variety of journalism students.
A Real Live Positivist
Sometimes it’s hard to find a sociologist who is easily put into one of the rather artificial boxes or categories which are used at A level. They are useful - up to a point, but if you are ambitious and fairly sophisticated, don’t be fooled into thinking all sociologists fit neatly into such categories. Remember, sociological theories are tools - to be used - and different sociologists adapt them in different ways.
But anyway, do you know of any real positivists? Here’s one I’ve found - Diego Gambetta of Nuffield College Oxford. He has written a great website where he explains some of his views. I don’t necessarily agree with him, but you’ve got to admire the bluntness of the man who can say this: ” I detest jargon, which has done so much to ruin, often deservedly, the reputation of sociology. I do not mean technical words, or new words that identify something for which we have no synonyms in our vocabulary. I mean all embracing loose metaphors – such as liquid modernity or risk society or space of flows. Jargon is the make up donned by bad theorising to veil its hollowness. When I encounter words such as discourse, modernity or structuration I stop reading.” If you want to read more you will find it in his his essay More Hedgehog than Fox: a self-presentation.
Census Day
Having woken late or to find that the clocks should have moved forward many of us - or heads of household at least - may now also be dimly aware of another demand being made by the state - fill in your census form. If you are a teacher - do not look a gift horse in the mouth - fill in your return online and keep the questionnaire to use in class. Whether you are a student or a teacher, check up the census website and have a look at the questions. Students especially, who have a tendency to think questionnaires are easy - having looked at the questions, the number of options and the coding boxes - do you still think this is an easy method?
BBC survey of schoolchildren
The BBC have carried out a survey of UK schoolchildren, looking at religion and technology, as well as hopes and aspirations. It makes interesting reading and might be useful for AS students studying the family. Read the story here and download the report here.
the impact of technology
The BBC ran an article recently on famous ‘firsts’ - email, telegram, telephone call… I made this little worksheet for a bit of fun for GCSE classes.
technology_worksheet.doc
Postmodernism Clip
Nice clip for explaining or getting into postmodernism here.
AQA unit 3 and Unit 4 outlines
I put these exam outlines together for my students to help them prepare for the summer exams. Feel free to use and adapt.
Unit 3: Mass Media AQA_SCLY3_outline.doc
Unit 4: Crime and deviance with methods and theory AQA_SCLY4_outline.doc
Marketisation of Education
The BBC reported on the potential impact of the rise in tuition fees for university, with some calculations provided by Baker Tilly. A good starting point for a debate on the impact of marketisation. Read about it here.
Love pie. Hate pie-charts
I have just been given David McCandless’ great coffee table book ‘Information is Beautiful’. As a consequence I’ve been raiding some of his images for class as an alternative to ‘boring’ tables and charts.
Try starting with these
‘Mountains Out of Molehills’ - timeline of global media scare stories, an interactive visualisation of Cohen’s Moral Panics?
‘Left vs. Right’ – SCLY3 Politics for Dummies!
‘Racist profiling’ – a mapping correlation of ethnicity population density and support of nationalistic parties in the UK. Psephology for SCLY3?
Stuart Hall and Multiculturalism
Don’t miss a special Thinking Allowed tomorrow, which will feature Laurie Taylor talking to Stuart Hall about multiculturalism. Should be fascinating.
did you fail the English Bac?
Some headteachers and deputies at the Annual Conference of the Association of Schools and College Leaders (ASCL) in Manchester are wearing badges that say ‘I failed the English bac’ in protest at the Government’s new measure of GCSE performance. Old fashioned and contradictory to personalised learning, or driven by public demand? What do you think?
Read about it here.
AQA unit 1 and Unit 2 outlines
I put these exam outlines together for my students to help them prepare for the summer exams. Feel free to use and adapt.
Unit 1: families and households AQA_SCLY1_outline.doc
Unit 2: education with research methods AQA_SCLY2_outline.doc
Which dads help out most?
The BBC recently reported the release of a new study looking at unpaid domestic labour and gender roles. The idea that the finding that ‘out-of-work fathers spend less time caring for their children than mothers who have a job’ reflects ‘startling new research’ would be a good starting point for discussion. The report itself provides some interesting points of cross-cultural comparison and is worth a look. A copy can be downloaded here.
Losing My Religion
There’s a very useful clip from BBC Breakfast - an interview with Rory McGrath talking about losing his religious faith. Would be great for introducing lessons on either secularization or sociological perspectives on religion - Marxism or Functionalism - as McGrath touches on the issue of how Catholicism can be a controlling influence in a person’s life.
Parenting
Neat little story from the BBC about the pressures of parenting - just to give you a flavour from the other side of the education debate. Read it here.
The British At Work
A new series starts on BBC2 this week in which Kirsty Young looks at British working lives since the Second World War. This programme combines the memories of ordinary working people with vivid archive from documentary, television and film to look at an era in which work was a great mass experience and work places were lively, welcoming communities. Details can be found here
Government policy towards divorce
AQA encourage students to use contemporary examples where possible. For Unit 1: Families and Households, you may like to discuss new government policy towards divorcing couples: they are to be referred to mediation to sort out disputes before they are allowed to resort to the courts (BBC article).
Jamie’s Dream School
Historian David Starkey has become the surprise star of the new series, ‘Jamie’s Dream School’. Ostensibly focusing on how to engage teenagers who have dropped out of mainstream education, the programme mainly succeeds in showing just how difficult teaching can be - even if you are world-renowned expert in your field! You can read an article here.
read more...»Normal Service Will Be Resumed
Just to say, ‘Hi’, I’m back. Apologies for the break in normal service, but I’ve started teaching at a new school and hadn’t got my computer links sorted out. I’ve got a couple of powerpoints which I am trying to post up - one has worked and I’ve put it in for Wednesday - check the format/version will work with your system. Thanks to Stephen and Jenny for holding the fort.
Counting Happiness – Objective Measurement of a Subjective Concept
The 2011 UK Census will attempt for the first time to measure how happy we are, the ONS actually call it ‘Subjective Well Being’ – SWB. It sounds like herding cats to me. In the run up to the exam season it provides an interesting way to introduce/refresh the methodological issues of Sociology and Science, Objectivity and Subjectivity.
Needless to say this has provoked a lot of interest in the media. In his BBC blog, Mark Easton provides a comprehensive review of the issue, with lots of interesting international graphs (we’re a miserable lot) and links to some more in depth research. Whilst (Mr Grumpy) Laurie Taylor in his weekly BBC R4 programme (about 12 minutes in) talks to the French philosopher Pascal Bruckner who believes that…... ‘happiness has become a burdensome duty and that the wave of enthusiasm for pursuing the nebulous quality has the opposite effect of actually promoting unhappiness amongst those who seek it’. In other words don’t chase happiness, just embrace it when it arrives.
