Resource bank AS AND YEAR 1 OF A-LEVEL SOCIOLOGY

Resource bank AS AND YEAR 1 OF A-LEVEL SOCIOLOGY 7191 AND 7192 aqa.org.uk Copyright 2015 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. AQA Education (AQA) is a registered charity (registered charity number 1073334) and a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (company number 3644723). Registered address: AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX 4 December 2015

Introduction The scheme of work provides guidance on activities to support the delivery of the new AS and A-level specification. It suggests that every lesson starts with a paper based starter that clearly states the lesson number and the lesson objectives. This is used to outline what will be covered in the lesson and is reviewed at the end to ensure all learning objectives are met. Students will tick off the objectives if they feel they have achieved that objective. If they haven t it is suggested that students go over the work from the lesson to ensure they have understood the key concepts and ideas. The starter sheet serves to either introduce new concepts or go over previous material. It is based upon an activity that should take up the first 5 10 minutes of the lesson. This enables the teachers the chance to settle the group from the outset and students can work independently as soon as they enter the room. Any students that arrive late know what they need to do in their own time and it ensures they don t miss any of the material covered. Activities are varied on starter sheets and can include the following: crosswords, wordsearches, cryptograms (using the following website to help create these - http://www.discoveryeducation.com/freepuzzlemaker/), match the terms, hand of knowledge, Venn diagrams, cloze activities and many more. A sample of some starters used in the scheme of work are included in this resource bank. aqa.org.uk 2 Copyright 2015 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. AQA Education (AQA) is a registered charity (registered charity number 1073334) and a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (company number 3644723). Registered address: AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX 4 December 2015

Blank concept grid The scheme of work suggests that the students complete a concept grid at the end of every topic. This is a blank grid for this purpose. Key concept Definition 3

Concept grid childhood The following is an example of a concept grid that can be used for childhood: Key concept Definition Socially constructed Modern notion of childhood March of Progress View Globalisation Cross-cultural differences Historical differences Child-centredness Age Patriarchy 4

Matching terms to statements - paper based starter The following can be used as a paper based starter for demography: Learning objectives Review reasons for changes birth rates and death rates Explore the effects on the population Understand what an ageing population is Match the definitions to the concept: CONCEPT DEFINITION 1. Birth rate a) The number of deaths per thousand of the population per year 2. Death rate b) The difference between the number of births and the number of deaths in a population, resulting in either a natural increase or a natural decrease 3. Total fertility rate c) Movement into an area or society 4. Infant mortality rate d) Movement out of an area or society 5. Net migration e) The study of population, including birth, death, fertility and infant mortality rates, immigration and emigration, and age structure, as well as the reasons for changes in these 6. Natural change f) The difference between the number of immigrants entering a country and the number of emigrants leaving it 7. Emigration g) The relationship between the size of the working population and the non-working or dependent population 8. Immigration h) The average number of children women will have during their fertile years. For statistical purposes, this is defined as age 15 44 9. Demography i) The number of infants who die before their first birthday, per thousand live births per year 10. Dependency ratio j) The number of live births per thousand of the population per year 5

Migration: starter activity Starter sheet answers 1. j 2. a 3. h 4. i 5. f 6. b 7. d 8. c 9. e 10.g 6

Introduction to Sociology paper based starter The following can be used at the outset of the course: 1. What is Sociology? 2. How many hours of Sociology will you do a week? 3. What room are you in for Sociology? 4. What is your teacher called? 5. What is her email address? 6. What is your homework this week? 7. How many hours of homework do you think you need to do each week? 8. How many exams will you have this year? 9. What are the dates of your exams? 10. What are the units called that you will be studying this year? 11. Do you have any questions about the course? 7

Learning log The scheme of work suggests that students complete a learning log at various times during the course. The purpose of the learning log is for students to record three things learnt. The following is a blank learning log that can be used for this purpose. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 8

The urinal game This is a game, which is referred to in the scheme of work, used to introduce the key concepts associated with Sociology and to show students how things experienced in the everyday can be looked at sociologically. It aims to get students to develop their sociological imagination and looks at key concepts such as norms and values. They look at the act of going to the toilet and discuss the rules that guide behaviour. Further information can be gained from the following website - http://www.sociology.org/content/2006/tier2/johnpaul_the_urinal_game.pdf 9

You will ask a student to come to the front of the classroom and stand in front of the urinal they would go to and they will be asked to explain their choice. This works with both male and female students. In almost all cases the person picked will stand at urinal three discuss how sociology is interested in predicting behaviour and that the reason they would choose this urinal is because it is furthest away from the door and they would stand there because of privacy issues. They would not want people walking in and seeing them. Discuss other scenarios where privacy/personal space is an issue eg at a cash point. Also discuss how studies show that because urinal three is the most frequented it has the most germs. You then ask the student to remain at urinal three and then ask another student to come to the front of the room and select the urinal they would use now. 10

Again, discuss how you can predict behaviour and you would expect/assume that they would choose urinal one. Discuss how the norms ruling the behaviour in the first instance (student one who went to the furthest away from the door) would now be abandoned as you wouldn t want to get too close to the person in the third urinal. Ask both students to remain in urinal one and three and then open it out to the class and ask what they would do if they came in to the bathroom students would often say use a cubicle or come back later. Open out the discussion and look at the following questions: The whole reasoning behind this and the purpose of doing it is to discuss the structure versus action debate. Structural sociologists want to predict behaviour and believe human beings are generaliseable just like in this example where you are able to predict the urinal that people will go to. If in a circumstance someone didn t choose urinal three at the start you can discuss the action perspective and how people have free will and not everyone will make the same choices. 11

The symmetrical family: statements for discussion The following statements are examples which can be used to assist a circular discussion on changes in the family: A woman s place is in the home. There is no such thing as a symmetrical family. Only families headed by same sex couples are truly symmetrical. The symmetrical family is not good for children; they develop better with traditional role models. It is a man s job to be the breadwinner. Policy does not support men as parents. Divorce is increasing the role that fathers play in childrearing. Men and women may do equal housework, but men still have more power. Families are becoming symmetrical because more women are employed. NOTE: Try getting your students to write statements for a discussion. This is particularly useful for revision as students can ask about things they don t understand without anyone knowing who has raised a particular topic or question. 12

Family types work sheet to demonstrate pre-industrial society to industrial society The following is an activity referred to in the scheme of work to demonstrate the key ideas of Parsons and the way in which the family changes to meet the needs of society. Students are asked to describe the type of society in the top box and also to describe what the family looks like in this society. For example, they would describe how the family was an extended family unit, that carried out a number of functions, whereas the family in an industrial society was nuclear in form and it had lost many of the functions it had previously carried out. The family now carries out two irreducible functions and it has become more socially and geographically mobile. They would then draw pictures to summarise the different types of society and family to re-cap the key ideas and beliefs. 13

Blankety Blank The following is an activity referred to in the scheme of work that can be used to recap students knowledge of Marxism and the family: 14

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What is a Marxist? Capitalism Smartie Task The following is an activity referred to in the scheme of work that can be used to demonstrate how Marxism works. You will need to split the class into pairs and discuss how the activity works. You will need one pack of smarties and an envelope with fake money in to the value of 100 per pair. Person 1 in the pair will be the worker and person 2 will be the owner of the smartie factory. Instruct the pairs that the worker will have to sort the smarties in to separate colours as quickly as possible. The owner has to decide at the end of the activity how much they will pay the worker for their job. Inform the owners that this is their own personal fortune and that whatever they give the worker will come out of their profits. What you will see is the worker being paid very little for their hard work and efforts in order for the owners to make as much profit as possible. Here you can discuss notions of exploitation, the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. You can link to the smartie factory being the means of production and discuss how it makes vast amounts of money for bourgeoise. Use the following worksheet: The students are told that the aim of the activity is to demonstrate exactly how Marxists believe that society works. They are to imagine that there is a factory that specialises in sorting smarties into their colour categories. The students will take the role of people who have an interest in the factory from two different perspectives. Perspective 1: Worker You are employee of the factory, who is suffering serious poverty and struggling to make ends meet. It is your job to sort the smarties into their colours as quickly as possible. Like any worker you should expect payment for this especially because you work so hard. However, the amount that you get paid is up to the factory owner. The more efficient you are, the more likely you are to be paid more. Perspective 2: Owner You have run this company successfully for years. You run a tight ship and you have 300 employees. You enjoy being rich as you can buy what you want. Sat next to you is an employee who will complete work in front of you. When this work is completed, you must pay them for their labour. In the envelope is all of your personal fortune ( 100). It is completely up to you how much of your personal fortune you give to them for completing this small task. 16

1. Pair up! 2. Decide which of you will take the role of the Worker, and who will take the role of Owner. IMPORTANT: Remember, you are not to work as a team! You are an employer and a worker and you must behave as such. I was a worker/owner and I received/gave (delete where appropriate) 17

Hand of knowledge: feminism and the family The scheme of work suggests that students could complete a hand of knowledge when looking at feminism and the family as follows: Learning Objectives Summarise Parsons instrumental and expressive roles Identify the work of Elizabeth Bott Establish the changes in the family symmetrical family Complete the hand of knowledge to summarise Parsons views on the family (in particularly his ideas about gender roles) really develop and build on your knowledge to show high level understanding: 18

Randomiser activity This activity can be carried out at the end of any topic and is a name generator that encourages all students to participate. Start off with a template of a powerpoint slide that contains a number of words associated with a topic as below. Leave a space to put a name in the middle of the slide. Write the name of the first student on the class register and then duplicate the slides, adding a slide with the name of every student in the group. Set the powerpoint on a timer so that the slides repeat continuously. Students will see their name flashing on and off the screen. Stop the powerpoint at random and a student will ultimately be selected. The student selected will pick a topic from the ones mentioned above (or any you want to include) and they will have to talk about that topic in detail. Keep going until all the names are done. Other random name activities can be found on the following website: http://www.classtools.net/education-games-php/fruit_machine 19

Butterfly activity the symmetrical family One way of demonstrating the symmetrical family outlined by Wilmott and Young is by asking your students to cut out a picture of a butterfly (as outlined below). Ask students to define the symmetrical family in the middle of the butterfly and on the left hand side identify the roles that are played by the man in the symmetrical family and on the right hand side identify the roles of the woman in the symmetrical family. What you should find is that students write exactly the same job on both sides, for example; both help out in childcare, both complete paid work, both help with the cleaning and laundry. As an extension get the students to turn over the butterfly and write evaluative points on the back (AO3 skills demonstrated here). For example; women have a dual burden, they go out to work and complete all the housework, men only take part in the enjoyable parts of childcare and the roles are not symmetrical. 20

Wheel of fortune A wheel of fortune, as referred to in the scheme of work, can be used to recap a topic. In the scheme of work it is suggested that it can be used for students to create eight key summary questions and write the questions on the wheel. They then use a paper fastener to attach an arrow to the wheel. The students can then spin the wheel and ask a question to their partner. 21

Summary sheet A summary sheet can be used at different points during the course. The following is an example of a summary sheet referred to in the scheme of work when teaching family diversity: MODERNITY emphasise the dominance of one family type the nuclear family. They see society as having a fixed, clear-cut and predictable structure. POST-MODERNITY they argue they no longer need the modern world. We have entered a new, chaotic post-modern stage where family structures are fragmented and individuals have more choice in their lifestyles. PARSONS NEW RIGHT BECK STACEY CHESTER RAPOPORTS GIDDENS WEEKS 22

Summary grid Division of labour The following can be used for students to summarise their knowledge: Sociologist Summary of their findings Extension evaluation of the sociologist Parsons Willmott and Young Ann Oakley Mary Boulton Alan Warde and Kevin Hetherington 23

Question run grid The following can be used to create the resource for question run. As referred to in the scheme of work (eg week 5) this can be used to test students knowledge on any topic. Students have to work through a pile of questions on the teacher s table writing them in the grid below with answers. Question write the questions below One Answer write the answers below Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve Bonus questions 24

Key trends - emigration/immigration The following activity can be used when teaching demography for families and households: Students are asked to highlight below the main countries that people emigrate to from Britain in red. They also must highlight below the main countries that people immigrate from to Britain in green. Once completed, the students annotate why people would emigrate/immigrate to/from these countries. 25

Migration Answers for map activity Highlight below the main countries that people emigrate to from Britain in red (USA / Canada / Australia / New Zealand / South Africa). Highlight below the main countries that people immigrate from to Britain in green (Ireland / India / Pakistan / Bangledesh / Kenya / Uganda / Poland). Once completed annotate why people would emigrate/immigrate to/from these countries. Annotating the graph is an extension activity. Reasons could focus on economic reasons, family, health reasons, work, retirement, poverty, religious, political or racial persecution, better opportunities. 26

Exit cards To ascertain student understanding, the following exit cards can be used. Students can complete and return to the teacher: Exit ticket What I learnt in this lesson: Exit ticket What I learnt in this lesson: What I already knew: What I already knew: What I might need some more help with: What I might need some more help with: What activity I would like the teacher to do again to help with my learning: What activity I would like the teacher to do again to help with my learning: How I feel about this lesson: How I feel about this lesson: Exit ticket What I learnt in this lesson: Exit ticket What I learnt in this lesson: What I already knew: What I already knew: What I might need some more help with: What I might need some more help with: What activity I would like the teacher to do again to help with my learning: What activity I would like the teacher to do again to help with my learning: How I feel about this lesson: How I feel about this lesson: 27

Statements - the ageing population The following is an activity when looking at the ageing population in families and households. Learning objectives starter sheet To explore notions of the ageing population To develop an understanding of key demographic trends To gain an awareness of the effects of an ageing population. Read the statements below and identify whether they are associated with the topic of the ageing population: The average age of the UK population is rising. Divorce has increased due to changes in the law, declining stigma and changing attitudes. Older people consume a larger proportion of services such as health and social care than other age groups. The ageing population has happened because of increasing life expectancy, declining infant mortality and declining fertility. Cohabitation involves an unmarried couple in a sexual relationship living together. The number of people aged 65 and over is projected to overtake the number of under 16s for the first time ever in 2014. The number of pensioners living alone has increased and there has been a rise in one person pensioner households. Weeks identifies a long term shift in attitudes and a growing acceptance of diversity. The non-working old are an economically dependent group. Old age and ageing is viewed in a negative way and socially constructed as a problem. Net migration is the difference between numbers immigrating and the numbers emigrating. The New Right is firmly opposed to family diversity. The dependency ratio is the relationship between the size of the working population and the nonworking or dependent population. 28

Think, pair, share cards The following cards can be used for all topics. The scheme of work, for example, refers to this form of activity when looking at theory ie students can list words to describe Marxism. Think On your own think of 5 activities Pair Share and note down ideas/activities from your partner Share On your own write down your top 5 activities to report back to the groups Think On your own think of 5 activities Pair Share and note down ideas/activities from your partner Share On your own write down your top 5 activities to report back to the groups 29

Overview of topic updates and key revision strategies It is suggested that at the end of the course it is a good idea to complete a revision grid of all key knowledge. Students can then identify how they can update the key topics. Topic How to update the content Functionalism Marxism Feminism Gender roles Policy Changing family patterns Family diversity Demography Childhood 30

Revision strategies 7 key things The scheme of work provides guidance as to revision opportunities during the course. One suggested technique to undertake revision is for students to consider 7 key things per topic. An example is as follows: Functionalism and the New Right 1. Society is in harmony organic analogy 2. Murdock universal nuclear family, 250 societies, four key functions (economic, education, sexual, reproduction) 3. Parsons functional fit theory family meets society s needs extended to nuclear (pre-industrial to industrial) links to nuclear family being geographically and socially mobile, family lost functions 4. Parsons expressive and instrumental roles, biologically natural 5. Parsons two key functions (primary socialisation and stabilisation of adult personalities, warm bath) 6. Evaluation Marxism family is oppressive, feminism family is patriarchal and gender roles not natural, outdated and ignores diversity 7. New Right nuclear family biologically natural, expressive and instrumental roles biologically natural, diversity is bad for society, welfare state causes benefit dependent underclass (perverse incentives) Activity Write down seven key things for Marxism 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 31

Venn diagram - Marxism and the family The following activity is one suggested in the scheme of work. Learning Objectives Review Marxism and their perspectives of the family Compare and contrast the work of Engels and Zaretsky Determine the key features of Marxism Complete the venn diagram without looking at your notes. Summarise Marxism where A is and Summarise functionalism where B is. In the middle note down the similarities between the two theories: 32

Feminism For ideas to assist the students understanding of the feminist approach to the family the scheme of work refers to the Everyday Sexism Project, Who Needs Feminism and the He for She Campaign with Emma Watson. The following websites could be used as a way of discussing feminism and to look at how relevant it is in today s society. After discussing the key elements of feminism and their aims you could ask students to create their own slogan I need feminism because.. and get them to tweet their picture on to the department website Some website links as follows: http://everydaysexism.com/index.php/about http://whoneedsfeminism.com/about.html http://www.heforshe.org/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6xtx2rg04g 33

Assessment schedule The following is an example of an assessment schedule that each student can keep to track their progress: Assessment title Did you exceed, meet or fall short of your target? Strengths of the essay Areas for improvement Do you need to re-do? 34

The ageing population: hand of knowledge The following is an example of a hand of knowledge when students are learning about the ageing population for the families and households topic. 35

Methods in context - Truancy Building block exercise Truancy unauthorised absence from school is closely linked to educational under-achievement. Pupils doing badly at school are more likely to truant, and persistent truants tend to leave school with few qualifications. Truancy is also linked to juvenile delinquency. Some sociologists may use official statistics to study truancy. The government collects statistics from every school, and these show national trends and patterns, such as that truancy peaks in year 11 and is more common among pupils receiving free school meals. Truancy statistics can also be used to discover the effect on pupils of factors such as changes in educational policies. However, some schools may redefine truancy so as to meet government targets or to present a better public image. Other sociologists may use participant observation to study truancy. This can allow the researcher to discover pupils reasons and motives for truanting and what school attendance means to them. The researcher can also witness first hand any peer pressure on pupils to truant. However, an overt participant observer may find problems fitting in with truants, and so it may be necessary to adopt a covert role such as that of truancy officer Task Applying material from above and your own knowledge, evaluate the strengths and limitations of using official statistics to investigate truancy from school. Introduction Link to context One strength of method One weakness of method 36

Paragraph 1 Strength Level 1 identify strength Level 2 link to general topic area Level 3 expand and link to truancy (be specific) Paragraph 2 Weakness Level 1 identify weakness Level 2 link to general topic area Level 3 expand and link to truancy (be specific) Paragraph 3 Strength 37

Paragraph 4 Weakness Paragraph 5 Strength Paragraph 6 Weakness 38

Conclusion Summarise strengths and weaknesses 39

Self-fulfilling prophecy Question run Question 1 What is the self-fulfilling prophecy? Question 2 What are the three steps? Question 3 Who carried out the study? Question 4 Where was their study carried out? Question 5 What was the test they used? And what did they tell the school? Question 6 Why did they lie? Question 7 What are spurters? Question 8 How many pupils did they identify as spurters? Question 9 What did the study show? Question 10 40

Why were the children selected at random? Bonus questions What method did they use? What practical, ethical & theoretical issues were there with this method? 41

Self-fulfilling prophecy Question run grid Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Question 4 Question 5 Question 6 Question 7 Question 8 42

Question 9 Question 10 Bonus questions Bonus questions 43

Mairtin Mac an Ghaill Making of Men Treasure Hunt Information Question 1 The Making of Men is based on an ethnographic study of Parnell School, an 11 18 co-educational comprehensive in an industrial inner-city are of the Midlands, an area of high unemployment and widespread poverty. The bulk of the data relates to a cohort of male and female students who were in their last year of compulsory schooling during the 1990 to 1991 academic year, although he does draw on material from an earlier study of the schooling experiences of gay students, some but not all of whom had attended Parnell School. By combining these varied approaches, Mac an Ghaill was able to build up a series of in-depth case histories on which to base his analysis. Clue number 1 a place to find books of the sociological variety Information Question 2 The bulk of the research reported in The Making of Men took place between 1990 and 1992, although Mac an Ghaill had already been conducting related research in Parnell School for the previous two years. Moreover, through the period he was himself employed as a teacher within the school. For a three year period, Mac an Ghaill collected a vast amount of data via a range of methods associated with ethnographic research: most importantly through observation of school life (which he wrote up on a daily basis) as well as through diaries and questionnaires (the latter created by students themselves, highlighting issues about which they wanted to write) and through formal and informal group and individual interviews with both teachers and pupils. Clue number 2 a stereotypical macho environment where you would go to pump some iron Information Question 3 Mac an Ghaill opens the book with a striking account which sets the tone of the ethnographic analysis which follows. He recalls an occasion from earlier in his teaching career when a male student presented him with a bouquet of flowers in the playground as a gesture of thanks, having just passed an exam. As a consequence the student got caught up in a fight while fending off homophobic abuse from his peers. Shortly afterwards Mac an Ghaill got summoned to the headteachers office. On arrival he was informed that he had gone too far this time, to which he 44

responded he could not be held responsible for a fight between pupils. However the headteacher had heard nothing about the fight but was in fact referring to the flowers. Clue number 3 once the macho boys have been to the gym they will stop here for a quick shower Information Question 4 The resulting book of Mac an Ghaill is divided into five empirically based sections: 1. Dominant teacher masculinities at Parnell School 2. Dominant pupil masculinities 3. The construction and reinforcement of dominant sexualities 4. The response of young women to the exercise of hegemonic masculinities of both male pupils and teachers 5. The experiences of gay pupils within an arena characterised by compulsory heterosexuality Clue number 4 a place to stop for a quick coffee Information Question 5 Mairtin Mac an Ghaill s study was published in 1994 at a time when reporting of the so called crisis of masculinity was beginning to reach fever pitch within the British media. The publication that summer of GCSE results which proclaimed an ongoing reversal in the relative academic fortunes of boys and girls was seen by many commentators to give added legitimacy to this perceived crisis. Moreover, not only were girls outstripping boys in the academic ratrace, but they were deemed guilty of outstripping their male peers in the race to find work in the diminishing youth labour market. Clue number 5 the corridor of power, where the most senior of teachers reside Information Question 6 It was claimed that young men in their final years of schooling were demoralised as never before, lacked a sense of purpose in life and were the new victims of an education system which had succumbed to the political correctness of feminist teachers and educators. In 1999 the Chief Inspector of Schools was arguing that the failure of boys, and in particular white working-class boys, is one of the most disturbing problems we face within the education system. Clue number 6 a place to play games 45

Information Question 7 Early school ethnographies remained focused on issues of class inequality and social mobility, albeit within a framework which questioned the assumed meritocratic basis of schooling. For example studies such as Learning to Labour (Willis, 1977) and Beachside Comprehensive (Ball 1981) placed great emphasis on the role of schooling in reproducing class-based inequalities within society. With the rise of feminist and anti-racist influences from the mid-1970s onwards these earlier studies attracted criticism for their assumption that all pupils shared the same experiences as the white working-class boys they investigated. They were also criticised for celebrating the macho elements of these male sub-cultures. Clue number 7 a place to have a quick smoke Information Question 8 Accordingly a central theme of the work of many feminist sociologists has been the day-to-day exercise of male power and privilege within schools. Some of this work has however been criticised for presenting all males within school as potential harassers of women. Such a stance overlooks the possibility that certain groups of men are also marginalised by the power relations of the school. Gender regimes of schools are characterised by the simultaneous existence of hegemonic and subordinated masculinities. Some forms of masculinity are given approval whilst others are seen as inferior and are constantly ridiculed. Clue number 8 a place to grab some lunch Information Question 9 Mairtin Mac an Ghaill s study examines how peer groups reproduce a range of different class-based masculine identities. For example, the working-class macho lads were dismissive of other working class boys who worked hard and aspired to middle-class careers, referring to them as dickhead achievers. Teachers play an important part in reinforcing dominant definitions of gender identity. He found that male teachers told boys off for behaving like girls and teased them when they gained lower marks in tests than girls. Teachers tended to ignore boys verbal abuse of girls and even blamed girls for attracting it. Clue number 9 near Martin s room Information Question 10 The Making of Men is an important book for anyone interested in the role of schooling in constructing and reinforcing dominant forms of masculinity and in marginalising subordinated masculinities and sexual identities. It is also important for methodological reasons in that it illustrates that value-free research is an impossibility. A researcher s own values and biases may lead them to prioritise certain accounts over others. Throughout his study Mac an Ghaill makes no secret of his 46

political stance and this has had a major impact on the style both of the conduct of his research and the writing up of his findings. Clue number 10 where you started from 47

Mairtin Mac an Ghaill Making of Men Treasure Hunt Grid Question 1 What and who did Mac an Ghaill study? Question 2 How did he carry out the research and with what methods? Question 3 Describe the opening account of Mac an Ghaill s study. Question 4 What are the five sections of the book? Question 5 What was happening at the time the book was published? Question 6 What was wrong with the young men in their final years of school? 48

Question 7 Why were Willis and Ball s studies criticised? Question 8 What did feminist regimes overlook? Question 9 How did the peer groups reproduce class based masculine identities? Question 10 Why is Mac an Ghaill s study important? 49