CAIE A Level 9699

Sociology 2024 · May/June · Paper 32

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4 Questions Q&A Available
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This CAIE A Level Sociology paper focuses on education, especially how schooling relates to ethnicity, cultural capital, gender, and the role of education in society. Students can expect structured essay-style questions that ask them to describe, explain, give arguments for or against a view, and evaluate sociological theories rather than simple factual recall or calculations.…

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Questions & Model Answers 4 Qs

Q1
Short Answer 4 marks
Describe two ways schools may reinforce ethnic stereotypes.
Schools may reinforce ethnic stereotypes through the hidden curriculum, for example by presenting white, middle-class culture as the norm and marginalising other ethnic cultures.
This describes one way schools can reproduce stereotypes by normalising dominant cultural values.
Schools may reinforce ethnic stereotypes through teacher expectations and labelling, such as assuming some ethnic minority pupils are less able or more likely to misbehave.
This is a second valid way because low expectations can reproduce stereotyped views of ethnic groups.
Q2
Short Answer 8 marks
Explain two reasons why cultural capital can affect educational attainment.
Children with high cultural capital are more familiar with the language, attitudes and behaviours valued by schools, so they are more likely to understand teachers' expectations and perform well in assessments.
Cultural capital helps pupils fit the school culture, which can improve attainment.
Parents with cultural capital are more able to support their children's education, for example by choosing better schools, helping with homework, and knowing how to work the education system to secure advantages.
Cultural capital can improve attainment through parental knowledge and support.
Q3
Structured 12 marks
'The education system advantages males.' Using sociological material, give two arguments against this view.
One argument against the view is that girls now often outperform boys in many stages of education. Feminist sociologists argue that changes in girls' aspirations, greater equality in society, and policies promoting gender equality have reduced male advantage in education.
This challenges the claim by showing that females may now have an educational advantage.
Another argument is that schools may still reproduce gender inequalities in ways that disadvantage boys rather than advantage them. For example, boys may be more likely to be disciplined, labelled as disruptive, or placed in lower sets, which can reduce their attainment.
This provides a sociological counter-argument showing that the system may disadvantage males in some respects.
Q4
Essay 26 marks
Evaluate the view that the main function of education is to allocate individuals to appropriate roles in society.
The functionalist view argues that education sorts and selects individuals according to ability, achievement and future occupational roles. It teaches specialist skills, socialises pupils into shared values, and uses qualifications to match people to jobs. However, Marxists argue that education mainly reproduces class inequality and serves capitalist interests rather than allocating people fairly. Interactionists also suggest that labelling, streaming and teacher expectations can distort allocation. A balanced evaluation would consider that education does help with role allocation, but this process is not neutral or meritocratic and is influenced by class, gender and ethnicity.
This is a suitable model essay answer because it addresses the functionalist claim, presents counter-arguments, and reaches an evaluative conclusion.
Paper Details
Board CAIE
Level A Level
Subject Sociology
Code 9699
Year 2024
Session May/June
Paper No. Paper 32
Q&A 4 questions
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