Connect and Check
Retrieval: Define the central concept and explain why a pattern is not the same as a cause.
FunctionalismMarxismFeminismInteractionismShare and Present
- Parsons argued that schools move children from family-based particularistic standards to universalistic achievement standards.
- Meritocracy claims that rewards are allocated by talent and effort rather than birth.
- Evaluation asks whether schools actually measure merit or reproduce class, gender and ethnic advantage.
Choose your route
Access route
Access: define particularistic and universalistic standards using examples.
Core route
Core: explain how schools are claimed to allocate roles.
Stretch route
Stretch: evaluate whether meritocracy is an ideology or an accurate description.
Assessment
Explain two ways schools may promote meritocracy. [6 marks]