Here are some sample questions from an A-level politics paper:
Critically examine sociological contributions to an understanding of the nature and distribution of power in industrial societies.
Discuss the Marxist view that institutions such as the mass media maintain the political status quo by spreading the ideas of the dominant class to the rest of society.
"Voting behaviour is now based less on traditional class loyalties and more on individual choice." Discuss.
How and why have sociological explanations of voting behaviour changed over the last thirty years?
Critically examine the view that the State is simply "a committee for managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie".
"In the last 20 years voting behaviour in Britain has become much less dependent on factors associated with social class." Critically examine the sociological evidence for this viewpoint.
"Britain is dominated by a ruling class." To what extent do sociological evidence and arguments support this statement?
Evaluate the different sociological explanations of the role of the State in industrial societies.
Examine sociological contributions to an understanding of the ideological differences between political parties.
Examine sociological explanations of the successes of the Conservative party in general elections since 1975.
Examine the view that fundamental changes are taking place in the relationship between social class and voting behaviour in Britain.
"The evidence of the last three general elections suggests that we should no longer consider class as the major determinant of voting behaviour." Discuss.
Would you care to tackle any of these? And the intellectual hinterland shown by some of the questions is worrying. Social class is not the same thing as rank, particularly in a society like that of the United Kingdom; and many of the questions are straining very hard for an analysis that fits a leftist ideology. Still - I think these are very challenging discussions indeed requiring high levels of historical and informational input, and sophistication in handling complex data.
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4 comments:
Post 2 years of coaching and they're trivial.
Do you have any examples from the sciences?
"Discuss the Marxist view that institutions such as the mass media maintain the political status quo by spreading the ideas of the dominant class to the rest of society."
Au contraire, it seems that the media has always been used by socialist intellectuals to prepare the ground for Revolution:
http://mises.org/story/2984
Talking about which A levels My Girl might take with her teachers some three years ago I said "what about politics a level". My Girl was very interested in all things political and current affairs in general. The teacher told me, shaking his head, that politics a level was regarded as lightweight by universities as all that is really required to pass is to read the newspapers.
They may seem like tough questions HG, but the kids have been taught how to answer them to a much lower and simplistic standard than you might imagine.
My favurite is: "Britain is dominated by a ruling class."
Apart from being stroppy about the very word Britain which is now permanently stained Brown, what else would dominate except a ruling class? I only have to see the word 'class' and I reach for my gun. Our education system is being placed in ideological blinkers. Poor Boxer.
Sackerson is on the nail clearly. Where else but in the use of propaganda does the revolution start?
The struggle to establish politics as a worthy field of study in Cambridge, as the History faculty and the Faculty of Economics denied any uncovered ground went on for years, L; the fight has shifted now to a lower sphere, from degrees to A-levels, which is in accordance with all the other evidence that what was degree stuff 20 years ago is now first year A-level material. Thus A-levels ask hard, if bent, questions, and the need to coach students through to a decent mark does not undermine the achievement in gaining one. It indicates merely that teaching and examining techniques and criteria have altered. A lot of recalling data and practising answers has gone; a lot of solid, hard work gaining and organising information, and formulating a theory and arguing a case has taken its place. High wire exam acts are fun to watch and difficult to do, they are not a good measure of run of the mill competence, which is all most of us need.
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