Download 12 marks - Mrs Sudds` classroom

Session 1: Political participation
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Describe the role of citizens in the UK political process (voting etc)
Explain how and why social factors such as age, gender, ethnicity and class influence the
pattern of political participation and the distribution of political authority and power
Key Terms: Democracy, Monarchy, Republic, Dictatorship, MP, Constituency,
Prime Minister, Government, Parliament
Starter
Identify two ways in which pressure groups can attempt to influence public
opinion. (2 marks)
Identify two ways in which employees can act together to improve their pay
and conditions. (2 marks)
Identify two reasons why there are far fewer female Members of Parliament
(MPs) than male MPs (2 marks)
Most of the exam questions within this topic can be
answered with simple common sense and knowledge from
Citizenship
• Explain what sociologists mean by an elite. (4 marks)
• Describe one way in which police powers have increased in Britain in
the last 30 years and explain why some groups would consider this to
be a problem. (5 marks)
• Describe one approach which has been used in an attempt to increase
the participation of women in parliamentary politics and explain why this
approach might not be successful. (5 marks)
• Describe one way in which pressure groups try to influence government
decisions and explain why some pressure groups are more successful
than others in influencing such decisions. (5 marks)
Most of the exam questions within this topic can be
answered with simple common sense and knowledge from
Citizenship
• Discuss how far sociologists would agree that
young people are not interested in politics.(12
marks)
• Discuss how far sociologists would agree that in
Britain today other factors are more important
than social class in determining how people
vote. (12 marks)
• Discuss how far sociologists would agree that
age is the most important influence on an
individual’s participation in the political process.
(12 marks)
Plan out answers to these past questions based
on the powerpoints from the power unit
Session 2: Political participation
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•
Awareness of the ways in which governments have attempted to solve social problems,
such as those associated with discrimination, including the ageing population,
unemployment and poverty (anti-discrimination laws etc)
Analyse the different political arguments about the welfare provision (benefits etc)
Starter: Governments have to make difficult decisions when deciding how
to allocate public money. Rank the below groups in order of priority with 1
being the group that you think should receive the most help and 5 receiving
the least. Be prepared to justify your answers.
• Elderly retired widow
• Single mother staying at home
• Single mother going to work
• Disabled man
• Unemployed 18 year old
Consensus = political consensus means that all of the different political parties are in
agreement with each other about something e.g:
“There is political consensus between the Conservatives and Labour party on whether
to have free education.”
Key terms
Welfare state = a country where the government has taken
steps to protect the health and wellbeing of those in
financial need – “Britain is now a welfare state.”
Welfare system = the system that a government has brought
in to protect the health and wellbeing of those in financial
need – “The welfare system in Britain has been criticised for being
unfair.”
Welfare = the help that those in financial need receive e.g.
benefits, tax credits etc. – “Single mothers now receive welfare.”
The next few slides will tell the story of the history of the
development of the welfare system in Britain. Take notes of
key terms, facts and dates
INTRODUCTION
State welfare and
benefits have considerably
changed in the last one
hundred years in
developed countries, such
as Britain, in an effort to
reduce the number of
people who fall into the
category of being ‘poor’.
One individual who was
extremely influential in
defining poverty was
Seebohm Rowntree who
devised research at the
beginning of the
twentieth century to
define whether people
were in poverty or not.
He defined people as belonging to a category:
above the poverty line (out of
poverty)
or below the poverty line (in
poverty)
He argued that people needed:
• Food
• Clothes
• Shelter
These were the minimum for existence.
The poverty line was drawn at the point where a
minimum was needed to ‘maintain health’.
There are two types of poverty: absolute
poverty and relative poverty.
Absolute poverty
means that a person
does not have what
they need to survive
physically, for
example, they do not
have food, drink,
clothing or shelter.
Relative poverty means that the
individual is measured against the
standard of living of the rest of the
society in which he/she lives.
Defining poverty
The difference between absolute poverty and relative
poverty is the difference between:
Absolute poverty:
An individual’s biological needs:
•Food
•Water
•Clothing
•Shelter
The difference between absolute poverty and relative
poverty is the difference between:
Relative poverty:
An individual’s needs
according to a generally
accepted standard of
the society in which the
individual is living at
that specific time.
Although the first attempts at
creating a welfare system
started in the early 1900s,
events such as the First World
War and the following
‘Depression’ of the 1930’s when
unemployment was so high, led
eventually to a review of the
state provision for the
unemployed and sick.
The most significant changes to the welfare system
took place after World War 2. All political parties
reached a consensus that they should pull together
to help each other and rebuild the country.
In other words, serious reviews needed to
be undertaken after the Second World
War in the areas of:
Unemployment
Housing
Poverty
Health
and
Education
1900
1906 Free school meals
1909 Pensions
WW1 1914
1939 WW2
Free education 1944
1945 Benefit system for elderly, widows & orphans
School leaving age raised to 15 1947
1948 National Health Service &
National Insurance (pay when working
so get money when not working)
Important Anti Discrimination Laws
Equal Pay Act 1970 (men & women)
Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (equal chance of job & promotion etc
– included sexuality as well as sex)
Race Relations Act 1976 (no discrimination by race)
Disability Discrimination Act 2005 – cannot discriminate by
disability & must make steps to make work accessible etc
2012
Unemployed
1950s – full employment
1990s – better employment
1980s – lots of unemployment
NOW – lots of unemployment
• Government imposed “New Deal”
• Work experience encouraged for young people,
unemployed and lone parents
• Threat of benefits being reduced if people do not
look for work
• Subsidised (cheaper) childcare to encourage
families too get back to work
• Basic literacy and numeracy programmes
• Minimum wage introduced
Ageing Population
2006/7 = 2.5 million pensioners living in poverty
• The elderly make a vital contribution to family and
community life BUT they are also expensive in terms of
healthcare, pensions, social care etc.
• They are also the age group most likely to vote in the
General elections so governments want to keep them happy!
• Government encourages personal pensions and encourages
companies to set up pensions for their employees
• Age discrimination laws have come into place to allow older
people to carry on working into later life
• Means-tested pension credits, heating allowances etc for
the poorest pensioners
Means tested = calculated by how much people earn, how much savings they have, the
value of property and houses etc.
Children
2006/7 = 2.9 million children living in poverty
• Free education for every child
• Means-tested free school dinners, help with cost
of trips, uniform etc
• Every parent entitled to child benefit
• Government grant of £1000 in a savings account
for every newborn baby – can access at 18
• Child Support Agency (CSA) set up to chase absent
fathers for child support payment
Means tested = calculated by how much people earn, how much savings they have, the
value of property and houses etc.
The welfare system was designed
to help those people in need. Can
you think of any criticisms of the
welfare system?
There was political consensus between most political parties
after World War 2. They agreed that they needed to work
together to rebuild society and help those in need, which led
to the development of the welfare system.
However, the welfare system started to receive criticism.
In 1975, the conservative party, led by Margaret Thatcher
adopted neo-liberal principles. They believed that…
• The welfare state is inefficient as there is no competition
to drive up standards. E.g. patients of a hospital can’t
choose to “take their custom elsewhere.”
• The welfare state encourages a “something for nothing”
attitude so people are less inclined to work hard and pay for
their own family.
Neo-Liberalism = a political approach based on the belief that governments should
limit their activity to maintaining “law and order” and should not interfere too
much.
“I’ve got a little list of benefit offenders who I’ll soon be rooting out,
And who never would be missed.
They never would be missed.
There’s those who make up bogus claims in half a dozen names,
And Councillors who draw the dole to run left-wing campaigns.
They never would be missed.
They never would be missed.
There’s young ladies who get pregnant just to jump the housing queue,
And dads who won’t support the kids of the ladies they have kissed,
And I haven’t even mentioned all those sponging socialists.
I’ve got them on my list, and there’s none of them be missed.
There’s none of them be missed.”
This ditty was sung at the Conservative conference by the
minister in charge of security in 1992.
1) Identify 3 ways in which the “scroungers” are said to
damage the welfare state.
2) Identify 3 ways in which a genuine claimant may be
affected by hearing such a ditty on TV
‘Old Labour’ had a huge influence on the development of the
welfare state. Their policies were based on protecting the
interests of the working classes and supporting working
class values such as solidarity.
In 1997, the Labour party rebranded itself to ‘New Labour’ to
try to distance itself from its old policies. It appeared that
New Labour and the Conservative party had again, reached
political consensus. Both parties now believe that:
• Government bodies or local councils do not provide services
as efficiently as private companies
• Only competition provides a sufficiently powerful incentive
to work hard
On the basis of these beliefs, much of the organisation of the
welfare system has now been reformed.
• Privatisation of many services e.g. refuse collection, some
schools, prisons etc
• Competitive environments created between services e.g.
schools compete for pupils, hospitals compete for patients
“Discuss how far sociologists would agree
that the welfare state strengthens
society.” (12 marks)
• Arguments for how the welfare system strengthens
society
– Poverty
– Unemployed
– Elderly
• Arguments for how the welfare system weakens
society
– Living off the state
– Unemployment
– Undermines family responsibility
• Conclusion
Exam questions
Identify two ways in which recent governments have tried to address some of the social
problems experienced by our ageing population. (2 marks)
Identify two services that are provided by the welfare state today (2 marks)
Explain what sociologists mean by a benefits culture. (4 marks)
Describe one way in which recent governments have changed how they provide
benefits for people who are unemployed and explain why this might lead to political
arguments and debate. (5 marks)
Describe one way in which members of minority ethnic groups may still experience
prejudice and explain how this may affect the power they have in today’s society.
(5 marks)
Describe one way in which recent governments have tried to improve conditions for
older people and explain why this may not always have been successful. (5 marks)
Describe one way in which governments have tried to tackle discrimination in recent
years and explain how successful this policy has been. (5 marks)
Session 3: Power in everyday life
•
Describe different power relationships in ‘everyday’ situations, such as those
between employees and employers; children, parents, school teachers and
other children; members of the public and the police.
Starter
Explain what sociologists mean by power relationships. (4 marks)
Exam questions
•
Describe one way in which children and young people have gained more power and influence
over their education in the last 20 years and explain why some teachers and other adults might
consider this to be a problem. (5 marks)
•
Describe one way in which children and young people have gained more power and influence
over their education in the last 20 years and explain why some teachers and other adults might
consider this to be a problem. (5 marks)
•
Describe one way in which the police have power over members of the public and explain how
this might affect the relationship between the police and the community. (5 marks)
•
Discuss how far sociologists would agree that in Britain today power is shared equally between
different ethnic groups. (12 marks)
•
Discuss how far sociologists would agree that in society today power is shared equally between
women and men. (12 marks)
•
Discuss how far sociologists would agree that in society today relationships between children and
adults are increasingly democratic. (12 marks)
•
Discuss how far sociologists would agree that power is shared equally between different social
classes in Britain today. (12 marks)