WJEC Sociology: SY1

 The aim of the lesson is you to develop an awareness of how youth culture has developed since the 1950’s.  By the end of the lesson, you...  MUST be able to identify some of the key youth subcultures from the period of time that is addressed  SHOULD be able to explain the origins of some of the youth subcultures that are examined  COULD be able to discuss the commonalities and differences between several of the youth subcultures that are explored

 Culture  Subculture  Multi-cultural  Social Construction  Feral  Unsocialised  Socialisation  The origin of youth cultures  Characteristics of youth cultures (behaviours and styles)  Mainstream culture  Counterculture

 Culture: a way of life  Subculture: a way of life that is different from the mainstream  Multi-cultural: many ways of life within a society  Social Construction: something that is socially agreed and not based upon objective fact  Feral: wild  Unsocialised: where society’s norms and values have not been learnt  Socialisation : the process by which we learn norms and values

 Explain what is mean by the term culture (5 marks) A culture is a way of life. There can be many features of a culture, such a common behaviours, mannerisms and beliefs. For example, 1 or 2 The ‘stimulus material’ will be a piece of writing that relates to the question. It will appear in the question paper.

 Explain the meaning of the term culture  Explain the meaning of the term subculture  Explain the meaning of the term multi-cultural  Explain what is meant by the term social construction  Explain what is meant by the term feral  Explain what it is to be unsocialised  Explain the term socialisation Don’t be fooled! The term ‘explained’ can be interchanged with the term ‘describe’.

 Primary socialisation is the process of acquiring norms and values from parents, carers and guardians  Secondary socialisation is the process of acquiring norms and values from sources other than parents, carers and guardians such as the mass media, the education system, your belief system (religion) and, vitally, your peer group Parents, Mass Media, Peer group etc are all ‘Agents of Socialisation’.

 The family plays a vital role in primary socialisation  Children learn norms and values – the rules for living  The rules for living are reinforced by sanctions  Sanctions can be both positive and negative

 Oakley suggests that gender roles are learnt within the family  In other words, children learn the rules by which their gender is expected to behave  For example, parents tend to channel their children’s activities according to their gender  This is known a canalisation

 Parents also manipulate their child’s gender  For example, a mother may pay particular attention to a girl’s hair and appearance so that she learns that this is considered to be important for her gender In a primary sense, our parents can regarded as role models – the people that we admire and often imitate

 It is clear that the role of primary socialisation is incredibly significant  However, it is also clear that youth has long provided young people with an opportunity to react and respond to their primary socialisers – often by way of rebelling against them Don’t forget that young people may react and respond to secondary socialisers, too.

 The study of youth culture is concerned with understanding and interpreting the way in which young people react and respond to the primary and secondary socialisers that influence their lives  In addition, the study of youth culture requires us to explore the ways in which society has changed...