SOC313 Sociology of Education End-of-Course Assessment 2026 | SUSS, Singapore

SOC313 End-of-Course Assessment

(Full marks: 100)

Question 1 

(Word limit: 3000 words)

Singapore’s education system has long been a proponent of the meritocratic ideal, which is built on foundations of fairness and equal opportunities in society, with social and economic rewards – and upward mobility – distributed in accordance with talent and achievement in education.

Utilising journal articles from your own research and required course materials, in addition to the works of Daniel Markovits (The Meritocracy Trap) and Michael Sandel (The Tyranny of Merit):

1. Discuss how educational opportunities and outcomes in any country are influenced by family habitus/social class and elite schooling. You must provide examples to substantiate your discussion.
2. Additionally, using the sociological concepts discussed in class, analyse meritocratic education in Singapore. How does social and cultural reproduction, through the lens of privilege and inequality, occur through school and work in Singapore?
3. Propose one policy suggestion that can help address the concerns of meritocratic education in Singapore.

Your research paper MUST answer ALL parts (a), (b), and (c).

Student Notes

This research paper aims to stimulate a critical investigation into the meritocratic ideal in Singapore’s education system and beyond, through a sociological appreciation of the factors that influence educational inequalities. More pertinently, the paper should delve into how family, wealth, and differential opportunities for schooling influence stratified outcomes in education and, subsequently, in the workplace. Your paper should extend an analysis of social and cultural reproduction within schooling in Singapore, through a discussion of inherited advantages and opportunities. Lastly, you must propose a policy suggestion that ideally alleviates meritocracy-related inequalities by addressing both inherited disadvantages and the outsized effects of inherited advantages.

Be sure to fill in the self-declaration form (a copy is available under your course site on Canvas > L group > Modules) and include the completed form as a cover page for your submission (A penalty of 5 marks deduction will be imposed if this self-declaration form is incomplete, inaccurate, or missing. No appeals concerning the self-declaration form will be entertained).

(100 marks)

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