Glossary

Question 1

Agency

Answer 1

The capacity of individuals to act independently and to make their own free choices

Question 2

Capitalism

Answer 2

An economic and political system in which property, business and industry (the means of production) are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.

Question 3

Collective Conscience

Answer 3

A set of shared beliefs, attitudes, values and knowledge shared by all members of a group or society.

Question 4

Cultural Capital

Answer 4

The possession of cultural characteristics valued by the ruling class that can give you advantages in life. This may include educational qualifications, but may also include your vocabulary, your knowledge of the arts.

Question 5

Cultural Deprivation

Answer 5

Being deprived of the cultural attributes necessary for educational success. Cultural attributes may include basic literacy, attitudes and values.

Question 6

Compensatory Education

Answer 6

Additional educational provision for disadvantaged children to give them a helping hand to compete on equal terms

Question 7

Deterministic

Answer 7

Deterministic theories believe that individuals don’t have any choice about how they behave. Human behaviour is determined by social structures and circumstances.

Question 8

Ethnicity

Answer 8

Groups within a population regarded by themselves (or by others) as culturally distinctive and different. Members of an ethnic group usually see themselves as having a common origin, and they may share some practices or beliefs, like religious beliefs.

Question 9

Ethnocentric

Answer 9

Believing that the history, customs and traditions of your own race or nationality are superior to those of other races

Question 10

Globalisation

Answer 10

The process of all parts of the world becoming interconnected, so that national boundaries become less important

Question 11

Hidden Curriculum

Answer 11

The unwritten rules, values and behaviours that students are expected to conform to and learn while in school e.g. punctuality or respect for authority

Question 12

Ideology

Answer 12

A set of beliefs that promotes the interests of one group at the expense of others

Question 13

Institutional Racism

Answer 13

The failure of an organisation or institution to provide an effective service for people because of their colour or ethnicity. The organisation’s processes, attitudes and behaviours will discriminate - often unconsciously - through prejudice and racial stereotyping.

Question 14

Labelling

Answer 14

When labels or names are attached to people, ascribing certain characteristics to those individuals. Labels are often simplified and draw upon stereotypes.

Question 15

Legitimation

Answer 15

The process of justifying or gaining support for an idea or policy. It often involves justifying injustice or inequality, perhaps by portraying it as natural.

Question 16

Marketisation

Answer 16

Organising state-run services (like the NHS or state education) more like private companies, competing for ‘customers’.

Question 17

Material Deprivation

Answer 17

Refers to a lack of money or resources, preventing members of society from purchasing goods and services that other members of society can afford.

Question 18

Meritocracy

Answer 18

A society or system in which success or failure is seen as the result of ability and hard work.

Question 19

Patriarchy

Answer 19

A system or society in which men hold the power, and women are largely excluded from it. Women’s interests are subordinated to the interests of men.

Question 20

Relativism

Answer 20

The idea that knowledge or truth can never be absolute and universal

Question 21

Role Allocation

Answer 21

The process of deciding who does what role within a society

Question 22

Self-concept

Answer 22

The sort of person you think you are

Question 23

Self-fulfilling prophecy

Answer 23

When something happens because people expect it to happen. For example, if a child is labelled as ‘bad’, this alters their self-concept and they start thinking of themselves as ‘bad’ which means they may become ‘bad’ because that is what they think they are.

Question 24

Socialisation

Answer 24

The process through which individuals learn the behaviour and culture accepted by their society in order to fit in

Question 25

Social Mobility

Answer 25

The ability to move upwards (or downwards) between the groups of a social hierarchy e.g. move from working class to middle class