Key Concepts

Question 1

Compensatory Education Policies

Answer 1

A range of educational policies designed to provide those experiencing cultural or material deprivation with some support to help them have an equal chance of success

Question 2

Free Schools

Answer 2

Inspired by the Swedish equivalent, Gove’s school run by parents

Question 3

The Prevent Strategy

Answer 3

A group of strategies to prevent religious extremism

Question 4

Apprenticeships

Answer 4

A combination of work experience and college based vocational learning

Question 5

The Wolf Report

Answer 5

A report investigating the equality of vocational education which was very critical

Question 6

Parental Choice

Answer 6

Policies which have contributed to the ideas that the education system is run by the parents, or that parents have considerable power in shaping the education system

Question 7

Conservative Government

Answer 7

An era of policy production which focused on introducing marketisation, greater parental control and a National Curriculum

Question 8

League Tables

Answer 8

As part of the 1988 Education Reform Act, a public display of school results with the aim of making schools compete against each other and allows parental choice

Question 9

Linear A Levels

Answer 9

Post 16 education which involves a 2 year course leading to a final assessment at the end of the 2 year period, reintroduced by the coalition government

Question 10

Sure Start

Answer 10

A labour led policy with a range of ways to tackle material and cultural deprivation. Largely cut by subsequent governments.

Question 11

Vocational Education

Answer 11

Education which focuses on preparation for employment

Question 12

Marketisation Policies

Answer 12

A group of policies which introduce market forces into education

Question 13

Privatisation

Answer 13

The process of bringing private companies into education and aspiring to fee paying education

Question 14

Academies

Answer 14

Schools which have some level of business involvement in their every day running or organisation

Question 15

Education Reform Act 1988

Answer 15

A very important policy which (among other things) introduced the national curriculum, league tables and parental choice

Question 16

Comprehensive Schooling

Answer 16

A one size fits all type of school, aimed at creating a level playing field for all pupils

Question 17

Selective Education

Answer 17

A school which selects students based on some specific criteria

Question 18

OFSTED

Answer 18

An organisation which monitors the effectiveness of schools

Question 19

Social Policy

Answer 19

A set of plans or actions put into place by governments, local authorities or other organisations in order to address particular social problems

Question 20

Education Policy

Answer 20

Policies that reflect the desires and wishes of the government in power and reflect their particular vision for the education system

Question 21

Marketisation

Answer 21

Running the school like a business

Question 22

Privileged Skilled Choosers

Answer 22

mc ambitious parents using their cultural and economic capital

Question 23

Disconnected Local Choosers

Answer 23

wc parents whose choices are restricted by their lack of economic and cultural capital

Question 24

Semi-Skilled Choosers

Answer 24

Mainly wc but ambitious parents

Question 25

Meritocracy

Answer 25

Achieving based on your own merit

Question 26

Organic analogy

Answer 26

A system of inter-related parts of society which are interdependent, similar to the human body

Question 27

Role allocation

Answer 27

the selection and allocation of individuals to their future work roles, based on their educational achievement

Question 28

Ideology

Answer 28

A sets of ideas and beliefs that favour one group in society

Question 29

Correspondance principle

Answer 29

The idea that school and work are similar - the things that it values
Mirror
Operates through the hidden curriculum

Question 30

Hidden curriculum

Answer 30

The things that you aren’t directly taught at school

e.g. accepting hierarchy, competition, working for rewards

Question 31

Myth of meritocracy

Answer 31

Meritocracy is a myth, education is made to seem fair too the disadvantaged to prevent a rebellion against the system

Question 32

Universalistic Standards

Answer 32

Rules, values + standards the apply equally to all members of society
Regardless of who they are

Question 33

New Right

Answer 33

A political theory

Introduced competition + choice into the education system (marketisation)

Question 34

SFP

Answer 34

Where a prediction made about a person/ group comes true simply because it has been made

Question 35

Postmodernism

Answer 35

Approach that stresses the importance of learner choice + school diversity

Question 36

Specialist skills

Answer 36

Durkheim’s main function of education for work + industrialised complex society

Question 37

Role allocation

Answer 37

Ensured by education - ‘sifting + sorting’ mechanism

Davis + Moore

Question 38

Parentocracy

Answer 38

Child’s education = dependent upon wealth + wishes of parents
Rather than ability + efforts of pupils

Question 39

Interactionism

Answer 39

Sociological theory

Focuses on processes inside schools

Question 40

ISAs

Answer 40

Agencies such as schools serve to spread the dominant ideology + justify the power of the dominant class

Question 41

Meritocracy

Answer 41

A society in which status is achieved + rewarded by an individual’s own effort + ability