sociology glossary page one

Question 1

academy?

Answer 1

state-funded school which is independent from local authorities

Question 2

achievement? (in education)

Answer 2

(in education), ability to do well in official assessments, e.g. the GCSE at 16, which everyone in the UK must take

Question 3

anti-school subculture?

Answer 3

negative feelings towards school and education in a specific group of children, recognised by Willis as from usually working class background

Question 4

census?

Answer 4

official government postal survey on UK population done every 10 years

Question 5

citizenship?

Answer 5

status of being a citizen of a particular country

Question 6

competition?

Answer 6

what capitalists and Functionalists agree should happen in a meritocracy, so that standards are maintained and the best people get the best jobs

Question 7

comprehensive school?

Answer 7

state-funded secondary school which does not select on ability, and is under local authority control

Question 8

compulsory state education?

Answer 8

the education that the government says you MUST do: attend school until 16 and take GCSE’s as the minimum

Question 9

conformity?

Answer 9

situation when everyone obeys the norms and values (e.g. of society, of a school)

Question 10

consensus?

Answer 10

agreement

Question 11

continuity?

Answer 11

noun from verb “continue”

Question 12

correspondence principle?

Answer 12

idea of Marxists Bowles & Gintis, who said that school sets up children for the expectations of the workplace (but in a negative way for the working class)

Question 13

Counter-school subculture?

Answer 13

see anti-school subculture (negative feelings towards school and education in a specific group of children, recognised by Willis as from usually working class background)

Question 14

cultural capital?

Answer 14

social assets (education, intellect, style of speech, style of dress, manners, etc) gained from class-based socialisation and things like the hidden curriculum, which promote social mobility in a stratified society: an idea of Neo-Marxist Bourdieu

Question 15

cultural deprivation?

Answer 15

when a person lacks the necessary cultural capital to thrive

Question 16

cultural values?

Answer 16

values specific to a particular culture

Question 17

culture?

Answer 17

social behaviour, institutions, & norms found in societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of individuals in these groups

Question 18

curriculum?

Answer 18

list of things to be taught in schools (schools under local authority control must teach the National Curriculum in UK) – but some split this into formal (school subjects) and informal/hidden curriculum (norms and values taught).

Question 19

de-schooling

Answer 19

transition process that children and parents go through when they leave the school system in order to start homeschooling.

Question 20

discrimination?

Answer 20

prejudicial action or attitude against someone usually on basis of class, gender, ethnicity etc.

Question 21

economy?

Answer 21

activity covering production, distribution, consumption, and trade of goods and services (basically everything related to work, products and money).

Question 22

education?

Answer 22

transmission of knowledge, skills, and character traits, formally at school and informally through social interactions.

Question 23

education reform?

Answer 23

changing the existing education system.

Question 24

Egalitarian?

Answer 24

an egalitarian attitude stresses equality.

Question 25

Eleven plus?

Answer 25

the test that gains entry to grammar school in some parts of the UK.

Question 26

employment?

Answer 26

state of having paid work.

Question 27

Ethical considerations?

Answer 27

what someone must have when they do an activity which might be ethically problematic

Question 28

ethnic diversity?

Answer 28

situation where there is a range of different ethnicities.

Question 29

ethnic group?

Answer 29

a group defined by its ethnicity.

Question 30

ethnic minority?

Answer 30

an ethnic group which is statistically the minority group in a population

Question 31

ethnicity?

Answer 31

quality or fact of belonging to a population group or subgroup made up of people who share a common cultural background or descent

Question 32

Ethnocentric curriculum?

Answer 32

type of educational curriculum that is based on the cultural values and perspectives of a particular ethnic or cultural group.

Question 33

Ethnography?

Answer 33

a mostly qualitative research method which explores culture from the point of view of the subject/ group of the study - it relies heavily on participant observation.

Question 34

ethos?

Answer 34

spirit of a community as shown in its attitudes and aspirations

Question 35

exclusion?

Answer 35

when a student is stopped from coming to school because of behaviour issues