Unit 6: Education Key Concepts Flashcards
1
Q
What is an Academy?
A
A failed school taken over by the central government in partnership with private sponsors to raise achievement.
2
Q
Define Achievement in education.
A
The level of schooling successfully completed and the ability to attain success in studies.
3
Q
What is an Anti-school subculture?
A
The values shared by a group of pupils that run counter to the values of the school as a whole.
4
Q
What is an Attitude survey?
A
A range of questions to measure opinions on topics such as education, family life, and environmental issues.
5
Q
Define Bias.
A
Being one-sided rather than neutral or open-minded.
6
Q
What is a Case study?
A
A detailed study of a particular institution, e.g., education.
7
Q
What is a Census?
A
A questionnaire survey conducted every 10 years to collect information on the whole population.
8
Q
Define Citizenship.
A
Participation in political community and the relationship between the citizen and society.
9
Q
What is a Closed question?
A
A fixed choice question that requires the respondent to choose between given answers.
10
Q
What is Competition in education?
A
A contest to become the best, encouraged to help improve standards.
11
Q
Define Comprehensive school.
A
A non-selective education system where all children can attend regardless of ability.
12
Q
What is Compulsory state education?
A
A period when a child must attend education, typically until the age of 16 in the UK.
13
Q
Define Confidentiality in research.
A
An agreement to keep information about a participant private.
14
Q
What is Conformity?
A
Behaviour that complies with or follows society’s norms and values.
15
Q
Define Consensus.
A
A broad agreement of norms and values.
16
Q
What is Content analysis?
A
The analysis of documents and images by creating categories and counting theme appearances.
17
Q
Define Continuity in social structures.
A
Lack of social change; structures, values, and norms remain the same over time.
18
Q
What is the Correspondence principle?
A
The way in which what is learned in school mirrors what is required in the workplace.
19
Q
What is a Counter school subculture?
A
A group within a school that rejects the values and norms of the school.
20
Q
Define Covert observation.
A
Observing activities without informing members that research is being conducted.
21
Q
What is Cultural capital?
A
The knowledge, attitudes, and values that give middle-class children an advantage in education.
22
Q
Define Cultural deprivation.
A
Culturally based differences between people in a social group.
23
Q
What are Cultural values?
A
Core principles and ideals upon which a community exists, including customs and beliefs.
24
Q
Define Culture.
A
The whole way of life of a particular society, including values and norms.
25
What is a Curriculum?
The subject content to be taught in state schools as decided by government.
26
Define Data in research.
Information collected and analysed during a research process.
27
What is Data analysis?
Interpreting the information collected during research and summarising the main findings.
28
What is Data protection?
Legal protection for identifiable research participants who can request to see their data.
29
Define De-schooling.
The idea that the current organization of the education system should be abolished.
30
What is Discrimination?
Less favourable or unfair treatment based on characteristics like age or gender.
31
Define Economy.
A system by which goods and services are produced, distributed, and consumed.
32
What is Education?
Receiving systematic knowledge or instruction, particularly in a school or university.
33
Define Education reform.
Any planned changes in the way a school system functions.
34
What does Egalitarian mean?
Based on the idea that people are equal.
35
What is the Eleven plus exam?
An examination taken at age 11-12 to determine the type of secondary school a child should enter.
36
Define Employment.
The state of having paid work.
37
What are Ethical considerations in research?
Issues like informed consent and confidentiality that must be considered for morally acceptable research.
38
What is Ethnic diversity?
Having a range of different ethnic groups in a society.
39
Define Ethnic group.
A social group whose members share an identity based on cultural traditions.
40
What is an Ethnic minority?
A group within a community with different national or cultural traditions from the main population.
41
Define Ethnicity.
Cultural traditions, norms, and values that distinguish members of a social group.
42
What is an Ethnocentric curriculum?
A curriculum that judges things from the point of view of one culture.
43
Define Ethnography.
The study of people's cultures and practices in everyday settings.
44
What does Ethos refer to in a school?
The values and beliefs within a school.
45
What is Exclusion from school?
Prevention of a child from attending school due to bad behaviour.
46
Define Expectations in education.
Hopes or beliefs about what something will be like.
47
What is a Fee paying school?
Schools where parents pay fees and set their own curriculum and admissions policies.
48
Define Feminism.
A movement that fights for gender equality in society.
49
What are Feminists?
Sociologists exploring how gender operates in society and advocating for gender equality.
50
What is a Focus group?
A type of group interview focusing on one particular topic.
51
Define Formal curriculum.
The education system providing students with learning of subjects through the national curriculum.
52
What is Formal education?
Education that is systematic and runs on a set calendar and timetable.
53
What is a Free school?
Schools funded directly by the state, set up by parents, teachers, or businesses.
54
Define Functionalism.
An approach explaining social structures in terms of the functions they perform.
55
What is a Functionalist?
A person who believes in functionalism.
56
What are Functionally important roles?
Key positions in society that provide essential functions and services.
57
What is Further education?
Education after leaving school but not in university, such as A levels or BTECs.
58
Define Gender.
Social rules and ways of acting based on whether one is male or female.
59
What are Gender roles?
Behaviours expected for each gender associated with masculinity and femininity.
60
What is a Gendered curriculum?
The idea that the curriculum fits differently for boys and girls.
61
Define Glass ceiling in relation to women in employment.
An invisible barrier to promotion faced by some groups including women.
62
What is a Hidden curriculum?
The way teaching and school regulations shape pupil attitudes and behaviours.
63
Define Higher education.
Education at universities or similar establishments, especially to degree level.
64
What is Home tuition?
Teaching children at home instead of at school, usually by parents or private tutors.
65
What is a Hypothesis?
A prediction that can be tested and either supported or refuted.
66
Define Image in social context.
A representation or picture of a particular social group.
67
What is an Immigrant?
A person who has migrated to another country to live and work.
68
Define Immigration.
The process of moving to another country to live and work.
69
What is Inclusion in education?
All students attend and are welcomed by their schools and supported to learn.
70
Define Income.
The flow of resources that individuals and households receive over a specified period.
71
What is Informal education?
Education that occurs outside of a structured curriculum.
72
Define Informed consent.
The research participant agrees to participate after being fully informed about the research.
73
What is Institutional racism?
Discrimination resulting from the structure and practices of an organization.
74
What does Intelligence quotient (IQ) represent?
A number representing a person's reasoning ability compared to the statistical norm.
75
Define Interactionism.
A perspective focusing on how people interact daily.
76
What are Interest groups?
Members of a group who share common concerns and try to influence governments.
77
What is an Interview?
A method to collect data where an interviewer asks questions and the interviewee responds.
78
Define Labelling.
Names given to individuals by teachers that influence their behaviour.
79
What are League tables in education?
Lists indicating the position of each school based on exam performance.
80
What are Life chances?
Opportunities that present themselves to people affecting positive or negative outcomes.
81
Define Lifestyle.
The way people live, influenced by factors like religion, age, and social class.
82
What is a Lone parent family?
A person bringing up children without a partner's support.
83
Define Longitudinal study.
A study of the same group conducted over a long period with follow-up surveys.
84
What is Marketization of education?
Changes to make the education system more business-like, introducing market forces.
85
Define Marxism.
A form of sociology based on the idea that rich people dominate poorer people.
86
What is a Marxist?
Someone who believes in Marxism.
87
What is Mass media?
Forms of communication that reach large audiences, including newspapers and TV.
88
Define Master status.
A status that overrides all of an individual's other statuses.
89
What is Meritocracy?
A social system where rewards are allocated based on merit.
90
Define Middle class.
A social class made up of people in non-manual, managerial, and professional occupations.
91
What is Mixed ability in education?
Pupils of different abilities are taught within the same class.
92
Define Mixed methods research.
The use of different methods within one project to generate quantitative and qualitative data.
93
What is the National Curriculum?
Subjects and content that must be studied by all children in state schools.
94
What is News value?
Media professionals' ideas about what issues are seen as newsworthy.
95
Define Non-participant observation.
A research method where the sociologist observes but does not take part.
96
What are Norms?
Rules defining appropriate and expected behaviour within a setting.
97
What is Observation in research?
A method where data is gathered by observing.
98
What is Ofsted?
The Government agency monitoring the quality of schools and teachers in the UK.
99
Define Open question.
A question allowing respondents to provide their own answer.
100
What is Organised religion?
A religion with systematic and formally established belief systems.
101
Define Participant observation.
A qualitative research method where the researcher joins a group to study it.
102
What are Particularistic standards?
Judgements made in the home that are not compared to others, contrasting with educational standards.
103
Define Pluralism.
An approach arguing that multiple views and interests exist in society.
104
What is Popular press?
Daily tabloid newspapers with large readerships.
105
What is Primary data?
Information gathered first-hand through research methods.
106
Define Privatisation in the economy.
The transfer of a business from public to private ownership.
107
What is Propaganda?
Information used to promote a particular viewpoint or cause.
108
Define Public examinations.
Exams set by a central examining board, e.g., GCSE, A level.
109
What is Qualitative data?
Research concerned with the quality of feeling and emotion.
110
What is Quality press?
Newspapers that cover serious news issues.
111
Define Quantitative data.
Information that can be counted.
112
What is a Questionnaire?
A set of structured, standardised questions.
113
What is a Quota sample?
A sampling method where an exact number is gained from certain categories.
114
Define Racial discrimination.
When people are treated differently based on their cultural or ethnic background.
115
What is Racism?
When people are treated less favourably based on their ethnicity.
116
What is a Random sample?
A sample where each member of the population has an equal chance of being selected.
117
Define Reliability in research.
Repeating a study to check if findings are consistent.
118
What is Representative data/sample?
Data reflecting the characteristics of the population well.
119
Define Research.
Collecting data in an organised way using methods like interviews or questionnaires.
120
What is a Respondent?
The person providing information needed for research.
121
Define Role conflict.
When the demands of one role conflict with another role.
122
What are Roles?
Patterns of behaviours acceptable for a person occupying a certain role.
123
Define Rural.
Country life, typically more sparsely populated than cities.
124
What is a Sample?
A subgroup taken from a larger population.
125
What does a representative sample allow researchers to do?
Generalise from a representative sample
## Footnote
A representative sample reflects the characteristics of the population well.
126
What is research?
Collecting data in an organised way by certain methods; interview, observation, questionnaire
127
Who is a respondent?
The person who gives the information needed
128
What is role conflict?
When the demands of one of our roles conflict with another role
129
Define roles in sociology.
The pattern of behaviours that are acceptable behaviours for the person occupying that role
130
What characterises rural areas?
Country life, these are more sparsely populated than cities
131
What is a sample in research?
Subgroup of the population who are selected for study
132
What is a sampling frame?
A complete list of all the members of the population from which the sample are drawn
133
What are sanctions?
Rewards or punishments to those who conform or break rules
134
What does SATs stand for?
Assessment method used at the end of each key stage of schooling
135
What is secondary data?
Information that sociologists can use as evidence that already exists in one form or another
136
What is secondary socialisation?
The kind of socialisation that takes place outside the family
137
Define selective schools.
Where schools have some form of criteria that need to be met in order for someone to go to that school
138
What does selective use of data refer to?
Where a large amount of data is overlooked leading to supressing evidence or 'cherry-picking' biased figures
139
What is a self-fulfilling prophecy?
Where people who are labelled begin to believe their label and behave as such
140
What does setting in education mean?
A way of dividing pupils into groups for particular subjects based on their ability in those subjects
141
True or False: Sex (gender) discrimination treats someone less favourably because of their gender.
True
142
What is sexism?
Discrimination based on gender or sex
143
What is a snowball sample?
A researcher contacts one member of the population who finds other people to study
144
What does social change refer to?
A change in social attitudes, behaviours, norms, values and relationships
145
Define social class.
Stratification that is based on economic factors such as occupation and income
146
What is social cohesion?
The idea that people in society should have a shared set of values and attitudes
147
What is a social construct?
Views of education influenced by the values and norms of society
148
What are the two types of social control?
* Formal (based on laws and rules)
* Informal (via social pressure, e.g., peers and family)
149
What is social exclusion?
Being shut out from participating in society's social, economic, political and cultural life
150
What is social mobility?
Movement up or down between the layers in society
151
What does social stratification refer to?
The way society is divided into hierarchies or layers
152
What is socialisation?
The process where people learn the culture, norms and values of their society
153
What is a society?
A group who share a culture or a way of life
154
What is a special school?
A school for children who have serious physical or mental illness
155
What is a specialist school?
Centres of excellence in particular subject areas, such as languages or technology
156
Define status in sociology.
Social position in society, e.g., occupations or families
157
What is a stereotype?
A fixed, standardised or distorted view of the characteristics of a particular group
158
What is a subculture?
A group with its own set of values and behaviour distinct from the general culture
159
What is a survey?
Research that is filled in by the respondent, such as questionnaires and interviews
160
What is a systematic sample?
A sampling technique that takes every nth item from the sampling frame
161
What are teacher expectations?
Judgments made by teachers that might affect a child's chances of educational achievement
162
What is technological change?
Developments in technology such as computers, IVF, mobiles
163
What is a theoretical perspective?
Ideas to explain the social world, such as functionalism, Marxism, feminism
164
What is a trend in relation to data?
A general direction in which statistics change over time
165
What is triangulation in social research?
Cross-checking findings from qualitative and quantitative methods
166
What is the tripartite system?
A system created by the 1944 Education Act using the 11 plus test to allocate students to schools
167
What is unrepresentative data/sample?
A sample that does not reflect the characteristics of its population
168
What is an unstructured interview?
Informal interviews that are like guided conversations based around themes
169
What are universal standards?
Moral standards/norms that apply in wider society
170
What does urban refer to?
Cities
171
What is validity in research?
Data is valid if it gives a true picture of what is being studied
172
What is value consensus?
Agreement on values in society
173
What are values?
Beliefs and ideas about what is seen as desirable or worth striving for in society
174
What is vocationalism in education?
Work or career related education
175
What is the welfare state?
A form of government that protects and promotes the well-being of its citizens
176
Define working class.
A group of people engaged in manual occupations
177
What is a world view?
Way of seeing the social world
178
What is youth culture?
A set of fashions, values and shared norms typical of a group of young people
179
What is the myth of meritocracy?
The false belief that success is solely based on individual merit, ignoring social inequalities
180
What is homeschooling?
An educational approach where children are educated at home instead of in traditional schools
181
What is a non-selective school?
A state school that accepts students regardless of their academic ability
182
What are norms?
The expected and accepted ways of behaving in society
183
What is online learning?
Education that takes place over the internet
184
What does patriarchy refer to?
A social system where men hold primary power
185
What is progressive schooling?
An educational approach that emphasises learning through experience and social interaction
186
What is a pro-school sub-culture?
Groups within schools that accept and support the school's values and methods of teaching
187
What is role allocation?
The process by which different roles and positions in society are distributed among individuals
188
What are role models?
Individuals whose behaviour can be emulated by others, particularly the young
189
What is standardised testing?
Formal examinations administered in a consistent manner to measure student achievement
190
What is unschooling?
A form of homeschooling that emphasises learner-chosen activities for learning
191
What are values in sociology?
The principles and beliefs that a society holds as important
192
What is value consensus in sociology?
The agreement among members of society about important social values
