Introduction to Sociology 3e: Chapter 16

Credentialism

The emphasis on certificates or degrees to show that a person has a certain skill, has attained a certain level of education, or has met certain job qualifications.

Cultural Capital

Cultural knowledge that serves (metaphorically) as currency to help one navigate a culture.

Cultural Transmission

The way people come to learn the values, beliefs, and social norms of their culture.

Education

A social institution through which a society's children are taught basic academic knowledge, learning skills, and cultural norms.

Formal Education

The learning of academic facts and concepts.

Grade Inflation

The idea that the achievement level associated with an A today is notably lower than the achievement level associated with A-level work a few decades ago.

Head Start Program

A federal program that provides academically focused preschool to students of low socioeconomic status.

Hidden Curriculum

The type of nonacademic knowledge that people learn through informal learning and cultural transmission.

Informal Education

Education that involves learning about cultural values, norms, and expected behaviors through participation in a society.

No Child Left Behind Act

An act that requires states to test students in prescribed grades, with the results of those tests determining eligibility to receive federal funding.

Social Placement

The use of education to improve one's social standing.

Sorting

Classifying students based on academic merit or potential.

Tracking

A formalized sorting system that places students on "tracks" (advanced, low achievers) that perpetuate inequalities.

Universal Access

The equal ability of all people to participate in an education system.