Sociology for Cambridge IGCSE™ and O Level - Unit 5: Education

Flashcards of key vocabulary terms and definitions from the Sociology for Cambridge IGCSE and O Level Unit 5: Education textbook.

Formal education

Education that takes place in classrooms, with professional teachers and set content to be taught and learnt.

Informal education

Education that takes place outside the classroom or through daily interactions, including lessons learned beyond the official curriculum, such as obedience and respect.

Official curriculum

The subjects that are taught and the content to be covered in a formal educational setting.

Hidden curriculum

What students learn in school, apart from the content of lessons, such as the importance of following rules and the consequences of not doing so.

State school

A school that is funded and run, directly or indirectly, by the government.

Private school

A school that is funded by fees paid by parents or guardians of learners; not run or controlled by the government.

Selective school

A school that chooses its learners, usually based on their ability.

Non-selective school

A school which accepts all learners, regardless of ability.

Single-sex school

A school which only accepts either male or female learners.

Co-educational school

A school which accepts both male and female learners.

Faith school

A school which is linked to a particular religion or faith and promotes that faith through its ethos and curriculum.

International school

A school which delivers an alternative education to the local schools in a particular country.

Online learning

Distance education delivered electronically, via the internet, using digital technology.

Homeschooling

Education of school-aged children in the home, rather than at school.

Unschooling

Informal learning without lessons or a curriculum, in which the learner chooses what and how to learn.

Progressive schooling

Education which breaks away from traditional lessons and curriculum and focuses on experience.

Vocational learning

Learning skills necessary for a particular career or area of work.

Meritocracy

A system in which individuals reach the social positions they deserve, based on their educational achievement, talent, and skills.

Social mobility

The movement of individuals or groups up or down the social hierarchy.

Role allocation

Sorting individuals into appropriate jobs and roles based on achievement in school.

Value consensus

Widespread agreement on values.

Equal opportunities

When everyone has the same chance of succeeding.

Standardised testing

When all learners take the same assessments, which are marked in the same way.

Setting by ability

When children are taught a particular subject with other children of a similar ability.

Vocationalism

Vocational education that prepares people for work or trains them for particular jobs or careers.

Myth of meritocracy

The idea that equality of opportunity does not actually exist, so belief in meritocracy is false.

Gendered curriculum

When the content of the teaching has a bias towards one gender, usually boys.

Educational inequality

When different groups (based on class, gender, and ethnicity) are treated or educated differently or have different levels of educational achievement.

Educational achievement

How well individuals do in the school system, usually measured by exam results.

Material deprivation

Being unable to afford material goods which most people in a given society would see as necessities.

Cultural capital

The knowledge, taste, and values associated with the higher classes.

Compensatory education

Educational policies including financial aid, additional classes, and tutoring which aim to support children from disadvantaged backgrounds and close the achievement gap.

Anti-school sub-culture

A group of learners whose norms and values reject those of the school.

Pro-school sub-culture

A group of learners whose norms and values agree with those of the school.

Labelling

Defining a person or group in a particular way.

Institutional racism

When the functioning of an institution or organisation involves systems and expectations that lead to discrimination against an ethnic group.

Ethnocentric curriculum

A curriculum which is focused on one culture in a society, implicitly telling students from minority groups that their own culture has less value.