Sociology Education Key terms

Cambridge IGCSE Syllabus

Socialisation

The process of learning the norms and values of a culture.

Formal education

education that takes place in classrooms with professional teachers and a set of content to be taught.

Informal education

education that takes place outside the classroom and through daily interactions.

Official curriculum

subjects to be taught and content to be covered.

Hidden curriculum

A form of secondary socialisation that occurs in schools. It is where students learn about norms and values that a society expects of them.

Norms

behaviour expected by members of a society.

Values

shared standards of a culture which are used to judge what is right and wrong.

Social control

Ways in which members of a society are made to conform to norms and values.

Functionalism

The Idea that society works like the human body, where everyone has a role ( a function ), and these all work together to maintain social order.

Marxism

the idea that society is based on conflict between the two social classes.

Functions of education

how education contributes to society.

Gender roles

the roles and expectations associated with being male or female.

State schools

schools that are funded and run by the government.

Private schools

schools that are funded by fees paid by parents or guardians of learners. Often, a business aims for a profit.

Selective education

when schools choose their learners based on their ability.

Non-selective education

when schools accept all learners regardless of their ability.

Streaming

when children are taught all subjects in classes with other children of a similar ability.

Setting

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

Single-sex schools

schools that only accept either male or female students.

Faith schools

schools which are linked to a particular religion or faith, and they promote that religion through curriculum and ethos.

International school

one that 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.

Vocational learning

involves learning skills necessary for a particular occupation.

Progressive schooling

education which breaks away from traditional lessons and focuses on experience and creativity.

Meritocracy

a system where students reach the social positions they deserve based on 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 the school.

Value consensus

a 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.

Culture capital

knowledge, taste and values associated with higher classes.

Patriarchy

a term used by feminists to describe a society or organisation in which men are dominant, and women are subordinate.

Gender hierarchy

A system where one gender has a higher status than the other gender (eg, in a patriarchal society, men benefit).

Role model

a person someone looks up to and imitates.

Gendered curriculum

when the content being taught is biased towards one gender.

Material deprivation

not being able to afford material goods which most people in a given society would see as necessities.

Social factors

things that affect lifestyle and life chances, such as wealth, religion, and occupation.

Home factors

factors in a child’s home background that affect how they do in school.

Compensatory education

educational policies including financial aid and tutoring to support children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

In-school factors

factors at school that affect children’s educational achievement.

Pro-school subculture

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

Anti-school subculture

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

Labelling

defining a person or group in a particular way.

Self-fulfilling prophecy

when a prediction or label causes itself to become true because people act according to the label.

Self-negating prophecy

When a teacher labels a student as unable, the student works harder to prove this label wrong.

Institutional racism

when the functioning of an institution involves expectations which discriminate against an ethnic group.

Ethnocentrism

when one dominant race is promoted as the only important one by teaching its language, culture, and religion. it is the belief that people, customs and traditions are superior to other races,

Cultural deprivation

the idea that some children fail in education because their home environment does not provide the cultural resources that schools expect.

Gendered inequalities

differences in experience and outcomes for males and females based on their gender.

Gendered socialisation

the way that males and females are taught expectations relating to gender roles.