AQA A Level Sociology - Education Flashcards

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts from the AQA A Level Sociology Unit 2: Education material.

State Schools

Schools which are funded by the government

Private Schools

Fee paying schools

Alternative Provision

Schools for those that are unable to attend main stream education

Community schools or maintained schools

Schools are funded by the local authority and not influenced by business or religious groups and follow the national curriculum

Private / Independent Schools

Schools where students pay fees in order to attend, they can be day schools or boarding schools but they are independent of the regulations and conditions which apply to state funded schools

Pupil Referral Units – PRUs

A type of school that caters for children who can’t attend a mainstream school. Pupils are often referred there if they need greater care and support than their school can provide.

Foundation and voluntary schools

funded by the local authority but have more freedom to change the way they do things - sometimes they are supported by representatives from religious groups.

City Technology Colleges (CTCs)

All-ability secondary schools based in urban centres and geared towards science, maths, technology and preparing students for the world of work.

Grammar schools

State secondary schools that are free to attend but select their pupils by means of an examination taken by children at age 11, known as the "11-plus"

Special Education Schools

A school catering for students who have special educational needs due to learning difficulties, physical disabilities or behavioral problems.

Public Schools

Schools which are long established and are fee paying but also require an entrance exam in order to attend.

Academy schools

State-funded schools in England which are directly funded by the Department for Education but independent of local authority control.

Free schools

Funded by the government but are not run by the local authority. They have more control over how they do things. They’re ‘all- ability’ schools, so can not use academic selection processes.

International Schools

Schools which cater to the international community and follow an international curriculum such as the Internal Baccalureate, International Primary Curriculum and iGCSE’s

Home Schooling

Means learning outside of the public or private school environment.

Faith schools

Have to follow the national curriculum, but they can choose what they teach in religious studies.

Single Sex Schools

Schools which select based on gender. They are 100% Male or Female in the student body, although many become co-Ed at 6th form level.

A state boarding school

One where you pay for boarding and the education is free. The government pays for the education as it would at any other state school in England.

Higher Education

18+

Further Education

16 – 19 years old

Secondary School

Key Stage 3 / Year 7 – 9 11 – 14 years old

Secondary School

Key Stage 4 / Year 10 – 11 14 – 16 years old

Primary School

Key Stage 1 / Year 1 & 3 5 – 8 years old

Primary School

Key Stage 2 / Year 4 – 6 8 – 11 years old

Early Years and Foundation Stage

Nursery 0 - 4 years old Reception 4 – 5 years old

Human Capital

Means the stock of Knowledge, skills, values, habits and creativity that makes someone an economic asset to society.

Hidden Curriculum

Means the informal learning processes that happen in school It is a side effect of education that teaches students the norms and values of society.

Particularistic Values

Means values and Rules which only apply to that particular Person in a given situation (e.g. Home)

Universalistic Values

Means values and Rules which apply to all members of Society equally.

Developing Human Capital

Suggests that investment in education benefits the wider economy. Education can provide properly trained, qualified and flexible workforce.

Role Allocation

The education systems provides a means to selecting and sifting people into the social hierarchy. In a meritocratic society access to jobs and power, wealth and status are directly linked to educational achievement.

New Right View of Education

Schools should compete with one another and parents and pupils should be seen as consumers.

Ideological State Apparatus

A Social institution whose main role is to pass on the dominate ideology of the Ruling class.

Repressive State Apparatus

A social institution whose role it is to enforce the dominant ideology by force or threat of force – e.g. police

Correspondence Principal

The ways in which the education system Mirrors the world of work. E.g. hierarchy, punctuality and Hidden Curriculum

Hidden Curriculum

The informal learning processes that happen in school it is a side effect of education that teaches students the norms and values of society.

Althusser

The main role of education is to maintain capitalism and reproduce social inequality.

Bowles and Gintis Correspondence principal

School processes mirror the world of work in order to prepare them for manual labour.

Equality of Access

Each child should have the same opportunities to access educational provision of similar quality regardless of socio- economic background.

Equality of circumstance

Children should all start school with a similar socio-economic background so that they are all truly equal.

Equality of Participation

All students have the chance to participant on an equal footing in the processes that make up school life.

Equality of outcome

All students have the same chances of achievement in education regardless of socio- economic background.

Schools Admissions Code

Forbids discrimination in admitting pupil on grounds of socio-economic backgrounds or ability.

Pupil Premium

Additional funding for those students from a poor socio-economic background.

Open Enrolment Polices & Parental Choice

Mean that parents can apply to any state school, in any area and if the school is under subscribed they must take the child.

Marketisation

The process of where by services like education are pushed towards operating like a business based on supply and demand. Students are considered consumers rather than pupils.

Privatisation in Education

Changing the internal processes of a school to be more like a business, for example treating Parents and students as consumers, target setting, performance related pay and league tables.

Privatisation of Education

Opening up aspects of education to Private businesses such as staff training, school finances, school Management (academy chains) and Exams

Independence

Allowing schools to run themselves how they see fit.

Competition

Making schools compete with each other for students.

Choice

Giving customers (parents and students) more choice in where they go to school.

Parentocracy

Parents are able to have more choice over where to send their children.

Globalisation

The increased interconnectedness between people and nation states. Includes technological, economic and cultural interconnectedness.

Migration

The movement of peoples from one place to another. Either within a country or between countries.

PISA Tests

The Programme for International Student Assessment is a worldwide study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in member and non-member nations intended to evaluate educational systems by measuring 15- year-old school pupils' scholastic performance on mathematics, science, and reading.

PREVENT Policy

Prevent is about safeguarding and supporting those vulnerable to radicalisation. Prevent is 1 of the 4 elements of CONTEST, the Government’s counter- terrorism strategy. It aims to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism.

Creation of global citizens

Hyper Globalist View, Ohmae

Marxist View

Global Corporatiins are setting the education agenda - Joel Spring

Neo-Liberal View

Globalisation allows for private schools and universities to expand around the world.

Restricted Code

W/C Limited vocab Short unfinished sentences Grammatically simple Context bound

Elaborate Code

M/C Wide vocab Grammatically complex Varied and abstract Context free

Ideal Pupil

The characteristics that a teacher subconsciously looks for in a good pupil.

Self Fulfilling prophecy

When a pupil takes on the label that they have been by the school and acts accordingly.

Labelling theory

Suggest that teachers often attach a label to a pupil that has little to do with their actual ability or aptitude.

Setting

Placing students in groups according to ability in individual subjects.

Streaming

Placing students in groups according to ability across all subjects.

Subcultures

A group of people within culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs often maintaining some of the founding principals but developing their own norms and values.

Symbolic Capital

The status, recognition and sense of worth that students receive from others.

Symbolic Violence

Using symbolic capital in a negative way, for example demonstrating superiority through values, beliefs and attitudes.

Working Class Dilemma

The dilemma faced by working class pupils to achieve symbolic capital from their friends or academic capital by rejecting working class identity.

Differentiation

The process of teachers categorising pupils according to how they perceive their ability, attitude and behaviour. Streaming is a form of differentiation, as it categorises pupils into different classes

Polarisation

The process by which pupils respond to differentiation by moving towards one of two opposite poles or extremes, ie pro or anti school subcultures.

Pro – School Subcultures Characteristics

Committed to school values. Gain approval / status through academic success. Involved in wider life of the school.

Anti – School subcultures Characteristics

Lower streams. Rejection of school values. Truanting. Disruption. Not doing homework.

Educational Achievement

Refers to the qualifications achieved at the end of Formal Education (e.g. GCSE’s, degrees, A-levels, diploma’s, doctorates, certificates)

Differential Educational Achievement

Refers to the differing levels of Educational Success individuals might achieve within the education system, when studied across different social groupings

Internal Factors

Factors inside of school which impact a students educational achievement.

External Factors

Factors outside of school which impact a students educational achievement.

Official Statistics

Data that is collected and published by government or government agencies.

Educational Triage

Putting students into 3 streams. M/C in the top streams, C/D Boarder line, W/C in lower streams.

A-C Economy

Schools are judged based on the number of students who Achieve A – C grades at GCSE.

Middle Class

Occupations that are mostly white collar and professional jobs. Highly Educated

Working Class

Mostly blue collar and manual jobs. Low educational achievement.

External Factors

Elements from outside of the school environment which will effect educational achievement.

Cultural Deprivation

The way parents communicate with their children essential part of cognitive development

Material deprivation

Poverty and lack of material necessities which aid educational achievement.

Cultural Deprivation

Having inferior norms and values, skills and knowledge that make it difficult to access education.

Material Deprivation

not having the resources or spaces available to do well in school – linked to poverty.

Ethnicity

A social group that shares a common and distinctive culture, religion, language, or the like. This is different to race which is related to biology.

Gilbourn & Youdell

Teachers were quick to discipline Black pupils than others for similar behaviour.

Foster

Teachers stereotypes of black students could result in them being put in lower sets and there for a self fulfilling prophecy of under achievement.

Archer:

Eachers often define pupils by stereotypical ethnic identities which often lack the favoured ideal pupil characteristics. This leads to negative labelling.

Archer

teachers dominant way of looking at things shapes and defines the pupils ethnic identity. When students challenge these stereotypes they are treated more harshly.

Maths Physics Technology

Boys

English Social Sciences Business Humanities Languages

Neutral

Gender Gap in Achievement

Starting school Girls were out performing boys in literacy, language, maths and PSED

Equal Opportunities

Government policies for education that have aimed to create more opportunities for girls to take part in what have traditionally been make subjects for example GIST & WISE.

role models

In the last 20 years there has been an increase in the number of females taking up head teacher and senior teacher roles which acts as role model for girls showing them that they can achieve positions of importance and power.

Diane Reay

Class gender and ambition myth of meritocracy

Literacy

girls are socialised to talk and discuss which increases their vocab. Lower vocabulary limits achievement through language code and the ability of students to express ideas coherently.