Education concepts

Question 1

The view that all members of society should have the same chance (i.e. opportunity) to succeed. Functionalists see the education system as a ladder of opportunity.

Answer 1

equality of opportunity

Question 2

The opportunities, or lack of opportunities, to acquire material, social and cultural rewards. In a meritocracy, all social groups ideally experience the same opportunities

Answer 2

life chances

Question 3

A type of society in which intelligence, ability & effort (i.e. merit) are rewarded through an achievement-orientated and universalistic education system

Answer 3

Meritocracy

Question 4

The wide range of social institutions and groups that transmit key cultural values and norms to children and adults, building upon and supplementing what has been learnt through primary socialisation in the family. For example, functionalists regard the education system as a bridge between the home and wider society.

Answer 4

Secondary Socialisation

Question 5

A sense of belonging to a particular social group, community or society. A vital function of the education system is to integrate new members of society into the existing culture, e.g. through teaching History.

Answer 5

social intergration

Question 6

The unification of diverse groups so that they feel a common sense of mutual interests, community, social integration and a strong sense of belonging to a particular society.

Answer 6

Social Solidarity

Question 7

Durkheim thought that to operate smoothly a society needed values that were shared by all of its members. If people identify with their society and are committed to its values, then there is social cohesion.

Answer 7

Social cohesion

Question 8

A set of values used to judge individuals on meritocratic criteria such as examinations, qualifications, skill, ability, suitability etc. Such values are seen as a key characteristic of achievement-orientated societies such as modern Western nations. Unlike particularistic values, which are our own familial values.

Answer 8

Universalism

Question 9

Suggests that the role of agencies such as education is to socialise members of society into shared norms and values, which is the basis of social order.

Answer 9

value consenus

Question 10

Davis & Moore’s concept for how schools select and allocate pupils to their future work positions, i.e. education sifts and sorts according to ability.

Answer 10

role allocation

Question 11

Who does what; how tasks/roles are allocated. Durkheim described a function of the education system as teaching ‘specialist skills’ so society can operate efficiently

Answer 11

Division of Labour

Question 12

Social control

Answer 12

Refers to the written and unwritten rules that we follow; contributes to social order.

Question 13

Correspondence principle

Answer 13

Bowles and Gintis’ concept describing the way that the organisation and control of schools mirrors (or ‘corresponds to’) the workplace in capitalist society. For example, the control teachers exert over pupils, mirrors the control managers exert over workers.

Question 14

Counter-school culture / pupil subculture

Answer 14

A deviant anti-school subculture which may be formed because pupils feel that they are not valued by the school or because they do not identify with the value system and goals of the school.

Question 15

Hidden curriculum

Answer 15

The ways in which the organisation of teaching, knowledge and school regulations and routines shape pupil attitudes and behaviour in order to encourage conformity.

Question 16

Hierarchy

Answer 16

Refers to different levels within an organisation, e.g. schools; the higher up the position is, the more power and authority it has. Instructions go down the hierarchy from top to bottom.

Question 17

Ideology

Answer 17

A set of ideas that attempts to explain why society is organised the way it is, based on a view of how society should be organised.

Question 18

Ideological state
apparatus

Answer 18

Used to describe institutions such as education, which are part of the superstructure of society. Their main function is to transmit ruling class ideology to convince the working class that inequality is natural and normal, so ensuring their consent. When consent breaks down, repressive state apparatuses, e.g. the police and armed forces, may be used.

Question 19

Myth of meritocracy

Answer 19

Bowles and Gintis’ claim that meritocracy is an ideology legitimating inequality by falsely claiming that everyone has equal opportunity and that unequal rewards are the natural result of unequal ability.

Question 20

Cultural capital

Answer 20

Knowledge, attitudes, values, language, tastes and abilities of the middle class, giving an advantage to those who possess it.

Question 21

Malestream

Answer 21

Feminists describe the way that much Sociology either ignored women or failed to treat women as different from men.

Question 22

Symbolic annihilation

Answer 22

When a social group is either absent from the media or misrepresented, it is said to have been symbolically annihilated. Feminists argue that this happens to women; typically, there is less coverage of women in the media, women are portrayed in stereotyped ways, often focusing on their appearance rather than their abilities. Can link in with the ‘invisibility of women’ – McCabe.

Question 23

Transgressive women

Answer 23

If women do not conform to traditional stereotypes and expectations, they can be seen as ‘transgressing’ or going beyond their roles. Transgressive women are often targeted for criticism and/or hostility.

Question 24

Double standards of
sexual morality

Answer 24

A double standard exists when we apply one set of moral standards to one group but a different set to another group. For example, sexual conquest is approved of and given status by male peers and ignored by male teachers, but negatively labelled regarding girls.

Question 25

Equal opportunity policies

Answer 25

Initiatives such as GIST (Girls into Science and Technology) and WISE (Women into Science and Engineering), which aim to encourage pupils to pursue careers in non-traditional areas.

Question 26

Gender domains

Answer 26

Tasks and activities that boys and girls see as male or female territory and therefore as relevant to themselves, e.g. mending a car is seen as falling within the male gender regime but looking after a sick child is not.

Question 27

Gender role socialisation

Answer 27

The social process by which children learn their gender roles. Although much of this training goes on in the family, secondary agents of socialisation, such as education and the mass media, also make a significant contribution.

Question 28

Gender stereotyping

Answer 28

The process by which behaviour and attitudes of males and females are defined in exaggerated and over-simplified ways so that they are generalised to all males and females.

Question 29

Glass ceiling

Answer 29

A metaphorical term, used mainly by feminists, describing an invisible symbolic barrier that prevents women from breaking through to professional and managerial jobs and achieving the same career goals and pay as similarly qualified men.

Question 30

Male gaze

Answer 30

Mac an Ghaill refers to the male gaze as the way male pupils and teachers look girls up and down, seeing them as sexual objects and making judgements about their appearance. This is a form of surveillance through which dominant heterosexual masculinity is reinforced and femininity devalued.

Question 31

Classroom interaction

Answer 31

The daily contact between teachers and pupils in the classroom that is alleged to have both positive and negative outcomes for pupils in terms of their success or failure.

Question 32

Labelling

Answer 32

When an identifying characteristic is placed on a person by others. It identifies them as a certain kind of person e.g. a student branded as ‘stupid’ or ‘clever’.

Question 33

Self-fulfilling prophecy

Answer 33

A person sees themselves in terms of the label placed upon them and acts accordingly. In this way, the prophecy others have made (e.g. teachers) comes to pass. This idea originated with the Rosenthal & Jacobson study – Pygmalion in the Classroom.

Question 34

Halo effect

Answer 34

Those who have been labelled positively tend to be seen positively in the future; this might mean being given the benefit of the doubt, e.g. a ‘good’ student might be believed that their reason for being late is genuine.

Question 35

Pupil subculture

Answer 35

The distinctive norms and values developed by groups of young people in schools, for example, the anti-school subculture, ‘The Lads’, identified by Paul Willis in his study of working-class boys in a secondary school.

Question 36

Banding

Answer 36

A form of streaming or setting used in schools

Question 37

streaming

Answer 37

The placement of pupils into class groups in terms of their perceived ability. They are taught at that level for all subjects e.g. Class 1 are taught together daily.

Question 38

Setting

Answer 38

The placement of pupils into subject groups in terms of their perceived ability e.g. Set 1 Maths; Set 3 Art.

Question 39

Formal curriculum

Answer 39

Consists of the knowledge and skills which pupils are expected to acquire. In state schools, the National Curriculum is laid down by the government and is spelt out in detail in official publications.

Question 40

Hidden curriculum

Answer 40

The messages schools transmit to pupils without directly teaching them or spelling them out. It consists of ideas, beliefs, norms and values which are often taken for granted and transmitted as part of the normal routines and procedures of school life. It includes the unwritten, and often unstated, rules and regulations which guide and direct everyday school behaviour, e.g. conformity.

Question 41

postmodernism

Answer 41

The theoretical study of postmodernity and social change. Those who research postmodernity describe themselves as postmodernists.

Question 42

postmodernity

Answer 42

A condition of society where there have been changing patterns of consumption, globalisation, changes in work and leisure.

Question 43

Postmodernisation

Answer 43

Describes the way that society has become increasingly technological in recent years. Education has reflected changes in technology, e.g. devices and internet use.

Question 44

diversity

Answer 44

A characteristic of postmodernity where variety is commonplace. The education system should reflect diversity and cater for the changing needs of students today, e.g. access to varying opinions in schools, embracing social diversity among students, as well as providing different types of educational establishment, rather than a one-size-fits all approach.

Question 45

fragmentation

Answer 45

Society has become increasingly diverse and disjointed and people have a variety of identities and interests. A traditional education system cannot adequately cater for students today.

Question 46

cultural pick and mix

Answer 46

Choosing ideas, products, clothing etc. from a variety of sources, reflecting the individualistic nature of postmodernity. Also challenges traditional ideas and points to the need for schools to help students in the process of creating their identities and making active choices.

Question 47

Discourse

Answer 47

Refers to how we think and discuss ideas about people, society and how it is organised; it includes the relationships within society. What we think about, and how we think, reflect the society we live in: the language available, the distribution of power and the ideas we are exposed to. Over time, challenges to dominant ideas emerge and new forms of discourse develop. Postmodernists point to the relative nature of knowledge. Think of ‘facts’ from the past e.g. world is flat. Teachers and students construct knowledge together, rather than traditional notions of education where teachers pass on knowledge to students.

Question 48

post fordism

Answer 48

Production in postmodern society is based on flexible specialisation i.e. production is customised for smaller markets using advanced technology, rather than Fordist forms of mass production for mass markets typified by the rigid assembly-line methods found in car plants worldwide (first introduced by the Ford Motor Company).

Question 49

marketisation

Answer 49

The policy of introducing market forces of supply and demand into areas run by the state, such as education. The 1988 Education Reform Act began the marketisation of education by encouraging competition between schools and choice for parents.

Question 50

open enrolment

Answer 50

This forms part of the marketisation of education and allows successful schools to recruit more pupils.

Question 51

Self management of schools

Answer 51

Head teachers are given the responsibility to organise how the school is run, e.g. control of school budgets etc.

Question 52

consumer choice

Answer 52

The idea that parents and pupils have the ability to select schools and are treated like buyers of education, e.g. Open Day, prospectus, online inspection reports etc.

Question 53

parentocracy

Answer 53

Miriam David’s concept for the control parents have over education (rule by parents) as a result of marketisation policies. Parents are given more choice as educational consumers. For example, a parent’s choice to live in the catchment area for a particular school potentially determines that child’s educational success. Critics argue parentocracy is a myth and disguises increased inequality.