Key Concepts Flashcards
(124 cards)
1
Q
Alienation.
A
Where someone feels socially isolated due to inability to control their own lives. (Marxism on workers)
2
Q
Bourgeoisie.
A
A Marxist term for the capitalist class.
3
Q
Closed ended questions.
A
Questions that only allow a limited choice of answers from a pre-set list. Quantitative data is produced.
4
Q
Comparative Method.
A
Comparing two social groups that are alike apart from one factor.
5
Q
Compensatory Education.
A
Policies such as Operation Headstart aiming to provide support to schools and families in deprived areas.
6
Q
Comprehensive System.
A
A non-selective education system where all children attend the same type of secondary school. It was introduced in 1965.
7
Q
Content Analysis.
A
Analysing the content of documents and media output to find out how often and in what ways different things appear.
8
Q
Control Group.
A
The control group isn’t exposed to the variable under investigation and is then compared to the experimental group.
9
Q
Correlation.
A
When two variables vary together for example low social class and low educational achievement.
10
Q
Correspondence Principle.
A
Bowles and Gintis’ concept describing how school mirrors work in capitalist society, for example teachers are like managers.
11
Q
Cultural Capital.
A
The knowledge, attitudes, values, language, tastes and abilities that the middle class transmit to their children. Bourdieu argued that this advantages the middle class over the working class.
12
Q
Cultural Deprivation.
A
The theory that working class and black children are inadequately socialised and lack the ‘right’ culture needed for educational success.
13
Q
Culture.
A
The things that are learnt and shared by a society or group of people and transmitted from generation to generation through socialisation.
14
Q
Curriculum.
A
Things taught or learnt in educational institutions.
15
Q
Deferred Gratification.
A
Postponing immediate rewards or pleasures, generally with the aim of producing a greater reward at a later date e.g. revision. Seen to be a middle class characteristic.
16
Q
Dependency Culture.
A
People assume the state will support them, rather than relying on their own efforts and taking responsibility for their family. The New Right see the welfare state as over generous and encouraging said behaviour.
17
Q
Deviance.
A
Behaviour that doesn’t conform to the norms of a society or group. It is a social construction.
18
Q
Differentiation.
A
Distinguishing or creating differences between individuals or groups. Streaming is an example of this in education.
19
Q
Discrimination.
A
Treating people differently because of differences such as age, class, gender and ethnicity.
20
Q
Documents.
A
There are two types. Public documents, produced by organisations such as governments, schools, media etc. Personal documents are created by individuals and examples include letters and diaries.
21
Q
Educational Triage.
A
Sorting pupils into ‘hopeless cases’, ‘those who will pass anyway’ and ‘those will potential to pass’, and then concentrating on the latter which would boost their league table position.
22
Q
Empathy.
A
Understanding of how another person thinks, feels or acts, achieved by putting oneself in their place.
23
Q
Ethics.
A
Issues of right and wrong; moral principles or guidelines.
24
Q
Ethnic group.
A
People who share the same heritage, culture and identity, often including the same language and religion. An example could be the Bangladeshi community in Britain.
25
Ethnocentric.
Seeing or judging things in a biased way from the viewpoint of one particular culture. The National Curriculum has been described as this as it seems to value white British culture.
26
Experiments.
A lab experiment is a test carried out in controlled conditions in an artificial setting to establish a cause and effect relationship between two or more variables. A field experiment has the same aim but is carried out in a natural setting.
27
Experimental Group.
The group of people exposed to the variable. The results are recorded and compared to the control group.
28
Exploitation.
Paying workers less than the value of their labour.
29
Feminism.
A sociological perspective and political movement that focuses on women's oppression and the struggle to end it.
30
Function.
Durkheim defined this as the contribution that a part of society makes to the stability or well-being of society as a whole.
31
Functionalism.
A consensus perspective in sociology that sees society as based on shared values into which members are socialised.
32
Gender.
The social and cultural characteristics of men and women.
33
Globalisation.
The idea that the world is becoming increasingly interconnected and barriers are disappearing. The internet has played a big part in this.
34
Hawthorne Effect.
The subjects of a study change their behaviour as they know they're being studied, hindering validity.
35
Hidden Curriculum.
The covert curriculum that teaches students obedience and other aspects of work life. It is a Marxist idea.
36
Hierarchy.
An organisation or social structure based on a 'pyramid' of senior and junior positions and top down control.
37
Hypothesis.
An untested theory or explanation, expressed as a statement.
38
Identity.
An individuals sense of self, influenced by socialisation and interactions with others; a sense of belonging to a community.
39
Ideology.
Originally a Marxist idea meaning a set of beliefs that serve the interests of a dominant social group by justifying their privileged position. For example Bowles and Gintis argued that meritocracy is a myth.
40
Immediate Gratification.
A preference for immediate pleasure or reward, without regard for the longer-term consequences.
41
Individualism.
The belief that the individual is more important than the group or community.
42
Informed consent.
Those taking part in a study know why it is being done, what it involves and possible effects.
43
Interactionism.
A sociological perspective that focuses on small-scale interactions between individuals and groups, rather than large-scale workings of society. They seek to find meanings that people give to situations.
44
Interpretivism.
This focuses on how people construct their social world through meanings. They use qualitative methods.
45
Interview Schedule.
The list of questions to be asked in an interview.
46
Interviews.
Gathering information by asking questions orally, either face to face or by telephone. Structured interviews are standardised and obtain quantitative data. Unstructured interviews are more like a guided conversation and produce qualitative data.
47
Labelling.
Attaching a definition or meaning to an individual or group.
48
Legitimation.
Justifying something by making it seem fair and natural. This is the main function of ideology.
49
Ideological State Apparatuses.
Maintaining the rule of the bourgeoisie by controlling people's ideas, values and beliefs. This includes religion, the mass media and the education system.
50
Repressive State Apparatuses.
Maintaining the rule of the bourgeoisie by force or threat of it. This includes the police, courts and army. When necessary, they use force to repress the working class.
51
Life Chances.
The chances that different social groups have of obtaining those things society regards as desirable, or of suffering those things regarded as undesirable.
52
Longitudinal Study.
Study of a sample of people in which information is collected at regular intervals over an extended period of time.
53
Macro-Level.
Theories such as Functionalism and Marxism that focus on the large scale (society as a whole).
54
Marketisation.
The policy of introducing market forces of supply and demand into areas run by the state, such as education and the NHS.
55
Marxism.
A conflict perspective based on the ideas of Karl Marx. It sees society as divided in two, and containing conflict between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The proletariat are exploited for labour, according to Marxism.
56
Material Deprivation.
Poverty; a lack of basic necessities such as adequate diet, housing, clothing or the money to buy these things. In education, this is one suggested reason for the underachievement of the working class.
57
Meritocracy.
An educational or social system where everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed and rewards are earned by their own efforts.
58
Micro-Level.
Theories such as interactionism where the focus is on small scale, face-to-face interactions between people rather than society as a whole.
59
Modernism.
Modernist perspectives (e.g. Functionalism, Marxism and Positivism) believe that society has a fairly predictable structure and it is possible to gain knowledge of how society functions.
60
Multicultural.
A society or institution that recognises and gives value to different cultures and/or ethnic groups.
61
Myth Of Meritocracy.
Bowles and Gintis' claim that meritocracy is an ideology legitimating inequality by falsely making people believe in it.
62
New Right.
A conservative political perspective where supporters believe in self-reliance and individual choice, rather than dependence on the state.
63
New Vocationalism.
The idea that education should primarily be about meeting the needs of the economy, by equipping young people with the needed knowledge, skills, attitudes and values needed for work.
64
Non-Participant Observation.
A primary research method where the researcher records events without taking part.
65
Norms.
Social rules, expectations or standards that govern the behaviour expected in particular situations. That can be formal (written laws) or informal (e.g. rules of politeness).
66
Objectivity.
The absence of bias or preconceived ideas.
67
Official Statistics.
Quantitative data collected and published by the government. They can be collected by registration (the law requires parents to register births), or by official surveys (the ten yearly census).
68
Open Ended Questions.
Questions in a social survey that allow respondents to answer as they wish. Answers are harder to quantify as they cannot be pre-coded.
69
Operationalisation.
The process of turning a sociological concept or theory into something measurable. E.g. using parental occupation to measure the concept social class.
70
Overt Participant Observation.
Conducting participant observation and your subjects being aware of who you are and your intentions.
71
Parentocracy.
Rule by parents. It is associated with marketised education systems, which are based on an ideology of parental choice of school.
72
Participant Observation.
A primary research method in which the researcher studies a group by taking a role within it and participating in its activities.
73
Pilot Study.
A trial run of the real thing. Usually done in social surveys to iron out any problems and fix any unclear questions.
74
Polarisation.
A process that results in the creation of two extremes e.g. streaming results in pro-school and anti-school subcultures.
75
Positivism.
The belief that society is made up of social facts that can be studied scientifically to discover laws of cause and effect.
76
Postmodernism.
A perspective that rejects the modernist view that we can have true knowledge of society. They argue that society is too unstable and diverse to gain knowledge from it.
77
Primary Data.
Information collected first hand by sociologists themselves for their won purposes.
78
Primary Socialisation.
This occurs largely within the family and involves acquiring basic skills and values.
79
Proletariat.
The working class in capitalist society. They own no means of production and are 'wage slaves' and sell their labour to the bourgeoisie.
80
Qualitative Data.
Information, usually expressed in words, about people's thoughts, feelings, motivations, attitudes, values etc. Methods that acquire this data include participant observations and unstructured interviews.
81
Quantitative Data.
Information in numerical form.
82
Questionnaires.
A list of questions. Written or self-completion questionnaires are widely used in social surveys.
83
Racism.
A system of beliefs that defines people as superior or inferior, and justifies their unequal treatment, on the basis of biological differences such as skin colour.
84
Reliability.
A piece of research is reliable when it produces exactly the same results when repeated using identical methods and procedures.
85
Representative.
A subset of a population that accurately reflects the members of the entire population.
86
Reproduction.
The re-creation or continuation of something into future generations.
87
Response Rate.
The proportion of those people included in a social survey who actually respond.
88
Role.
How someone who occupies a particular status is expected to act.
89
Sample.
A smaller group selected from the larger survey population to take part in a study.
90
Sampling.
The process by which a sample is selected. It should aim to gain a representative sample. There are many ways of sampling, e.g. random, snowball etc.
91
Sampling Frame.
The list of people from which a sample is selected.
92
Sanctions.
Negative sanctions (punishments) may be threatened for unwanted behaviour. Positive sanctions (rewards) may be offered in return for conformity to social norms and values.
93
Secondary Data.
Pre-existing information that sociologist used and didn't collect themselves. It is very practical and this is why it is used. Official statistics are an example.
94
Secondary Socialisation.
It takes place in educational institutions and includes acquisition of knowledge and skills needed for work. Other agencies of socialisation include peer groups, the mass media and religion.
95
Secularisation.
The decline of religion. Religious beliefs, practices and institutions lose their importance or influence, e.g. less people now marry in a church.
96
Selection.
In education, the process of choosing and allocating pupils to a particular school, lass, stream etc. An example would be the tripartite system.
97
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy.
Where a prediction made about a person or group comes true. E.g. labelling a pupil a failure would lea to them being treated like one, in turn leading to them feeling like one, and eventually becoming one.
98
Separatism.
A radical feminist idea that women should live independently of men to escape the oppression of heterosexual relationships.
99
Sexism.
Prejudice and discrimination on the grounds of sex.
100
Social Action Theories.
See individuals as having free will and choice, and the power to create society through their actions and interactions, rather than being shaped by society. For example interactionism.
101
Social Class.
Social groupings or hierarchy based on differences in wealth, income or occupation. Marx identified two, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Many sociologist use occupation.
102
Social Construction.
Where something is created by social processes, rather than occurring naturally. Something that is socially constructed is likely to differ throughout history and between different cultures.
103
Social Control.
The means by which tries to ensure that its members behave as other would expect. Control can be formal (law) or informal (peer pressure). Sanctions (positive and negative) may be used.
104
Social Policy.
The actions, plans and programmes of government bodies and agencies that aim to deal with a problem or achieve a goal e.g. Surestart.
105
Social Survey.
Any research method that involves systematically collecting information from a group of people by asking them questions. Usually involves standardised methods.
106
Socialisation.
The process by which an individual learns or internalises the culture of society.
107
Speech Codes.
Patterns or ways of using language. Bernstein argued that the working class use the context-bound restricted code with short and grammatically simple sentences, with limited vocabulary. he argued that the working class use the context-free elaborated code, with complex sentences and able to describe abstract ideas. The latter is used in education, giving the middle class and advantage.
108
Status.
A position in society. Ascribed status is determined by fixed characteristics that we are born with and can't normally change e.g. gender, ethnicity or family. Achieved status is where an individual's position is earned as a result of their effort e.g. getting into university.
109
Stereotype.
A simplified, one-sided and often negative image of a group or individual which assumes that all members of that group share the same characteristics e.g. black boys being disruptive.
110
Stigma.
A negative label or mark of disapproval, discredit or shame attached to a person, group or characteristic.
111
Stratification.
The division of society into a hierarchy of unequal groups. The inequalities may be of wealth, power and/or status. Stratification systems may be based on differences in class, ethnic group, age, gender, religion etc. Members of different groups often have different life chances.
112
Stratified diffusion.
The spread of beliefs and practices from one social class to another; e.g. Young and Willmott claim the symmetrical family developed first among the middle class and then spread down the class structure, eventually becoming the norm for the working class.
113
Streaming.
Where children are seperated into different ability groups or classes, and taught seperately.
114
Structural Theories.
See individuals as shaped entirely by the way society is structured or organised, for example functionalism.
115
Subculture.
A group of people within society who share norms, values, beliefs and attitudes that are in some ways different or opposed to mainstream culture.
116
Subjectivity.
Bias, lack of objectivity, where the individual's own viewpoint influences their perception or judgement.
117
Triangulation.
The use of two or more different methods or sources of data so that they compliment each other, the strengths of one countering the weaknesses of another.
118
Tripartite System.
The system of secondary education created by the 1944 education act based on three types of school. These include grammar schools, secondary modern schools and technical schools.
119
Underclass.
Lowest level of the class structure, below the working class, with a seperate deviant subculture including high rates of lone parent families, male unemployment and criminality.
120
Validity.
A true or genuine picture of what something is really like. Qualitative methods are generally high in validity.
121
Value Consensus.
Agreement among society's members about what values are important; a shared culture. According to functionalists, it integrates individuals into society by giving them a sense of solidarity.
122
Values.
Ideas or beliefs about principles or goals. They tell society's members what is important and what to aim for.
123
Variables.
Any factor that that can change or vary; such as age, gender or income. Sociologists seek to discover correlations between variables.
124
Vocational.
Connected to a career. Vocational education and training transmits knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to pursue particular careers e.g. courses in engineering.
