AQA GCSE Sociology key terms

An in-depth study of a group's culture and everyday life, often using observation.

Preventing a pupil from attending school temporarily or permanently, usually as a disciplinary response.

A hope or belief about society or how people should behave.

An unequal relationship in which one person or group benefits from another's work at their expense.

The caring, nurturing and emotionally supportive role that Parsons associated with women in the family.

A family that includes relatives beyond parents and their children, such as grandparents, aunts or uncles.

A reward separate from the satisfaction of an activity itself, such as a grade for schoolwork or wages for employment.

In Marxist theory, a failure by members of an exploited class to recognise their shared class interests because they accept ideas that justify the existing system.

A social unit consisting of a married, civil-partnered or cohabiting couple, with or without dependent children, or a lone parent with dependent children.

Variation in family structures, relationships, beliefs and experiences, both between families and over time.

An extreme right-wing political ideology associated with racism and nationalism.

A sociological perspective that examines gender inequalities and how women may be disadvantaged or exploited.

A person who supports or applies feminist ideas; feminist sociologists examine gender inequality and women’s rights.

A sociological perspective that examines gender inequality and the power relationships between women and men.

A stratification system associated with medieval Europe, organised around landownership, with the monarch above lords and knights, and serfs and peasants at the bottom.

An electoral system in which the candidate with the most votes wins the constituency seat.

A group discussion led by a researcher on a particular topic, exploring participants' views and their responses to one another.

A person or group portrayed as a threat to society, especially during a moral panic.

A marriage in which one or both people do not freely consent.

The explicitly planned subjects and content that pupils are taught, such as English, mathematics and science.

Structured learning in an educational institution, usually organised and taught by trained teachers.

Power attached to an officially recognised position within an organisation or institution.

Control exercised through explicit rules and official procedures by people or institutions with authority to enforce them.

A government-funded school outside local-authority control, with freedoms over its curriculum and staff pay and conditions. Free schools are all-ability schools and cannot select pupils by academic ability.

The number of times a response, event or category occurs in a dataset.

A role or contribution that an institution performs for individuals or society.

The contribution a role makes to the survival and effective operation of society.