Sociology key terms

A curriculum biased towards one culture through what it includes, omits or how it presents material; a focus on Western literature and history is an example.

The study of a group’s culture and everyday practices, usually using qualitative methods in everyday settings.

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

A hope or belief about what will happen in the future.

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

The role of providing emotional support and caring for family members, associated by Parsons with the female partner.

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 group linked through relationships such as blood, marriage, partnership or adoption. Family relationships can extend across separate households.

The variety of family structures, relationships and ways of organising family life within and between societies.

The structure and composition of a family, such as nuclear, extended or lone-parent.

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

Whether a proposed study can realistically be carried out with the available time, money, skills and access.

The increasing presence and influence of women in education, together with the argument that school practices increasingly favour characteristics culturally associated with femininity.

A perspective concerned with explaining gender inequality and challenging male domination.

A sociologist concerned with gender equality and women's rights.

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

A child who has experienced extreme isolation from ordinary human interaction and socialisation.

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 interview focused on a particular topic, which also explores how participants respond to one another’s views.

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.

Qualification for free school meals under the relevant eligibility rules. In educational statistics, this is commonly used as an indicator of low household income.