Education

• Economic Role


  Where schools meet the needs of the economy- they teach students the skills and experiences required by businesses, they also allow parents to work and contribute (to the economy)
• Socialisation Role


  Students are taught important norms and values to prepare them for future life (e.g: punctuality)
• Social Control Role


  Schools set up rules that control the school environment (e.g. rewards and sanctions) that encourage good behaviour and discourage bad behaviour (to maintain order)
• Role Allocation


  Schools identify pupils' skills/abilities and allocate them to an occupational role (this will make them motivated and competitive to get the best jobs)
• Political Role


  Students are taught how to become effective citizens to create a sense of togetherness (social solidarity)
• Citizenship


  Where pupils learn to be responsible members of society- linked to secondary socialisation and Functionist view of education
• Social Cohesion


  The set of characteristics that keep a group able to function as a unit
• Meritocracy


  Education is fair and based on equality of opportunity (people do well because they work hard, not because they are, for example, wealthy)
• Formal Curriculum


  Academic/vocational subjects taught within a qualification. (e.g: Maths GCSE, English Language A Level...)
• Hidden Curriculum


  What pupils learn in terms of behaviour and discipline (e.g: punctuality, respect for authority...)
• Social Class Reproduction


  The wealthy control education and use it to keep themselves rich and the poor, poor (e.g: the rich attend private schools, then the best universities and then get the top jobs)
• Patriarchy


  Male dominated society (men control education and use it to benefit themselves, e.g: by canalising boys and girls into traditional gender roles)
• Traditional Gender Roles


  Set ideas of whom men and women should be and act as
• Labelling


  The process of attaching a characteristic or definition to an individual or group
• Self Fulfilling Prophecy


  When a pupil is labelled, and therefore becomes the label
• Halo Effect


  An effect that is applied when being positively labeled, thus fulfilling a positive self-fulfilling prophecy
• Stereotype


  A generalized belief about a group of people (usually on a basis of actions from a few individuals of that group)
• Anti-School Subculture


  A group of pupils who reject education, disobey authority and where there is peer pressure to disrupt learning of others (e.g. bullying or instant gratification)
• Status Deprivation


  Where pupils may find it difficult to gain official status (e.g: qualifications) so instead form anti-school subcultures
• Instant Gratification


  Wanting fun and rewards instantly (e.g. playing video games instantly after school/leaving school early to get a paid job)
• Deferred Gratification


  Sacrificing social life and entertainment for your own academic benefits (taking the time to study and learn from your school subjects)
• Pro-School Subculture


  Groups of people which encourage one another to value school and work hard (deferring gratification)
• Material Deprivation


  Lacking money for things such as computers, books, going on trips that could affect your achievement
• Cultural Capital


  Having the right culture to do well at school- e.g. parents show interest and socialise children to value and do well in education
• Cultural Deprivation


  A lack of certain norms, values, attitudes and skills which are required to do well in education
• Speech Codes


  The curriculum favours elaborated speech codes (a more complex and 'correct' form of speech) which the middle-class favour, as opposed to restricted speech codes (more simplistic language, slang)
• Educational Maintenance Allowance/Bursaries


  Financial support for low-income pupils to help with transport and resources
• Pupil Premium


  Where schools are given extra finance to help with disadvantaged pupils (could be used for resources, one to one tutor support...)
• Free School Meals


  (Policy to help students from disadvantaged backgrounds achieve)
• Triage


  A method of prioritising students (intelligent pupils, borderline, hopeless cases)
• Fatalistic


  A verb that describes people that won't do anything about their school studies and leaves exam results to chance alone
• Pre-1870


  At this time, the education system in Britain was not formally organised. Upper-class parents would send their children to fee-paying private schools or are taught at home, whereas working-class children go to work in the industry.
• 1870 Education Act


  This legislation promised that every student in England gets a form of education. However, only the working class were able to get such education for free; the middle and upper classes still had to pay.
• 1944 Butler Education Act


  This legislation introduces the idea of selective education through the tripartite system, where children were given free education until the age of 14.

  
  

  Students were required to take a test at the age of 11 named the 11 plus, which was a test that determined where the student's next place of study will be depending on whether they passed the test or not.
• Grammar School


  An institution built for students that are academically able- usually studying academic subjects to prepare them for further education and professional careers
• Academic Education


  A form of formal education that teaches the theoretical aspects of a subject, covering a broader range of topics (e.g. Sociology GCSE - education, family, crime, power, mass media)
• Vocational Education


  A form of formal education that directly teaches the skills needed by the world of work (e.g. IT Level 3 Diploma - how to build a PC, how to build a computer wire, how to computer program)
• Secondary Modern School


  An institution built for students that are less academically able, where more time was spent studying vocational subjects
• Technical Schools


  An institution that specializes in scientific and practical subjects. (Only 5% of these were ever built)
• 1965 Comprehensive Education Act

  A legislation which aimed to make education meritocratic- selection was abolished and students were made to attend a comprehensive school based on catchment area