Sociological Glossary

Glossary

• POLAR Classification

  POLAR (Participation of Local Areas) is a UK measure of how likely young people from different regions are to participate in higher education, used in widening participation initiatives.

• Panopticism

  Derived from Michel Foucault’s work, panopticism refers to a form of surveillance in which individuals regulate their own behaviour due to the perception of being watched.

• Parentocracy

  Parentocracy is the idea that children’s educational success is increasingly determined by parental wealth and ability to choose schools, rather than ability or effort.

• Patriarchy

  Patriarchy refers to a social system in which men hold primary power, shaping economic, political, and social structures.

• Performativity

  Judith Butler’s concept of performativity argues that gender is not an innate trait but rather something enacted through repeated social performances.

• Performativity in Education

  Performativity in education refers to the pressure on schools, teachers, and students to meet performance metrics, often at the expense of holistic learning.

• Positive Youth Development

  Positive youth development (PYD) is an approach that emphasises building young people’s strengths through extracurricular activities, mentorship, and community engagement.

• Post-18 Transition

  The post-18 transition refers to the period in which young people navigate decisions about higher education, employment, or training, influenced by social background and capital.

• Post-92 Universities

  Post-92 universities are former polytechnics and higher education institutions that gained university status after the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, often focusing on widening participation.

• Power Elite

  C. Wright Mills’ concept of the power elite describes a small, interconnected group of military, political, and corporate leaders who hold disproportionate influence over society.

• Power/Knowledge

  Michel Foucault’s idea that power and knowledge are intertwined, with knowledge production being a means of social control.

• Precariat

  A term coined by Guy Standing, the precariat describes a growing social class characterised by precarious, unstable employment and lack of economic security.

• Primary and Secondary Deviance

  Edwin Lemert’s distinction between primary deviance (initial rule-breaking) and secondary deviance (continued deviance resulting from societal reactions and labels).

• Protestant Ethic

  Weber’s Protestant Ethic thesis argues that Protestant values, particularly Calvinism, helped foster the development of capitalism.