GCSE Sociology

Overview

For parents: Each exam board teaches Sociology slightly differently. Ask the school which board they use — it's the key to revising the right content.

Topics

Sociology key terms

Original definitions for core course vocabulary, informed by the references below. Not an official or exhaustive board-specific glossary.

40 of 40 terms

Culture

The learned meanings, practices, values and ways of life shared within a social group.

Culture and identity

Norm

An expectation about appropriate behaviour in a particular social situation.

Culture and identity

Value

A general belief about what is important, desirable or right.

Culture and identity

Socialisation

The process through which people learn cultural expectations and develop social identities.

Culture and identity

Primary socialisation

Early learning of basic norms and values, usually through close family relationships.

Culture and identity

Secondary socialisation

Learning social expectations through institutions and groups beyond the early family.

Culture and identity

Identity

A sense of who someone is, shaped through self-understanding and social relationships.

Culture and identity

Social role

The behaviour expected of someone occupying a particular social position.

Culture and identity

Status

A socially recognised position that carries expectations and a degree of prestige.

Culture and identity

Subculture

A group with distinctive practices or values within a wider culture.

Culture and identity

Social stratification

The patterned ranking of social groups with unequal access to resources and rewards.

Inequality and social structure

Social class

A grouping based on economic position, often linked to occupation, income, wealth and ownership.

Inequality and social structure

Life chances

The opportunities people have to obtain valued resources and experiences over their lives.

Inequality and social structure

Social mobility

Movement between positions within a system of social stratification.

Inequality and social structure

Absolute poverty

A condition in which resources are insufficient to meet basic needs.

Inequality and social structure

Relative poverty

Having substantially fewer resources than is usual in a particular society.

Inequality and social structure

Patriarchy

A system of social relations in which men hold disproportionate power and women face structural disadvantage.

Inequality and social structure

Gender

Socially shaped identities, expectations and roles associated with gender categories.

Inequality and social structure

Ethnicity

A sense of shared identity associated with cultural heritage, ancestry, language or history.

Inequality and social structure

Institutional racism

Organisational processes or practices that systematically disadvantage people on racialised grounds.

Inequality and social structure

Nuclear family

A family unit consisting of two parents and their dependent child or children.

Institutions and social change

Extended family

A family network including relatives beyond parents and their children.

Institutions and social change

Hidden curriculum

Messages about behaviour, values and hierarchy learned through schooling beyond the formal syllabus.

Institutions and social change

Meritocracy

A system in which rewards and positions are allocated according to ability and achievement rather than inherited advantage.

Institutions and social change

Secularisation

The declining social significance of religious beliefs, practices or institutions.

Institutions and social change

Globalisation

The growing interconnectedness of societies through economic, political and cultural relationships.

Institutions and social change

Social control

Processes that encourage conformity to social norms and discourage rule-breaking.

Institutions and social change

Deviance

Behaviour that breaches a group's norms and is treated as unacceptable in that context.

Institutions and social change

Crime

An act or omission that breaches criminal law.

Institutions and social change

Labelling

The process of assigning a social category to someone, potentially shaping others' responses and their identity.

Institutions and social change

Functionalism

A perspective explaining how social institutions contribute to social order and the operation of society.

Theory and investigation

Marxism

A perspective analysing society through class relations, exploitation and conflict rooted in economic organisation.

Theory and investigation

Feminism

A range of perspectives examining gender inequalities and seeking to challenge gender-based oppression.

Theory and investigation

Interactionism

A perspective focusing on how people create meanings and social realities through everyday interaction.

Theory and investigation

Positivism

An approach favouring systematic observation and measurement to identify social patterns and causal explanations.

Theory and investigation

Interpretivism

An approach seeking to understand the meanings people attach to their actions and experiences.

Theory and investigation

Quantitative data

Information expressed numerically and suitable for statistical analysis.

Theory and investigation

Qualitative data

Information capturing meanings, experiences or qualities rather than primarily numerical measurement.

Theory and investigation

Representative sample

A sample that reflects relevant characteristics of the population being studied.

Theory and investigation

Triangulation

Using different methods, data sources or perspectives to investigate the same issue and compare findings.

Theory and investigation

Exams

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Revision

Tell GCSE.es which Sociology topics feel weak. Your dashboard then picks a short, timed next step — learn the key idea, check yourself, review mistakes.

Practice

• ✓ Key terms you tap to reveal
• ✓ Quick multiple-choice quizzes
• ✓ 3, 6, 9 and 12-mark exam-style questions
• ✓ Marking with feedback and a model answer

Available free inside your GCSE journey. Questions are written by GCSE.es, not taken from real past papers.

Resources

Short, focused tasks for the Sociology topics you find hardest — learn the key idea, check yourself, then try a marked exam-style question.