527 committees
Organizations that have no official connection to a candidate but that raise and spend funds like a campaign does; named after the section of the tax code that authorizes their existence
authoritarianism
System of government by and for a small number of elites that does not include representation of ordinary citizens
authority
The legitimate, noncoercive exercise of power
belief
A proposition or idea held on the basis of faith
charter schools
Public schools run by private entities to give parents greater control over their children's education
community college
Two-year institution that provides students with general education and facilitates transfer to a four-year university
democracy
A political system in which all citizens have the right to participate
disenfranchised
stripped of voting rights, either temporarily or permanently
early college high schools
Institutions in which students earn a high school diploma and two years of credit toward a bachelor's degree
education
The process by which a society transmits its knowledge, values, and expectations to its members so they can function effectively
government
The formal, organized agency that exercises power and control in modern society, especially through the creation and enforcement of laws
hidden curriculum
Values or behaviors that students learn indirectly over the course of their schooling because of the structure of the educational system and the teaching methods used
homeschooling
The education of children by their parents, at home
liberation theology
A movement within the Catholic Church to understand Christianity from the perspective of the poor and oppressed, with a focus on fighting injustice
monarchy
A government ruled by a king or queen, with succession of rulers kept within the family
monotheistic
A term describing religions that worship a single divine figure
online education
Any educational course or program in which the teacher and the student meet via the internet, rather than meeting physically in a classroom
pluralist model
A system of political power in which a wide variety of individuals and groups have equal access to resources and the mechanisms of power
political action committee (PAC)
An organization that raises money to support the interests of a select group or organization
politics
methods and tactics intended to influence government policy, policy-related attitudes, and activities
power
The ability to impose one's will on others
power elite
A relatively small group of people in the top ranks of economic, political, and military institutions who make many of the important decisions in American society
profane
The ordinary, mundane, or everyday
religion
Any institutionalized system of shared beliefs and rituals that identify a relationship between the sacred and the profane
ritual
A practice based on religious beliefs
sacred
The holy, divine, or supernatural
school vouchers
Payments from the government to parents whose children attend failing public schools; the money helps parents pay private school tuition
secular
Nonreligious; a secular society separates church and state and does not endorse any religion
social institutions
systems and structures within society that shape the activities of groups and individuals
special interest groups
organizations that raise and spend money to influence elected officials and/or public opinion
tracking
The placement of students in educational "tracks," or programs of study (e.g., college prep, remedial), that determine the types of classes students take