Achievement ideology is the belief that individual effort and merit determine success, independent of social class and other structural impediments. In Ain’t No Makin’ It, Jay MacLeod critiques this ideology by illustrating how it fails to account for the systemic barriers that prevent individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds from achieving upward mobility. The book shows that despite hard work and determination, structural constraints often predetermine the social and economic outcomes of the residents of Clarendon Heights.

Counter-school culture refers to the attitudes and behaviors exhibited by students who actively resist the values and norms promoted by their educational institutions. Paul Willis’s concept is explored in MacLeod’s work to describe the Hallway Hangers’ rejection of school norms and their consequent entrenchment in their class status. This term elucidates how the group’s defiance is both a form of resistance to perceived systemic injustices and a mechanism that inadvertently perpetuates their socioeconomic stagnation.

Cultural capital refers to non-financial social assets, such as education, intellect, manner of speaking, or physical appearance, which promote social mobility. MacLeod uses this term to explain how schools and other institutions in Ain’t No Makin’ It often favor the cultural capital of the middle and upper classes, thus perpetuating class distinctions.