Sociologists from various schools of thought would generally agree that socialisation plays an important part in shaping people and their roles in society, through institutions like the family, the education and consequently the workplace. Here, we will look specifically at the education system and the notion that schools serve to reinforce social class divisions.

There have been many changes made to the structure of the education system throughout the past century. These include the 1944 Education act which made secondary education compulsory and was responsible for the introduction of the tri-partite system, the move to a comprehensive system of schools in the …show more content…

In a survey, he divided his sample into two groups: those who had sole use of household facilities, such as bathrooms, and those who did not. He found that the children living in 'unsatisfactory' condition scored much more poorly on tests that those in 'satisfactory´ conditions. Reason suggested for this include poor housing conditions and diet leading to ill health, leading to absence from school, and underperformance while there

Of course, sociologists from different schools of thought have very different opinions on such divisions within schools. Functionalists would argue that the inequalities that exist within the education system do so for positive reasons. Talcott Parsons argued that schools take over from the family as the primary source of socialisation, transmitting society's norms and values and preparing children for their role in adult life.

Socialization is a process of internalizing of social norms and values.

Education is an important part of a child's socialization. Here a child;

Learns the concept of authoritarianismInteracts with the peer groupHas exposure of different ideas and concepts

Hence, it can be said that education is equivalent to socialization.