Functionalists take a consensus view of the role of education. They see it as performing three important functions; socialisation into the shared culture, equipping individuals with work skills for the division of labour, and selection for work roles. Education is organised on meritocratic principles and reward pupils’ ability, not their social background.

Functionalists take a very positive view of education. They see it as a form of secondary socialisation essential to the maintenance of society. it performs vital social functions, including transmitting shared norms and values and equipping pupils with the knowledge, skills and habits needed for work. School also acts as a bridge between the family and the world of work, reflecting the values of equal opportunity and individual achievement found in wider society. it gives everyone an equal chance of discovering and developing their talents. Education also sifts and sorts individuals, allocating them their future occupational roles on the basis of their ability and effort and enabling the talented to become upwardly mobile.

The structure and processes of education systems are related to the general process of socialisation. All sociologists agree with this, but sociologists have many different views about how societies are structured. They have many different views about the role of education in society. The following research will focus on the role of education from a Functionalist, Marxist and an Interactionalist's perspective.

Functionalists think of education as a positive function for all individuals within society, which has a powerful influence over it. The aims of education in functionalism are to maintain social stability, keep society in consensus and resolve any conflict. Durkheim and Parsons saw education as an essential agency of socialisation whose function is to transmit common values to