The role and functions of education | AQA A-Level Sociology
- Revision Notes
- Aug 12
- 16 min read
For Specification 7192
AQA A-Level Sociology | Free Revision Notes
Estimated study time: 55 minutes
The role and functions of education A-Level Sociology revision focuses on why education exists and whose interests it may serve. AQA requires you to understand sociological explanations of the role and functions of the education system, including its relationship with the economy and class structure. This provides the foundation for later work on education and the economy [Education and the economy] and education and social inequality [Education and class structure]. The key challenge is to compare competing explanations rather than assuming education has one agreed purpose.
Learning Objectives 🎯
By the end of this revision page, you should be able to:
Explain different sociological views of the role of the education system.
Explain how education may contribute to the functioning of society.
Explain functionalist views of education.
Explain Marxist views of education.
Compare consensus and conflict explanations of education.
Analyse the relationship between education, the economy and class structure.
These objectives follow the first Education lesson in the AQA A-Level Sociology Plan.
Revision Notes 📚
The role and functions of education A-Level Sociology revision overview
The education system is a major social institution. Sociologists are interested not simply in what happens in schools and colleges, but in the wider role education plays in society.
AQA requires students to examine the role and functions of education in relation to two particularly important areas:
the economy
the class structure
Education should also be understood through the wider course themes of:
socialisation, culture and identity
social differentiation, power and stratification
consensus and conflict
social structure and social action
Different sociological perspectives disagree about whether education mainly benefits society as a whole or whether it helps maintain inequalities between groups.
A useful starting distinction is between consensus theories and conflict theories. You will develop these ideas further in consensus explanations of society [Consensus theories] and conflict explanations of society [Conflict theories].
Perspective | Broad view of education |
Functionalism | Education contributes to social order and helps society operate effectively |
Marxism | Education helps reproduce class inequality and supports the interests of the dominant social class |
These perspectives can therefore examine the same institution while reaching very different conclusions about what it does and who benefits.
Functionalist views of education
Functionalism is a structural consensus approach. Functionalists see society as made up of interconnected institutions that contribute to the maintenance and operation of society.
From this perspective, education performs important functions that help maintain social order.
Key functions include:
creating social solidarity
transmitting shared norms and values
teaching specialist skills
preparing people for occupational roles
allocating people to different positions in society
Durkheim: social solidarity
Émile Durkheim argued that education helps create social solidarity.
Social solidarity refers to the sense of belonging and shared identity that helps hold society together.
Individuals grow up within particular families and communities, but a society needs people to recognise that they belong to a wider social group. Education can contribute to this by teaching shared norms, values and expectations.
Schools bring together large numbers of young people and expose them to common:
rules
expectations
routines
experiences
values
From a functionalist viewpoint, this helps develop social cohesion.
Education is therefore an important part of the process of socialisation. Students learn not only academic knowledge but also expectations concerning acceptable behaviour and participation in social life.
📌 Exam link: If a question asks how education contributes to social order, social solidarity provides a clear explanation. Do not simply state that schools "bring people together". Explain how shared norms and values create greater social integration.
Durkheim: specialist skills
Durkheim also argued that modern societies depend on a complex division of labour.
People perform different occupational roles and therefore need different knowledge and skills.
Education can provide the specialist training required for these roles.
For example, a modern economy requires individuals with different forms of expertise. Education helps prepare people for these specialised positions.
The argument can be represented as:
complex society → specialised occupations → need for specialist skills → education provides training
This creates a direct relationship between education and the needs of the economy.
You will examine this relationship in greater depth in education and economic roles [Education and the economy].
Parsons: secondary socialisation
Talcott Parsons also viewed education as an important agency of socialisation.
The family provides children's earliest socialisation, but schools introduce them to wider social expectations.
Parsons saw education as helping young people move from the particular expectations of family life towards the more general rules of wider society.
In the family, individuals may be judged according to particularistic standards. Their position and treatment are connected to their individual relationships and circumstances.
In education, pupils are increasingly expected to meet universalistic standards, meaning common standards that apply to everyone.
For example, pupils may be expected to:
follow the same school rules
meet common academic requirements
complete the same assessments
work towards recognised qualifications
Education therefore acts as a bridge between family life and wider society.
Parsons: value consensus
Parsons argued that education contributes to value consensus.
Value consensus exists when members of society share important norms and values.
Schools may socialise young people into values connected with:
achievement
responsibility
competition
cooperation
following common rules
From the functionalist perspective, this helps people participate successfully in wider society.
The basic argument is:
shared values → predictable behaviour → cooperation → greater social stability
Parsons: meritocracy
Functionalists also associate education with meritocracy.
A meritocratic system allocates rewards according to achievement rather than inherited social position.
In principle, individuals compete under common rules and gain qualifications according to their ability and effort.
Educational qualifications can then influence later occupational opportunities.
This means education may provide a link between individual achievement and occupational position.
The functionalist argument is therefore that:
individuals are assessed
achievement is recognised through qualifications
people demonstrate different abilities
these qualifications help allocate individuals to occupational roles
Meritocracy is important because functionalists see unequal outcomes as potentially legitimate when they result from fair competition and differing achievement.
⚠️ Important distinction: Meritocracy does not mean that everybody receives the same outcome. It means that differences in outcomes are presented as being based on achievement.
Davis and Moore: role allocation
Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore developed the functionalist idea of role allocation.
Societies contain many different positions. Functionalists argue that individuals must be matched to roles suited to their abilities and training.
Education contributes to this process by:
assessing performance
differentiating between individuals
awarding qualifications
providing specialist training
Qualifications can therefore help employers and other institutions identify people considered suitable for particular roles.
From this perspective, educational inequality does not automatically represent a failure of the system. Different outcomes may form part of the process by which people are allocated to different social positions.
Evaluating the functionalist view
Functionalism provides a clear explanation of how education may contribute to the overall operation of society.
It highlights genuine connections between:
education and socialisation
education and skill development
education and the economy
qualifications and occupational roles
However, conflict sociologists question whether functionalism assumes too easily that education benefits everyone equally.
Does education really create a value consensus?
Functionalists emphasise shared values, but societies may contain substantial disagreements about values and interests.
Different social groups may not have equal power to determine which values schools promote.
This raises an important question:
Are schools transmitting values that benefit society as a whole, or values that reflect the interests of more powerful groups?
This moves the analysis from consensus towards conflict.
Is education genuinely meritocratic?
A further criticism concerns the claim that educational outcomes mainly reflect ability and effort.
The specification requires students to examine differential achievement by social class, gender and ethnicity. If social groups experience unequal opportunities, educational outcomes cannot automatically be treated as evidence of a perfectly meritocratic system.
This issue is developed through social class differences in achievement [Social class and educational achievement].
A strong evaluation therefore distinguishes between:
the meritocratic ideal, where rewards reflect achievement
the possibility that unequal social circumstances affect opportunities to achieve
Marxist views of education
Marxism is a structural conflict approach.
Marxists agree with functionalists that education performs important functions, but they disagree about whose interests those functions serve.
Rather than seeing education primarily as benefiting society as a whole, Marxists focus on the relationship between education and the capitalist class structure.
Key Marxist arguments include the view that education may:
reproduce class inequality
prepare pupils for their future position in the workforce
encourage acceptance of hierarchy
make inequality appear legitimate
transmit ideas that support the existing social structure
This makes education closely connected to both the economy and class structure, the two relationships identified directly in the AQA Education specification.
Althusser: education and ideology
Louis Althusser argued that institutions such as education help maintain capitalist society through ideology.
From a Marxist perspective, the education system can encourage people to accept beliefs and values that make the existing class structure appear legitimate.
Education may therefore help reproduce society in two related ways.
Reproducing the workforce
Education prepares young people for participation in the economy.
This involves more than teaching technical knowledge. Students also learn expectations connected with organised institutional life, such as:
following rules
working to timetables
meeting deadlines
accepting assessment
responding to authority
Marxists interpret these processes differently from functionalists.
Functionalists may see them as useful preparation for adult society.
Marxists may argue that they prepare individuals to accept the discipline required within a capitalist workplace.
Reproducing class relations
Marxists also argue that education may contribute to the reproduction of the existing class structure.
If inequalities appear to result from individual achievement or failure, rather than wider inequalities, the social system itself may appear fair.
Educational success can therefore contribute to the belief that people deserve their later social positions.
This links Marxist criticism directly to the functionalist concept of meritocracy.
Bowles and Gintis: the correspondence principle
Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis argue that there is a correspondence between the organisation of education and the organisation of capitalist workplaces.
This is known as the correspondence principle.
The argument is that experiences in school resemble features of employment.
For example:
Education | Workplace |
Teachers and senior staff exercise authority | Managers and employers exercise authority |
Pupils work within timetables | Workers work within set hours |
Pupils follow rules | Employees follow workplace rules |
Pupils are externally rewarded through grades and qualifications | Workers receive wages and promotion |
Pupils have limited control over much of their work | Employees may have limited control over their work |
From this perspective, school prepares pupils for their future position within capitalist employment.
Some of these processes are connected with the hidden curriculum [The hidden curriculum], which concerns lessons and expectations learnt through the organisation and experience of schooling rather than simply through formal subject content.
Bowles and Gintis: the myth of meritocracy
Marxists also challenge the functionalist claim that education is genuinely meritocratic.
Bowles and Gintis argue that the belief in meritocracy can help legitimise inequality.
The reasoning is:
education presents success as the result of achievement
individuals receive unequal qualifications and outcomes
successful people may be seen as deserving their rewards
unsuccessful people may be blamed for their position
wider class inequalities can therefore appear fair
Marxists describe this as ideological because it can hide the role played by existing social inequalities.
The important contrast is therefore:
Functionalists: meritocracy helps allocate people fairly according to achievement.
Marxists: belief in meritocracy can legitimise unequal class positions.
Evaluating the Marxist view
Marxism is valuable because it draws attention to power and inequality.
It directly addresses one of AQA's core themes, social differentiation, power and stratification.
It also provides a clear explanation of why education may be linked to the economy even if it does not benefit everyone equally.
However, the Marxist explanation can be criticised for presenting education as too closely determined by the needs of capitalism.
Pupils are not necessarily passive
A simple Marxist account may make pupils appear as if they automatically accept everything education teaches them.
In reality, pupils can:
challenge school rules
reject teachers' expectations
form distinctive identities
join pupil subcultures
interpret school experiences differently
These processes are explored later through pupil subcultures [Pupil subcultures].
This means education may not reproduce values and behaviour in a completely automatic way.
Education can create opportunities
Education can also provide qualifications, knowledge and opportunities that enable some individuals to change their social position.
This creates a difficulty for any argument that education merely reproduces existing class inequalities.
A strong evaluation therefore avoids absolute claims. Education may contribute to the reproduction of inequality without making every individual's outcome inevitable.
Functionalism and Marxism compared
A comparison question requires you to make the relationship between perspectives explicit.
Do not write one page on functionalism followed by one page on Marxism without directly comparing them.
Issue | Functionalism | Marxism |
Overall perspective | Consensus | Conflict |
View of society | Institutions contribute to social order | Society contains unequal class interests |
Socialisation | Education transmits shared values | Education may transmit dominant ideas |
Economy | Education provides skills and allocates people to roles | Education prepares individuals for capitalist employment |
Inequality | Differences may reflect achievement and role allocation | Education may reproduce class inequality |
Meritocracy | Generally viewed positively | Viewed critically as potentially legitimising inequality |
Authority and discipline | Necessary preparation for wider society | Preparation for hierarchical workplace relationships |
Main question | How does education contribute to society? | Whose interests does education serve? |
The relationship between education and the economy
The relationship between education and the economy can be explained in contrasting ways.
Functionalist interpretation
Education may support the economy by:
teaching specialist knowledge and skills
preparing people for different occupations
assessing individuals
allocating people to appropriate economic roles
teaching shared expectations needed for participation in organised society
Education therefore supports the complex division of labour.
Marxist interpretation
Marxists also see education as connected to the economy, but interpret this relationship more critically.
Education may:
prepare pupils for hierarchical workplaces
socialise future workers into discipline and obedience
reproduce existing class relationships
encourage acceptance of unequal rewards
📌 Exam technique: Both perspectives can agree that education prepares people for work. The disagreement concerns whether this preparation benefits society generally or primarily supports capitalist class relations.
The relationship between education and class structure
Class structure refers to the organisation of society into social classes with unequal positions and resources.
Education may be interpreted as either influencing mobility within the class structure or reproducing that structure.
Functionalist interpretation
If education is meritocratic:
ability and effort → educational achievement → qualifications → occupational position
Education may therefore enable people to gain social positions through achievement rather than inheritance.
Marxist interpretation
If educational opportunities and experiences are shaped by existing inequalities:
class inequality → unequal educational experience → unequal outcomes → unequal occupational positions → reproduction of class inequality
From this view, education can help maintain the existing class structure across generations.
This debate provides the foundation for education and class structure [Education and class structure].
Connecting the topic to AQA's core themes
The specification requires the core themes to run throughout the course.
Socialisation, culture and identity
Education is an agency of socialisation.
Different perspectives disagree about what pupils are being socialised into:
functionalists emphasise shared norms and values
Marxists emphasise ideas and behaviour connected with existing class relations
Social differentiation, power and stratification
The role of education is also connected to inequality.
Ask:
Who succeeds?
Who receives valued qualifications?
Who gains access to higher-status occupations?
Are outcomes based on achievement?
Does education reduce or reproduce inequalities?
Who has the power to define worthwhile knowledge and behaviour?
These questions move the topic beyond simple description and towards sociological analysis.
Applying this knowledge in an examination ✍️
When answering a question on the role and functions of education, avoid treating a sociological theory as a list of names.
Build a chain of reasoning.
For example:
Point: Functionalists argue that education creates social solidarity.
Explanation: Schools socialise pupils into shared norms and values.
Development: This gives individuals a sense of membership in the wider society rather than only their family or immediate community.
Link: Education can therefore contribute to social integration and stability.
For evaluation, directly connect competing perspectives:
Evaluation: Marxists would question whether the values transmitted through education represent a genuine consensus, arguing instead that education may promote ideas that support existing class inequalities.
That creates a genuine sociological debate rather than two disconnected descriptions.
Key Words 🔑
Key word | Student-friendly definition | How it may be used in an exam |
Social solidarity | A sense of shared membership and belonging that helps unite society | Explain a functionalist view of how education creates social cohesion |
Value consensus | Broad agreement about important norms and values | Explain how education may contribute to social order |
Meritocracy | A system in which rewards and positions are allocated according to achievement | Compare functionalist and Marxist views of educational inequality |
Role allocation | The process of matching individuals to different positions in society | Explain how functionalists link education with the economy |
Division of labour | The organisation of work into different specialised roles | Explain why education may need to provide specialist skills |
Class structure | The organisation of society into unequal social classes | Analyse whether education reproduces or changes inequality |
Ideology | Ideas and beliefs that influence how people understand society | Explain Marxist views of education |
Correspondence principle | The Marxist argument that school organisation reflects features of the capitalist workplace | Explain the relationship between education and the economy |
Hidden curriculum | Informal lessons and expectations learnt through the experience and organisation of education | Explain how pupils may learn behaviour beyond the formal curriculum |
Socialisation | The process through which individuals learn the norms, values and expectations of society | Explain how different perspectives interpret education's social role |
Hints from the Examiner Reports 💡
No lesson-specific examiner guidance was identified in the provided reports.
Common Mistakes ⚠️
Mistake: Assuming all sociologists think education benefits society
Why this is incorrect:
Theories interpret the same institution differently. Functionalists emphasise contributions to social order, whereas Marxists focus on class inequality and power.
How to improve:
Always identify the perspective before explaining what it believes education does.
Mistake: Saying functionalists believe everyone gets the same outcome
Why this is incorrect:
Functionalism does not argue that everyone must receive equal outcomes. Meritocracy and role allocation allow for different outcomes based on achievement.
How to improve:
Distinguish equality from meritocracy. Meritocracy concerns how positions are allocated, not whether everyone receives the same position.
Mistake: Describing meritocracy without explaining why it matters
Why this is incorrect:
Simply defining meritocracy does not explain its role within the functionalist view of education.
How to improve:
Link meritocracy to assessment, qualifications and role allocation:
achievement → qualifications → occupational roles
Mistake: Saying Marxists believe education has no functions
Why this is incorrect:
Marxists do identify important functions of education. They disagree with functionalists about whose interests those functions serve.
How to improve:
Explain that Marxists see education as helping reproduce labour power, class relationships and beliefs that legitimise inequality.
Mistake: Confusing the formal and hidden curriculum
Why this is incorrect:
The formal curriculum concerns deliberately taught subject content. The hidden curriculum concerns informal lessons learnt through the organisation and experience of schooling.
How to improve:
When discussing discipline, hierarchy and following rules, explain why these may be learned through school organisation rather than simply through formal lessons.
Mistake: Writing two separate descriptions in a comparison question
Why this is incorrect:
A comparison needs explicit similarities or differences.
How to improve:
Use relational language such as:
whereas
in contrast
both
however
unlike
For example:
Both functionalists and Marxists see education as preparing pupils for the economy, but functionalists regard this as beneficial role preparation whereas Marxists argue that it reproduces capitalist workplace relations.
Exam-Style Questions ✍️
Question 1
Explain what is meant by social solidarity.(2 marks)
Question 2
Outline two functions of education identified by functionalists.(4 marks)
Question 3
Outline three ways in which education may be related to the economy.(6 marks)
Question 4
Explain two differences between functionalist and Marxist views of education.(6 marks)
Question 5
Read Item A and answer the question that follows.
Item A Some sociologists argue that modern societies require individuals with different specialist skills. Schools also assess pupils and award qualifications that may influence the occupations they later enter. Other sociologists question whether this process operates equally for all social groups.
Applying material from Item A, analyse two ways in which education may contribute to the functioning of society.(10 marks)
Question 6
Read Item B and answer the question that follows.
Item B Schools expect pupils to follow timetables, complete work set by others and accept systems of authority and assessment. Educational qualifications are commonly presented as the result of individual achievement. Some sociologists argue that these features help prepare young people for their later positions within an unequal economy.
Applying material from Item B, analyse two ways in which education may contribute to the reproduction of class structure.(10 marks)
Question 7
Evaluate sociological explanations of the role and functions of the education system.(30 marks)
Answers and mark scheme
Question 1
Social solidarity is a sense of shared identity, belonging and common values that helps integrate members of society.
For full marks, the answer should communicate both:
shared membership or values
their role in holding society together
Question 2
Award credit for two functionalist functions, such as:
Social solidarity: education transmits shared norms and values and helps integrate individuals into society.
Specialist skills: education provides the knowledge and skills needed for specialised occupational roles.
Secondary socialisation: education introduces pupils to wider social rules and universalistic standards.
Role allocation: educational assessment and qualifications help allocate individuals to different social positions.
A developed function is needed rather than simply naming a sociologist.
Question 3
Possible answers include:
Education provides specialist skills required by a complex division of labour.
Education awards qualifications that may help allocate people to occupational roles.
Education prepares individuals for rules, routines and expectations connected with employment.
From a Marxist perspective, education may prepare future workers to accept workplace hierarchy and discipline.
Education may help reproduce class relationships within the economy.
Credit any three accurately outlined relationships.
Question 4
Possible differences include:
Difference 1: social order
Functionalists see education as creating social solidarity and value consensus, whereas Marxists argue that the values transmitted through education may support the interests of the dominant class.
Difference 2: meritocracy
Functionalists see meritocratic assessment as a way of allocating people to roles according to achievement, whereas Marxists argue that belief in meritocracy can legitimise unequal outcomes.
Difference 3: relationship with the economy
Functionalists argue that education supplies useful specialist skills to the economy, whereas Marxists emphasise preparation for hierarchical capitalist workplace relationships.
For stronger answers, make each contrast explicit rather than describing the perspectives separately.
Question 5
A strong answer should develop two distinct ways, making use of Item A.
Possible route 1:
Item A refers to "different specialist skills".
Durkheim argues that the complex division of labour requires specialist knowledge.
Education trains individuals for different occupational roles.
This supports economic interdependence and helps society function.
Possible route 2:
Item A states that schools "assess pupils and award qualifications".
Functionalists argue that education contributes to role allocation.
Qualifications identify differences in achievement and preparation.
Individuals can then be allocated to different positions in the economy.
A high-quality response should analyse the process rather than simply repeat phrases from the item.
Question 6
A strong answer should analyse two mechanisms through which education may reproduce class structure.
Possible route 1:
Item B refers to pupils following timetables and accepting authority.
Bowles and Gintis argue that school organisation corresponds with capitalist workplaces.
Pupils become accustomed to hierarchy, externally imposed tasks and institutional discipline.
Education may therefore reproduce the type of labour relationships required by capitalism.
Possible route 2:
Item B states that qualifications are presented as resulting from individual achievement.
Marxists question whether educational opportunities are genuinely equal.
If unequal outcomes are interpreted as deserved, wider class inequality may appear legitimate.
Belief in meritocracy may therefore help reproduce the class structure.
Application should use the item as part of the explanation rather than simply quoting it.
Question 7
A successful 30-mark response should develop and evaluate competing sociological explanations rather than producing a list of theories.
Indicative content could include:
Functionalist explanations
Durkheim and social solidarity
transmission of shared norms and values
specialist skills
Parsons and secondary socialisation
universalistic standards
value consensus
meritocracy
Davis and Moore and role allocation
education's contribution to the economy
Marxist explanations
education and reproduction of class inequality
Althusser and ideology
reproduction of labour power
Bowles and Gintis
correspondence principle
preparation for workplace hierarchy
criticism of meritocracy
legitimisation of inequality
Analysis and evaluation
Students could examine:
whether a genuine value consensus exists
whether education is genuinely meritocratic
whether education benefits all social groups equally
whether Marxist explanations are too deterministic
the extent to which pupils actively respond to education rather than passively accepting it
whether education can provide opportunities for social mobility
similarities between perspectives, including their shared emphasis on education as a social structure
differences over whether education serves society generally or unequal class interests
A strong conclusion should answer the question directly. For example, a student might argue that functionalism explains why education is necessary for socialisation and economic specialisation, but conflict approaches provide a stronger account of how these functions interact with power and class inequality. The judgement should follow from the argument developed in the essay rather than appearing only in the final sentence.
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