'The school is an important agency of secondary socialization. All children in the UK are given an equal opportunity to succeed'.
The purpose of this essay is to discuss the above statements in detail, explaining the differing educational achievements of social groups, specifically class, gender and ethnicity. Socialization is the process of social interaction that teaches the child the intellectual, physical and social skills needed to function as a member of society. 'Secondary socialization is the wider process of learning; a child learns what is expected of them, and what is acceptable/appropriate behavior, for them; within a small group that The essay title 'all children in the UK are given an equal opportunity to succeed' is a functionalist opinion and very much subjective. Children from a privileged, wealthy background, for instance, have an immediate advantage over the less-fortunate, in that they have the financial means to fund additional tuition, to purchase resource materials and have the ability to afford places at some of the highest rated public/private schools in the country. For the purposes of this essay, we shall be looking at the academic achievement gaps between the middle and lower classes attending state-funded mixed schools.
All pupils, regardless of social class, gender or ethnicity, in theory receive the same level of education. The teacher will deliver the curriculum as dictated by the Department of Education in line with National Curriculum guidelines, and it is how the pupil chooses to process this information that governs where they fall on the academic achievement scale. Some sociologists say that class can affect a person's attitude to education. Not all pupils of the same ability achieve the same successes in the classroom, as the influence of family, peer groups, even the area in which you live can have a bearing on performance.
