Asses the view that the main function of the education system is to reproduce and legitimise social inequalities.

Functionalist writers such as Parsons have suggested that social inequality in contemporary societies is based on the principal of meritocracy and equality of opportunity. In meritocracy, social inequality is based on the different abilities, talents and skills individuals have. For most people today, their abilities and talents are demonstrated by their educational qualifications, and everyone should have an equal opportunity to develop and achieve these educational qualifications, regardless of their social class background, ethnicity or disability.
However, there is significant evidence that Britain is not meritocratic, and the link between educational qualifications and pay levels is relatively weak. Most sociologists argue that not everyone has the same chance of developing their talents and skills, and that there opportunity in education. Marxists adopt the idea that education serves the needs of the economic foundation of society, along with other principles such as family, mass media, religion and politics. They also believe that the education system does not maintain and reproduce existing social class, ethnic and gender inequalities from one generation to the next. The evidence for this lack of equality of opportunity in education is that, even for students of the same ability, there are wide differences in educational achievement which are closely linked to the social class origins of students, and their gender and ethnic characteristics.
However Perry and Francis point out, social class is the strongest predictor of educational achievement in the UK, and the key factor influencing whether a child does well or badly at school. In direct terms, ‘Rich, thick kids do better than poor, clever children’, even before school as this is what