Discuss the extent to which disadvantage in education mirrors social divisions in society.

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Discuss the extent to which disadvantage in education mirrors social divisions in society.

There are a number of explanations for disadvantage in education; one explanation is based upon structural theories, which relate educational disadvantage to the structure of society. These theories argue that class disadvantages and poverty are reflected in educational attainment because of the combination of home and school factors (Ball, 1986). "Class and education interrelate not only in that higher levels of education gain entry to the professions and 'better' jobs, but also, and conversely, in that class effects educational attainment" (Leicester, 1991, p17-18). Therefore, It is impossible to understand what may be happening in our education system, without first having knowledge and a basic understanding of what is happening within society.

All societies today have structures of inequality that reflect different economic positions. The term social division simply refers to the existence of socially created inequalities (Meigman, 1997). The types of social divisions in society, which this assignment will explore, are social class divisions. This type of disparity refers to the presence of different social groups, which are ranked according to the amount of power, wealth and status that a particular group possesses.