Talcott Parsons believed the education system acted as a bridge between a child's experience of life in a family and his/her experiences of the wider world. He claims families socialise us into their own familial values (particularistic values) and schools operate according to the values of the wider society (universalistic values). He pointed out that these values can clash, parents may offer advice that goes against that of school. One of the values taught in school is achievement, children acheive status in school through their hard work and talent. They're encouraged to work hard.
One criticism of this view is the evidence that many children don't conform to the expectations of school. Recent research by Mac an Ghaill, Jackson, Connolly and Francis suggested that anti-learning laddish attitudes are adopted by boys and girls as a reaction to the presure of exams. Social success in schools isn't always associated with academic success: the geek or nerd is a social stereotype that links academic talent with social ineptitude, you can either be clever or popular, but not both.
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