Realism in the Sociology of Education: 'Explaining' social differences in attainment

The search for scientific explanation in sociology is an attempt to make statements about the causal mechanisms of social structures. The relationship between techniques of quantitative analysis and explanatory models of the association between social class and educational success, with particular reference to the work of Jencks, Boudon, and Bourdieu, are examined in the context of empirical data from the New Zealand 'Progress at School' project. The position of statistical model-building and non-quantitative studies in a realist sociology of education are explored in an examination of the central problem of the sociology of education: the causes of social differences in educational attainment.