Educational sociology did not develop into a special field within sociology until after the Second World War. Over the years, two issues have been at the core of research in this field: These issues are, on the one hand, processes of socialization in different social contexts and interactions and, on the other, the relationship between education and structures of social inequality in society. This essay will outline the developments that have taken place in this area and will discuss some aspects of where research stands today which must be seen in a critical light. The main focus will be on the research dealing with the situation in Germany.

Keywords
socialization, children as social actors, research into bonding, long-term developments of educational inequalities based on social background and sex, schools as blind spot in inequality research, the role of classifications, education as a central element of change in the social space