This article is an attempt to sketch a realist framework for the sociology of education. The central questions may be stated succinctly. What are the properties of social entities and how can they be demonstrated? What properties of people are acquired as a result of socialisation and how do they influence their actions? What are the properties of actions in as much that they result in the maintenance of the social order? This argument will present the realist case, in the context of the sociology of education, that: (i) social bonds and the organisations they constitute are real; (ii) the cognitive and non-cognitive dispositions of socialised agents are real; and (iii) agents' social actions are patterned by real practices and so have, other things being equal, a reproductive effect. Some specific criticisms of Bourdieu's theory will be made from the standpoint of realism, and the implications of the proposed framework for educational policy and practice will be discussed.