ABSTRACT
Structural functionalists, following the work ofTalcott Parsons and Emile Durkheim, claim that industrial society, which emerged in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, paves the way for a more democratic and egalitarian social system. This industrialism promotes a new system of equal opportunity where effort and ability determine a person·s social status. Therefore, modern society becomes based on "contest mobility"; individuals from all social backgrounds compete for the most desirable social positions (Turner, 1960). Furthermore, due to this contest mobility, educational credentials become the major means by which individuals are allocated into occupational positions and receive social status. Education becomes a key factor in this process because scientific advances and the increasing reliance of capitalist economies on technology require that properly qualified and trained persons are employed in each occupation (Clark, 1962; Kerr et al., 1960).
