nsensus, and education plays a vital role in this for instance: What contributions does the education system make to the keeping of the value consensus? And, what are the functional relationships between education and its assistance to society as a whole?
             To understand the education system we must consider how it contributes to the healthy maintenance of the whole social system. French sociologist Emile Durkheim, who expressed a functionalist view in his theories, argued that the main function of education is the diffusion of society's norms and values in certain areas (Durkheim, 1895). One of these areas focuses on social rules. In school, children must learn to interact with others with a fixed set of rules that include learning promptness, respect for authority, cooperation and sharing, and other requirements. School is a miniature society since it stresses that individuals follow rules of conduct so that the organization or school can continue to function and to carry out its responsibilities. For example, in a kindergarten setting, children have playtime; they learn to share toys and take turns. Functionalists argue that education prepares children for their future role in the economy. It does this through their qualifications. This is the function of selection. Education selects the most talented children (Davis and Moore). It operates on a meritocratic basis. Children are then allocated to their future work roles on the basis of these qualifications.
             Moreover, Durkheim portrayed the division of labor in his functionalist theory. Education teaches individual skills necessary for future occupations. People take this education and it in turn gives them roles in society that they are to perform. Education conveys general values necessary for homogeneity, the quality of being uniform throughout society in an individual's role. Furthermore, specific skills provide necessary diversity for social cooperation, as people need t...