Family as a social institution:
The institution of Family has three important functions:
To provide for the rearing of children
To provide a sense of identity or belonging among its members
To transmit culture between generations
In Western societies, we tend to think of a family as consisting of a mother, father, and children
living under one roof: a Nuclear Family. Before societies modernize, families usually consist of
several generations and branches of Extended Family living in the same dwelling, or in the
same village. As modernization occurs, young people tend to move away from the villages in
which they were raised in search of jobs, leaving the older generations behind. They relocate to
cities and meet people they probably never would have met had they stayed home. People in
modernized, urbanized societies meet spouses on their own, rather than being introduced by
family members, and marry and settle down in locations that are often far from their original
communities.
Marriage
Marriage, a foundation of family life, exists in all cultures, with some variations:
Endogamy: Marriage between members of the same category, class, or group
Exogamy: Marriage between members of different categories, classes, or groups
Monogamy: Marriage between one man and one woman
Polygamy: Marriage between one man and more than one woman
Polyandry: Marriage between one woman and more than one man
In some cultures, after marriage, a couple lives in the wife’s family’s household—a practice
called Matrilocality. When couples live in the husband’s family’s household, the practice is called
Patriolocality. If they go out and get their own place to live, they practice Neolocality.
Divorce And Remarriage
Once taboo, divorce is now common in the United States. Many factors have contributed to the
tenfold increase in the U.S. divorce rate over the past century. Women have become less
economically dependent on men, which means they are now able to leave unhappy marriages
and support themselves. Legal standards have also relaxed, making divorce easier to obtain.
Because the divorce rate is so high, so is the rate of remarriage. U.S. society is still coming to
terms with the ramifications of blended families, those composed of children and parents from
both present and past marriages.
Child-Rearing
Rearing children is a primary function of a family. Being in a family provides children with a
sense of identity. They learn the norms and values of their societies, as well as the norms and
values of the smaller groups to which they belong. By learning about their cultural heritages,
children gain a sense of belonging to something larger than themselves. By teaching children
about their heritage, families insure their culture will live on.
Despite the many demands of child-rearing, most adults describe raising children as an
important and fulfilling duty. Nevertheless, the number of children in the households of
industrialized countries has been dwindling for generations. Economic pressures have led the
average U.S. family to have only one or two children. Because both parents must often work
outside the home to support the family, parents and children spend less and less time together.
Alternative Families
Not all families are centered on a married couple with children. To an increasing degree, U.S.
households feature alternative types of families, such as the following:
School as a social institution
Education is a social institution in that, under ideal conditions, it teaches students how
to be good citizens. Students learn to get along with other people with different
backgrounds and abilities. This is helpful in the workplace as well as in society.
Students learn how to respect viewpoints even if they disagree with them. Students are
also encouraged to be involved in the social life of the school; outside of school, society
works best when its citizens are involved in social and political activities.
Private schools can differ from public schools because private schools usually focus on
a group of students who are similar in some way, either through their family's income or
their religion. These schools, due to smaller class sizes, can attract highly qualified
educators or educators of a similar religious background to their students. While many
private school graduates go on to prestigious universities and lucrative jobs, public
school graduates, under ideal situations, get an access to American society that they
would not otherwise get to experience outside of the classroom.
I do not know if your instructor wants you to decide which school system is better—from
my vantage point, public schools have an edge. However, there are arguments that can
be made for both systems..
Religion as a social institution:
Many times something individual because religious beliefs can be highly personal, religion is
also a social institution. Social scientists recognize that religion exists as an organized and
integrated set of beliefs, behaviors, and norms centered on basic social needs and values.
Moreover, religion is a cultural universal found in all social groups. For instance, in every
culture, funeral rites are practiced in some way, although these customs vary between cultures
and within religious affiliations. Despite differences, there are common elements in a ceremony
marking a person’s death, such as announcement of the death, care of the deceased,
disposition, and ceremony or ritual. These universals, and the differences in the way societies
and individuals experience religion, provide rich material for sociological study.
In studying religion, sociologists distinguish between what they term the experience, beliefs, and
rituals of a religion. Religious experience refers to the conviction or sensation that we are
connected to “the divine.” This type of communion might be experienced when people are pray
or meditate. Religious beliefs are specific ideas members of a particular faith hold to be true,
such as that Jesus Christ was the son of God, or that reincarnation exists. Another illustration of
religious beliefs is the creation stories we find in different religions. Religious rituals are
behaviors or practices that are either required or expected of the members of a particular group,
such as bar mitzvah or confession of sins (Barkan and Greenwood 2003.
b. Explain the role of economic, political and education institution in society
Economics is concerned with helping individuals and society decide on the optimal allocation of
our limited resources.
The fundamental problem of economics is said to be scarcity - the idea that wants (demand) is
greater than the resources we have. The economy faces choices on
What to produce? - Is it worth spending more on health care?
How to produce? - Should we leave it to market forces or implement government regulations.
For whom to produce? - How should we distribute resources, should we place higher income
tax on the wealthiest in society?
More specific questions include
How to manage the macro economy?
Mass unemployment in the 1930s
Both inflation and mass unemployment can be devastating for society. Economists argue that
both can be avoided through careful economic policies. For example:
Policies to reduce unemployment
Policies to reduce inflation
If economics can contribute to reducing unemployment, then it can make a significant
improvement to economic welfare. For example, the mass unemployment of the 1930's great
depression led to political instability and the rise of extremist political parties across Europe.
However, the problem is that economists may often disagree on the best solution to these
challenges. For example, at the start of the great depression in 1930, leading economists in the
UK Treasury suggested that the UK needed to balance the budget; i.e. higher taxes, lower
unemployment benefits. But, this made the recession deeper and led to a fall in demand.
It was in the great depression that John Maynard Keynes developed his general theory of
Employment, Income and Money. He argued that classical economics had the wrong approach
for dealing with depressions. Keynes argued that the economy needed expansionary fiscal
policy. - higher borrowing and government spending.
Political
The phrase political society is used in different ways, generally revolving around the process by
which the interests and values of civil society are articulated and aggregated for action by
government. A large variety of groups and organizations take part in this process including
political parties, lobbies, advisory councils, social movements, citizen and consultative
assemblies, participatory budgeting meetings, Bolivarian circles and neighborhood and
community councils. More is known about each of these kinds of groups and organizations than
about how they function collectively to aggregate and articulate the interests and values of a
society as a whole.
Education:
Moral Development:
Value education is said to be the foundation of character and moral development.
Value education inculcates in children sense of humility, courage, truthfulness, tolerance,
honesty, courtesy, sincerity, fellow-feeling, affection, spirit of service and sacrifice and power of
discrimination between bad and good which, in reality, form a noble and subtle character in
children.
Value Education: Role # 2.
Cultural Development:
The rich cultural heritage along with moorings of the past tradition is strongly preserved and
reinforced by education. Values are inherent in culture and education works for the refinement
and excellence of culture. It is acknowledged that values are the dynamic side of culture. As
such, value education plays an important role in the cultural development and refinement.
Value Education: Role # 3.
Development of Positive Attitude:
Fostering a positive and wider attitude is the handiwork of education. Value education widens
the attitude of pupils towards life. This wider attitude helps them to meet the problems and
contingencies of life boldly and courageously. This attitude propels them to be interested in
social service and surrendering their selfish motives for a larger interest in the society.
Value Education: Role # 4.
Development of Democratic Values:
Value education helps in fostering and cherishing democratic qualities like liberty, equality,
fraternity, justice, co-operative living, peaceful co-existence, respect to the dignity of individuals,
sharing of responsibility, etc. These are essentials for the development of a nation and progress
of the society.
Value Education: Role # 5.
Sublimation of Instincts:
Sublimation and redirection of human instincts is essential for the progress of the individual and
the society. Value education helps in sublimation and redirection of instincts and urges for
building up of the individual personality and advancement of the society. Education shapes his
personality and modifies his behaviour by channelizing his desires, instincts and urges in a
desirable direction.
Value Education: Role # 6.
Co-Operative Living:
Value education depreciates any form of living having conflicts and parochialism. Instead, it
teaches pupils to live peacefully and work co-operatively. Co-operative living paves the way for
establishment of a democratic social order. Co-operation is the hall-mark of peaceful living.
Value Education: Role # 7.
Resolving Conflicts and Contradictions:
Our present day society is characterised by material outlook and orientation which gives rise to
constant wrangling between old and new beliefs, old and new values of life. Value education
saves the society by performing its role as saviour resolving conflicts and contradictions among
people.
Value Education: Role # 8.
Acting as a Basis of Humanitarianism and Altruism:
Value education is said to be the sound basis of humanitarianism and altruism. It stands for
peace, good-will and understanding. It helps in fostering the brotherhood of man and unity and
understanding of the world.
