FAMILY AND EDUCATION

• Methods


  Way sociologists work
• Methods used for research

  • Questionnaire (a set of questions with a choice of answers)
  • Interview (a meeting of people face to face, especially for consultation)
  • Case study (a process or record of research into the development of a particular person, group or situation over a period of time)
• Quantitative data


  Data that is in numbers e.g. around 50% of marriages end in divorce
• Qualitative data


  Data in the form of words e.g. one on one interviews
• Closed question


  An interview question, not much to discuss, quick and easy
• Open question


  An interview question, requires discussion, more complicated
• Pilot study


  A trial run in survey research
• Discrete data


  Data with space between possible data values. Graphs are represented by dots.
• Continuous data


  Data that can take on any value. There is no space between data values for a given domain. Graphs are represented by solid lines
• Sample


  A subset of the population
• Primary data


  Information collected for the specific purpose at hand
• Secondary data


  Information that already exists somewhere, having been collected for another purpose
• Practical issues affecting research

  • Time
  • Money
  • Logistics
  • etc
• Ethical issues in research

  • Right to informed consent
  • Right to privacy
  • Right to confidentiality
  • Right to protection
  • Right to debriefing
  • Right to withdrawal
• Types of family


  • Nuclear family (a family consisting of parents and children)
  • Extended family (parents, their children, and other relatives such as grandparents, aunts and uncles)
  • Blended family (when two adults with children from different relationships cohabit to form a new family)
  • Lone parent family (a family with only a mother or a father, as the consequence of death, divorce or individual choice)
  • Same sex family (families headed by a couple of the same sex)
  • Beanpole family (a family whose members come from many generations, but have fewer children in each generation)
• Marriage


  A legal relationship, usually involving economic cooperation, sexual activity, and childbearing
• Divorce


  The legal ending of a marriage
• Family


  A group of people related by blood or law
• Conjugal roles


  Roles within a marriage
• Segregated conjugal roles


  Husband and wife perform different tasks and have a number of separate interests and activities. Man = breadwinner, women = housewife
• Joint conjugal roles


  Where the couple share tasks such as housework and childcare and spend their leisure time together
• Changes in family


  • Women now take on the breadwinner role when it used to be solely men
  • People are living longer, meaning families have more grandparents
  • Divorce is becoming much more normalised
  • People aren't getting married at all
• Functionalist views of the family

  • Physical care
  • Emotional support
  • A place in society/identity
  • Reproduction
  • Economical support
  • Social control
  • Socialisation
  • Regulation of sex
• Marxist views on the family


  • Families set you up to be a consumer of bourgeoisie products
  • Whatever a family owns, they pass it down to the next generation of their family
  • Families set you up to go to work and be a good worker, and offer you support when you have a bad day, and to get back on your feet
• Feminist views on the family

  • Feminism argues that we live in a patriarchal society (a male- dominated society) where family continues gender inequalities
  • The traditional family structure oppresses and exploits women
• Criticisms of Marxism


  • The Marxist ignores family diversity in society and the fact that many women now work full-time
• Criticisms of the feminist perspective


  • Feminists put too much emphasis on the negative side of the family
• Criticisms of functionalism


  • Functionalists ignore conflict in families
• Formal education


  Happens when there is an intention to teach someone and there is an intention to learn e.g. BBC bitesize, school classrooms, drivers licence etc
• Informal education


  Happens when people learn something but they have no set out to learn it e.g. learning something from social media and television
• Primary school


  Schools from age 5 to 11/12
• Secondary school


  Schools from age 11/12 to 16
• Tertiary education


  Sixth form college, further education etc (age 16+)
• Society in miniature


  The idea that schools are a mini society and means that children learn rules, norms, communication etc (proposed by Emile Durkheim)
• Social cohesion


  States that schools create a community and gives a sense of purpose, belonging, norms, agreement etc, e.g. a uniform (Talcott Parsons)
• State school


  A school funded by government (Blatch)
• Public school


  An old, prestigious private school (Eaton)
• Private school


  Owned by a person or group, you have to pay to attend (Lancing)
• Comprehensive school


  A school that accepts anyone, no matter their ability, race or background, the only criteria being that you must live in the catchment area
• Special schools


  A school for people with special needs