sociology paper 1

• Functionalist Perspective family


  The family is a key social structure as it performs several essential functions for individuals and society. Murdock (1949) argues four vital functions:

  
  

  Sexual Function: regulates sexual behaviour that

  is approved by society.

  
  

  Reproductive function: New family members-

  procreation & childrearing.

  
  

  Economic function: providing shelter, food &

  clothes. Economic cooperation between husband

  & wife.

  
  

  Educational function: primary socialisation and

  discipling.
• Marxist Perspective family


  The family is one of the key institutions that social inequalities are passed on through the generations.

  
  

  - The bourgeoise pass on their wealth to family members

  - Educational advantages are passed down as people from wealthy backgrounds can afford to send their children to private schools

  - Through the socialisation process people learn to accept their position.
• Feminist Perspective family


  Families have a negative impact on the lives of women. Families socially construct gender differences -canalisation. Children also learn gender expectations through the division of domestic labour e.g. Mum cleaning up.
• Patterns of marriage:


  - Decline

  - Later in life

  - Civil partnership/same-sex

  - Increase in cohabitation

  - Increase in births outside of marriage
• Patterns of divorce:

  - Changes in the law

  - Changing social attitudes & values

  - Impact of secularisation

  - Changes in the status of women

  - Influence of media
• Consequences of divorce:

  - Emotional distress

  - Financial hardship

  - Remarriage
• Why have families changed?

  - Laws (gay rights, divorce is easier.)

  - Rise of feminism

  - Diversity

  - Technology (contraception, fertility)

  - Changing norms & values

  - Secularisation- religion is less of an influence
• How have families changed?

  - Smaller (less children)

  - Marriage is less likely

  - Parents are older

  - Joint Conjugal roles

  - Family diversity

  - Increase in divorce, rise in reconstituted
• Reasons for increase in one-person households:

  - Remain single and childless

  - Divorced

  - International migrants

  - Living alone through choice

  - Cohabiting (potentially before marriage)

  - Choosing to live apart from partner
• Household:

  Consists of one person who lives alone or a group of people living at the same address.
• Parent & child relationship change:

  - Families used to rely on children's income until the Education Act of 1918 and childhood began

  
  

  - Parents are now less authoritarian

  
  

  - Children are seen as important members of the family and their opinions are listened to

  
  

  - Boomerang children: Young people who leave home (for university or travelling) & return to living with their parent(s)
• Rapoport and Rapoport

  (1982)- Family Diversity

  
  

  - The family is going through a process of change

  - People value choice in their family pattern

  - Five types of family diversity: Organisational, cultural, class, life course and cohort
• Young & Wilmott

  (1973, Functionalist)

  
  

  - Suggested the 'Symmetrical family ' is typical (similar contributions made by each spouse to the running of the household)

  - Conjugal roles are not interchangeable, but they are of equal importance
• Talcott Parsons

  (1956, Functionalist)

  
  

  The family is almost functionless, but still has two important functions:

  
  

  - Primary socialisation

  - The stabilisation of adult personalities e.g. to give and receive emotional support.
• Eli Zaretsky

  (1976, Marxist)

  
  

  - Believes that the family has become a prop to the capitalist economy

  - Also serves as a vital unit of consumption.
• Delphy & Leonard

  (Radical Feminists)

  
  

  - Men are the prime beneficiaries of the exploitation of women's labour

  - The family has a central role in maintaining patriarchy
• Ann Oakley

  (1974, Feminist)

  
  

  - Rejects the symmetrical family.

  - Believes the conventional family is no longer the norm

  - People expect a conventional family life to bring happiness, but there are strains from the conventional expectations.
• Nuclear Family

  (Known otherwise as a "cereal packet family") a couple and their dependent children
• Same-Sex Family

  Gay or lesbian couple living in a house, possibly with children
• Extended Family

  Includes relatives beyond the nuclear family
• Beanpole Families

  Multiple generations of older people and few children
• Lone-Parent Families

  One parent and child(ren) who live together
• Reconstituted Family

  Sometimes referred to as a step family. Children from a previous relationship so one adult is a biological parent, the other is a step-parent.
• Functionalist Approacheducation

  Take a consensus view. Education performs 3 main functions - socialisation into a shared culture, teaching specialist work skills, selecting people for work roles. Education is organised on meritocratic principles.
• Marxist Approach education

  Take a class conflict view. Education's role is to serve capitalism. It's an ideal state apparatus that reproduces and legitimises inequality through correspondence principle and myth of meritocracy.
• Feminist Approach education

  Take a patriarchal view. Education still benefits the male gender more.
• Post-Modernist Approach

  Economy has become post-fordist. Education is becoming more diverse and flexible.
• Cultural Capital

  The knowledge middle class parents have that allows them to navigate the education system to best benefit their children.
• Centre for Longitudinal studies (2007)

  By the age of 3, children from disadvantaged backgrounds are already up to one year behind those with more privileged backgrounds. Gap widens with age.
• Bernstein (1975)

  Speech codes. Restricted code used by the working class. Elaborated code used by middle class.
• Restricted Code


  Primarily working class. Limited vocab. Based on short, unfinished, grammatically simple sentences. Speech is predictable. May only use single word or gestures. Descriptive not analytic. Speaker assumes listener shares same experiences.
• Elaborated Code

  Primarily middle class. Wide vocab, grammatically complex sentences. Varied speech communicating abstract ideas. Speaker makes no assumptions so spell out meanings explicitly.
• Working-Class Subculture

  Members of the WC have different goals, beliefs, and attitudes that clash with education.
• Immediate Gratification

  Seeking immediate pleasure rather than making sacrifices and waiting for greater rewards in the future.
• Department for Education (2012)

  Barely 1/3 of pupils eligible for free school meals achieve 5 or more A*-C GCSE's
• How Poor Housing Influences Education

  Overcrowding means less room for educational activities, nowhere to work, and disturbed sleep. Temporary housing can result in moving from school to school. Cold/damp housing can result in poor health leading to more school absences.
• Bourdieu (1984)

  Both cultural and material factors contribute to educational achievement. Uses 'capital' to explain MC achievement. There are 3 types of capital: Economic, Educational, and Cultural.
• Economic & Educational Capital

  Higher wealth (economic) and more educational assets (educational). MC parents can convert economic capital in to educational capital by paying for private schools and extra tuition.
• External Factors

  Aspects outside the school that affect education. E.g. cultural and material deprivation.
• Internal Factors

  Aspects inside the school that affect education. E.g. labelling, SFP, streaming, and subcultures.