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The basic social institutions
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INTRODUCTION
A social institution is an organizational system that functions to satisfy the basic social needs. This is possible by providing an ordered framework linking the individual to the larger society. Social institutions are majorly determined by their society’s mode of production. They serve to maintain the power of the dominant group (Hobhouse et al.,2013). Social institutions are interdependent and no single institution determines the others. The basic institutions in any society are: family, education, religion, government and economics. In this section we will only look at the three major institutions which include: family, education and religion.
Social institutions have a role to play in society. Generally, the roles of the institutions are:
First, they satisfy the basic needs of the society. Secondly, they define dominant social norms. Thirdly, they establish permanent patterns of social behavior. Besides that, they support other institution and lastly, they
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It carries out the following functions: primarily, a family is concerned with control and regulation of sexual behaviors (Hobhouse et al.,2013). Secondly, the family provides for the new members of the society that is children. In addition to that, a family provide for the primary socialization of children. Finally, a family provides for the economic and emotional maintenance of individuals in the society.
Education: can be defined as a formal process whereby knowledge, skills and values are passed on from on individual or group to another (Boyer.,2012). Some of the functions of education in the society are transmitting culture from one generation to another. Another function is analyzing and selecting individuals for appropriate jobs. The next function is transmitting functional skills for functioning in society and finally for preparing individuals for occupational roles in the
Society is civilized, and to be civilized there must be rules, regulations and policies that prevent. Individuality leads to a mess of chaos. To prevent disorder, institutions in society keep these rules strongly enforced. Man creates these institutions in order to provide convenience and stability in everyday life. Then instead of man running these institutions, the institutions begin to reverse the role of power and the institutions are running man.
The Oxford Dictionary defines institution as “a society or organization founded for a religious, educational, social, or similar purpose”. On the contrary, an individual is defined as “a single human being as distinct from a group, class, or family”. Institutions are organizations created by groups of individuals in order to provide social order and guidelines for a community. Although institutions are intended for common good, they can ignore, manipulate or even enslave individuals. In corrupt institutions, authoritative figures maintain power by oppressing and persecuting those who threaten their authority and are even willing to exterminate individuals to protect the institutions. There are two types of individuals whom institutions typically persecute: those who cannot be molded into the ideal citizen; and those who speak out against the institution. Throughout history, authoritative figures and controlling institutions have taken extreme measures to stifle the individuals, threatening their power. For example, the German Nazi regime sought to
These institutions and associations are inter-related in a particular arrangement and thus create the pattern of social structure.
every aspect and institution in a society work as one to create a function; these institutions are said to be
An institution is defined as "a stable cluster of values, norms, status, roles, and groups that develop around a basic social need" with a status being a person's position in society and a role being the behavior expected from that, and a value being a socially shared idea of what is good, right, and desirable and a norm being the behavior expected from those ideas. When people begin to form certain expectations in life there begin to be formed stereotypes. People recognize them universally and use them to form opinions and act or not act in a certain way when they are confronted with a situation or person.
These are the Functionalist, Conflict, and Interactionist Perspectives. Each perspective views society in different manners, with each being correct and relevant since social institutions are too complex to be defined by any one theory. Each perspective will be used to explain the perspectives’ relevance to the family. The sociological definition of the family is “a set of people related by blood, marriage or some other agreed-upon relationship, or adoption, who share the primary responsibility for reproduction and caring for members of society” (Schaeffer, 2009, p. 288). While the nuclear family (a man, a woman, and their children) was once the primary definition of family, now it refers to many familial configurations.
The IAD framework identifies key variables that researchers should use in evaluating the role of institutions in shaping social interactions and decision-making processes. The analytical focus of the IAD is on an action arena, where social choices and decisions are made. Three broad categories of variables are identified as influencing the action arena. Institutions or rules that govern the action arena, the characteristics of the community or collective unit of interest, and the attributes of the physical environment within which the community acts (Ostrom 1990; Ostrom 2005). Each of these three categories ha...
Social control involves rules and behaviors that members of a society are expected to follow.
social system that must be met for the system to survive and the corresponding structures that
Institutions are put in place in society to help in peoples’ lives. Institutions make the nature of society be a place where the community can come together and help one another. Some institutions in everyday life include; school, church, work, teams, and clubs. An institution in my life back in high school was the Interact club. We came together every Thursday to talk about how we can help the community through volunteer work. Being in the club helped me realize that the little struggles in my life are nothing compared to the struggles others are facing on a daily basis. Some people in my society are stressed because they are worried about finding food for their families that week. The institutions, such as my club, helped many people like me realize that there is a problem in our society, and now we can figure out how to fix the problem and get everyone a better standard of living. Solidarity in a society makes the society a better place to be. When everyone in the society is in touch with their culture, everyone agrees with the culture and the norms, it makes the living environment much more enjoyable. As soon as one person goes away from solidarity in the society they are immediately labeled as an outsider and are shunned until they return to solidarity. This proves that being an individual in a society that wants conformity is not standard. Collective consciousness is when everyone in the society agrees with the beliefs that are put in place. Much like solidarity this helps make everything easier for everybody. Societies have certain sanctions put in place to make sure people abide by the collect conscious
“A social institution is a complex, integrated set of social norms organized around the preservation of a basic societal value. Obviously, the sociologist does not define institutions in the same way, as does the person on the street. Lay persons are likely to use the term "institution" very loosely, for churches, hospitals, jails, and many other things as institutions.” (Social Guide website) Furthermore, Institutions are Family, education and religion important in Charles Dickens’ novel. There are some reason Who are the persons that represent these values and norms and in what terms, Which are the values and norms attached to these institutions, with respect to Important Characters, concrete events related to the values and norms attached to family and education institutions, Analysis of all characters that either institutions conflicts with values and norms.
Education is generally seen as a formal process of instruction, based on a theory of teaching, to impart formal knowledge to one or more students (Cogburn, n.d.). Henceforth, individuals seek to acquire some form of schooling from pre-school through secondary school while others may go on to tertiary to better him or her in some way. A definition of education according to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary is that education is “a process of teaching, training and learning, especially in schools or colleges, to improve knowledge and develop skills.” Where education in the common parlance has become a process of adding layers of one’s store of knowledge, the true aim of education is to call forth that which is essential to the individual (White, 2006). Furthermore, and according to Coombs and Ahmed 1974, education is a continuing process, spanning the years from earliest infancy through adulthood and necessarily involving a great variety of methods and sources. Education also involves inculcating in students distinct bits of knowledge; therefore education is an additive process (White, 2006). It adds to an individual as well as it adds to a country through the individuals who are and would have been or are being educated. According to a study conducted by Olaniyan and Okemakinde 2008, education creates improved citizens and helps to upgrade the general standard of living in a society. Furthermore, education plays a key role in the ability of a developing country to absorb modern technology and to develop the capacity for self-sustaining growth and development (Todaro and Smith, 2012).
In order for society to meet the basic social needs of its members, social institutions, which are not buildings, or an organization or even people, but a system whose of social norms, mores and folkways that help make people feel important. Social institutions, according to our textbook, is defined as a fundamental component of this organization in which individuals, occupying defined statues, are “regulated by social norms, public opinion, law and religion” (Amato 2004, p.961). Social institutions are meant to meet people’s basic needs and enable the society to survive. Because social institutions prescribe socially accepted beliefs, values, attitudes and behaviors, they exert considerable social control over individuals.
Family is a fundamental social institution in society, the family, is considered the primary and most important agent of socialization. Family typically consists of a man and woman and their children or two or more people who usually reside in the same home and share same goals and values. Traditionally, in all societies, the family has always been seen as a social institution; that has the biggest impact on society.
Socialization is the process of passing down norms, customs, and ideologies that are important to the society by the previous generations to the younger generations. The school system is a social agency that was created to enhance the processes of socialization through education. The importance of school as an agent of socialization can be best explained by the amount of time students spend in school and in activities happen around school. The manifest functions of school are to educate students the social norms, and the knowledge and skills that help them become economically productive in order to benefit the society. But students not only learn from the academic curriculum but they also benefit from socialize with their teachers and peers.