Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess sociological explanations of the nature and extent of family diversity today (24 marks)
Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess sociological explanations of the nature and extent of family diversity today (24 marks) The nuclear family is portrayed as the perfect family on most advertising. The 'cereal packet' family, dad, mum and two kids all perfectly bronzed and all smiles. This idea was described by Edmund Leach in 1967 but is the nuclear family still the norm in our society today as family diversity is increasing? Rapoport, Rapoport and Fogarty would suggest that this is not the case any longer due to increased family diversity. They identified five different types of family diversity in Britain. Organisational diversity refers to division of labour within the family and differences in the ways family roles are organised. Cultural diversity is diversity due to religious and ethnic influences. Social class diversity- there are differences between working and middle classes in terms of adult relationships, the socialisation of children etc. Life course diversity, as different stages in the life cycle will generate different patterns of structure e.g. newly weds have a different structure and life style to those with children. Cohort diversity refers to specific times in the past which could have had an effect on the family structure, e.g. unemployment in the 1980's would have led to a smaller family structure. Eversley and Bonnerjea (E and B)
Family Diversity
According to Item B teachers expectations of pupils are based upon stereotypes about the pupils gender, ethnicity, and social class. However this is only a problem if pupils takes the label on, and continues to live up to the teachers expectations. Evidence suggests that they can "exert a powerful influence over pupils achievements." Ray Rist did a study of a kindergarten. He found that the teacher looked into each individual children's background and then placed them in separate groups dependant upon their social class. The middle-class children were labelled as 'tigers' they had a neat and clean appearance, and sat at the front of the classroom, where the teacher encouraged their learning, meanwhile the working-class children were grouped together at the back of the classroom and labelled 'clowns' showing their lack of attention and naughty behaviour. In result of this they were given lower level work so they couldn't prove their ability. This was the main reason for underachievement and failure amongst the working-class. However if pupils don't take on the label this wont effect their learning capability and achievements. Margaret Fuller's study of black girls in a London comprehensive school found the girls resented being labelled by negative stereotypes associated with both their ethnicity and gender and got on with their work and put effort into their education to
Outline and discuss the view that the nuclear family is the ideal family
(b) Outline and discuss the view that the nuclear family is the ideal family. (30 marks) The idea of the nuclear family is located within the theory of the Functionalists. The functionalists talk about society being like a human body. The organic analogy incorporates the ideas of a system to emphasise the inter-relatedness and mutual dependency of the major situations of society. They see the family as changing and responding to the needs of society. Functionalists argue that the nuclear family developed as a result of industrialization. The nuclear family has evolved, according to the Functionalist perspective because it is best suited to an industrial society, its smallness of scale makes for ease of geographical and social mobility, and it provides a haven for its members. It fits the needs of an advanced industrial society, in the same way that the larger extended families fitted the needs of an agricultural society. However Functionalists have been accused of idealising the family. Marxists are critical of the family and society. They believe society is based on a conflict between the classes - working class and ruling class. The family helps to maintain class differences in society as the rich can afford to give their children a better start in life than the poor, e.g. pay for a better education, and get them a good job either in their own business or their
Analyse the differences between primary and secondary socialisation
Analyse the differences between primary and secondary socialisation Socialisation starts from the moment we are born and continues until the day we die. It turns us from being totally reliant infants into self-aware adults and teaches us how to behave as a human being within society and culture. Because society is in a constant state of change we never stop learning how to behave and this is why the socialisation process continues throughout an individual's lifetime. There are two very different types of socialisation that happen in a lifetime at very different stages. They are Primary Socialisation and Secondary Socialisation. Primary socialisation consists of the most important developmental stage a human being will go through. When we are born we are not aware of our 'self'. For example, a baby will not understand that by shaking a rattle, it is actually him that is making the noise happen. Primary socialisation is the process that makes us self-aware and occurs between the infant and the people with whom they would have a primary relationship with, such as parents and very close grandparents. A primary relationship is close, personal, intimate and face-to-face. The people we have these relationships with are within groups called Agencies of primary socialisation, such as the immediate family or education if an infant starts nursery school or has a childminder very early
Examine the factors affecting the domestic division of labour and power relations between couples.
Examine the factors affecting the domestic division of labour and power relations between couples. Domestic division of labour is the division of tasks, roles and duties, within the household. With the increased entry of married women into formal employment, sociologists began to look more closely at the processes that linked home and workplace, including the question of whether or not women's increased involvement in paid labour led to a renegotiation of the traditional domestic roles and organization of domestic labour. A major characteristic of the symmetrical family outlined by Young and Willmott was the degree to which spouses shared domestic work and leisure activities. In Young and Willmott's stage 2 family, conjugal roles were largely segregated. There was a clear cut division of labour between spouses in the household and the husband was relatively uninvolved with domestic chores and raising the children. The wife is associated mainly with her female kin and neighbours and the husband with his male workmates, kin and neighbours. In the stage 3 symmetrical families, conjugal roles become joint, however the wife still has primary responsibility for housework and child rearing, husbands become more involved, often washing clothes, ironing and sharing other domestic duties. Husband and wife shared responsibility for decisions that affect the family; they discuss matters
Assess the view that working class underachievement in education is the result of home circumstances and family background.
Assess sociological views of the relationship between the family and industrialisation. Industrialisation has had a significant affect upon the family and there are a variety of studies and theories to explore and explain the relationship between them. Industrialisation occurred mainly during the 18th century. Before this, Britain was agricultural and the majority of its citizens were self-sufficient. The pre-industrial family, according to Wilmott and Young's historical study of the family, was responsible for the production of the food and clothing, and would trade with neighbours or extended kin for other good they required and were unable to produce themselves. There was no separation between the home and the work place as the family was a unit of production, usually in agriculture or textiles, and roles were based on ascription rather than achievement. Duty and obligation to the family were key values and meant that role bargaining did not take place as family members accepted these roles without question. Peter Laslett concluded that kinship based families and the classic extended family were the only two possible forms of pre-industrial families. He also found that from the mid 1500's to 1800's, only 10% of households contained kin beyond the nuclear family. He believed that due to short life expectancies and people marrying later in life, the gap between the death
Sociology Research Paper - To examine how teenage pregnancy affects the teen mothers health and the family
Transfer-Encoding: chunked “To examine how teenage pregnancy affects the teen mother’s health and the family” The researcher has chosen this topic as the researcher from observation has noticed that within the researcher’s community pregnancy in teens are affecting the teenager herself and her family likewise. Teenage pregnancy refers to pregnancy in a female under the age of 20. Lack of awareness about the causes and effects of teenage pregnancy is more often than not, a result of lack of proper communication between teenagers and their parents. Government statistics on female adolescent pregnancies indicate that the total number of annual births changed little over the preceding 10 years, but the number of teenage pregnancies rose 70 percent, from 114,205 in 1999 to 195,662 in 2009. The children of teen mothers are more likely to be born prematurely with a low birth weight, predisposing them to many other lifelong conditions. The hardships do not stop at birth for these children. The children are at higher risk and are usually plagued by intellectual, language, and socio-emotional delays. ________________ This research seeks to examine how does teenage pregnancy affects the teen mother’s health and the family ________________ Aim: To investigate or find out the causes and effects of teenage pregnancy on the teen and her family health wise * To
The influence of culture on romantic relationships
Transfer-Encoding: chunked The influence of culture on romantic relationships Relationships in Western and Non-Western cultures differ greatly due to whether they are voluntary or not and the values they base in the relationship. In Western cultures people typically choose their own partners on the basis of romantic attraction and individual choice. This is usually before making the decisions such as living together or making long term commitments like marriage. Some may even live together without getting married and the rate of marriages in western cultures has steadily decreased. Furthermore, due to greater social mobility, western cultures are characterised by a greater pool of potential relationships and choice. Western cultures also place a greater importance on the rights and freedoms of the individual and are seen as ‘individualistic’ as they focus on the individual making their own choices. Therefore, relationships are seen as voluntary by those involved. In non-western cultures the groups tend to be the main unit of concern and these are known as ‘collectivist’ cultures. Here individuals are encouraged to be interdependent whereas individualistic in western cultures may promote freedom of choice in relationships. Collectivist cultures greatly shape relationships through family, group or community. Here relationships may in tern be involuntary in many
Evaluate Murdocks view that the nuclear family is universal
Evaluate Murdock’s view that the nuclear family is universal According to Murdock, the nuclear family is the basic, universal form of family and is defined as “a social group characterised by common residence, economic cooperation and reproduction. It includes adults of both sexes, at least two of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship, and one or more children, own or adopted, of the cohabiting adults”. In most western societies, the nuclear family has been found to be a common family type. Murdock studied 250 societies, with varying cultures and social class and found a wide range of family types, yet found that the nuclear family, with a husband, wife and one or more children, was most seen. At the end of the study, Murdock concluded that the nuclear family is a “universal social grouping” and was a key feature of almost all societies. However, in non-western societies like the Nayar in southern India, Gough found the nuclear family to be more uncommon. In most families, men and women are polygamous, and families are matrifocal, as the men are mercenary warriors who don’t partake in raising children. Offspring of one common ancestress live under a single roof, including the families of the offspring. Each woman has her own room in the house and husbands would visit one at a time at night and leave in the morning. Compared to Murdock’s
Evaluate sociological theories of the role of the family in contemporary society
Evaluate sociological theories of the role of the family in contemporary society [35 marks] In contemporary society, different sociological perspectives view the family very differently. Perspectives such as functionalism and the New Right view the stereotypical nuclear family as being a positive function within society, without which society can not be maintained. Other perspectives such as feminism and marxism, see the nuclear family negatively and believe it does more harm than good to its members. Functionalists view the family through ‘rose tinted glasses’ and idealise the stereotypical nuclear family structure of the instrumental male figure and expressive female figure. Murdock, after looking at 200 different societies, concluded that there were four essential functions of the family that maintain society; sexual, reproductive, educational and economic respectively. The family creates an outlet through sexual gratification that prevents conflict, allows adults to know the biological parents of children and therefore reproduce and carry on the family line. The family also educates the children by passing on knowledge and skills and economically, the family acts as a productive consumption unit. Parsons then suggested that with the change in and progress into an Industrial society, functions were lost to other institutions and now the family fulfils two
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