Social Institutions and Family Structures

Social Institutions

• Social institutions are sets of beliefs, rules, practices, and relationships. They create social order.
• Institutions are considered fundamental components of society's culture.
• The Institutional approach emphasizes the ordered set of rules, norms, beliefs, or values that shape behavior.
• The Relational approach focuses on social relations, understanding how they structure society.

The Family, Marriage and Kinship

• The family is a group of people connected by birth, marriage, and shared residence.
• It’s vital for nurturing offspring from childhood to adulthood.
• Nuclear Families: Composed of parents and children
• Extended families: Includes nuclear family members, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
• Reconstituted families consist of spouses and their children from previous marriages.
• Kinship: Social network built on blood or marriage ties. It can influence an individual's social status.

Types of Kinship Descent

• Matrilineal kinship: Descent traced through the female line.
• Patrilineal kinship: Descent traced through the male line.
• Bilineal kinship: Descent traced through both male and female lines.

Marriage

• A formally recognized union between a man and a woman.
• Types of marriage:
  • Monogamous marriage: A person can have only one spouse.
  • Polygamous marriage: A person can have more than one spouse.
    • Polygyny: A husband can take multiple wives.
    • Polyandry: A wife can have multiple husbands.

The Economy

• The economy addresses resource allocation in a society.
• Key Economic Questions:
  • What should be produced?
  • How will products be produced?
  • What will be the price of these products?

Economic Perspectives

• Liberal economists: Believe the market should determine economic decisions.
  • Market: A self-regulating mechanism (Adam Smith)
  • Free competition: Limits greed and allows for individual choice.
• Socialists: Believe the bourgeoisie (owners of the means of production) dominate the market and only benefit from it.
  • Karl Marx: Believed private property should be abolished and controlled by the state to promote equal resource distribution.
  • Communism (as defined by Marx): An alternative to the free market system, where the state controls resources and there is no private property.
• John Maynard Keynes: Argued for government intervention to prevent market failures (e.g., imperfect competition, information, and mobility).
  • Market Failures: When the market becomes inefficient.

Educational and Health Institutions

• Both educational and health institutions uphold basic human rights.
• They can be state-run or privately owned.

Health Institutions

• Ensure access to healthcare services and promote public health..
• Types of health systems:
  • Western health systems: Based on scientific methods and standardized training.
  • Traditional or alternative health systems: Employ holistic approaches and existed before western systems.

Educational Institutions

• Ensure functional literacy and transmit culture, beliefs, norms, values, and practices.
• Can educate individuals about history and provide a sense of identity.
• Equip individuals with skills and knowledge for economic productivity.
  • K-12 Curriculum: Aimed at better preparing students for the global market.
• Marxist perspective: Argues schools should promote critical thinking and challenge exploitative practices.
• Alternative Learning Systems (ALS): Cater to dropouts, out-of-school youth, and senior citizens.
• Department of Education´s ALS: Offers a ladderized, non-formal education program.

Religion

• A major social institution involving a set of beliefs and practices.
• Its beliefs influence members' behavior.
• Types of organized groups:
  • Church: A universally accessible religious organization.
  • Sect: An exclusive religious group that often challenges societal norms.
• Classifications of Religions:
  • Monotheistic religions: Believe in one god (e.g., Christianity, Judaism, Islam).
  • Polytheistic religions: Believe in multiple gods.

The Role of the State

• Some states have a secular approach, while others have a strong religious influence.
• Theocracies: States where religious leaders hold political power.
• Secularization: The decreasing influence of religion in society.
  • Indicators: Lower church attendance and secular public policies and practices.
• Liberation Theology: Aims to address poverty and social injustices.
• Religious extremism: Can perverst religious doctrines (e.g., Buddhist extremists in Myanmar, Islamist extremists like ISIS).

Explore the concepts of social institutions, family types, and kinship in this quiz. Understand the importance of rules, norms, and relationships that shape societal behavior. Delve into different family structures, including nuclear, extended, and reconstituted families, along with their social implications.