Contemporary Social Structures and Their Role in Social Life - Essay Example

Contemporary Social Structures and the Role of Such Structure in Regulating Social Life and Beliefs Social institutions, constitute social structures, are the various organized social arrangements which are found in all societies. Contemporary means the social structures in his modern world. There are various social structures: for example the family is an institution concerned with arrangements for marriage, such as at what age people can marry, whom they can marry and how many partners they can have as well as the upbringing of children (Scott & Fulcher, 2011, p4). Other institutions include: the education system which establishes ways of passing on attitudes, knowledge and skills from one generation to the next; the peer group and lastly the religious institutions are concerned with people’s relations with the supernatural. These social institutions make up the society’s social structure. The family The family is defined as a domestic group of people, or a number of domestic groups linked through descent from: a common ancestor; marriage; or adoption. That is to say that a family has some form of kinship (Scott & Fulcher, 2011, p99). In the contemporary society, a family is no longer a man, woman and child (ren) but has been extended to include adoption and even single parents as families. That is to say, nuclear family is being deprecated. For example currently in the U.S. more women now lives on their own and raising children singly. Calhoun (2007, p199) asserts that despite the emergent forms of the families and the variations of the family structure and function from community to community, the basic functions of the family include: to reproduce society, both biologically, through procreation; and socially through socialization. These functions serve to shape an individual’s experience of his/her family over time. The family locates the children socially and influences their modes of socialization. Children begin to orientate to their gender roles at a very early age through socialization conferred onto them by the family. This is the primary form of socialization that the family plays a crucial role in. The primary form of socialization is achieved in many ways: first, from the type of games that the children of different gender participate in. girls for example, tend to play games that are depicts being mothers or housewives. Boys tend to play more masculine games. However there are games that are commonly shared between the two and naturally these games suggest and eventually turn out be roles or activities that can be assumed by both gender. Apart from games parent’s rules also shape the primary socialization of either gender at that tender age. Girls and boys are treated differently. For example there is more care and strict rules on girls than boys. Girls are most likely to be confined as compared to boys (Calhoun, 2007, p256). The kind of domestic chores also influence the mode of socialization of children. It is obvious that girls and boys perform different kinds of tasks. Girls are more often engaged with helping the mother in housework while boys participate in outdoor activities with their father. Lastly, children learn from the family by watching and imitating parents. Children readily learn from their parents. As they watch their parents go about their daily gender roles, they learn intuitively that these are roles they will assume once they grow up. For the parents, the family serves as an opportunity for procreation. It produces and socializes children. In other families the unit serves to impose upon women the obligation to bear children. The marriage is also meant to guarantee the father and the mother a legal ownership of children. The education system According to Dy (2009, p54), the school propagates the gender socialization that was started at home. Apart from what is usually referred to as the school curriculum, there is a hidden curriculum which strongly contributes to socialization. Academic curriculum serves the function of conferring knowledge to the members of society. The hidden curriculum shapes the socialization aspect. The hidden curriculum involves the hidden teaching attitudes and behavior. The teacher’s attitude in the first place will naturally influence the socialization of different gender. For example, how would a female teacher advice a boy and a girl on the career? It is obvious that the female teacher would advise the girl to pursue careers that are skewed in favor of feminine gender such as nursing, while the boy will be advised for more masculine careers such as engineering; that is if the two have the same level of intelligence (Scott & Fulcher, 2011, p213). Even in the case of different levels of intelligence, the boy or the girl will be advised for the lighter careers but biased towards their gender. Another example is that the boys’ unruly behavior is likely to be more tolerated than the similar behavior from girls. It is perceived as “unfeminine.” The other source of influence on socialization is the literature found in schools. The kind of books that are read in schools also serves to emphasize the different gender roles. The science and technology books traditionally bear great names of male inventors. In fact most successful scientists I history are largely males. Girls and boys have also been advised both by parents and teachers to take certain subjects (Dy, 2009, p64). Girls are commonly advised to consider history and languages together with disciplines that deals with food technology, business studies, leisure and tourism. The boys on the other hand have been advised to take disciplines on engineering and technology. The religion Religion is another significant institution of the society. There are varied kinds of religion and a single definition may not include all. Religion serves three important functions: social cohesion, social control and provision of meaning and purpose. The religion too has hidden influences on the socialization (Scott & Fulcher, 2011, p578). But first we look at how the religion achieves the three functions. In social cohesion, religion helps maintain social solidarity through shared rituals and beliefs. Different religious groups perform various rituals and holds beliefs that are generally accepted by the group. For examples Christians celebrate Holy Communion and believe in Jesus Christ. The Holy Communion creates togetherness among Christians and makes them embrace forgiveness for each other (Bert & Rosalind, 2011, p.88). It teaches the Christians to learn how to forgive each other and this practice is reflected in the lives of Christians. The Muslims also perform the Ramadan which depicts their character of sharing with and caring for the poor. Bert & Rosalind (2011, p155) stipulate that the other function of religion is social control which entails the control of morals and norms that help in maintaining conformity in society. The religious groups advance the belief that a society without religion readily suffers moral decadence. Religion teaches people several social values such as love your neighbor, live in harmony, abhor incest etc. As a result, the followers tend to practice these values so as to have a healthy society. In effect these values as taught by the religion influence the mode of socialization of the individuals in the society. Religion also serves to provide meaning and purpose to existential questions. These are questions regarding topics regarding the existence of supernatural beings and even things like eternity. Religion tends to keep the hope of members in the society alive. The peer group Per group refer to people of same age, interest and status. For one to become a member of the peer group he/she must conform to the norms of their peer group. The norms mostly involve stereotyped masculine and feminine roles. For example, in male peer groups, interests and norms builds around activities such as football, music, cars, motor-bikes, computers and computer games (Scott & Fulcher, 2011, p612). Peer groups usually exert pressure on an individual to conform to these interests otherwise they are usually discarded. Male peer groups may also be about things like taking alcohol, chasing after girls or drugs. An individual male would be expected to be able to do these things without cowardice. Hence peer groups greatly contribute to the way an individual carries himself socially. Conclusion Social activities are one of the most significant aspects in our daily activities. However, they have proved to be under the influence of many different factors. It is being influenced by both individuals and institutions. Hence, we are supposed to be very keen when it comes to social interaction by ensuring that we do what we feel its right without any pressure or influence. We should be ready to preserve our cultural beliefs and practices, and wellbeing at all costs. Bibliography A Bert and S Rosalind, Contemporary sociological theory, Pine Forge Press, New York, 2002, p.281 C Calhoun, Contemporary sociological theory, Wiley-Blackwell, New York, 2007, p.468 J Scott and J Fulcher, Sociology, Oxford University Press, Oxford University, 2011, p.954. M Dy, Contemporary Social Philosophy, Goodwill Trading Co., Inc., New York, 2009, p.78. Read More