Sociological Perspective
Society influences people
Social Structures/Social Forces
How society is organized. Horizontally or Vertically (inequality) People are ranked on Gender, Race, Ethnicity, Class, Religion
Social Instiutions
Patterns of values and behavior. Law, Family, Religion, Education
Culture
Shared beliefs, values, behaviors and practices. Process of creating meaning.
Elements of Culture
Values, beliefs, norms, mores - norms with moral significance, symbols, artifacts,
Ethnocentrism
Judging another culture based on your own. Believing that your culture is better.
Cultural Relativism
Assessing a culture by its own standards
Subculture
Part of the larger culture but shares a smaller group identity. (Relief Society)
Counterculture
Rejection of the larger culture. Attempt to defy or separate from society.
Popular Culture
Common, mainstream. Spread through media: TV, music, magazines
Socialization
Learning norms, values, and expected behaviors of a society
Resocialization
Removing behaviors/norms from a person for them to better fit in with society
Family trends in the U.S.
Cohabitation, singlehood, married women work outside the home, low birthrate, delayed marriage, divorce,
Social problems in family
DV, abuse
Family functions (functional perspective)
Members assume roles to maintain the order of the family and its position in society
Family and social equalities (conflict perspective)
Groups disagree and struggle for power and limited resources, conflict is natural,
Family as an agent of socialization (interaction perspective)
Family is the primary way we learn meaning and culture, expectations and meanings vary by families social class, marriage is a status symbol
Education functions (functional perspective)
Manifest Functions: socialization, social integration, social placement
Latent Functions: courtship, social networks, childcare
Education and social inequalities (conflict perspective)
Promotes social inequality,
Education as agent of socialization (interaction perspective)
Social interaction in the classroom, leads us to be more tolerant
Education trends in the U.S.
87% of adults have high school education, Publics have 90% of students, 43% of Americans have degrees
Social problems in education
Latino and black students struggle, their homes, 9% drop out, 15% are illiterate, poverty leads to lower education,
Educational segregation (by race historically and social class (de-facto) currently)
Different incomes and prejudice lead to segregated schools
Education tracking
Students assigned to different programs, family background matters, self-fulfilling prophecy
