Theme 3: Sociology Of Family

Question 1

Provide a definition of family

Answer 1

a societal group that is related by blood (kinship), adoption, foster care or
the ties of marriage (civil, customary or religious), civil union or cohabitation,
and go beyond a particular physical residence.”

Question 2

What is a household

Answer 2

“household is a group of persons
who live together and provide themselves jointly with food and/or other essentials
for living, or a single person who lives alone.

Question 3

What is a nuclear family household

Answer 3

2 parents and dependant children that live under one roof.

Question 4

What is the extended family household

Answer 4

When referring to extended families living in one household, it
can either be three generations living together, or polygamous marriages that are
linked to one household. Since extended families share a household, resources are
pooled and hence it is also a survival strategy for poor families.

Question 5

What is meant by single parent household

Answer 5

One parent lives with the children in a household separate from other family members which is usually the mother.

Question 6

What are modified extended families

Answer 6

A modified extended family isn’t bound by households since it refers to exchange of goods and services between family members not living in the same household.

Question 7

What are migrant families

Answer 7

Where members move from the household for certain reasons such as employment.

Commuter relationships are an example where partners live separately for sake of their careers.

Question 8

Explain child headed household

Answer 8

Is linked to orphaned and vulnerable children where both parents have passed away or there whereabouts are unknown. In these households there are no children over 18 years of age.

Question 9

What are reconstituted or stepfamilies

Answer 9

Where two families from previous relationship become one.

Question 10

Explore families with same sex parents

Answer 10

Are constituted when a parent has biological children from previous heterosexual relationship, through adoption and use of vitro fertilization or surrogate pregnancy

Question 11

Define life course in different contexts

Answer 11

Perspective based on aging considers the ways in which historical time an accumulation of individual experience and actions opportunities and decisions interaction with other and large scale social forces combine to influence experience of ageing.

With regard to families the experience of individual members are cumulative and affect each other but the family has aggregate past that’s more encompassing than that of individual.

Question 12

Provide 3 aspects of fatherhood

Answer 12

The biological father:

The economic father who provided materially

The social father who engages with children.

Question 13

Provide risk factors for domestic violence

Answer 13

#experiencing violence as a child
#low levels of education
#liberal ideas of woman's role
#alcohol consumption
#having another partner
#male partner desire a son
#frequent conflict
#one partner responsible for financial support

Question 14

What factors influence levels of poverty

Answer 14

Location,

race and gender thus intersect with high rates of poverty

Question 15

Explore different perspectives on education

The functionalist perspective

Answer 15

The functionalist perspective build on the principles put forward by Emile Durkheim
(see SOC1501). According to Durkheim, education helps to promote solidarity and
stability in society. A second aspect highlighted by Durkheim is moral education.
He saw this as important since it laid the base for a cohesive social order.From a functional point
of view, then, educational reform is supposed to create structures, programs, and
curricula that are technically advanced and rational and that encourage social unity.

Question 16

Distinguish between manifest and latent functions of learning

Answer 16

Manifest functions refer
to “open, stated, and intended goals or consequences within an organization or
institution” (Kendall 2007: 516) – that which most people believe schools are there
for or the prime purpose of schooling.manifest functions include transmitting knowledge that prepares future generations
for occupational and citizenship roles.

Latent functions are defined as “hidden, unstated, and sometimes unintended
consequences of activities within an organization or institution

Question 17

Explore different perspectives on education

The conflict perspective

Answer 17

According to conflict theorists, the ideologies that are reiterated
within education are meant to justify current inequalities. There is thus an unequal
distribution of material and cultural goods in society and education is used as a tool
to make people accept these inequalities (Sadovnik 2007: 6). It is postulated that
specific factors and processes prevent people who are not from the dominant classes
to access education equally and more importantly, that people from dominant classes
are given special privileges within the education system
Pierre Bourdieu (in Kendall 2007: 518–519) refers to the concept cultural capital
to point out that particular attitudes, manners, knowledge about particular books
and so forth are rewarded in formal educational settings. Working class and poorer
parents are not able to equip their children with such forms of cultural capital since they have most probably not been exposed to it themselves
“Tracking refers to the practice of assigning students
to specific curriculum groups and courses on the basis of their test scores, previous
grades, or other criteria” (Kendall 2007: 519). It is believed that if people with similar
abilities are grouped together, it will be easier to teach them
hidden curriculum “as all things learnt at school
that are not blatant or obviously taught.” Often the message is that the status quo
should be accepted and not questioned

Question 18

SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONIST PERSPECTIVE

Answer 18

The labelling perspective is of importance here. Labelling is a
process whereby other people ascribe a specific characteristic to an individual. Labels
may have a huge effect on people if those who label have a lot of power. In schools,
teachers are expected to label children by scoring tests and writing comments on
reports. In the classroom, a teacher may perceive and then label a child as being
bright or lazy and then future behaviour may always be judged in terms of that label.

Question 19

How is disability defined

Answer 19

Disability is imposed by society when a person with a physical, psychosocial,
intellectual, neurological and/or sensory impairment is denied access to full
participation in all aspects of life, and when society fails to uphold the rights and
specific needs of individuals with impairments.

Question 20

What barriers excist for disabled people

Answer 20

social (including high cost, lack of disability awareness, and communication
difficulties);
• psychological (such as fear for personal safety); and
• structural (including infrastructure, operations and information)” (Department
of Social Development, Republic of South Africa 2016: 4).

Question 21

Distinguish between direct and indirect bullying

Answer 21

victimisation is overt (face-to-face) and includes aspects such as hitting or name-

calling. Indirect victimisation (or relational bullying) does not occur in direct contact

such as spreading rumours or excluding someone from friendship group