The goals of education as a social institution. Social role and functions of the educational institution
Education is an important social institution. It is known that a social institution is an organized system of connections and social norms that unites significant social values and procedures that satisfy the basic needs of society. Any functional institution arises and functions, fulfilling one or another social need.
Successful activities of the institute are possible only if a certain set of conditions are met:
- 1) the presence of social norms and regulations governing the behavior of people within a given institution;
- 2) integrating it into the socio-political and value structure of society, which, on the one hand, provides a formal legal basis for the activities of the institution, and on the other, allows for social control over the corresponding types of behavior;
- 3) it is necessary to have material resources and conditions that ensure the successful implementation by institutions of regulatory requirements and the implementation of social control.
Each social institution has both specific features and common features with other institutions.
The signs of an educational institution are: attitudes and patterns of behavior - love of knowledge, attendance; symbolic cultural signs; utilitarian cultural traits; oral and written code; specific ideology - academic freedom, progressive education, equality in education.
Possessing a value-normative structure with corresponding social positions, a social institution can be considered as an independent social system, or more precisely, a subsystem of the social whole, the activities of which are associated with the implementation of the vital needs of a large social system (society). Thus, between the social institution, considered as a subsystem, and the social system as a whole, there are certain (functional) dependencies, thanks to which the stability and development of society is ensured.
Education is a social subsystem that has its own structure. As its main elements, we can distinguish educational institutions as social organizations, social communities (teachers and students), and the educational process as a type of sociocultural activity.
In modern concepts concerning the philosophy and sociology of education, it is customary to distinguish between formal and informal education. The term “formal education” implies, firstly, the existence in society of special institutions (schools, colleges, technical colleges, universities, etc.) that carry out the learning process. Secondly, the educational system prevailing in modern industrial society is subject to an educational standard officially prescribed by the state, which determines the minimum boundaries of knowledge and skills required by society in various areas of professional activity. In addition, the state educational standard, explicitly or implicitly, contains certain sociocultural orientations related to the training and education of the younger generation in accordance with:
- a) the normative canon of the individual (citizen) accepted in a given society;
- b) regulatory requirements for the fulfillment of social roles common in a given society.
Therefore, the activities of the formal education system are determined by the prevailing cultural standards, ideology and political guidelines in society, which are embodied in the state education policy.
In sociology, the object of study is, first of all, the formal education system, identified with the educational process as a whole, since educational institutions play a decisive role in it. As for the term “non-formal education”, it refers to the unsystematized training of an individual in knowledge and skills that he spontaneously masters in the process of communicating with the surrounding social environment (friends, peers, etc.) or through individual familiarization with cultural values, assimilation of information from newspapers, radio, television, etc. Non-formal education is an important part of the socialization of an individual, helps him master new social roles, promotes spiritual development, but in relation to the formal education system in modern society it plays a supporting role. In the following presentation, when speaking about the sociological problems of education, we will have in mind primarily the system of formal education. The education system is also structured according to other principles; it includes a number of links: a preschool education system, a comprehensive school, vocational education, specialized secondary education, higher education, postgraduate education, a system of advanced training and retraining, and hobby education.
The functions of social institutions are usually understood as the various consequences of their activities, which in a certain way influence the preservation and maintenance of the stability of the social system as a whole. The term “function” itself is often interpreted in a positive sense, i.e. This refers to the beneficial consequences of the activities of a social institution, its positive contribution to the integration and preservation of society. Therefore, the activities of a social institution are considered functional if they contribute to maintaining stability and integration of society. This activity can be regarded as dysfunctional if it interferes with the fulfillment of the social needs of the system and works not to preserve it, but to destroy it. An increase in dysfunction in the activities of social institutions can lead to social disorganization and instability of the social system, which, by the way, is characteristic of the current state of Russia, where a number of main institutions, primarily economics and politics (the state), through their activities generate many dysfunctional consequences.
In the process of normal functioning and development of society, an extremely important role is played by the social institution of education, thanks to which the material and spiritual values, knowledge, experience, and traditions accumulated by the work of previous generations are transferred to the new generation of people and assimilated by them. Education can be characterized as a relatively independent system, the task of which is the systematic training and education of members of society, focused on mastering certain knowledge (primarily scientific), ideological and moral values, abilities, skills, norms of behavior, the content of which is determined by the socio-economic and political system society, the level of its material and technical development. Education is connected with all spheres of public life. This connection is realized directly through the individual, who is included in economic, political, spiritual, and other social connections.
Education is an institution that promotes the transmission and reception from one generation to another of systematized, generally accepted and generally accepted knowledge. It provides the process of development and self-development of the individual associated with the mastery of the socially significant experience of humanity, embodied in knowledge, skills, creative activity and emotional and value-based attitude to the world. Moreover, this process occurs, as a rule, within the framework of a formal group, in the course of formal “teacher-student” relationships. Education is a special institution, the principles and norms of which are clearly stated, and which combines a special set of statuses and roles, and is also managed by special personnel. By crossing the threshold that separates family from school, a child enters a fundamentally different type of jurisdiction. The family, as it were, “transfers” it to another social institution and a completely different type of institution. There are other norms and rules of behavior at work here, and they apply not only to this child, but equally to all others.
Most sociologists believe that the institution of education performs a number of important functions in society (especially modern society). These include:
1) social control function
2) reproduction function,
3) intelligence function
4)
5)
The formation of educational institutions in traditional societies becomes possible only with the advent of writing. The institutionalization of education has two aspects: on the one hand, it is the development of a certain part of society’s needs for the assimilation of this accumulated knowledge, and on the other hand, the needs of society itself for further multiplication and expansion of their volume. Both of these needs act as complementary and mutually conditioning each other, like two sides of the coin - the institutionalization of formal education.
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/. 1. Institutional approach to education
As already noted, the institutional approach is most characteristic for the sociological analysis of education. In accordance with it, by education we will understand a stable form of organization of social life and joint activities of people, which includes a set of persons and institutions endowed with power and material means (based on existing certain norms and principles) for the implementation of social functions and roles, management and social control, during which training, education, development and socialization of the individual are carried out with subsequent mastery of a profession, specialty, qualification.
The above definition of education reflects such structural elements of any social institution as: a) the presence of a special form of organization of people’s life activities; b) special institutions for such an organization with an appropriate group of persons authorized to perform the necessary social functions and roles for managing and controlling activities; c) norms and principles of relations between these officials and members of society included in the orbit of action of a given social institution, as well as sanctions for failure to comply with these norms and principles; d) necessary material resources (public buildings, equipment, finances, etc.); e) special functions and areas of activity.
Let us dwell in more detail on the functions of the social institution of education. It, like any other social institution, should be considered multifunctional. This allows him to always be in demand at the level of both society and individual social communities and individuals. Multifunctionality also contributes to the successful implementation of the compensatory tasks of a social institution of education, which means that the institution, in the event of weakening of some functions, can strengthen the effect of others (for example, a decrease in the volume of classroom hours in the educational process should lead to the creation of additional conditions for self-education of students).
There are many interpretations of the functions of education, primarily in pedagogy, philosophy of education and sociology of education, but most often they relate to activity-based, systemic, sociocultural, procedural approaches to their consideration. Without going into discussions on this matter, we will offer the author’s version of the interpretation of the functions of the social institution of education. First, we will divide them into two large groups - external and internal for the educational institution itself, or external and internal.
1.2. External and internal institutional functions of education
The first group of functions “exposes” education to society as a whole, its numerous social institutions, phenomena and processes of an economic, social and cultural nature. Here is the maintenance of stability and balance in the social organism, and the development of production, and the improvement of the professional structure of society, and changes in the social structure, social stratification and mobility, and sociocultural processes, etc.
The second group of functions can be defined as intra-institutional; it concerns processes and phenomena within education itself and is associated with the educational process, its content characteristics, quality, efficiency, socialization of the individual, his upbringing, spiritual and physical improvement and human development, etc.
First, let us characterize the functions of the social institution of education from an external institutional point of view. First of all, it ensures stability and social order in society, and not only in the field of education, but also far beyond it, since it is connected by diverse relationships with other social institutions (for example, the state, production, science, culture, family) and has an impact on they have a strong influence. The Institute of Education interacts with a number of social institutions both directly and directly (illustration of this are the institutions mentioned above), and indirectly, through indirect links (for example, with the institutions of social movements and political parties, sports, etc.).
The named functions of education are of a rather general nature, not specific in relation to individual spheres of social life. Meanwhile, the institution of education performs a number of well-defined economic, social, and cultural functions in society.
Economic ones include, first of all, the formation by the educational institution of the social and professional structure of society and workers who have the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities. The Institute of Education influences the economy primarily through appropriate training of participants in the production process - both professional and social. The question is what nature and content of education should be given today from the point of view of its relevance in production and in society. But this is already a problem of professional education, its structure and content, which we will specifically consider in the corresponding chapter. Here one more circumstance should be noted as very noteworthy: already today in developed countries, a significant part of even blue-collar professions require not only secondary, but also higher education, and from the point of view of both professional and production, as well as social and personal needs.
The social functions of education are quite diverse.
Firstly, this is the reproduction and change in the social structure of society, its stratification model in general and its specific elements in particular. Secondly, these are social movements, transitions of groups, layers and people from one social position to another, or, as they say in sociology, social mobility, which takes place largely due to education.
The cultural functions of the social institution of education consist in the use by the individual and the social community of its achievements for the formation and development of creative activity and the improvement of culture.
Education is the foundation of culture not only from the point of view of its development as a social institution and a special sphere of life, but also on a personal level. After all, receiving an education is nothing more than the process of awakening, forming and realizing the needs for the creation, consumption and dissemination of cultural values. It should be especially emphasized that the cultural function of education is the reproduction and development of the material and spiritual culture of the most diverse layers and groups of the population, but above all youth.
It would be wrong to consider education only as a tool for satisfying economic, social, cultural and other needs of a social nature. The institution of education is no less important for a specific person, satisfying his educational interests and needs beyond the goals and objectives related to the development of the economy, politics, social sphere, and culture.
Education is also a value in itself, an end in itself. Now understanding this circumstance is of particular importance for society. It is in this role that education and its variety, self-education, often act as a source of scientific and cultural progress. Unfortunately, in the activities of the social institution of education, this side of it is rarely taken into account, as a result of which the organization and development of education itself suffers, and most importantly, people who do not receive enough spiritual food due to the lack of the necessary conditions for this.
The named functional characteristics of education as a social institution are important for any educational structures. They are all brought together by the function of forming the personal “core” of society. In this regard, it should be specially noted that education contributes to the active implementation of the process of socialization of the individual, without which he will not be able to successfully fulfill the entire complex of social roles. Here we move on to consider the intra-institutional functions of education.
The Institute of Education promotes strengthening social connections and intra-group cohesion among students and teaching staff. It encourages the behavior of social groups that is desirable from the point of view of society in the field of education, upbringing, socialization, professional training, the interaction of these groups within the framework of democratic innovations, pedagogy of cooperation, humanization of the educational process, etc. Within the boundaries of the intra-institutional activities of educational institutions, control is exercised over deviating from the established norms and principles of behavior. In this sense, the most important function of the social institution of education is to streamline and reduce the activities of social communities within its framework to predictable patterns of social roles, to promote the observance of social order and the maintenance of a favorable moral climate in society.
Among the intra-institutional functions of education, it is necessary first of all to name the functions of training, education, development, socialization of the individual, and professional training (including training in a specialty with the achievement of appropriate qualifications for students in it). An important intra-institutional function of education is to ensure its high quality, allowing a graduate of an educational institution to be in demand in the labor market.
We do not set ourselves the goal of a special and detailed discussion of the issue of the intra-institutional functions of education, believing that this is a task primarily not of sociological, but of pedagogical science. Note that in the sociological literature these functions were analyzed in detail in the works of V.I. Dobrenkova and V.Ya. Nechaeva 1. Among the functions they consider are disciplinary training, socialization-education, professional training (with a detailed description of its main stages), legitimation and integration, cultural-generative function, and social control function.
Characteristics of the functions of education make it possible to determine its place and role in public life. Of course, it acts not only as a social institution, but also in its other manifestations, including as a system. Moreover, people most often perceive education as a system that includes various stages, links and levels (preschool, school, vocational, additional education, etc.).
The features of the institutional approach to education become well understood when comparing it with other approaches. This is best done by comparing institutional and systemic approaches, since the latter is most often implemented in the course of analytical, research, management and reform activities in the field of education.
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A social institution is an organized system of connections and social norms that brings together significant social values and procedures that satisfy the basic needs of society.
Any functional institution arises and functions, fulfilling one or another social need.
Each social institution has both specific features and common features with other institutions.
The characteristics of the educational institution are:
1. attitudes and patterns of behavior - love of knowledge, attendance
2. symbolic cultural signs - school emblem, school songs
3. utilitarian cultural features - classrooms, libraries, stadiums
5. ideology - academic freedom, progressive education, equality in education
Education is a social subsystem that has its own structure. As its main elements, we can distinguish educational institutions as social organizations, social communities (teachers and students), the educational process and a type of sociocultural activity.
Main types of education
The education system is also structured according to other principles; it includes a number of links: a preschool education system, a comprehensive school, vocational education, specialized secondary education, higher education, postgraduate education, a system of advanced training and retraining, and hobby education.
As for preschool education, sociology proceeds from the fact that the foundations of a person’s upbringing, his hard work, and many other moral qualities are laid in early childhood.
In general, the importance of preschool education is underestimated. Too often it is overlooked that this is an extremely important stage in a person’s life, at which the fundamental foundation of a person’s personal qualities is laid. And the point is not in quantitative indicators of “reaching” children or satisfying the desires of parents. Kindergartens, nurseries, and factories are not just a means of “looking after” children, their mental, moral and physical development takes place here. With the transition to teaching children from the age of 6, kindergartens were faced with new problems - organizing the activities of preparatory groups so that children could normally enter into the school rhythm of life and have self-service skills.
From the point of view of sociology, the analysis of society’s orientation towards supporting preschool forms of education, the willingness of parents to resort to their help to prepare children for work and the rational organization of their social and personal life is of particular importance.
To understand the specifics of this form of education, the position and value orientations of those people who work with children - educators, service personnel - are especially significant, as well as their readiness, understanding and desire to fulfill the responsibilities and hopes assigned to them.
Unlike preschool education and upbringing, which does not cover every child (in 1992, only every second child was in kindergarten), secondary school is aimed at preparing all the younger generation without exception for life. In the conditions of the Soviet period, starting from the 60s, the principle of universality of complete secondary education was implemented in order to provide young people with an “equal start” when entering an independent working life. There is no such provision in the new Constitution of the Russian Federation. And if in the Soviet school, due to the requirement to give every young person a secondary education, percentage mania, postscripts, and artificially inflated academic performance flourished, then in the Russian school the number of school dropouts is growing (according to experts, in 1997, 1.5-2 million did not study). children), which will eventually affect the intellectual potential of society.
But even in this situation, the sociology of education is still aimed at studying the values of general education, the guidelines of parents and children, their reaction to the introduction of new forms of education, because for a young person, graduating from a comprehensive school is also the moment of choosing a future life path, profession, occupation. By choosing one of the options, a school graduate thereby gives preference to one or another type of vocational education.
Education as a social institution (page 1 of 5)
But what motivates him in choosing the trajectory of his future life path, what influences this choice and how it changes throughout his life is one of the most important problems of sociology. A special place is occupied by the study of professional education - vocational, secondary special and higher.
Vocational and technical education is most directly related to the needs of production, with an operational and relatively fast form of integrating young people into life. It is directly carried out within large production organizations or the state education system. Originating in 1940 as factory apprenticeship (FZU), vocational education has gone through a complex and tortuous path of development. And despite various costs (attempts to transfer the entire system to a combination of complete and special education in the preparation of necessary professions, poor consideration of regional and national characteristics), vocational training remains the most important channel for obtaining a profession. For the sociology of education, knowledge of the motives of students, the effectiveness of training, its role in advanced training and real participation in solving national economic problems are important.
At the same time, sociological studies both in the 70-80s and in the 90s still record the relatively low (and in a number of professions low) prestige of this type of education, because the orientation of school graduates towards obtaining higher education and then secondary specialized education education continues to prevail. As for secondary specialized and higher education, it is important for sociology to identify the social status of these types of education for young people, assess the opportunities and roles in future adult life, the correspondence of subjective aspirations and objective needs of society, the quality and effectiveness of training. In 1995, 27 million young people aged 12 to 22 were studying, of which 16% were university and technical school students.
Particularly pressing is the issue of the professionalism of future specialists, of ensuring that the quality and level of their modern training meets the realities of today. However, both studies from the 80s and studies from the 90s show that many problems have accumulated in this regard. As evidenced by the results of sociological research, the stability of the professional interests of young people continues to be low. According to research by sociologists, up to 60% of university graduates change their profession. According to a survey of technical school graduates in Moscow, only 28% of them three years after receiving
Functions of education
1 Social functions of the education system
Earlier it was said that education is connected with all spheres of public life. This connection is realized directly through the individual, who is included in economic, political, spiritual, and other social connections. Education is the only specialized subsystem of society, the target function of which coincides with the purpose of society. If various spheres and branches of the economy produce certain material and spiritual products, as well as services for humans, then the education system “produces” the person himself, influencing his intellectual, moral, aesthetic and physical development. This determines the leading social function of education - humanistic.
Humanization is an objective need for social development, the main vector of which is a focus on (man). Global technocratism as a method of thinking and the principle of activity of industrial society has dehumanized social relations, swapped goals and means. In our society, man, proclaimed as the highest goal, has in fact been transformed into the "labor resource". This was reflected in the education system, where the school saw its main function in "preparation for life", and under "life" labor activity turned out to be. The value of the individual as a unique individuality, an end in itself for social development, was pushed to the far side plan. The “worker” was valued above all. And since the worker can be replaced, this gave rise to the inhumane thesis that “there are no irreplaceable people.” In essence, it turned out that the life of a child or teenager is not yet a full life, but only a preparation for life , life begins with entry into work, but what about its completion? It is no coincidence that in the public consciousness there was an attitude towards the elderly and the disabled as inferior members of society. Unfortunately, at present the situation in this regard has not improved; we have to talk about the increasing dehumanization of society as a real process, where the value of labor has already been lost.
Considering the humanistic function, it should be said that this concept is filled with new content. Humanism in its classical, anthropocentric understanding in modern conditions is limited and insufficient, does not correspond to the concept of sustainable development, the survival of mankind. Today, man is viewed as an open system from the standpoint of the leading idea of the end of the second millennium - the idea of co-evolution. Man is not the center of the Universe, but a particle of Society, Nature, and Space. Therefore, it is legitimate to talk about neo-humanism. If we turn to the various links of the education system, then the neo-humanistic function is intended to be implemented most fully in the system of preschool education and in secondary schools, and to the greatest extent in the lower grades. It is here that the foundations of the intellectual, moral, and physical potential of the individual are laid. As recent studies by psychologists and geneticists show, a person’s intelligence is 90% formed by the age of 9. But here we are faced with the phenomenon of the “inverted pyramid”. It is precisely these links in the education system itself that are considered non-core, and vocational, secondary and higher education come to the fore (in terms of importance, financing, etc.). As a result, the social losses of society are great and irreparable. To solve the problem it is necessary to: overcome the subject-centric approach in education, especially in secondary schools; humanitarization and humanization of education, including, along with a change in the content of education, a change in relationships in the teacher-student system (from object-based to subject-objective).
The place and role of education in society. Education is an institution that promotes the transmission and reception from one generation to another of systematized, generally accepted and generally accepted knowledge. It provides the process of development and self-development of the individual associated with the mastery of the socially significant experience of humanity, embodied in knowledge, skills, creative activity and emotional and value-based attitude to the world. Moreover, this process occurs, as a rule, within the framework of a formal group, in the course of formal “teacher-student” relationships.
Education is a special institution, the principles and norms of which are clearly stated, and which combines a special set of statuses and roles, and is also managed by special personnel. By crossing the threshold that separates family from school, a child enters a fundamentally different type of jurisdiction. The family, as it were, “transfers” it to another social institution and a completely different type of institution. There are other norms and rules of behavior at work here, and they apply not only to this child, but equally to all others.
Functions of the social institution of education. Most sociologists believe that the institution of education performs a number of important functions in society (especially modern society).
10. Education as a social institution.
These include:
1) social control function. Schoolchildren or students, while within the walls of an educational institution, experience constant social and psychological pressure, not only from teachers, but also from the classmates around them; they are now the ones who become “significant others” for him.
2) reproduction function, those. reproduction (in the broad sense of the word) of new full-fledged members of society, possessing approximately the same complex of knowledge about the world around them as all other members of a given society and a similar system of values and standards of behavior.
3) intelligence function(development of intelligence) of those members of society who fall within its sphere of influence, i.e. in transferring to them a complex of knowledge that is generally recognized as important and significant - both scientific and otherwise, as well as in developing logical thinking skills. In the words of Nietzsche, “school has no more important task than to teach rigorous thinking, caution in judgment and consistency in conclusions.”
4)function of enhancing social mobility. The Institute of Education is quite rightly considered as one of the important channels of social mobility. In most societies we know, obtaining a formal education is seen as a prerequisite for access to higher status positions.
5) function of forming social conformity. It should be remembered that any social mobility channel has its own filters. At the institute of education, such filters include not only formal exams, but also a test of loyalty to the ruling system and the value system prevailing in it. The Institute of Education not only shapes and disciplines the intellect, it develops in its students the skills of social conformity. Pierre Bourdieu, for example, argues that the school, through its mechanisms for awarding certificates and diplomas, is the key institution through which the established order is maintained in society.
Education in different types of societies. Educational institutions in the societies where they arise are firmly integrated into the general system of social relations, becoming an organic part of it, and social changes occurring in other institutions inevitably affect education.
In primitive societies, the institution of education simply does not and cannot exist. Here, the accumulation of knowledge, skills and abilities necessary for life and their transfer to subsequent generations is carried out exclusively orally and, most often, on an individual basis. Here, a special role belongs to the elderly, who act as guardians, guardians and even - in necessary cases - reformers of morals, customs and the entire complex of knowledge established from time to time that make up the essence of material and spiritual life. The institutionalization of education in a primitive society is, in principle, impossible due to the fact that there is no written language. This is quite important because the lack of writing precludes the unification of a more or less standard body of knowledge, which always lies at the foundation of any formal education.
The formation of educational institutions in traditional societies becomes possible only with the advent of writing.
The institutionalization of education has two aspects: on the one hand, it is the development of a certain part of society’s needs for the assimilation of this accumulated knowledge, and on the other hand, the needs of society itself for further multiplication and expansion of their volume. Both of these needs act as complementary and mutually conditioning each other, like two sides of the coin - the institutionalization of formal education.
Traditional society does not yet have the resources or the motivation of the majority of its members necessary to make literacy universal. As a result, society is divided not only into rich and poor, but also into those who can read and write and those who do not. In the early stages of traditional society, educational institutions were almost exclusively the responsibility of the clergy. The school here cannot yet be considered as the most important channel of social mobility: in any case, it performs these functions to a much lesser extent than such channels as the institutions of the army or the church. The vast majority of members of a traditional society do not have either the material resources or sufficient motivation to study even basic literacy - their daily life activities do not require this. Among urban residents, the level of education was slightly higher. One of the most important reasons for the inaccessibility of education to the general public was its high cost. The nature of formal education received by members of a traditional society is very clearly differentiated for representatives of its various strata - both in content and quality. Moreover, this is due not only to the existence of differentiation of educational institutions into prestigious and non-prestigious. The point is also that representatives of lower social strata, in the course of their socialization, receive much weaker motivation to increase their intellectual level, most often being completely content with little. So the problems of information justice, associated with the nature of the distribution of its information potential among members of society, are no less complex than the problems of economic or political justice.
In an industrial society, the emergence of a need for mass literacy is due to a sharp strengthening of the law of labor change: the average worker, during industrialization, becomes forced to acquire more and more new knowledge, skills and abilities, if he does not want to be thrown overboard and lose his means of subsistence. Advanced training as a condition for obtaining a higher income and social status, or at least maintaining them at the same stable level, is increasingly beginning to depend on the level of education received (including purely formal). Mass production also requires a massive influx of more or less trained labor, and its rapid development, spurred by constant competition, cannot be satisfied by the previous pace of general and vocational training. As the industrial revolution develops, the nature of its organization begins to act as the most important stimulating factor in raising the educational level of the entire population, along with technology and production technology. At the same time, mass production, requiring mass literacy, simultaneously creates the material prerequisites for its development; First of all, this relates to the reduction in the cost of printed materials, which means the increasing availability of textbooks. Another important factor contributing to the spread of mass literacy was the changes in political institutions caused by the industrial revolution - taking into account the increasing role played by the media in the political process. Ultimately, sooner or later, the overwhelming majority of organizational and material costs for education are borne by the state, as well as the local authorities representing it. Education in the industrial era becomes the most important, if not the decisive, channel of social mobility, which entails significant changes in individual life styles.
In advanced societies approaching a post-industrial state, a fairly clear trend has emerged: here educated people receive more for their work than ever before in history. At the same time, the proportion of members of society with higher and equivalent education is steadily increasing. One of the most important problems that post-industrial societies will face is the exponential growth in the total amount of information that must be learned through formal education. In practice, this question actually breaks down into two relatively independent tasks: 1) how to effectively navigate the growing information flows? 2) how to effectively and completely absorb the information to which you finally have real access? The solution to the last problem has received in practice the name of combating functional illiteracy. This concept means: firstly, the practical loss of skills and abilities in reading, writing and basic calculations; secondly, a level of general educational knowledge that does not allow one to fully function in a modern, continually becoming more complex society. We are talking about those who can put the letters of a written text into words, words into phrases, but are not able to really understand what exactly these words and phrases mean. What is the use of the fact that almost any information becomes quickly available to you with the help of computers and communication networks if you are not able to adequately perceive and assimilate it? Because information, unlike material goods, cannot be appropriated, but must be assimilated, i.e. understood and meaningful, but from the perspective of the information already at your disposal. The very awareness of the problem of functional illiteracy is a sign of a fairly serious progress of society along the path of the information revolution: those societies that have realized it are taking serious measures to solve it; in others it is not yet on the agenda at all. The further, the more the lack of knowledge of computer technologies is considered as a component of functional illiteracy.
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Social institutions of education and science
The education system is one of the most important social institutions. It ensures the socialization of individuals, through which they develop the qualities necessary for essential life processes and transformations.
The Institute of Education has a long history of primary forms of knowledge transfer from parents to children.
Education serves the development of personality and contributes to its self-realization.
At the same time, education is crucial for society itself, ensuring the fulfillment of the most important tasks of a practical and symbolic nature.
The education system makes a significant contribution to the integration of society and contributes to the formation of a sense of common historical destiny, belonging to a given single society.
But the education system also has other functions. Sorokin notes that education (especially higher education) is a kind of channel (elevator) through which people improve their social status. At the same time, education exercises social control over the behavior and worldview of children and adolescents.
The education system as an institution includes the following components:
1) educational authorities and institutions and organizations subordinate to them;
2) a network of educational institutions (schools, colleges, gymnasiums, lyceums, universities, academies, etc.), including institutes for advanced training and retraining of teachers;
3) creative unions, professional associations, scientific and methodological councils and other associations;
4) educational and scientific infrastructure institutions, design, production, clinical, medical and preventive, pharmacological, cultural and educational enterprises, printing houses, etc.
Are you really human?
5) textbooks and teaching aids for teachers and students;
6) periodicals, including magazines and yearbooks, reflecting the latest achievements of scientific thought.
The Institute of Education includes a certain field of activity, groups of persons authorized to perform certain managerial and other functions on the basis of established rights and responsibilities, organizational norms and principles of relations between officials.
The set of norms regulating the interaction of people regarding learning indicates that education is a social institution.
A harmonious and balanced education system that ensures the satisfaction of modern needs of society is the most important condition for the preservation and development of society.
Science, along with education, can be considered as a social macroinstitution.
Science, like the education system, is a central social institution in all modern societies and represents the most complex area of human intellectual activity.
Increasingly, the very existence of society depends on advanced scientific knowledge. Not only the material conditions of society’s existence, but also its members’ ideas about the world depend on the development of science.
The main function of science is the development and theoretical systematization of objective knowledge about reality. The purpose of scientific activity is to obtain new knowledge.
Purpose of Education– transfer of new knowledge to new generations, i.e. youth.
If there is no first, then there is no second. That is why these institutions are considered in close connection and as a single system.
In turn, the existence of science without training is also impossible, since it is in the process of training that new scientific personnel are formed.
A formulation of the principles of science has been proposed Robert Merton in 1942
These include: universalism, communalism, disinterest and organizational skepticism.
The principle of universalism means that science and its discoveries are of a single, universal (universal) nature. No personal characteristics of individual scientists (gender, age, religion, etc.) matter when assessing the value of their work.
Research results should be judged solely on their scientific merit.
According to the principle of communalism, no scientific knowledge can become the personal property of a scientist, but must be available to any member of the scientific community.
The principle of disinterest means that the pursuit of personal interests is not a requirement of the professional role of a scientist.
The principle of organized skepticism means that a scientist should refrain from formulating conclusions until the facts fully correspond.
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Education as a social institution
Education is a purposeful, organized process on the basis of which society transfers values, skills, knowledge from one person (group) to others.
Education, as a social institution, includes ideas and goals related to education, organizations that implement them, governing bodies of these processes, people working in these organizations and governing bodies.
Functions of education in society
Let us recall that the approach of sociologists to the consideration of any social phenomena is distinguished by the fact that sociologists consider them systemically, that is, in connection with other social phenomena. Therefore, the functions of education as a social institution, from the point of view of sociology, do not look quite the same as, for example, from the point of view of teachers.
So, the most important functions of education in society: (according to Smelser)
— transmission of the values of the dominant culture. But there are always many subcultures in society, so there is always a conflict between the goals of education and the needs of various social (ethnic and other) groups, between the center and the periphery, etc.
— a means of social control. School and other educational institutions provide not only knowledge, skills and abilities. But they form certain values and behavior patterns. The current, methodologically well-equipped education actually programs students not only for certain patterns of behavior, but also for certain models of thinking. Therefore, governments in all countries are (or should be) very careful about what and how they teach the younger generation.
— filter device , a way of classifying people according to their abilities and merits. There is also a significant contradiction hidden here. Firstly, the criteria for success in school and in life do not always coincide, but the school always “hangs” a certain label (stigma) on its students and thereby predetermines their life path. Secondly, most schools in the world practice testing children after the 4th grade and subsequent forced distribution of them into different levels of education. The strong ones are selected into “elite” streams and are prepared for admission to universities, the average ones are prepared for admission to secondary vocational educational institutions, and for the rest, the path to further education is practically closed.
Western countries have long understood the harmfulness of such differentiation of children and have adopted (or are trying to adopt) long-term programs for the transition to other models of education, without stratifying children. In our country in Soviet times, such differentiation of children was prohibited, but now, unfortunately, our schools are becoming similar to those that are abandoned in the West.
— investment in the future. In education, as nowhere else, the truth is true: what you put in today is what you get out tomorrow. Therefore, it is extremely important, when developing youth training programs, to correctly predict the needs of the material and non-material spheres of society for 10-15 years in advance.
Factors in the development of mass education
Mass free education (first in primary school) appeared, first of all, in response to the need for a mass literate workforce, after a series of industrial revolutions, as well as in response to democratic revolutions in a number of countries, the end of the 18th, the beginning of the 19th centuries. To participate in political life, non-aristocratic classes needed literacy and the support of the masses. Equal social opportunities have become synonymous with equal educational opportunities. The self-development of the educational institution itself also played a role - a social group of teachers emerged, united by the legitimate interest of raising the prestige of their profession, material support from the state, expanding their influence, etc.
And now we can say that the main factors in the development of education are the needs of the economy, government policy, largely related to a certain ideology, as well as the logic of self-development of the education sector itself.
From the perspective of sociology, three more factors are very significant for the development of education as a social institution:
— degree of centralization of education. The most centralized (that is, there is a single center, for example, the Ministry of Education, which actually prescribes to all educational structures of the country who, what, how, in what time frame, etc. should be taught) education in the world was in the USSR. The most decentralized (there is no center that would prescribe for everyone what and how to teach, so each region determines for itself...) is in the USA.
Like each extreme, centralized and decentralized educational organizations have significant disadvantages. For each country, taking into account local conditions, it is necessary to find the optimal level of centralization-decentralization.
— the ratio of natural sciences/humanities education. Here, too, the “most natural” (that is, subjects of the natural cycle clearly dominate - physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, etc.) education was in the USSR. And in the USA, for example, the “most humanitarian” education (priority to the subjects of the humanities cycle - history, law, art, etc.).
What does this ratio depend on? - first of all, from the policy (dominant ideology) of the government! The USSR, for example, from its very appearance was always at war or preparing for war. Therefore, the state’s order to education was quite specific: to prepare, first of all, the military and labor force for industry (not lawyers, economists, etc., but, first of all, workers and engineers for military factories).
- elitism of education. Elite education means something special and for a narrow circle. In ancient times, all education was elitist: in ancient Athens, fine arts were studied in schools for the elite; in ancient Rome, military leaders and statesmen were trained. What was most valued in them was the ability to think independently, make decisions, etc.
Currently, in all economically developed countries there is free secondary education “for all”, and things are moving towards free higher education. These are the requirements of the economy and the democratic structure of society. However, in a society divided into strata, the elitism of one or another type of education is a completely natural phenomenon. Why? Parents from the upper classes will always be able to provide their children with the best education (the best teachers, the most prestigious schools and universities).
In addition, the powerful of this world have always had and remain fears that “excessive” education will make the poor less adapted to their position in life... The main difference between modern elite and mass schools is that in the elite, first of all, they teach how to manage (by people, social processes), and in mass ones they are taught to obey the managers.
Education and social mobility
There is a stereotype: the better and higher the education received, the greater the success in life. Cross-cultural studies in different countries show that, in general, this is true. However, excellent grades at school and university do not at all guarantee excellent achievements after studying. Research shows that children's social mobility is strongly influenced by their mental abilities, the socioeconomic status of their parents, and the quality of teaching at school. However, the strongest influence is exerted by the values of parents, internal harmony or contradictions in their family life, and their real way of life. Children basically “grab” the lifestyle of their parents and reproduce it in their own lives. This largely explains many cases where children grow up in the same yard, study in the same class, but then one becomes a scientist, the other a criminal, etc.
Prospects for the development of education
Education is a cultural universal, that is, in one form or another, it is always present in the culture of society. As shown above, education is highly dependent on the real needs of the economy, government policies, traditions of society and the institution of education itself. Trends in the development of society will naturally influence the development of education. If society becomes more democratic, then education will be more democratic; if tendencies toward autocracy appear in society, this will also affect education.
Security questions on the topic
What is education – as a social process?
What does education include as a social institution?
What are the functions of education as a social institution in society?
What factors in the development of society led to the emergence of the current form of education?
What is the difference between the goals of elite and mass education?
How does education affect social mobility in society?
1. Social institutions(from Latin institutum - establishment, establishment) - these are historically established stable forms of organizing the joint activities of people.
In other words, social institutions represent relatively stable patterns of behavior of people and social organizations in a certain field of activity.
The term “social institution” is used in a wide variety of meanings. It applies to family, state, law, economics, property, etc.
From the outside (formal) a social institution looks like a collection of persons and institutions equipped with certain material means and performing a specific social function. From the internal (content) side- this is a certain set of norms, values, expediently oriented standards of behavior of certain individuals in certain situations.
Thus, justice as a social institution is externally a collection of persons (judges, prosecutors, lawyers, notaries, etc.), institutions (courts, prosecutors’ offices, correctional institutions, etc.), as well as the material resources they use (buildings, equipment, finances, etc.). On the substantive side, the social institution of justice is a set of standardized patterns of behavior of eligible persons that ensure the fulfillment of this social function. These standards of behavior are embodied in social roles characteristic of the justice system (the role of a judge, prosecutor, lawyer, etc.).
Structure of a social institution:
1. A set of social positions and roles.
2. Social norms and sanctions governing the functioning of a given social area.
3. A group of people professionally engaged in a given field.
4. The set of organizations and institutions operating in this area.
5. Materials and resources that ensure the functioning of the sphere.
Carrying out their functions, social institutions encourage the actions of their members, consistent with the relevant standards of behavior, and suppress deviations in behavior from the requirements of these standards, that is, they control and streamline the behavior of individuals. On the other hand, social institutions satisfy certain needs of society and regulate the use of resources available to society.
A social institution is a broader entity than an organization. The main features inherent in social institutions and distinguishing them from other entities:
1. Social institutions are characterized by stability in space and time, i.e. historicity.
2. The specificity of institutional behavior, which realizes the interdependence of individuals into an integral system of interaction.
3. The binding nature of the norms and requirements of this institutionalized form of activity for the majority of representatives of this type of interaction.
Depending on the types of needs of society, there are different types of social institutions.
1. Economic, which are engaged in the production, exchange and distribution of material goods and services (property, money, banks, business associations of various types).
2. Political, related to the establishment, maintenance and execution of power (state, political parties, prosecutor's office, parliamentarism).
3. Cultural, which are created to strengthen culture and socialize the younger generation (education, science, art).
4. Religious, satisfying the spiritual needs of individuals.
5. Institute of marriage and family.
The main functions of a social institution as such:
1. The function of consolidating and reproducing social relations in a certain area.
2. The function of integration and cohesion of society.
3. Function of regulation and social control.
4. Communication function or inclusion of people in activities.
For each specific institution, explicit functions, latent functions and dysfunctions can be distinguished.
Explicit functions of a social institution- those functions for which a given social institution was created, that is, functions corresponding to its purpose. (Thus, the obvious function of the social institution of the family is the reproduction of offspring, their upbringing and inclusion in social life).
Latent (hidden) functions of a social institution- the positive consequences of performing explicit functions that arise in the life of a social institution are not determined by the purpose of this institution. (Thus, the latent function of the family institution is social status, or the transfer of a certain social status from one generation to another within the family).
Dysfunctions social institution - the phenomenon of discrepancy between the activities of a social institution and existing social needs.
Externally, the phenomena of dysfunction of a social institution can be expressed in a lack of trained personnel, material resources, organizational shortcomings, etc. From a substantive point of view, dysfunctions are expressed in unclear goals of activity, uncertainty of functions, and a decline in the social prestige and authority of a given institution.
Institutionalization is the process of giving various types of social activities the form of social institutions or, in other words, the process of streamlining, formalizing and standardizing social connections.
The institutionalization process includes several points:
1). The emergence of certain social needs for new types of social activity and the corresponding socio-economic and political conditions.
2). Development of the necessary organizational structures and associated social norms and regulators of behavior.
3). Internalization by individuals of new social norms and values, formation on their basis of a system of personal needs, value orientations and expectations.
As a sign of the institutionalization of a social field, one can consider the emergence of a new social community engaged in specialized activities, the emergence of social norms (including legally established ones) regulating these activities, institutions and organizations that ensure the protection of certain interests. Thus, education becomes a social institution when a special social community appears, engaged in professional activities of training and education, a mass school and special norms regulating the process of transferring social experience are developed.
In modern conditions in our society, the institutionalization of new forms of economic activity is associated with the emergence of norms, laws favorable to their development, special institutions, organizations engaged in the preparation and registration of new forms, for example, through privatization, protecting the interests of private owners.
2. The concept of education has many meanings. It can be considered both as a process and as a result of the assimilation of systematized knowledge, skills, abilities and personal development. This is the real level of knowledge, personality traits, actual education. And the formal result of this process is a certificate, diploma, certificate.
Education is also seen as a system that includes different levels:
1. Preschool.
2. Initial.
3. Average.
4. Higher.
5. Postgraduate studies
The education system also includes various types:
1. Mass and elite.
2. General and technical.
In its modern form, education arose inAncient Greece . Private family education, carried out by slaves, prevailed there. Public schools operated for the poorest sections of the free population. Selection appears. Elite schools (sitaria) develop artistic taste, the ability to sing, and play musical instruments. Physical development and military abilities were formed in the palaestra and developed in gymnasiums. It was in Ancient Greece that the main types of schools arose: the gymnasium, the lyceum (the place where Aristotle presented his system), and the academy (Plato).
INAncient Rome The school aimed to solve applied, utilitarian problems, was aimed at training soldiers and statesmen, and strict discipline reigned in it. Morality, law, history, rhetoric, literature, art, and medicine were studied.
In the Middle Ages, religious education was formed. There are 3 types of educational institutions:
1. Church and parish. 2. Cathedral. 3. Secular.
Universities appeared in Europe in the 12th and 13th centuries, and with them colleges for people from the poorest strata. Typical faculties: art, law, theology and medicine.
Education has become widespread over the last two or three centuries. Let's consider those social changes that contributed to the development of education.
First of such changes became Democratic revolution. As can be seen from the example of the French Revolution (1789-1792), it was caused by the growing desire of non-aristocratic strata to participate in political affairs.
In response to this demand, educational opportunities were expanded: after all, new actors on the political stage should not be ignorant masses; in order to participate in voting, the masses must at least know their letters. Mass education turned out to be closely connected with the participation of the people in political life.
The ideal of a society of equal opportunity represents another aspect of the democratic revolution, which manifested itself in different forms and at different times in many countries. Since education is believed to be the main way to ensure upward social mobility, equal social opportunity has become almost synonymous with equal access to education.
Second The most important event in the history of modern education was industrial Revolution. In the early stages of industrial development, when technology was primitive and workers had low qualifications, there was no need for educated personnel. But the development of industry on a large scale required an expansion of the education system to train skilled workers who could perform new, more complex activities.
Third An important change that contributed to the expansion of the education system was associated with the development of the institution of education itself. When an institution strengthens its position, a group is formed, united by common legitimate interests, which makes its demands on society - for example, regarding increasing its prestige or material support from the state. Education is no exception to this rule.
How a social institution education was formed in the 19th century when a mass school appears. In the 20th century, the role of education is constantly increasing, and the formal level of education of the population is growing. In developed countries, the overwhelming majority of young people graduate from high school (USA - 86% of youth, Japan - 94%). The returns to education are growing. The increase in national income due to investment in education reaches 40-50%.
The share of government spending on education is increasing. To characterize the level of education of the population, an indicator such as the number of students per 10 thousand population is used. Canada leads in this indicator - 287, USA - 257, Cuba - 239. In Ukraine, this figure has been increasing in recent years, if in the 1985-86 school year. There were 167 students per 10 thousand, then in the 1997-98 academic year. - 219, 2000-01 academic year - 259. This is happening due to the development of private education and the expansion of paid education in public universities.
In general, education is designed to transmit from generation to generation the values of the dominant culture. However, these values change, so the content of education also undergoes changes. If in ancient Athens the main attention was paid to the fine arts, then in Ancient Rome the main place was occupied by the training of military leaders and statesmen. In the Middle Ages in Europe, education concentrated on the assimilation of Christian teachings; during the Renaissance, interest in literature and art was again observed. In modern societies, the emphasis is mainly on the study of natural sciences, and great attention is also paid to the development of personality, that is, the humanization of education.
Functions of education:
1. Socio-economic. Preparing labor force of different skill levels for work
2. Cultural. Ensures the transmission of cultural heritage from one generation to another.
3. Socializing. Introducing the individual to social norms and values of society.
4. Integration. By introducing common values and teaching certain norms, education stimulates common actions and unites people.
5. Function of social mobility. Education acts as a channel for social mobility. Although in the modern world unequal access to education remains. Thus, in the USA, 15.4% of children from families with incomes below 10 thousand dollars, over 50 thousand dollars, enter universities. - 53%.
6. Selection function. There is a selection of children into elite schools and their further promotion.
7. Humanistic. Comprehensive development of the student’s personality.
There are also latent functions of education, which include the “nanny” function (the school for some time frees parents from the need to look after their children), the function of creating a communication environment, and higher school in our society plays the role of a kind of “storage room.”
Among the various goals of education, the three most stable stand out: intensive, extensive, productive.
Extensive goal education involves the transfer of accumulated knowledge, cultural achievements, assistance to students in self-determination on this cultural basis, and the use of existing potential.
Intense Goal education consists in the broad and complete development of students’ qualities to form their readiness not only to assimilate certain knowledge, but also to constantly deepen their knowledge and develop creative potential.
Productive goal education involves preparing students for the types of activities that he will be engaged in and the employment structure that has developed.
At the turn of the 20th century, the main trends in the renewal of education clearly emerged:
Democratization of the entire system of training and education;
Increasing the importance of the fundamental component of education;
Humanization and humanization of education, the use of the latest teaching technologies;
Integration of different forms and systems of education, both at the national and global levels.
The main idea of reform- development of education based on the principle of continuity, which provides for the constant replenishment and updating of a person’s knowledge, his spiritual improvement throughout his life.
Problems in the functioning of education in Ukraine:
1. There is a threat of a decline in the level of professional education.
2. Deterioration of the conditions of the educational process.
3. Deterioration in the quality of teaching staff.
4. Loss of education’s quality of being an effective means of achieving personal life goals.
5. The threat of losing the positive features of the domestic education and training system.
INSTITUTE OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
1. Marriage- a historically established, sanctioned and regulated by society form of relations between a man and a woman, establishing their rights and responsibilities in relation to each other, to children and society.
Before the institution of marriage arose in society, there was promiscuity- a state of society characterized by the absence of any prohibitions on sexual relations, i.e. a condition in which any man of a given society could act as a sexual partner of any woman of a given society.
Forms of marriage:
1. Group marriage- several individuals of one sex marry several individuals of the other sex.
2. Polygamy- one individual of one sex marries several individuals of the other sex. There are two types of polygamy:
a) polyandry (or polyandry);
b) polygyny (or polygamy).
3. Monogamy(or couple marriage).
Marriages are classified according to preferred partner:
1. Exogamy- the marriage partner is chosen outside the given clan , group, clan.
2. Endogamy- a marriage partner is chosen only within a given clan, group, clan.
According to the socio-demographic, ethnic, educational characteristics of the spouses, marriages are:
1. Homogamous - spouses have a similar age, education, profession, and belong to the same ethnic group.
2. Heterogamous - spouses differ significantly in the listed characteristics.
According to the registration form, marriages are:
1. Civil.
2. Church.
Legally:
1. Legal marriage.
2. Open marriage (or cohabitation).
Pedigree and inheritance of property in marriage can be carried out:
1. Through the female line.
2. Through the male line.
3. On both lines.
The institution of marriage is one of the oldest social institutions. In the course of historical development, it undergoes major changes. In a slave-owning society, the state recognized only the marriage of free citizens; the marital relations of slaves were considered as cohabitation. In the early European Middle Ages, church marriage was mandatory for everyone; serfs could only marry with the consent of the feudal lord. Under capitalism, the impact of private property relations on marriage increases significantly.
The spread of women's work, the decline in the prestige and influence of religion, the democratization of marriage and family legislation and sexual morality led, on the one hand, to a crisis of classical marriage (which is manifested in the increase in the number of divorces), on the other hand, to the development of new forms of marriage relations based predominantly based on mutual feelings and personal choice and characterized by the relative equality of spouses.
2. Family- based on consanguinity, marriage or adoption, an association of people connected by a common life and mutual responsibility for raising children.
Family signs:
1. Marriage, consanguinity or adoption ties.
2. Living together.
3. General family budget.
Like a small group family studied at the micro level, special attention is paid to the analysis of interpersonal interaction in the family, the organization of family life, and group behavior.
As a social institution, the family is studied at the macro level, its social functions, the mutual influence of family and economics, politics, religion, culture, etc. are analyzed.
According to the type of family structure, families are:
1. Nuclear - consist of spouses and children dependent on them.
2. Extended - consist of several nuclear families or of a nuclear family and other relatives.
3. Incomplete - one of the spouses is missing.
According to the type of power structure, families are divided into:
1. Patriarchal.
2. Matriarchal.
3. Egalitarian (equal rights).
At the place of residence of the newlyweds:
1. Patrilocal - newlyweds live with their husband's parents.
2. Matrilocal - newlyweds live with their wife’s parents.
3. Neolocal - newlyweds live separately from their parents.
4. Unilocal - newlyweds live with those parents who have living space.
Based on the number of children, families are:
1. Childless.
2. Small children (1-2 children).
3. Large families (3 or more).
Depending on the age characteristics of the spouses, the following are distinguished:
1. Youth family (spouses age up to 30 years);
2. Family of middle marital age;
3. An elderly couple.
Family functions:
| Sphere of family activity | Types of functions | |
| Public | Individual | |
| 1. Reproductive | Biological reproduction of the population | Satisfying the need for children |
| 2. Educational | Socialization of the younger generation. Maintaining cultural reproduction of society | Satisfying the need for parenting, contact with children, self-realization in children |
| 3. Household | Maintaining the physical health of community members, caring for children and the elderly | Provision of household services by one family member to another |
| 4. Economic | Economic support for minors and disabled members of society | Receipt of material resources by some family members from others (in case of disability or in exchange for services) |
| 5. Sphere of primary social control | Moral regulation of the behavior of family members in various spheres of life | Formation and maintenance of legal and moral sanctions for violation of norms by family members |
| 6. Spiritual communication | Personality development of family members | Spiritual mutual enrichment. Maintaining friendships in marriage |
| 7. Social status | Providing a certain social status to family members, reproducing the social structure | Satisfying needs for social advancement |
| 8. Leisure | Organization of rational leisure. Social control | Satisfying the needs for joint leisure activities, mutual enrichment of interests. |
| 9. Emotional | Emotional stabilization of individuals and their psychological therapy | Obtaining psychological protection and emotional support in the family. Satisfying the needs for happiness and love |
| 10. Sexy | Sexual control | Satisfying sexual needs, relieving sexual tension |
3. The main factor influencing the current state of the family and family relationships, is the transition of society from the agrarian stage of development to the industrial and post-industrial stage.
This transition entails the following changes:
Development of two life centers - work and home;
Increased economic independence of women and their active inclusion in the workforce;
Declining prestige and influence of religion;
Sexual revolution;
Democratization of marriage and family legislation;
Invention of reliable means of contraception.
Agrarian society is characterized by a traditional family model, while industrial and post-industrial society is characterized by a modern one. The main characteristics of these models are presented in the table.
| Traditional family | Modern family |
| 1. Kinship-family principle of life organization, the preponderance of the value of kinship over maximizing the benefits of the individual and over economic efficiency | 1. Kinship is separated from socio-economic activity, giving primacy to the economic goals of the individual |
| 2. The family household acts as the economic basis of an agrarian society, everyone works at home not for pay, but for themselves | 2. Separation of home and work, the family economy ceases to be leading |
| 3. Minor psychological differences between family and community | 3. Sharp demarcation between home and the outside world, family primacy and impersonality of relationships in the outside world |
| 4. Social and geographic mobility is low, sons inherit their father’s status and specialization | 4. High social and geographic mobility |
| 5. Centralized extended family-kinship system with dominance of elders | 5. Decentralized nuclear family |
| 6. Divorce occurs on the initiative of the husband due to the childlessness of the family | 6. Divorce due to interpersonal incompatibility of spouses |
| 7. Patriarchal family power structure | 7. Egalitarian power structure |
| 8. “Closed” system of choosing a spouse based on kinship regulations and traditions | 8. “Open” system for choosing a spouse based on personal selectivity |
| 9. Culture of large families with strict taboos on preventing and terminating pregnancy | 9. Culture of small children with interference in the reproductive cycle |
Trends in the development of modern families:
1. Absolute and relative increase in the number of divorces.
2. An increase in the number of children born out of wedlock and raised in single-parent families.
3. Decrease in the average duration of marriage.
4. Postponing the moment of marriage.
5. Increase in the number of people living in open marriages.
6. Reducing family size, reducing the birth rate.
7. An increase in the number of single people who do not marry.
Negative trends in the development of the family institution have given rise to a number of theories that critically examine the future of the family:
1. A pessimistic statement about the decline of the family, which is derived from the opposition of the modern family to the patriarchal family in traditional society (R. Fletcher).
2. Statement about the incompatibility of the family with modern industrial and post-industrial society with the hope of a possible modification of the family (B. More).
3. The family is a brake on the path of social development, since in it children are instilled with views and norms that do not correspond to the rapidly changing reality, they are not able to live in a new environment, and they inhibit the development of the new (W. Reich, G. Marcuse).
4. Criticism of the family as a stronghold of rudeness and violence.
5. Feminist criticism of the family as an instrument of women's oppression.
6. Criticism of the family for the fact that it, more often than other social institutions, creates the preconditions for mental illness and unstable mental states.
New (alternative) forms of family and marriage:
1. A marriage contract concluded for a certain period.
2. Marriage with a three-year probationary period.
3. Group marriage.
4. Serial monogamy.
5. Guest marriage.
6. Homosexual marriage.
7. Living in a commune.
Education as a social institution can be viewed as an organized system of connections and social norms. It brings together important social procedures and norms necessary to meet the basic needs of society.
Any functional institution arises and works, fulfilling a certain need of society.
Certain signs
Let's consider the main features that characterize education as a social institution:
- attitudes and examples of behavior: pursuit of knowledge, attendance at classes;
- cultural symbolic signs: songs, emblem, motto;
- utilitarian features: libraries, stadiums, classrooms;
- written and oral code - rules of student behavior;
- ideological features: progressive education, academic freedom, equality in the learning process.
The main elements are:
- educational institutions in the form of organizations;
- social communities: students and teachers;
- educational process.
The development of education as a social institution presupposes the improvement of all elements of this structure. Only with timely changes can we talk about its full development and functioning.
Main types
The sphere of education as a social institution is built on slightly different principles. It has several rows of links:
- preschool education system;
- schooling;
- professional and technical level;
- special secondary education;
- higher education institutions;
- postgraduate education;
- advanced training and retraining of personnel.
Let's consider the functions of formation of each link. Preschool education presupposes the formation in the younger generation of hard work, the foundations of good manners, and moral qualities. Preschool education is of particular importance for the development of citizenship.
The structure of education as a social institution presupposes the laying of the foundation of personal human qualities in preschool age. Kindergartens have ceased to be banal “places of child care”; they contribute to the mental, moral, and physical development of schoolchildren.
During the period when education from the age of six was tested in domestic education, kindergartens were engaged in adapting children to the complex rhythm of school and contributed to the formation of self-service skills in children.
Education as a social institution presupposes support for preschool education from the state and the willingness of parents to take an active part in the rational organization of extracurricular activities.
At the end of the last century, only half of children entered kindergartens, which negatively affected the development of communicative skills in future first-graders.
Currently, the education system as a social institution is aimed at fully preparing all children for life in society.
The introduction of second-generation standards into Russian preschool educational institutions contributed to the improvement of the content of the educational and educational program.
In kindergartens, teachers began to focus on citizenship and comprehensive education of preschoolers.
The teaching functions of education were transferred to schools.
Currently, teachers focus on studying basic social values, the guidelines of children and parents, and their reaction to the use of innovative educational methods.
School level
This education as a social institution is aimed not only at introducing students to the theoretical foundations of various academic disciplines, but also at helping them choose a profession. By the time a teenager completes his school education, he must choose one of the options for his life path, occupation, or profession.
Education as a social institution is the basis for fulfilling the order of society. To achieve this, significant changes have been made within secondary schools.
Career guidance activities
Ninth-graders are given the right to choose several elective courses as part of their pre-professional preparation. This allows them to get acquainted with the specific features of scientific fields, their applied significance, as well as get acquainted with the world of professions and analyze their demand in the labor market.
Vocational level
It is difficult to understand how a social institution is without this stage. It is secondary specialized education that has a direct connection with social needs and is considered an operational and quick form of introduction into the lives of young people.
It is carried out on the basis of large production organizations or within the framework of the state education system. Despite attempts to transfer the entire Russian system to a combination of specialized and full-time education, even in our time, vocational training is considered the most important option for obtaining a future profession.
Are science and education connected as social institutions? To identify the connection, sociologists must know the motives of schoolchildren, the effectiveness of the learning process, and the role of certain scientific fields in solving social and economic problems of society.
Currently, the issue of professionalism of specialists is especially acute, which is why large-scale reforms have affected not only kindergartens, schools, but also vocational educational institutions.
Functions of education
It is closely connected with various spheres of public life. The implementation of such a relationship is carried out through a person involved in political, economic, social, and spiritual connections. Education is the only specialized subsystem of society, the main function of which completely coincides with its needs.
There are different branches and spheres of the economy that produce spiritual and material products and services, and the education system “produces” a person, influencing his aesthetic, moral, physical, and intellectual development.
This is precisely what indicates the presence of a leading social function of education - its humanization.
It is an objective need for the development of society and is aimed at humans.
As a method of thinking and a principle of activity, global technocracy and the principle of activity of industrial society moved into social relations, changing means and goals.
Specifics of ideology
A person in our society, who is proclaimed as the highest goal, has in reality turned into a typical “labor resource”. This was reflected in the education system, in which the main function of the school was “preparation for subsequent life,” which meant direct work.
The individuality of each individual person was relegated to the background; only the employee was of value. Since he could always be replaced, the inhumane thesis appeared that “there are no irreplaceable people.”
According to this ideology, it turned out that the life of a teenager and a child was not considered a full life, but was considered as a kind of preparation for future work.
It is this attitude that has led to the negative attitude of society towards disabled people and elderly people. They were considered “waste material” and did not deserve due attention and respect.
Humanistic function of education
Currently, there have been virtually no significant changes in people's attitudes towards older citizens. But the humanistic function of education began to be filled with updated content.
A person began to be considered as a full-fledged participant in the educational process. That is why the second generation federal educational standards place emphasis on self-development and self-education.
Particular importance is given to laying the foundations of the physical, moral, and intellectual potential of the individual in preschool and primary school age.
The results of psychological research indicate that by the age of nine, a person’s intelligence is almost 90 percent formed.
Modern Institute of Education
The formation of educational communities that are connected by involvement in educational processes and a value-based attitude to education, as well as their reproduction, is aimed at the socialization of each child.
Education is systematically turning into the main channel of social movement, which has a positive effect on kindergartens and schools.
Social selection
In domestic education, individuals are separated into streams. This is clearly expressed at the senior stage of education. Children can choose a basic (standard) or specialized school in the scientific disciplines that they will need in their subsequent socialization.
To help teenagers, special tests are offered and conversations are held with child psychologists. The proposed test tasks contain a certain cultural context, the understanding of which is characterized by the needs of society.
Conclusion
Despite the fact that education acts as a social institution, in recent years there has been an increasingly visible connection between the social status of parents and the educational career of the child. The school offers individuals unequal education, unequal development of skills and abilities, which is confirmed by certificates of certain types. This leads to the fact that already at school, social stratification of the younger generation is observed.
It is education that currently shapes the professional and qualification composition of the population. On the quantitative side, the educational system is responsible for training highly qualified personnel.
If people who do not have certain training enter the profession, this has a negative impact on the professional structure and leads to a decrease in labor productivity.
There is destruction within groups, ambiguity in relationships appears, and the role of statuses for the social advancement of individuals increases.
In order to avoid such “excesses,” serious reforms are being carried out in domestic education. It is aimed at transferring from the traditional system, which requires schoolchildren to assimilate only theoretical information, to a version of education and training aimed at maximizing the involvement of the individual in independent activities.
New standards introduced into the Russian preschool and school education system meet the needs of society. Special requirements have been developed for the personality of a graduate of kindergarten, basic and secondary education, vocational school, and higher education institution. This contributes to the optimal socialization of the younger generation and helps them choose the direction of professional activity.
The concept of a social institution
For normal functioning, any society needs social stability, which is ensured by the presence of a generally accepted system of norms, rules and values, including ideals, moral standards, faith, traditions, etc.
The mechanism for ensuring the integrity and sustainability of society and social structures is a social institution, which is a set of values and norms with the help of which people’s activities in the spheres of life are managed.
Note 1
Thus, we can say that a social institution is an organization that satisfies the fundamental needs of society.
We can talk about the effective functioning of a social institution if certain conditions are met, namely:
- the presence of a system of social norms and rules that govern people’s behavior;
- introducing the activities of the institute into the value structure of society, which allows the institute to provide its activities with a legal basis and exercise control over the behavior of members of society;
- availability of resources and conditions for its normal functioning
The essence of the educational institution
For the normal functioning of society and the reproduction of its structure, a social institution of education is necessary. It allows the transfer of accumulated social experience, knowledge, values, attitudes, and ideals from previous generations to the next generation, and also contributes to the assimilation of this knowledge and values by the current generation.
Education as a social institution is an independent system that performs the task of consistent training and education of individuals focused on obtaining certain knowledge, values, skills, norms, the essence of which is determined by society and its characteristics.
Modern sociology distinguishes between formal and informal education.
- Formal education includes the presence in a society of a system of educational institutions that perform the function of teaching, as well as a state-prescribed educational standard that prescribes the minimum amounts of knowledge and skills required by society. The formal education system depends on the cultural standards and ideology accepted and prioritized in society.
- Non-formal education is part of the socialization of a person’s personality, assisting him in mastering social roles and statuses, norms and values, and also promotes spiritual development, that is, non-formal education is the unsystematized acquisition by a person of knowledge and skills that he acquires spontaneously as a result of interaction with the outside world .
Considering education as a social institution, we should talk, first of all, about the institution of formal education.
Functions of education as a social institution
Education serves many functions. Depending on the areas of research, various functions are distinguished, the most common are the following functions:
Spread of culture in society.
This function is to transmit cultural values between generations. Each nation has its own cultural characteristics, therefore the institution of education is a universal means of transmitting and preserving the cultural traditions of peoples.
Socialization.
The Institute of Education is considered one of the main institutions of socialization, since education shapes the worldview of the younger generation. Thanks to the values and attitudes acquired during the educational process, the younger generation becomes part of society, is socialized and involved in the social system.
Social selection.
This function implies, through the educational process, the implementation of a different approach to students in order to select the most talented and capable, which allows young people to receive a status that meets their interests and abilities.
Note 2
Thus, the result of the selective function of education is the distribution of social positions in the social structure of society, and the implementation of this function contributes to social mobility, since obtaining one or another level of education allows one to move higher through the channels of social mobility.
Function of social and cultural change.
This function is carried out through the process of scientific research, scientific achievements, which contribute and changes to the educational process itself, technology, economy, in turn, the educational process also makes changes to the process of scientific research. Thus, one can observe the relationship and interdependence of the educational process and society.
Structure of the education system
The education system is a complex formal organization. It has a hierarchical management system, headed by the ministry staff.
Below are the regional education departments, which coordinate and manage schools and secondary vocational institutions in the region.
Next comes the leadership of schools and educational institutions of the secondary professional level - rectors, deans, directors and head teachers.
The education system is also characterized by specialization of activities. For example, teachers and lecturers differ in the subjects they teach. Higher and secondary vocational educational institutions specialize in their professional and educational programs.
There is also a hierarchy of teaching positions in the higher education system.
Note 3
A feature of education as a system is the standardization of the educational process. Each educational institution operates in accordance with mandatory curricula.
The teacher acts as an administrative leader who organizes and manages the educational process in the group.
