FAMILIES AND SOCIETY

How do families shape society?

How do families shape society?

This paper will be discussing the role of families in structuring the society. A society is the group of people who interact and share certain cultural core, cooperating to achieve common goals. The term society is used interchangeably to refer to communities of animals (ants, bees, moles, primates) and humans. The essential difference between the animals and human societies is beyond its complexity, the presence of culture as a feature of all human society. Although often used interchangeably, culture and society are different concepts: society refers to the group of persons, while culture refers to all production and activity transmitted from generation to generation throughout history , including customs , languages, beliefs and religions, art, science, etc.. Cultural diversity between different societies in the world due to cultural differentiation that humanity has experienced throughout history mainly due to territorial factors, ie, isolation and interaction between different societies.

Socialization is the key area through people can interact and share their cultural core, and cooperate to achieve common goals. Socialization is the process whereby a new member of society gradually becomes skilled in the ways of the culture into which he/she is born (Giddens, 1991). Agents of socialization include the family, peer groups, schooling and education, religion and the mass media. There are different groups in our society namely primary, secondary and tertiary groups. Primary socialization is more personal and intimate and occurs between individuals and those with whom primary relationships are shared, for example, in families and with friends. Secondary socialization is not as personal and occurs between individuals and those people in the individual's life with whom he/she shares a secondary relationship. Bilton (1998) stated that secondary socialization takes place as an “unintended consequence of the interaction” for example with peers and teachers. Tertiary socialization occurs outside of secondary school and may happen at colleges, universities or the workplace. The process of socialization is life-long and by it, people learn who they are, how they are connected to others and how they can manage those connections. 

Socialization consists of three forms in school that are social, official and hidden curriculum. Official curriculum has their content and goals. It is the authorized place where our society channelizes its knowledge and skills from one generation to the next. It is also the place where cultural values, traditional and heritage is transferred. Here, the curriculum often reinforces what is learnt in the family but many also challenge it. The social curriculum refers to learning social behaviors appropriate for peer groups that are not friendship groups. Many skills such as: communication, negotiation and interaction are learnt through interaction with peers outside of their immediate social circle and often from diverse social backgrounds. Kallon (2005) states that school dropout is the structural strain and alienation model, which postulates that if societal changes reduce the fit between school and society, then teachers and students are likely to perceive their efforts and participation as ...