Тема 7: What is the family?

A family is a set of persons related by some relationship (marriage, adoption, blood).

Sociologists distinguish 2 types of the family: a nuclear family (that is a married couple and their unmarried children) and an extended family (that is a family in which relatives other than parents and children). Speaking about different types of the family sociologists distinguish monogamy and polygamy.

Monogamy is a form of marriage in which one woman and one man are married to each other. Polygamy is a form of marriage in which one person has several husbands or wives simultaneously.

Societies vary in the way that power within the family is distinguished. We can distinguish a patriarchy (in which males dominate and women have low statuses) and a matriarchy (in which women have greater authority than men). And the third type of authority pattern is called the egalitarian family in which spouses are equal. This type has begun to replace the patriarchal family as the social norm.

Family fulfills the following functions:

- reproduction

- protection

- socialization

- regulation of sexual behaviour

- affection and companionship

- providing of social status.

Words and word combinations

marriage - брак

adoption - усыновление

blood - родство

husband – муж

wife (wives) – жена (жены)

authority - власть

spouses - супруги

equal - равный

reproduction - воспроизводство

protection - защита

socialization - социализация

regulation of sexual behaviour – половое воспитание

affection and companionship – признание и сотрудничество

providing of social status – предоставление социального статуса

Тема 8: The Role of Education

Education is the lifelong process of learning the attitudes, values, and behaviour appropriate to members of a particular culture.

The basic function of education is the transmission of knowledge. Each generation of young people studies the existing beliefs, norms, and values of a distinctive culture.

Another important function of education is promoting social and political integration. It transforms a population composed of different racial, ethnic, and religious groups into a society, whose members share a common identity. This function is obvious through promoting a common language.

The third function is maintaining social control. Schoolchildren are taught standards of proper conduct in public life; students are trained for their adult life.

Conflict theorists point out three factors that cause inequality in social status. The first is public versus private education. Private schools provide a better education and students, who graduate from private schools, enter the most prestigious universities. So, schools sort and select students for future high-status subordinate position.

The second factor is economic disparities between school communities. Upper- and middle-class schools get more funding, better facilities, and more experienced teachers.

And the third factor is tracking (streaming) students into curriculum groups. Students are placed in specific curriculum groups according to their intelligence tests. Thus, low-income students are put at a disadvantage.

All these factors prove the idea that education promotes social inequality.

Words and word combinations

attitude - отношение

value - ценность

behaviour - поведение

adult life – взрослая жизнь

proper conduct – соответствующее поведение

inequality - неравенство

graduate from private school – окончить частную школу

economic disparities – экономическое неравенство

social inequality – социальное неравенство