The Changing Social Position Of Children And How It Can Be Researched

Many sociologists see childhood as socially constructed; as something created and defined by society. Many argue that what people mean by childhood, and the position that children occupy in society, is not fixed but differs between different times, places and cultures. It can be seen that by comparing the western idea of childhood today with childhood in the past and other societies. It can be determined by many sociologists that there have been many changes in society that have affected children over the last 50 years, however there are several there are several different sociological views on whether these changes have been beneficial to children or not.

Modern society now especially since 1997 have tried putting children first such as committing to meeting children’s needs. There are still problems such as school truancy, adolescents not in education or training and also child protection as there have been tragic deaths including baby P and Victoria climbie, which her death was largely responsible for the formation of every child matters inactive plus a lot of other changes in different systems,

Functionalist’s sees that society is made up of a range of different sub-systems which depend on each other, and that society needs these functions or order for survival and is vital towards society. Functionalists see the family as a very important sub-system, as it raises and teaches children norms and values. According to Peter Murdock, he argues that the family performs four main functions to meet the needs of society and the members of society. One of the

One view sociologists take on childhood, is the march of progress view. This view argues that over the past centuries, the position of children in society has steadily improved and that it is substantially better today, due to the introduction of various laws, children

This essay will compare and contrast and contrast two leading sociological theories: Marxism and Functionalism. Marxists predominantly believe that within society inequality and prejudice are rife, whereas Functionalists live under the impression that society operates in a state of social equilibrium wherein class and social status are necessities which we allow to transpire. This essay will explore the different viewpoints each theories take on subjects such as religion, community, family and education.

Essay Title: Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess sociological explanations of changes in the status of childhood (24 marks)

Childhood is a social construction and varies between times, places and groups. Most sociologists see our ides of childhood as a fairly recent one, the result of industrialisation and other social changes. Modern society constructs childhood as a tie of vulnerability, innocence and segregation from the adult world. The March of progress sociologist believe we live in an increasingly child-centred society. They state that children have existence of child poverty, abuse and exploitation. Child liberationists argue that children in modern western society are victims of age patriarchy and are subject to adult control. Some argue that we are witnessing the disappearance

Assess the sociological reasons for the change in the social position of children and the consequences of these changes for the family and society (24 marks)

The Usefulness of Functionalism for an Understanding of the Family The Functionalists see the family as an important and vital institution in society. They take a MACRO view and look at interdependence between the family and other organisations. Functionalists look at the positive parts to society but overlook the negatives. They emphasise on the value consensus and see the family as being universal.

Socialization, Gender, and Education as a social institution have all been topics that have been heavily discussed in the classroom. Each of these sociological aspects of society help create ideologies and norms in particular as to the role gender plays in the household and in the workplace. From the extended interview on Adam Belaid, it has become evident that the education plays the largest role in socialization. In particular, the public educational institutions that have been founded on the principals of the state. Particularly, educational institutions and their effect on its students views on gender. Through an analysis of the interviewee, Martin’s “Becoming a Gendered Body: Practices of Preschools”, and Bowles’ “Education and Inequality” it is evident that the educational institution plays the greatest role in the socialization of an individual.

While in fact, in today's society, more often than not, these gender roles have switched. I believe that in order to create a change we need to start to teach children more flexibility in applying gender-role

Social development consists of learning the values, knowledge and skills that allow children to relate to others efficiently and to contribute in positive ways to family, school and the community. Children must learn the rules and conventions associated to socially and culturally accepted behaviour(kidsmatter.edu.au 2012). This kind of development is gained by the children in many different ways firstly, directly by parents and teachers and other educators and secondly, indirectly via social and cultural interactions. Children, as they develop become more conscious of the social and cultural standards and opportunities and will learn a sense of self. This development will come from relationships, cultural influences and interactions with the community .Education workers pay a huge part in enabling children to

The functionalists including Talcott Parsons, an American sociologist, believe in the ideal nuclear family. The father in the family is suppose to work and be the income source for the household, whereas the mother is responsible for raising the children and managing the household (Brym, 2014). Thus according to this, males and females have a social conformity that is passed down from one generation to another. Moreover, masculinity is linked with instrumental traits and femininity is associated with expressive traits. For example, male should be strong, protective, dominant and providers where as females are sensitive, weak, dependant and focused on their appearance (2014). In the film, this is the dominant view of the media (Newsom, 2011). Shows like 2 and the half men that display women as recyclable objects or news anchors who are thought to be able to attract viewer by what they are wearing that day, further illustrates the disparity between the two sexes (2011). Also classic TV series and films tend to present the functionalist views of a nuclear family, especially after World War 2 when the women were forced to leave the workplace and give the jobs back to the men (2011). This was a way for the media to ease the transition and convince the females that they were needed more at home by their families rather than in the work force (2011). By providing strict barriers for males and females, the media instils the view that if a man is too feminine

From functionalist view point, gender differences contribute to social stability and integration. Women and men perform their tasks for which they are biologically best suited (Elshtain 1987). Example, women should concentrate on domestic and family responsibility while men work

To start with an overview of social constructionism in very general terms leads to build understandings of child and childhood in a social world more explicitly. Notion of social construction is defined in diverse disciplines and instead of generating a description there are a number of thoughts. “It is sometimes called a movement, at other times a position, a theory, a theoretical orientation, an approach; psychologists remain unsure of its status (Stam 2001, p. 294)”. Vivien (1995, p. 10) points the origin of social constructionism stems from two to three hundred years ago in the period of enlightenment, modernism and postmodernism. By all means, Berger and Luckmann’ (1966) book The Social