social institution. Social institutions and their functions

What is a "social institution"? What are the functions of social institutions?

Specific formations that ensure the relative stability of social ties and relations within the framework of the social organization of society are social institutions. The term "institution" itself is used in sociology in different meanings.

Firstly, it is understood as a set of certain persons, institutions, provided with certain material resources and performing a specific social function.

Secondly, from a substantive point of view, an "institution" is a certain set of standards, norms of behavior of individuals and groups in specific situations.

When we talk about social institutions, we mean in general a certain organization of social activity and social relations, including both standards, norms of behavior, and corresponding organizations, institutions that “regulate” these norms of behavior. For example, if we talk about law as a social institution, we mean both the system of legal norms that determine the legal behavior of citizens, and the system of legal institutions (court, police) that regulate legal norms and legal relations.

Social institutions- these are forms of joint activity of people, historically established stable, or relatively stable types and forms of social practice, with the help of which social life is organized, the stability of ties and relations is ensured within the framework of the social organization of society. Various social groups enter into social relations among themselves, which are regulated in a certain way. The regulation of these and other social relations is carried out within the framework of the relevant social institutions: the state (political relations), the labor collective (social and economic), the family, the education system, etc.

Each social institution has a specific goal of activity and, in accordance with it, performs certain functions, providing members of society with the opportunity to satisfy the corresponding social needs. As a result of this, social relations are stabilized, consistency is introduced into the actions of members of society. The functioning of social institutions, the performance of certain roles by people within their framework are determined by the presence of social norms in the internal structure of each social institution. It is these norms that determine the standard of people's behavior, on their basis the quality and direction of their activities are assessed, sanctions are determined against those who are characterized by deviant behavior.

Social institutions perform the following functions:

consolidation and reproduction of social relations in a certain area;

integration and cohesion of society;

regulation and social control;

communication and inclusion of people in activities.

Robert Merton introduced into sociology the distinction between explicit and latent (hidden) functions of social institutions. The explicit functions of the institution are declared, officially recognized and controlled by society.

Latent Functions- these are "not their own" functions, performed by the institution covertly or accidentally (when, for example, the education system performs the functions of political socialization that are not characteristic of it). When the discrepancy between explicit and latent functions is great, a double standard of social relations arises, threatening the stability of society. An even more dangerous situation is when, along with the official institutional system, so-called "shadow" institutions are formed, which take on the function of regulating the most important public relations (for example, criminal structures). Any social transformations are carried out through a change in the institutional system of society, the formation of new "rules of the game". First of all, those social institutions that determine the social type of society (institutions of property, institutions of power, institutions of education) are subject to change.

A social institution is a relatively stable and long-term form of social practice that is authorized and supported by social norms and through which social life is organized and the stability of social relations is ensured. Emile Durkheim called social institutions "factories for the reproduction of social relations."

Social institutions organize human activity into a certain system of roles and statuses, setting patterns of people's behavior in various spheres of public life. For example, such a social institution as a school includes the roles of teacher and student, and the family includes the roles of parents and children. There are certain role-playing relationships between them. These relations are regulated by a set of specific norms and regulations. Some of the most important norms are enshrined in law, others are supported by traditions, customs, and public opinion.

Any social institution includes a system of sanctions - from legal to moral and ethical, which ensure the observance of the relevant values ​​and norms, the reproduction of the corresponding role relations.

Thus, social institutions streamline, coordinate many individual actions of people, give them an organized and predictable character, and ensure standard behavior of people in socially typical situations. When this or that activity of people is ordered in the described way, they speak of its institutionalization. Thus, institutionalization is the transformation of people's spontaneous behavior into an organized one ("fight without rules" into "play by the rules").

Practically all spheres and forms of social relations, even conflicts, are institutionalized. However, in any society there is a certain amount of behavior that is not subject to institutional regulation. Usually there are five main complexes of social institutions. These are the institutions of kinship associated with marriage, family and the socialization of children and youth; political institutions associated with relations of power and access to it; economic institutions and institutions of stratification that determine the distribution of members of society in various status positions; cultural institutions associated with religious, scientific and artistic activities.

Historically, the institutional system has changed from institutions based on kinship and ascriptive attributes characteristic of traditional society to institutions based on formal relationships and statuses of achievement. In our time, the most important institutions of education and science are becoming, providing high social status.

Institutionalization means normative and organizational strengthening, streamlining social ties. When an institution appears, new social communities are formed, engaged in specialized activities, social norms are produced that regulate this activity, and new institutions and organizations ensure the protection of certain interests. For example, education becomes a social institution when a new society appears, professional activities for training and education in a mass school, in accordance with special norms.

Institutions can become obsolete and hinder the development of innovation processes. For example, the qualitative renewal of society in our country required overcoming the influence of the old political structures of a totalitarian society, old norms and laws.

As a result of institutionalization, such phenomena as formalization, standardization of goals, depersonalization, deindividualization may appear. Social institutions develop through overcoming the contradictions between the new needs of society and outdated institutional forms.

The specificity of social institutions, of course, is mainly determined by the type of society in which they operate. However, there is also continuity in the development of various institutions. For example, the institution of the family in the transition from one state of society to another may change some functions, but its essence remains unchanged. During periods of "normal" development of society, social institutions remain fairly stable and stable. When there is a mismatch between the actions of various social institutions, their inability to reflect public interests, to establish the functioning of social ties, this indicates a crisis situation in society. It is solved either by a social revolution and a complete replacement of social institutions, or by their reconstruction.

There are different types of social institutions:

economic, which are engaged in the production, distribution and exchange of material goods, the organization of labor, money circulation, and the like;

social, which organize voluntary associations, the life of collectives that regulate all aspects of the social behavior of people in relation to each other;

political, related to the performance of the functions of power;

cultural and educational, affirming, developing the continuity of the culture of society and passing it on to the next generations;

Religious, which organize people's attitude to religion.

All institutions are linked together in an integrated (combined) system, in which alone they can guarantee a uniform, normal process of collective life and fulfill their tasks. That is why all the listed institutions (economic, social, cultural and others) are generally referred to as social institutions. The most fundamental of them are: property, state, family, production teams, science, mass media system, upbringing and education systems, law and others.

Social institutions

The concepts of "social institution" and "social organization".

Types and functions of social institutions.

The family as a social institution.

Education as a social institution.

The concepts of "social institution" and "social organization"

Society as a social system has the property of dynamics. Only constant variability can guarantee him self-preservation in a constantly changing external environment. The development of society is accompanied by a complication of its internal structure, a qualitative and quantitative change in its elements, as well as their connections and relationships.

At the same time, the change of society cannot be absolutely continuous. Moreover, as the history of mankind testifies, the priority characteristic of specific social systems is their relative immutability. It is this circumstance that makes it possible for successive generations of people to adapt to this particular social environment and determines the continuity of the development of the material, intellectual and spiritual culture of society.

Given the need to preserve those basic social ties and relationships that are guaranteed to ensure its stability, society takes measures to secure them fairly rigidly, excluding accidental spontaneous change. To do this, society fixes the most important types of social relations in the form of normative prescriptions, the implementation of which is mandatory for all members. At the same time, a system of sanctions is being developed and, as a rule, legitimized to ensure the unconditional execution of these instructions.

Social institutions- these are historically established stable forms of organization and regulation of the joint life of people. This is a legally fixed system of social ties and relations. The process and result of their consolidation is denoted by the term "institutionalization". So, for example, we can talk about the institutionalization of marriage, the institutionalization of education systems, etc.

Marriage, the family, moral standards, education, private property, the market, the state, the army, the courts, and other similar forms in society are all clear examples of institutions already established in it. With their help, communications and relations between people are streamlined and standardized, their activities and behavior in society are regulated. This ensures a certain organization and stability of public life.

Structure of social institutions often represents a very complex system, since each institution covers a number of sociocultural elements. These elements can be grouped into five main groups. Consider them on the example of such an institution as the family:

1) spiritual and ideological elements, i.e. such feelings, ideals and values ​​as, say, love, mutual fidelity, the desire to create your own cozy family world, the desire to raise worthy children, etc.;

2) material elements- house, apartment, furniture, cottage, car, etc.;

3) behavioral elements- sincerity, mutual respect, tolerance, willingness to compromise, trust, mutual assistance, etc.;

4) cultural and symbolic elements- marriage ritual, wedding rings, wedding anniversary celebrations, etc.;

5) organizational and documentary elements- civil registration system (ZAGS), marriage and birth certificates, alimony, social security system, etc.

No one "invents" social institutions. They grow gradually, as if by themselves, from this or that specific need of people. For example, out of the need to protect public order, the institution of the police (militia) arose and established itself in due time. The process of institutionalization consists in streamlining, standardization, organizational design and legislative regulation of those ties and relations in society that “claim” to be transformed into a social institution.

The peculiarity of social institutions is that they, being formed on the basis of social ties, relations and interaction of specific people and specific social communities, are individual and supra-group in nature. A social institution is a relatively independent social entity that has its own internal logic of development. From this point of view, a social institution should be considered as an organized social subsystem, characterized by the stability of the structure, the integration of its elements and functions.

The main elements of social institutions are, first of all, systems of values, norms, ideals, as well as patterns of activity and behavior of people in various life situations. Social institutions coordinate and direct the aspirations of individuals into a single channel, establish ways to meet their needs, contribute to the expansion of social conflicts, and ensure the stability of the existence of specific social communities and society as a whole.

The existence of a social institution is associated, as a rule, with its organizational design. A social institution is a set of persons and institutions that have certain material resources and perform a certain social function. Thus, the institution of education includes managers and employees of state and regional educational authorities, teachers, teachers, students, pupils, service personnel, as well as educational institutions and educational institutions: universities, institutes, colleges, technical schools, colleges, schools and children's gardens.

By itself, the fixation of socio-cultural values ​​in the form of social institutions does not yet ensure their effective functioning. In order for them to "work", it is necessary that these values ​​become the property of a person's inner world and be recognized by social communities. The assimilation of sociocultural values ​​by the members of society is the content of the process of their socialization, in which a huge role is assigned to the institution of education.

In addition to social institutions in society, there are also social organizations, which are one of the forms of ordering connections, relationships and interactions of individuals and social groups. Social organizations have a number of characteristics:

they are created to achieve certain goals;

social organization gives a person the opportunity to satisfy his needs and interests within the limits that are established by the norms and values ​​​​accepted in this social organization;

social organization helps to increase the efficiency of the activities of its members, since its emergence and existence is based on the division of labor and on its specialization according to a functional basis.

A characteristic feature of most social organizations is their hierarchical structure, in which the governing and managed subsystems are quite clearly distinguished, which ensures its stability and functioning efficiency. As a result of the combination of various elements of social organization into a single whole, a special organizational, or cooperative effect arises. Sociologists call its three main components:

1) the organization unites the efforts of many of its members, i.e. the simultaneity of many efforts of each;

2) the participants of the organization, being included in it, become different: they turn into its specialized elements, each of which performs a very specific function, which significantly increases the effectiveness and effect of their activities;

3) the managing subsystem plans, organizes and harmonizes the activities of the members of the social organization, and this also serves as a source of increasing the effectiveness of its actions.

The most complex and most significant social organization is the state (public-authoritative social organization), in which the central place is occupied by the state apparatus. In a democratic society, along with the state, there is also such a form of social organization as civil society. We are talking about such social institutions and relations as voluntary associations of people with the same interests, folk art, friendship, the so-called “unregistered marriage”, etc. At the center of civil society is a sovereign person who has the right to life, personal freedom and property. Other important values ​​of civil society are: democratic freedoms, political pluralism, the rule of law.

Types and functions of social institutions

Among the huge variety of institutional forms, one can single out the following main groups of social institutions.

Each of these groups, as well as each institution separately, fulfill their own certain functions.

Economic institutions are called upon to ensure the organization and management of the economy for the purpose of its effective development. For example, property relations assign material and other values ​​to a certain owner and enable the latter to receive income from these values. Money is called upon to serve as a universal equivalent in the exchange of goods, and wages as a reward to the worker for his work. Economic institutions provide the entire system of production and distribution of social wealth, while at the same time connecting the purely economic sphere of society's life with its other spheres.

Political institutions establish a certain power and govern society. They are also designed to ensure the protection of the sovereignty of the state and its territorial integrity, state ideological values, taking into account the political interests of various social communities.

Spiritual institutions associated with the development of science, education, art, the maintenance of moral values ​​in society. Sociocultural institutions aim to preserve and enhance the cultural values ​​of society.

As for the institution of the family, it is the primary and key link in the entire social system. From the family people come into society. It brings up the main personality traits of a citizen. The family sets the daily tone of all social life. Societies thrive when there is prosperity and peace in the families of its citizens.

The grouping of social institutions is very conditional, and does not mean that they exist in isolation from each other. All institutions of society are closely interconnected. For example, the state operates not only in “its own” political area, but also in all other areas: it is engaged in economic activities, promotes the development of spiritual processes, and regulates family relations. And the institution of the family (as the main cell of society) is literally at the center of the intersection of the lines of all other institutions (property, wages, the army, education, etc.).

Formed over the centuries, social institutions do not remain unchanged. They develop and improve along with the movement of society forward. At the same time, it is important that the governing bodies of society should not be late with the organizational (and especially with the legislative) formalization of the overdue changes in social institutions. Otherwise, the latter perform their functions worse and hinder social progress.

Each social institution has its own social functions, goals of activity, means and methods to ensure its achievement. The functions of social institutions are diverse. However, all their diversity can be reduced to four major:

1) reproduction of members of society (the main social institution that performs this function is the family);

2) socialization of members of society and, above all, new generations - the transfer to them of the industrial, intellectual and spiritual experience accumulated by society in its historical development, established patterns of behavior and interactions (institute of education);

3) production, distribution, exchange and consumption of material goods, intellectual and spiritual values ​​(State Institute, Institute of Mass Communications, Institute of Art and Culture);

4) management and control over the behavior of members of society and social communities (the institution of social norms and regulations: moral and legal norms, customs, administrative decisions, the institution of sanctions for non-compliance or for improper compliance with established norms and rules).

In the conditions of intensive social processes, the acceleration of the pace of social change, a situation may arise when the changed social needs are not adequately reflected in the structure and functions of the relevant social institutions, resulting in, as they say, their dysfunction. The essence of the dysfunction of a social institution lies in the "degeneration" of the goals of its activity and in the loss of the social significance of the functions performed by it. Outwardly, this is manifested in the fall of his social prestige and authority and in the transformation of his activity into a symbolic, “ritual” one, not aimed at achieving socially significant goals.

Correction of the dysfunction of a social institution can be achieved by changing it or creating a new social institution whose goals and functions would correspond to the changed social relations, connections and interactions. If this is not done in an acceptable way and in a proper way, an unsatisfied social need can give rise to the spontaneous emergence of normatively unregulated types of social ties and relations that can be destructive for society as a whole or for its individual areas. For example, the partial dysfunction of some economic institutions is the reason for the existence of the so-called "shadow economy" in our country, resulting in speculation, bribery, theft.

Family as a social institution

The family is the initial structural element of society and its most important social institution. From the point of view of sociologists, family is a group of people based on marriage and consanguinity, connected by common life and mutual responsibility. At the same time, under marriage the union of a man and a woman is understood, giving rise to their rights and obligations in relation to each other, to their parents and to their children.

marriage may be registered And actual (unregistered). Here, apparently, special attention should be paid to the fact that any form of marriage, including unregistered marriage, differs significantly from extramarital (disordered) sexual relations. Their fundamental difference from the marriage union is manifested in the desire to avoid the conception of a child, in the evasion of moral and legal responsibility for the onset of an unwanted pregnancy, in the refusal to support and raise a child in the event of his birth.

Marriage is a historical phenomenon that arose in the era of mankind's transition from savagery to barbarism and developed in the direction from polygamy (polygamy) to monogamy (monogamy). Basic forms polygamous marriage, passing successively to replace each other and preserved up to the present time in a number of "exotic" regions and countries of the world, are group marriage, polyandry ( polyandry) and polygamy ( polygamy).

In a group marriage, there are several men and several women in the marriage relationship. Polyandry is characterized by the presence of several husbands for one woman, and for polygamy - several wives for one husband.

Historically, the last and currently most common form of marriage, the essence of which is a stable marriage union of one man and one woman. The first form of the family based on monogamous marriage was the extended family, also called the kinship or patriarchal (traditional). This family was built not only on marital relations, but also on consanguinity. Such a family was characterized by having many children and living in the same house or in the same farmstead for several generations. In this regard, patriarchal families were quite numerous, and therefore well adapted for relatively independent subsistence agriculture.

The transition of society from natural economy to industrial production was accompanied by the destruction of the patriarchal family, which was replaced by the married family. Such a family in sociology is also called nuclear(from lat. - core). A married family consists of a husband, wife and children, the number of which, especially in urban families, is becoming extremely small.

The family as a social institution goes through a number of stages, the main ones are:

1) marriage - formation of a family;

2) the beginning of childbearing - the birth of the first child;

3) the end of childbearing - the birth of the last child;

4) "empty nest" - marriage and separation of the last child from the family;

5) termination of the existence of the family - the death of one of the spouses.

Any family, regardless of what form of marriage underlies it, has been and remains a social institution, designed to perform a system of specific and unique social functions inherent in it. The main ones are: reproductive, educational, economic, status, emotional, protective, as well as the function of social control and regulation. Let's consider in more detail the content of each of them.

The most important thing for any family is its reproductive function, which is based on the instinctive desire of a person (individual) to continue his kind, and society - to ensure the continuity and succession of successive generations.

Considering the content of the reproductive function of the family, it should be borne in mind that in this case we are talking about the reproduction of the biological, intellectual and spiritual essence of a person. A child passing into this world must be physically strong, physiologically and mentally healthy, which would provide him with the opportunity to perceive the material, intellectual and spiritual culture accumulated by previous generations. Obviously, apart from the family, no “social incubator” like the “Baby House” is able to solve this problem.

Fulfilling its reproductive mission, the family is "responsible" not only for the qualitative, but also for the quantitative growth of the population. It is the family that is that kind of birth rate regulator, by influencing which one can avoid or initiate a demographic decline or a demographic explosion.

One of the most important functions of the family is educational function. For the normal full development of the child, the family is vital. Psychologists note that if a child is deprived of maternal warmth and care from birth to 3 years, then its development slows down significantly. The primary socialization of the younger generation is also carried out in the family.

essence economic function The family consists in the maintenance by its members of a common household and in the economic support of minors who are temporarily unemployed, as well as those who are unable to work due to illness or age of family members. "Outgoing" totalitarian Russia has contributed to the economic function of the family. The wage system was built in such a way that neither a man nor a woman could live separately from each other on wages. And this circumstance served as an additional and very significant incentive for their marriage.

From the moment of his birth, a person receives citizenship, nationality, social position in society inherent in the family, becomes an urban or rural resident, etc. Thus, it is carried out status function families. The social statuses inherited by a person at his birth can change over time, however, they largely determine the “starting” capabilities of a person in his final destiny.

Satisfying the inherent human need for family warmth, comfort and intimate communication is the main content emotional function families. It is no secret that in families in which an atmosphere of participation, goodwill, sympathy, empathy has developed, people get sick less, and when they get sick, they endure illness more easily. They also turn out to be more resistant to stress, for which our life is so generous.

One of the most significant is protective function. It manifests itself in the physical, material, mental, intellectual and spiritual protection of its members. In a family, violence, the threat of violence or infringement of interests shown in relation to one of its members, cause a response of opposition, in which the instinct of its self-preservation is manifested. The most acute form of such a reaction is revenge, including blood, associated with violent actions.

One of the forms of the defensive reaction of the family, which contributes to its self-preservation, is a solidary feeling of guilt or shame by the whole family for the illegal, immoral or immoral actions and deeds of one or more of its members. A deep awareness of one's moral responsibility for what happened contributes to the spiritual self-purification and self-improvement of the family, and thereby strengthening its foundations.

The family is the main social institution through which society carries out primary social control over the behavior of people and the regulation of their mutual responsibility and mutual obligations. At the same time, the family is that informal “court instance” that has the right to apply moral sanctions to family members for non-compliance or for improper observance of the norms of social and family life. It seems quite obvious that the family as a social institution implements its functions not in a "soulless space", but in a well-defined political, economic, social, ideological and cultural environment. At the same time, the existence of the family in a totalitarian society, which seeks to penetrate into all pores of civil society and, above all, into the family and family relations, turns out to be the most unnatural.

It is easy to verify the validity of this statement by looking more closely at the process of the post-revolutionary transformation of the Soviet family. The aggressive foreign and repressive domestic policy of the Soviet state, the essentially inhuman economy, the total ideologization of society and, especially, the education system led to the degradation of the family, to its transformation from normal to “Soviet”, with a corresponding deformation of its functions. The state limited its reproductive function to the reproduction of "human material", having appropriated to itself the monopoly right of its subsequent spiritual duping. The beggarly level of wages gave rise to sharp conflicts between parents and children on an economic basis, shaped both these and others a sense of their own inferiority. In a country in which class antagonism, spy mania and total denunciation were planted, there could be no question of any protective function of the family, especially the function of moral satisfaction. And the status role of the family has become completely life-threatening: the fact of belonging to one or another social stratum, to one or another ethnic group was often tantamount to a sentence for a grave crime. The control and regulation of people's social behavior was taken over by the punitive bodies, the party and party organizations, having connected their faithful assistants to this process - the Komsomol, the pioneer organization and even the Octoberists. As a result, the control function of the family degenerated into peeping and eavesdropping, followed by denunciation to state and party parties or with a public discussion of compromising material at "comradely" courts, at party and Komsomol meetings of the October "stars"

in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. the patriarchal family prevailed (about 80%), in the 1970s. more than half of Russian families adhered to the principles of equality and mutual respect. The forecasts of N. Smelser and E. Giddens about the post-industrial future of the family are interesting. According to N. Smelzer, there will be no return to the traditional family. The modern family will change, partially losing or changing some functions, although the family's monopoly on the regulation of intimate relationships, childbearing and caring for young children will continue into the future. At the same time, there will be a partial decay of even relatively stable functions. So, the reproduction function will be carried out by unmarried women. Centers for the upbringing of children will be more involved in socialization. Friendship and emotional support can be found not only in the family. E. Giddens notes a steady trend of weakening the regulatory function of the family in relation to sexual life, but believes that marriage and the family will remain strong institutions.

The family as a socio-biological system is analyzed from the standpoint of functionalism and conflict theory. The family, on the one hand, is closely connected with society through its functions, and on the other hand, all family members are interconnected by consanguinity and social relations. It should be noted that the family is also a carrier of contradictions both with society and between its members. Family life is connected with the solution of contradictions between husband, wife and children, relatives, surrounding people regarding the performance of functions, even if it is based on love and respect.

In the family, as in society, there is not only unity, integrity and harmony, but also a struggle of interests. The nature of conflicts can be understood from the standpoint of the exchange theory, which implies that all family members should strive for an equal exchange in their relationship. Tensions and conflicts arise from the fact that someone does not receive the expected "reward". The source of the conflict may be the low wages of one of the family members, drunkenness, violence, sexual dissatisfaction, etc. The strong severity of disturbances in metabolic processes leads to the breakup of the family.

The problems of the modern Russian family as a whole coincide with the global ones. Among them:

an increase in the number of divorces and an increase in single families (mainly with a “single mother”);

a decrease in the number of registered marriages and an increase in the number of civil marriages;

reduction in the birth rate;

an increase in the number of children born out of wedlock;

changes in the distribution of family responsibilities due to the growing involvement of women in labor activity, requiring the joint participation of both parents in raising children and organizing everyday life;

an increase in the number of dysfunctional families.

The most pressing problem is dysfunctional families arising from socio-economic, psychological, pedagogical or biological (for example, disability) reasons. stand out the following types of dysfunctional families:

Dysfunctional families deform the personality of children, causing anomalies both in the psyche and in behavior, for example, early alcoholization, drug addiction, prostitution, vagrancy and other forms of deviant behavior.

Another urgent family problem is the growing number of divorces. In our country, along with the freedom of marriage, there is also the right of spouses to divorce. According to statistics, currently 2 out of 3 marriages break up. But this figure varies depending on the place of residence and age of people. So in big cities there are more divorces than in rural areas. The peak number of divorces falls at the age of 25-30 years and 40-45 years.

As the number of divorces increases, the possibility that they will be compensated by remarriage becomes less and less. Only 10-15% of women with children remarry. As a result, the number of incomplete families is increasing. So what is divorce? Some say - evil, others - getting rid of evil. In order to find out this, it is necessary to analyze a wide range of questions: how does a divorced person live? Is he happy with the divorce? How have housing conditions and health changed? How did your relationship with the children develop? Is he thinking of remarrying? It is very important to find out the fate of a divorced woman and a man, as well as a child from a broken family. It is not for nothing that they say that divorce is like an iceberg in the sea: only a small part of the reasons are visible on the surface, but their main mass is hidden in the depths of the souls of the divorced.

According to statistics, a divorce case is initiated mainly at the request of women, because. a woman in our time has become independent, she works, she can support her family herself and does not want to put up with the shortcomings of her husband. At the same time, a woman does not think that she herself is not perfect and whether she deserves a perfect man. Imagination draws her such a perfect ideal, which in real life does not occur.

There are no words that a drunken husband is a misfortune for the family, wife, children. Especially when he beats his wife and children, takes money from the family, does not take care of the upbringing of children, etc. Divorce in these cases is necessary to protect the family from moral and material devastation. In addition to drunkenness, the reasons why wives file for divorce can be cheating on their husbands, male selfishness. Sometimes a man simply forces his wife to file for divorce by his behavior. He treats her disdainfully, does not tolerate her weaknesses, does not help in household chores, etc. Of the reasons why husbands file for divorce, we can highlight the betrayal of his wife or his love for another woman. But the main reason for divorce is the unpreparedness of spouses for family life. Domestic, financial problems pile on young spouses. In the first years of married life, the young people get to know each other more, the shortcomings that they tried to hide before the wedding are revealed, and the spouses adapt to each other.

Young spouses often unnecessarily hastily resort to divorce as a way to resolve any conflicts, including those that can be overcome at first. Such a “light” attitude towards the breakup of a family is formed due to the fact that divorce has already become commonplace. At the time of marriage, there is a clear set for divorce if at least one of the spouses is not satisfied with their life together. The reason for divorce can also be the unwillingness of one of the spouses to have a child. These cases are rare, but they do happen. According to sociological surveys, more than half of men and women would like to remarry. Only a small part preferred loneliness. American sociologists Carter and Glick report that 10 times more unmarried men than married men go to the hospital, the death rate of unmarried men is 3 times more, and unmarried women are 2 times more than married ones. Many men, like many women, easily go through with a divorce, but then experience its consequences very hard. In divorces, in addition to spouses, there are also interested parties - children. They suffer psychological trauma that parents often do not think about.

In addition to the moral disadvantages of divorce, there are also negative material aspects. When the husband leaves the family, the wife and child face financial difficulties. There is also a problem with housing. But the possibility of a family reunion is a real possibility for many couples who have broken up in the heat of the moment. Deep down, each of the spouses wants to have a good family. And for this, those who have entered into marriage need to learn mutual understanding, overcome petty egoism, and improve the culture of family relations. At the state level, in order to prevent divorce, it is necessary to create and expand a system for preparing young people for marriage, as well as a socio-psychological service for helping families and single people.

To support the family, the state forms family policy, which includes a set of practical measures that give families with children certain social guarantees for the purpose of the functioning of the family in the interests of society. In all countries of the world, the family is recognized as the most important social institution in which new generations are born and raised, where their socialization takes place. World practice includes a range of social support measures:

provision of family allowances;

payment of maternity leave for women;

medical care for women during pregnancy and childbirth;

monitoring the health of infants and young children;

granting parental leave;

benefits for single-parent families;

tax incentives, low-interest loans (or subsidies) for the purchase or rental of housing, and some others.

Assistance to families from the state can be different and depends on a number of factors, including the economic well-being of the state. The Russian state provides mainly similar forms of assistance to families, but their scale in modern conditions is insufficient.

Russian society faces the need to solve a number of priority tasks in the field of family relations, including:

1) overcoming negative trends and stabilizing the financial situation of Russian families; reducing poverty and increasing assistance to disabled family members;

2) strengthening the support of the family by the state as a natural environment for the life support of children; ensuring safe motherhood and protecting the health of children.

To solve these problems, it is necessary to increase spending on social support for families, increase the efficiency of their use, improve legislation to protect the rights and interests of the family, women, children and youth.

1) a network of educational institutions;

2) social communities (teachers and students);

3) educational process.

Allocate the following types of educational institutions(state and non-state):

1) preschool;

2) general education (primary, basic, secondary);

3) professional (primary, secondary and higher);

4) postgraduate professional education;

5) special (correctional) institutions - for children with developmental disabilities;

6) institutions for orphans.

With regard to preschool education, sociology proceeds from the fact that the foundations of a person's upbringing, his industriousness, and many other moral qualities are laid in early childhood. In general, the importance of preschool education is underestimated. It is too often overlooked that this is an extremely important step in a person's life, on which the fundamental foundation of a person's personal qualities is laid. And the point is not in quantitative indicators of "coverage" of children or satisfaction of the desires of parents. Kindergartens, nurseries, factories are not just a means of "looking after" children, here their mental, moral and physical development takes place. With the transition to teaching children from the age of 6, kindergartens faced new problems for themselves - organizing the activities of preparatory groups so that children can normally enter the school rhythm of life and have self-service skills.

From the point of view of sociology, the analysis of society's focus on supporting preschool forms of education, on the readiness 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 - as well as their readiness, understanding and desire to fulfill the duties and hopes assigned to them are especially significant.

Unlike pre-school education and upbringing, which does not cover every child, the secondary general education school is aimed at preparing the entire younger generation for life, without exception. In the conditions of the Soviet period, starting from the 1960s, 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, because of the requirement to give every young person a secondary education, percentage mania, registrations, artificial overestimation of academic performance flourished, then in the Russian school the number of dropouts from school is growing, 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, at the guidelines of parents and children, at their reaction to the introduction of new forms of education, because graduating from a general education school turns out to be for a young person at the same time the moment of choosing a future life path, profession, kind of occupation. Choosing one of the options, the graduate of the school thereby gives preference to one or another type of vocational education. But what drives him in choosing the trajectory of his future life path, what influences this choice and how it changes throughout life is one of the most important problems of sociology.

A special place is occupied by the study of vocational education - vocational, secondary special and higher. Vocational education is most directly connected with the needs of production, with an operative and comparatively rapid form of bringing young people into life. It is directly carried out within the framework of large industrial organizations or the state education system. Emerging in 1940 as a factory apprenticeship (FZU), vocational education has gone through a complex and winding path of development. And despite the various costs (attempts to transfer the entire system to a combination of complete and specialized 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, it is important to know the motives of students, the effectiveness of training, its role in improving the skills of real participation in solving national economic problems.

At the same time, sociological studies still record a relatively low (and for a number of professions, low) prestige of this type of education, because the orientation of school graduates to receive secondary specialized and higher 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 possibilities and role in future adult life, the correspondence of subjective aspirations and objective needs of society, the quality and effectiveness of training.

Particularly acute is the question of the professionalism of future specialists, that the quality and level of their modern training meet the realities of today. However, sociological studies show that many problems have accumulated in this regard. 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.

In addition to those already mentioned, Russian education also faces the following problems:

the problem of optimizing the interaction between the individual and society as a search for a balance between social and normative pressure and the desire of the individual for socio-psychological autonomy, overcoming the inconsistency of the "needs" of the social order and the interests of the individual (student, teacher, parent);

the problem of overcoming the disintegration of the content of school education in the process of creating and implementing a new socio-educational paradigm that can become a starting point in the formation of a holistic picture of the world in a student;

problems of harmonization and integration of pedagogical technologies;

the formation of the development of problem thinking in students through a gradual departure from monologue communication to dialogical communication in the classroom;

the problem of overcoming the irreducibility of learning outcomes in various types of educational institutions through the development and introduction of unified educational standards based on a comprehensive systematic analysis of the educational process.

In this regard, modern Russian education faces following tasks.

In the Russian Federation are implemented two types of educational programs:

1) general education (basic and additional) - aimed at the formation of a general culture of the individual and its adaptation to life in society;

2) professional (basic and additional) - aimed at training specialists of appropriate qualifications.

Law of the Russian Federation "On Education" guarantees:

1) general availability and free of charge of primary general (4 grades), basic general (9 grades), secondary (complete) general (11 grades) and primary vocational education;

2) on a competitive basis, free secondary and higher professional and postgraduate education (postgraduate studies) in state and municipal educational institutions, if a person receives education for the first time.

Education performs in society essential functions:

1) humanistic- identification and development of the intellectual, moral and physical potential of the individual;

2) professional and economic- training of qualified specialists;

3) socio-political- acquisition of a certain social status;

4) cultural - the assimilation by the individual of the culture of society, the development of his creative abilities;

5) adaptive - preparing the individual for life and work in society.

The current system of education in Russia still poorly forms high spiritual demands and aesthetic tastes, strong immunity to lack of spirituality, "mass culture". The role of social science disciplines, literature, art lessons remains insignificant. The study of the historical past, the truthful coverage of the complex and contradictory stages of national history are poorly combined with an independent search for one's own answers to the questions that life puts forward. Global socio-cultural changes in the world, the so-called civilizational shifts, are increasingly revealing the discrepancy between the established education system and emerging social needs on the eve of a new anthropogenic reality. This discrepancy causes in our country from time to time attempts to reform the educational system.

Social institutions are the most important component of society as a system.

The word "institute" in Latin instituto means "establishment". In Russian, it is often used to refer to higher educational institutions. In addition, as you know from the basic school course, in the field of law the word "institution" means a set of legal norms that regulate one social relationship or several relationships related to each other (for example, the institution of marriage).

In sociology, social institutions are called historically established stable forms of organizing joint activities, regulated by norms, traditions, customs and aimed at meeting the fundamental needs of society.

This definition, to which it is expedient to return, after reading to the end of the educational material on this issue, we will consider, based on the concept of "activity" (see § 1). In the history of society, sustainable activities aimed at satisfying the most important vital needs have developed. Sociologists identify five such social needs:

• the need for the reproduction of the genus;
• the need for security and social order;
• need for means of subsistence;
• the need for knowledge, socialization of the younger generation, training;
• the need to solve spiritual problems of the meaning of life.

According to the above needs, the society also developed activities, which, in turn, required the necessary organization, streamlining, the creation of certain institutions and other structures, the development of rules that ensure the achievement of the expected result. These conditions for the successful implementation of the main activities were met by historically established social institutions:

• institution of family and marriage;
• political institutions, especially the state;
• economic institutions, primarily production;
• institutes of education, science and culture;
• institute of religion.

Each of these institutions brings together large masses of people to meet a particular need and achieve a specific goal of a personal, group or social nature.

The emergence of social institutions led to the consolidation of specific types of interaction, made them permanent and mandatory for all members of a given society.

So, social institution- this is, first of all, a set of persons engaged in a certain type of activity and ensuring in the process of this activity the satisfaction of a certain significant need for society (for example, all employees of the education system).

Further, the institution is fixed by a system of legal and moral norms, traditions and customs that regulate the corresponding types of behavior. (Remember, for example, what social norms regulate the behavior of people in the family).

Another characteristic feature of a social institution is the presence of institutions equipped with certain material resources necessary for any type of activity. (Think about which social institutions school, factory, police belong to. Give your examples of institutions and organizations related to each of the most important social institutions.)

Any of these institutions is integrated into the socio-political, legal, value structure of society, which makes it possible to legitimize the activities of this institution and exercise control over it.

A social institution stabilizes social relations, brings coherence into the actions of members of society. A social institution is characterized by a clear delineation of the functions of each of the subjects of interaction, the consistency of their actions, and a high level of regulation and control. (Think about how these features of a social institution show up in the education system, particularly in schools.)

Consider the main features of a social institution on the example of such an important institution of society as the family. First of all, each family is a small group of people based on intimacy and emotional attachment, connected by marriage (wife) and consanguinity (parents and children). The need to create a family is one of the fundamental, i.e. fundamental, human needs. At the same time, the family performs important functions in society: the birth and upbringing of children, economic support for minors and the disabled, and much more. Each family member occupies his own special position in it, which implies appropriate behavior: parents (or one of them) provide a livelihood, run household chores, and raise children. Children, in turn, study, help around the house. Such behavior is regulated not only by intra-family rules, but also by social norms: morality and law. Thus, public morality condemns the lack of care of older family members about the younger ones. The law establishes the responsibility and obligations of spouses in relation to each other, to children, adult children to elderly parents. The creation of a family, the main milestones of family life, are accompanied by traditions and rituals established in society. For example, in many countries, the marriage ritual includes the exchange of wedding rings between spouses.

The presence of social institutions makes people's behavior more predictable and society as a whole more stable.

In addition to the main social institutions, there are non-principal ones. So, if the main political institution is the state, then the non-main ones are the institution of the judiciary or, as in our country, the institution of presidential representatives in the regions, etc.

The presence of social institutions reliably ensures regular, self-renewing satisfaction of vital needs. The social institution makes connections between people not random and not chaotic, but permanent, reliable, stable. Institutional interaction is a well-established order of social life in the main spheres of people's life. The more social needs are met by social institutions, the more developed the society.

Since new needs and conditions arise in the course of the historical process, new types of activity and corresponding connections appear. Society is interested in giving them an orderly, normative character, that is, in their institutionalization.

In Russia, as a result of the reforms of the late XX century. appeared, for example, such a type of activity as entrepreneur-. stvo. The streamlining of this activity led to the emergence of various types of firms, required the issuance of laws regulating entrepreneurial activity, and contributed to the formation of relevant traditions.

In the political life of our country, institutions of parliamentarism, a multi-party system, and the institution of presidency arose. The principles and rules for their functioning are enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation and relevant laws.

In the same way, the institutionalization of other types of activity that have emerged over the past decades has taken place.

It happens that the development of society requires the modernization of the activities of social institutions that have historically developed in previous periods. Thus, in the changed conditions, it became necessary to solve the problems of introducing the younger generation to the culture in a new way. Hence the steps taken to modernize the institution of education, which may result in the institutionalization of the Unified State Examination, the new content of educational programs.

So, we can return to the definition given at the beginning of this part of the paragraph. Think about what characterizes social institutions as highly organized systems. Why is their structure stable? What is the importance of deep integration of their elements? What is the diversity, flexibility, dynamism of their functions?

Concept, signs ,types, functions of social institutions

English philosopher and sociologist Herbert Spencer He was the first to introduce the concept of a social institution into sociology and defined it as a stable structure of social actions. He singled out six types of social institutions: industrial, trade union, political, ceremonial, church, domestic. He considered the main purpose of social institutions to meet the needs of members of society.

The consolidation and organization of relations that develop in the process of meeting the needs of both society and the individual are carried out by creating a system of standard samples based on a generally shared system of values ​​- a common language, common ideals, values, beliefs, moral norms, etc. They establish the rules for the behavior of individuals in the process of their interaction, embodied in social roles. Accordingly, the American sociologist Neil Smelzer calls a social institution "a set of roles and statuses designed to meet a specific social need"

In addition, in order to ensure the implementation of these rules, it is necessary to form a system of sanctions that establish how a person should behave in a given situation. Conforming to standards activities of people are encouraged, and behavior that deviates from them is suppressed. Thus, social institutions are value-normative complexes through which people's actions are directed and controlled in vital areas - economy, politics, culture, family, etc.

Since a social institution has a stable value-normative structure, the elements of which are patterns of people's activities and behavior, values, norms, ideals, is characterized by the presence of a goal, and also performs socially significant functions, it can be considered as a social system.

So, social institution(lat.socialis- public and lat.institution- establishment) - these are historically established, stable, self-renewable forms of specialized activity that satisfy human needs and ensure the stable functioning of society.

The following sequences are distinguished in the literature stages of the institutionalization process:

1) the emergence of a need (material, physiological or spiritual), the satisfaction of which requires joint organized actions;

2) formation of common goals;

3) the emergence of social norms and rules in the course of spontaneous social interaction carried out by trial and error;

4) the emergence of procedures related to rules and regulations;

5) institutionalization of norms, rules and procedures, i.e. their adoption, practical use;

6) the establishment of a system of sanctions to maintain norms and rules, the differentiation of their application in individual cases;

7) creation of a system of statuses and roles covering all members of the institute without exception.

In addition, one of the most important elements of institutionalization is the organizational design of a social institution - the formation of a set of persons, institutions, provided with material resources, to perform a certain social function.

The result of institutionalization is the creation, in accordance with the norms and rules, of a clear status-role structure supported by the majority of participants in this social process.

signssocial institution. The range of features is wide and ambiguous, because in addition to features common to other institutions, they have their own specific features. So. as the main A. G. Efendiev highlights the following.

A clear distribution of functions, rights, obligations of participants in institutional interaction and the performance by each of them of their function, which ensures the predictability of their behavior.

Division of labor and professionalization to meet people's needs effectively.

a special type of regulation. The main condition here is the anonymity of the requirements for the performer of the actions provided for by this institution. These actions must be carried out regardless of the personal interests of the individuals included in this institution. Deindividualization of requirements ensures the integrity and stability of social ties, regardless of the personal composition, the preservation and self-reproduction of the social system;

A clear, often rationally justified, rigid and binding nature of the regulatory mechanisms, which is ensured by the presence of unambiguous norms, a system of social control and sanctions. Norms - standard patterns of behavior - regulate relationships within the institution, the effectiveness of which is based, among other things, on sanctions (encouragements, punishments) that guarantee the implementation of the norms underlying it.

The presence of institutions in which the activities of the institute are organized, management and control of the necessary means and resources (material, intellectual, moral, etc.) for its implementation.

The listed features characterize social interaction within a social institution as regular and self-renewing.

S. S. Frolov combines features common to all institutions V five big groups:

* attitudes and patterns of behavior (for example, for the institution of the family, this is affection, respect, responsibility; for the institution of education, it is love for knowledge, attendance at classes);

* cultural symbols (for the family - wedding rings, marriage ritual; for the state - coat of arms, flag, anthem; for business - company symbols, patent sign; for religion - objects of worship, shrines);

*utilitarian cultural traits (for a family - a house, apartment, furnishings; for business - a shop, office, equipment; for a university - classrooms, a library);

* oral and written codes of conduct (for the state - the constitution, laws; for business - contracts, licenses);

* ideology (for a family - romantic love, compatibility, individualism; for business - monopoly, freedom of trade, the right to work).

The presence of the above signs in social institutions suggests that social interactions in any sphere of society's life are becoming regular, predictable and self-renewable.

Types of social institutions. Depending on the scope and functions, social institutions are divided into

relational, determining the role structure of society on a variety of grounds: from gender and age to the type of occupation and abilities;

relative, establishing acceptable limits for individual behavior in relation to the norms of action existing in society, as well as sanctions that punish when they go beyond these limits.

Institutions can be cultural, associated with religion, science, art, ideology, etc., and integrative, associated with social roles, responsible for meeting the needs and interests of the social community.

In addition, allocate formal And informal institutions.

As part of formal institutions the interaction of subjects is carried out on the basis of laws or other legal acts, formally approved orders, regulations, rules, charters, etc.

Informal institutions operate in conditions where there is no formal regulation (laws, administrative acts, etc.). An example of an informal social institution is the institution of blood feud.

Social institutions functions also differ which they carry out in various spheres of society.

Economic institutions(property, exchange, money, banks, business associations of various types, etc.) are considered the most stable, subject to strict regulation, providing the entire set of economic ties. They are engaged in the production of goods, services and their distribution, regulate money circulation, organization and division of labor, while simultaneously connecting the economy with other areas of public life.

Political institutions(the state, parties, public associations, the court, the army, etc.) express the political interests and relations existing in society, create conditions for the establishment, distribution and maintenance of a certain form of political power. They are aimed at mobilizing the opportunities that ensure the functioning of society as a whole.

Institutes of culture and education(church, mass media, public opinion, science, education, art, etc.) contribute to the development and subsequent reproduction of socio-cultural values, the inclusion of individuals in any subculture, the socialization of individuals through the assimilation of stable standards of behavior and the protection of certain values ​​and norms .

Functions of social institutions. The functions of social institutions are usually understood as various aspects of their activities, more precisely, the consequences of the latter, which affect the preservation and maintenance of the stability of the social system as a whole.

Distinguish latent(completely unplanned, unexpected) and explicit(expected, intended) functions of institutions. Explicit functions are concerned with satisfying people's needs. So the institution of education exists for the education, upbringing and preparation of young people for the development of various special roles, the assimilation of the value standards, morality and ideology prevailing in society. However, it also has a number of implicit functions that are not always realized by its participants, for example, the reproduction of social inequality, social differences in society.

The study of latent functions gives a more complete picture of the functioning of the entire system of interrelated and interacting social institutions and each of them separately. Latent consequences make it possible to create a reliable picture of social connections and features of social objects, to control their development, to manage the social processes taking place in them.

Consequences that contribute to the strengthening, survival, prosperity, self-regulation of social institutions, R. Merton calls explicit functions, and the consequences that lead to the disorganization of this system, changes in its structure, - dysfunctions. The emergence of dysfunctions of many social institutions can lead to irreversible disorganization and destruction of the social system.

Unsatisfied social needs become the basis for the emergence of normatively unregulated activities. They, on semi-legal or illegal grounds, make up for the dysfunction of legitimate institutions. Due to the fact that the norms of morality and law, as well as legal laws are not implemented, property, economic, criminal and administrative offenses arise.

The evolution of social institutions

The process of development of social life finds expression in the restructuring of institutionalized social ties and forms of interaction.

Politics, economics and culture have a huge impact on their change. They act on social institutions functioning in society both directly and indirectly through the role positions of individuals. At the same time, it is important to ensure the gradualness, controllability and continuity of renewal or even change of social institutions. Otherwise, the disorganization of social life and even the collapse of the system as a whole are possible. The evolution of the analyzed phenomena goes along the path of transformation of institutions of the traditional type into modern ones. What is their difference?

Traditional institutions characterized ascriptiveness and particularism, i.e., they are based on the rules of behavior and family ties strictly prescribed by rituals and customs.

With the emergence of cities as special types of settlements and the organization of social life, the exchange of products of economic activity becomes more intense, trade appears, a market is formed, and, accordingly, special rules arise that regulate them. As a result, there is a differentiation of types of economic activity (craft, construction), a division of mental and physical labor, etc.

The transition to modern social institutions, according to T. Parsons, is carried out along three institutional "bridges".

First - western christian church. It introduced the idea of ​​general equality before God, which became the basis of a new order of interaction between people, the formation of new institutions, and retained the institutional system of its organization with a single center, independence and autonomy in relation to the state.

The second bridge medieval city with its own normative elements, different from blood-related ties. This was the reason for the growth of achievement-universal principles that formed the basis for the growth of modern economic institutions and the formation of the bourgeoisie.

The third "bridge" - Roman state-legal heritage. The fragmented feudal state formations with their own laws, rights, etc. are being replaced by a state with a single authority and a single law.

During these processes, modern social institutionsthe main features of which, according to A. G. Efendiev, are divided into two groups.

The first group includes the following signs:

1) unconditional dominance in all major spheres of public life of achievement regulation: in the economy - money and the market, in politics - democratic institutions, which are characterized by a competitive achievement mechanism (election, multi-party system, etc.), universalism of the law, equality of all before him;

2) the development of an educational institution, the purpose of which is to spread competence and professionalism (this becomes the basic prerequisite for the development of other institutions of an achievement type).

The second group of features is the differentiation and autonomization of institutions. They appear:

*in the separation of the economy from the family and the state, in the formation of specific regulatory regulators of economic life that ensure efficient economic activity;

* in accelerating the process of emergence of new social institutions (permanent differentiation and specialization);

* in strengthening the autonomy of social institutions;

*in the growing interdependence of spheres of public life.

Thanks to the above properties of modern social institutions, society's ability to adapt to any external and internal changes increases, its efficiency, stability and sustainability increase, integrity increases.

SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH AND METHODS OF COLLECTING INFORMATION IN SOCIOLOGY

Types and stages of sociological research

To know the phenomena and processes of the social world, it is necessary to obtain reliable information about them. In sociology, the source of such information is a sociological study, a complex of methodological, methodological and organizational-technical procedures, interconnected by a single goal. - obtain reliable data for their subsequent use in solving theoretical or practical problems.

Research requires professional knowledge and skills. The result of a violation of the rules for conducting a study is usually the receipt of unreliable data.

Types of sociological research:

1. By tasks

* Reconnaissance / aerobatic

*Descriptive

*analytical

2. By frequency

*Single

*repeated: panel, trend, monitoring

3. By scale

*international

*nationwide

*Regional

*Industry

*local

4. By goals

* theoretical

* practical (applied).

The former are focused on developing a theory, identifying trends and patterns of the studied phenomena, social systems, and analyzing social contradictions that arise in society and require detection and resolution. The second relate to the study of specific social problems related to the solution of practical problems, the regulation of certain social processes. In reality, sociological research is usually of a mixed nature and acts as theoretical and applied research.

According to the tasks, intelligence, descriptive and analytical studies are distinguished.

intelligence research solves very limited tasks. It covers, as a rule, small surveyed populations and is based on a simplified program, a toolkit compressed in terms of volume. Typically, intelligence research is used for a preliminary examination of some little-studied phenomenon or process of social life. If the research checks the reliability of the instrumentation, then it is called aerobatic.

Descriptive research more difficult than reconnaissance. It allows you to create a relatively holistic view of the phenomenon under study, its structural elements and is carried out according to a fully developed program.

Target analytical sociological research - in-depth study of the phenomenon, when it is required to describe not only its structure, but also the causes and factors of its occurrence, changes, quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the object, its functional relationships, dynamics. Preparation of an analytical study requires considerable time, carefully developed programs and tools.

Depending on whether social phenomena are studied in statics or dynamics, one-time and repeated sociological studies differ in frequency.

Sociological research, which allows conducting surveys taking into account the time factor, analyzing data “in time”, is often called longitudinal.

One-time study provides information about the state and characteristics of a phenomenon or process at the time of its study.

Data on the change in the object under study are extracted from the results of several studies conducted at certain intervals. Such studies are called repeated. In fact, they are a way of conducting a comparative sociological analysis, which is aimed at identifying the dynamics of change (development) of an object. Depending on the goals put forward, the repeated collection of information can take place in two, three or more stages.

Repeated studies allow you to analyze data in a time perspective and are divided into trend, cohort, panel, monitoring.

trend surveys closest to single, "slice" surveys. Some authors refer to them as regular surveys, that is, surveys conducted at more or less regular intervals. In a trend survey, the same population is studied at different points in time, and each time the sample is rebuilt.

A special direction is cohort studies, the grounds for which are somewhat arbitrary. If in trend studies the selection is made each time from the general population (all voters, all families, etc.), then in the study of “cohorts” (lat. in order to track changes in her behavior, attitudes, etc.

The most perfect embodiment of the idea of ​​introducing a time perspective into the research plan is panel examination, i.e., multiple examination of the same sample from the general population with a certain time interval according to a single program and methodology. This reusable sample is called a panel. The choice of a panel survey design in the case of pilot or exploratory studies is not justified.

Monitoring in sociology, these are usually repeated studies of public opinion on various public issues (monitoring of public opinion).

Another reason for distinguishing types of sociological research is their scale. Here it is necessary to name international, national (on a national scale), regional, sectoral, local research.

Stages of sociological research It is customary to distinguish five stages of sociological research:

1. preparatory (development of the research program);

2. field research (collection of primary social information);

3. processing of received data;

4. analysis and generalization of the received information;

5. drawing up a report on the results of the study.

Introduction

Social institutions occupy an important place in the life of society. Sociologists consider institutions as a stable set of norms, rules, and symbols that regulate various spheres of human life and organize them into a system of roles and statuses, with the help of which basic life and social needs are satisfied.

The relevance of the study of the topic is due to the need to assess the importance of social institutions and their functions in the life of society.

The object of the study is social institutions, the subject is the main functions, types and features of social institutions.

The purpose of the study is to analyze the essence of social institutions.

When writing the work, the following tasks were set:

1. Give a theoretical idea of ​​a social institution;

2. Reveal the signs of social institutions;

3. Consider the types of social institutions;

4. Describe the functions of social institutions.

1 Basic approaches to understanding the structure of social institutions

1.1 Definition of the concept of a social institution

The term "institution" has many meanings. It came to European languages ​​from Latin: institutum - establishment, device. Over time, it acquired two meanings - a narrow technical one (the name of specialized scientific and educational institutions) and a broad social one: a set of legal norms for a certain range of social relations, for example, the institution of marriage, the institution of inheritance.

Sociologists, who borrowed this concept from jurists, endowed it with new content. However, in the scientific literature on institutions, as well as on other fundamental issues of sociology, there is no unity of views. In sociology, there is not one, but many definitions of a social institution.

One of the first to give a detailed idea of ​​social institutions was the prominent American sociologist and economist Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929). Although his book The Theory of the Leisure Class appeared in 1899, many of its provisions have not become obsolete to this day. He viewed the evolution of society as a process of natural selection of social institutions, which by their nature do not differ from the usual ways of responding to incentives created by external changes.

There are various concepts of social institutions, the totality of all available interpretations of the concept of "social institution" can be reduced to the following four grounds:

1. A group of persons performing certain social functions that are important for everyone.

2. Specific organized forms of complexes of functions that some members of the group perform on behalf of the entire group.

3. The system of material institutions and forms of action that allow individuals to perform public impersonal functions aimed at meeting the needs or regulating the behavior of members of the community (group).

4. Social roles that are especially important for a group or community.

The concept of "social institution" in domestic sociology is given a significant place. A social institution is defined as a leading component of the social structure of society, integrating and coordinating many individual actions of people, streamlining social relations in certain areas of public life.

According to S. S. Frolov, "a social institution is an organized system of connections and social norms that combines significant social values ​​and procedures that meet the basic needs of society."

Under the system of social relations in this definition is understood the interweaving of roles and statuses through which behavior in group processes is carried out and maintained within certain limits, under public values ​​- shared ideas and goals, and under public procedures - standardized patterns of behavior in group processes. The institution of the family, for example, includes: 1) the interweaving of roles and statuses (statuses and roles of husband, wife, child, grandmother, grandfather, mother-in-law, mother-in-law, sisters, brothers, etc.), with the help of which family life is carried out; 2) a set of social values ​​(love, attitude towards children, family life); 3) public procedures (concern for the upbringing of children, their physical development, family rules and obligations).

If we sum up the whole set of approaches, then they can be divided into the following. The social institution is:

Role system, which also includes norms and statuses;

A set of customs, traditions and rules of conduct;

Formal and informal organization;

A set of norms and institutions that regulate a certain area of ​​public relations;

A separate set of social actions.

Understanding social institutions as a set of norms and mechanisms that regulate a certain area of ​​social relations (family, production, state, education, religion), sociologists have deepened their understanding of them as the basic elements on which society rests.

Culture is often understood as the form and result of adaptation to the environment. Kees J. Hamelink defines culture as the sum of all human efforts aimed at developing the environment and creating the necessary material and non-material means for this. By adapting to the environment, society throughout history develops tools suitable for solving many problems and satisfying the most important needs. These tools are called social institutions. The institutions typical of a given society reflect the cultural makeup of that society. The institutions of different societies are as different from each other as their cultures. For example, the institution of marriage among different nations contains peculiar rituals and ceremonies, based on the norms and rules of behavior accepted in each society. In some countries, the institution of marriage allows, for example, polygamy, which in other countries is strictly prohibited according to their institution of marriage.

Within the totality of social institutions, a subgroup of cultural institutions can be distinguished as a type of private social institutions. For example, when they say that the press, radio and television represent the “fourth power”, they are essentially understood as a cultural institution. Communication institutions are part of cultural institutions. They are the organs through which society, through social structures, produces and disseminates information expressed in symbols. Communication institutions are the main source of knowledge about the accumulated experience, expressed in symbols.

However one defines a social institution, in any case it is clear that it can be characterized as one of the most fundamental categories of sociology. It is no coincidence that special institutional sociology arose quite a long time ago and took shape as a whole direction, which includes a number of branches of sociological knowledge (economic sociology, political sociology, sociology of the family, sociology of science, sociology of education, sociology of religion, etc.).

1.2 The process of institutionalization

Social institutions arise as a kind of response to the needs of society, individual societies. They are associated with guarantees of uninterrupted social life, the protection of citizens, the maintenance of social order, the cohesion of social groups, the implementation of communications between them, the "placement" of people in certain social positions. Of course, the emergence of social institutions is based on the primary needs associated with the production of products, goods and services, their distribution. The process of emergence and formation of social institutions is called institutionalization.

In detail the process of institutionalization, i.e. the formation of a social institution, considered by S.S. Frolov. This process consists of several successive stages:

1) the emergence of a need, the satisfaction of which requires joint organized actions;

2) formation of common goals;

3) the emergence of social norms and rules in the course of spontaneous social interaction carried out by trial and error;

4) the emergence of procedures related to rules and regulations;

5) institutionalization of norms and rules, procedures, I.e. their adoption, practical application;

6) the establishment of a system of sanctions to maintain norms and rules, the differentiation of their application in individual cases;

7) creation of a system of statuses and roles covering all members of the institute without exception.

People united in social groups to realize their needs, first together look for various ways to achieve it. In the process of social practice, they develop the most acceptable patterns and patterns of behavior, which over time, through repeated repetition and evaluation, turn into standardized habits and customs. After some time, the developed models and patterns of behavior are accepted and supported by public opinion, and eventually legalized, and a certain system of sanctions is developed. The end of the institutionalization process is the creation, in accordance with the norms and rules, of a clear status-role structure, which is socially approved by the majority of participants in this social process.

1.3 Institutional features

Each social institution has both specific features and common features with other institutions.

To perform its functions, a social institution must take into account the abilities of various functionaries, form standards of behavior, adherence to basic principles, and develop interaction with other institutions. It is not surprising, therefore, that similar ways and methods of action exist in institutions pursuing quite different aims.

Features common to all institutions are presented in Table. 1. They are grouped into five groups. Although an institution must necessarily possess, for example, utilitarian cultural traits, it also has new specific qualities depending on the needs it satisfies. Some institutions, unlike developed ones, may not have a complete set of features. It only means that the institution is imperfect, has not fully developed, or is in decline. If most institutions are underdeveloped, then the society in which they function is either in decline or in the early stages of cultural development.

Table 1 . Signs of the main institutions of society

2 Types and functions of social institutions

2.1 Characteristics of the types of social institutions

For a sociological analysis of social institutions and the peculiarities of their functioning in society, their typology is essential.

G. Spencer was one of the first who drew attention to the problem of the institutionalization of society and stimulated interest in institutions in sociological thought. Within his "organismic theory" of human society, based on the structural analogy between society and the organism, he distinguishes three main types of institutions:

1) continuing the race (marriage and family) (Kinship);

2) distribution (or economic);

3) regulating (religion, political systems).

This classification is based on the allocation of the main functions inherent in all institutions.

R. Mills counted five institutional orders in modern society, implying the main institutions:

1) economic - institutions organizing economic activity;

2) political - institutions of power;

3) family - institutions that regulate sexual relations, the birth and socialization of children;

4) military - institutions that organize legal heritage;

5) religious - institutions that organize the collective worship of the gods.

The classification of social institutions proposed by foreign representatives of institutional analysis is arbitrary and peculiar. Thus, Luther Bernard proposes to distinguish between "mature" and "immature" social institutions, Bronislav Malinovsky - "universal" and "particular", Lloyd Ballard - "regulatory" and "sanctioned or operational", F. Chapin - "specific or nucleating" and "basic or diffuse-symbolic", G. Barnes - "primary", "secondary" and "tertiary".

Foreign representatives of functional analysis, following G. Spencer, traditionally propose to classify social institutions based on the main social functions. For example, K. Dawson and W. Gettys believe that the whole variety of social institutions can be grouped into four groups: hereditary, instrumental, regulatory and integrative. From the point of view of T. Parsons, three groups of social institutions should be distinguished: relative, regulatory, cultural.

Seeks to classify social institutions depending on the functions they perform in various spheres and branches of public life and J. Shchepansky. Dividing social institutions into "formal" and "informal", he proposes to distinguish the following "main" social institutions: economic, political, educational or cultural, social or public in the narrow sense of the word, and religious. At the same time, the Polish sociologist notes that the classification of social institutions he proposed is "not exhaustive"; in modern societies, one can find social institutions that are not covered by this classification.

Despite the wide variety of existing classifications of social institutions, this is largely due to different division criteria, almost all researchers distinguish two types of institutions as the most important - economic and political. This is due to the fact that a significant part of scientists believe that the institutions of economics and politics have the most significant impact on the nature of changes in society.

It should be noted that a very important, highly necessary, social institution brought to life by enduring needs, in addition to the two above, is the family. This is historically the first social institution of any society, and for most primitive societies it is the only really functioning institution. The family is a social institution of a special, integrative nature, in which all spheres and relations of society are reflected. Other social and cultural institutions are also important in society - education, health care, upbringing, etc.

Due to the fact that the essential functions performed by institutions are different, the analysis of social institutions allows us to distinguish the following groups of institutions:

1. Economic - these are all institutions that ensure the process of production and distribution of material goods and services, regulate money circulation, organize and division of labor, etc. (banks, stock exchanges, corporations, firms, joint-stock companies, factories, etc.).

2. Political - these are the institutions that establish, execute and maintain power. In a concentrated form, they express the political interests and relations existing in a given society. The totality of political institutions makes it possible to determine the political system of society (the state with its central and local authorities, political parties, police or police, justice, the army, and also various public organizations, movements, associations, funds and clubs pursuing political goals). The forms of institutionalized activity in this case are strictly defined: elections, rallies, demonstrations, election campaigns.

3. Reproduction and kinship are institutions that maintain the biological continuity of society, satisfy sexual needs and parental aspirations, regulate relations between the sexes and generations, etc. (institute of family and marriage).

4. Socio-cultural and educational - these are institutions whose main goal is to create, develop, strengthen culture for the socialization of the younger generation and transfer to it the accumulated cultural values ​​of the whole society as a whole (family as an educational institution, education, science, cultural and educational and art institutions, etc.).

5. Socio-ceremonial - these are institutions that regulate everyday human contacts, facilitating mutual understanding. Although these social institutions are complex systems and most often informal, they determine and regulate the ways of greetings and congratulations, the organization of solemn weddings, holding meetings, etc., which we ourselves usually do not think about. These are institutions organized by a voluntary association (public organizations, comradely associations, clubs, etc., not pursuing political goals).

6. Religious - institutions that organize a person's connection with transcendental forces. The other world for believers really exists and in a certain way affects their behavior and social relations. The institution of religion plays a prominent role in many societies and has a strong influence on numerous human relationships.

In the above classification, only the so-called "main institutions" are considered, the most important, highly necessary institutions, brought to life by enduring needs that regulate basic social functions and are characteristic of all types of civilization.

Depending on the severity and methods of regulation of their activities, social institutions are divided into formal and informal.

Formal social institutions, with all their significant differences, are united by one common feature: the interaction between the subjects in a given association is carried out on the basis of formally agreed regulations, rules, norms, regulations, etc. The regularity of activity and self-renewal of such institutions (state, army, church, education system, etc.) is ensured by strict regulation of social statuses, roles, functions, rights and obligations, distribution of responsibility between participants in social interaction, as well as impersonal requirements for who is included in activities of a social institution. The fulfillment of a certain range of duties is associated with the division of labor and the professionalization of the functions performed. To perform its functions, a formal social institution has institutions within which (for example, a school, university, technical school, lyceum, etc.) a well-defined professionally oriented activity of people is organized; management of social actions, control over their implementation, as well as the resources and means necessary for all this.

Although informal social institutions are regulated in their activities by certain norms and rules, they do not have strict regulation, and the normative-value relationships in them are not clearly formalized in the form of prescriptions, regulations, charters, etc. Friendship is an example of an informal social institution. It has many features of a social institution, such as, say, the presence of certain norms, rules, requirements, resources (trust, sympathy, devotion, loyalty, etc.), but the regulation of friendly relations is not formal, and social control is carried out with the help of informal sanctions - moral norms, traditions, customs, etc.

2.2 Functions of social institutions

The American sociologist R. Merton, who has done a lot for the development of the structural-functional approach, is the first to propose a distinction between "explicit" and "hidden (latent)" functions of social institutions. This difference in functions was introduced by him to explain certain social phenomena, when it is necessary to take into account not only the expected and observable consequences, but uncertain, side, secondary ones. The terms "manifest" and "latent" he borrowed from Freud, who used them in a completely different context. R. Merton writes: “The distinction between explicit and latent functions is based on the following: the former refer to those objective and intended consequences of social action that contribute to the adaptation or adaptation of some specific social unit (individual, subgroup, social or cultural system); the latter refer to unintended and unconscious consequences of the same order.

The explicit functions of social institutions are deliberate and understood by people. Usually they are formally declared, written down in statutes or declared, enshrined in the system of statuses and roles (for example, the adoption of special laws or sets of rules: on education, health care, social security, etc.), therefore, they are more controlled by society.

The main, general function of any social institution is to meet the social needs for which it was created and exists. To perform this function, each institution has to perform a number of functions that ensure the joint activities of people striving to meet needs. These are the following features; the function of consolidation and reproduction of social relations; regulatory function; integrative function; broadcasting function; communicative function.

The function of fixing and reproducing social relations

Each institution has a system of rules and norms of behavior that fixes, standardizes the behavior of its members and makes this behavior predictable. Appropriate social control provides the order and framework in which the activities of each member of the institution must proceed. Thus, the institution ensures the stability of the social structure of society. Indeed, the code of the institution of the family, for example, implies that members of society should be divided into sufficiently stable small groups - families. With the help of social control, the institution of the family seeks to ensure the stability of each individual family, and limits the possibility of its disintegration. The destruction of the family institution is, first of all, the appearance of chaos and uncertainty, the collapse of many groups, the violation of traditions, the impossibility of ensuring a normal sexual life and high-quality education of the younger generation.

The regulatory function is that the functioning of social institutions ensures the regulation of relationships between members of society by developing patterns of behavior. The whole cultural life of a person proceeds with his participation in various institutions. Whatever type of activity an individual engages in, he always encounters an institution that regulates his behavior in this area. Even if some kind of activity is not ordered and regulated, people immediately begin to institutionalize it. Thus, with the help of institutions, a person exhibits predictable and standardized behavior in social life. He fulfills the role requirements-expectations and knows what to expect from the people around him. Such regulation is necessary for joint activities.

Integrative function. This function includes the processes of cohesion, interdependence and mutual responsibility of members of social groups, occurring under the influence of institutionalized norms, rules, sanctions and systems of roles. The integration of people in the institute is accompanied by the streamlining of the system of interactions, an increase in the volume and frequency of contacts. All this leads to an increase in the stability and integrity of the elements of the social structure, especially social organizations.

Any integration in an institution consists of three main elements or necessary requirements: 1) consolidation or combination of efforts; 2) mobilization, when each member of the group invests its resources in achieving goals; 3) the conformity of the personal goals of individuals with the goals of others or the goals of the group. Integrative processes carried out with the help of institutions are necessary for the coordinated activities of people, the exercise of power, and the creation of complex organizations. Integration is one of the conditions for the survival of organizations, as well as one of the ways to correlate the goals of its participants.

Broadcasting function. Society could not develop if it were not possible to transfer social experience. Each institution for its normal functioning needs the arrival of new people. This can happen both by expanding the social boundaries of the institution, and by changing generations. In this regard, each institution provides a mechanism that allows individuals to socialize to its values, norms and roles. For example, a family, raising a child, seeks to orient him to the values ​​of family life that his parents adhere to. State institutions seek to influence citizens in order to instill in them norms of obedience and loyalty, and the church tries to bring as many new members to the faith as possible.

Communicative function. Information produced at the institute should be disseminated both within the institute for the purpose of managing and monitoring compliance with the norms, and in interactions between institutions. Moreover, the nature of the institute's communicative links has its own specifics - these are formal links carried out in a system of institutionalized roles. As the researchers note, the communicative capabilities of institutions are not the same: some are specifically designed to transmit information (mass media), others have very limited opportunities for this; some actively perceive information (scientific institutions), others passively (publishing houses).

Latent functions. Along with the direct results of the actions of social institutions, there are other results that are outside the immediate goals of a person, not planned in advance. These results can be of great importance to society. Thus, the church seeks to consolidate its influence to the greatest extent through ideology, the introduction of faith, and often achieves success in this. However, regardless of the goals of the church, there are people who leave production activities for the sake of religion. Fanatics begin to persecute non-believers, and there may be the possibility of major social conflicts on religious grounds. The family seeks to socialize the child to the accepted norms of family life, but it often happens that family education leads to a conflict between the individual and the cultural group and serves to protect the interests of certain social strata.

The existence of the latent functions of institutions was most conspicuously shown by T. Veblen, who wrote that it would be naive to say that people eat black caviar because they want to satisfy their hunger and buy a luxurious Cadillac because they want to buy a good car. Obviously, these things are not acquired for the sake of satisfying obvious urgent needs. T. Veblen concludes from this that the production of consumer goods performs a hidden, latent function - it satisfies the needs of people to increase their own prestige. Such an understanding of the actions of the institute for the production of consumer goods radically changes the opinion about its activities, tasks and conditions of functioning.

Thus, it is obvious that only by studying the latent functions of institutions can sociologists determine the true picture of social life. For example, very often sociologists are faced with a phenomenon that is incomprehensible at first glance, when an institution continues to successfully exist, even if it not only does not fulfill its functions, but also interferes with their implementation. Such an institution obviously has hidden functions by which it satisfies the needs of certain social groups. A similar phenomenon can be observed especially often among political institutions, in which latent functions are developed to the greatest extent.

Latent functions, therefore, are the subject that should primarily interest the student of social structures. The difficulty in recognizing them is compensated by the creation of a reliable picture of social connections and features of social objects, as well as the ability to control their development and to manage the social processes taking place in them.

Conclusion

Based on the work done, I can conclude that I have succeeded in fulfilling my goal - to briefly outline the main theoretical aspects of social institutions.

The paper describes the concept, structure and functions of social institutions in as much detail and as versatile as possible. In the process of revealing the meaning of these concepts, I used the opinions and arguments of various authors who used different methodology from each other, which made it possible to more deeply reveal the essence of social institutions.

In general, it can be summarized that social institutions play an important role in society, the study of social institutions and their functions allows sociologists to create a picture of social life, makes it possible to control the development of social ties and social objects, as well as manage the processes taking place in them.

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