Two signs of a social institution are the example of education. Two signs of a social institution using the example of education. Signs of social institutions: examples

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Education as a social institution
A social institution is an organized system of connections and social norms that brings together significant social values ​​and procedures that satisfy the basic needs of society. Any functional institution arises and functions, fulfilling one or another social need.
Each social institution has both specific features and common features with other institutions.
The characteristics of the educational institution are:
1. attitudes and behavior patterns - love of knowledge, attendance
2. symbolic cultural signs - school emblem, school songs
3. utilitarian cultural features - classrooms, libraries, stadiums
4. oral and written code - rules for students
5. ideology - academic freedom, progressive education, equality in education
Education is a social subsystem that has its own structure. As its main elements, we can distinguish educational institutions as social organizations, social communities (teachers and students), educational process what type of sociocultural activity.
M. S. Komarov "Education as a social institution."
The following four functions of the educational institution have the greatest cultural and social significance.
1. Transmission and dissemination of culture in society is the first and most significant of them. Its essence lies in the fact that through the institution of education, cultural values, understood in the broadest sense of the word (scientific knowledge, achievements in the field of art and literature, moral values ​​and norms of behavior, experience and skills inherent in various professions and etc.). Throughout human history, education has been the main source of knowledge, the most important tool for enlightening society. Let us also not forget that the culture of each nation has its own national-ethnic characteristics, and therefore the education system plays an extremely important role in maintaining and preserving the national culture, its unique and unique features, by joining which the individual becomes the bearer of national psychology and national consciousness of this people.
2. The function of socialization, or the formation of attitudes among the younger generation, value orientations, life ideals dominant in society. Thanks to this, young people are introduced to the life of society, socialized and integrated into the social system. Education native language, the history of the fatherland, the principles of morality and morality serve as a prerequisite for the formation among the younger generation of a generally shared system of values ​​accepted in a given society and culture. The younger generation learns to understand other people and themselves, becomes a conscious participant public life. The content of the process of socialization and upbringing of children carried out by the education system largely depends on the value standards, morality, religion and ideology prevailing in society. In pre-industrial societies, religious education was an integral part schooling. In a modern industrialized society, religion (church) is separated from the state, under whose control is the formal education system, therefore religious education and upbringing is carried out either within the family or in special non-state educational institutions.

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(from Latin institutum - establishment, establishment), forming the basic element of society. Therefore we can say that society is a set of social institutions and connections between them. There is no theoretical certainty in the understanding of a social institution. First of all, the relationship between “social systems” and “social institutions” is unclear. In Marxist sociology they are not distinguished, and Parsons views social institutions as a regulatory mechanism of social systems. Further, the distinction between social institutions and social organizations, which are often identified.

The concept of a social institution comes from jurisprudence. There it denotes a set of legal norms that regulate the legal activities of people in some area (family, economic, etc.). In sociology, social institutions are (1) stable complexes of social regulators (values, norms, beliefs, sanctions), they (2) control systems of statuses, roles, modes of behavior in various spheres of human activity (3) exist to satisfy social needs and ( 4) arise historically in the process of trial and error. Social institutions are family, property, trade, education, etc. Let's consider the listed signs.

Firstly, social institutions are expedient character, i.e. they are created to satisfy some public needs. For example, the institution of family serves to satisfy people’s needs for procreation and socialization, economic institutions- to meet the needs for the production and distribution of material goods, educational institutions - to meet the needs for knowledge, etc.

Secondly, social institutions include a system of social statuses(rights and obligations) and roles, resulting in a hierarchy. For example, at the institute higher education these are the statuses and roles of rectors, deans, heads of departments, teachers, laboratory assistants, etc. The statuses and roles of the institute correspond to stable, formalized, diverse regulators social connections: ideology, mentality, norms (administrative, legal, moral); forms of moral, economic, legal, etc. stimulation.

Thirdly, in a social institution, social statuses and roles of people are fulfilled by virtue of their transformation into values ​​and norms related to the needs and interests of people. “Only through the internationalization of institutionalized values ​​does true motivational integration of behavior into social structure: Very deep-lying layers of motivation begin to work to fulfill role expectations,” writes T. Parsons.

Fourthly, social institutions arise historically, as if by themselves. Nobody invents them the way they invent technical and social goods. This happens because the social need that they must satisfy does not arise and be recognized immediately, and also develops. “Many of man's greatest achievements are due not to conscious effort, much less to the deliberately coordinated efforts of many, but to a process in which the individual plays a role not entirely comprehensible to himself. They<...>are the result of a combination of knowledge that a single mind cannot comprehend,” wrote Hayek.

Social institutions are unique self-governing systems consisting of three interconnected parts. The original part of these systems forms a network of agreed-upon status-roles. For example, in a family these are the status-roles of husband, wife, and children. Their manager the system is formed, on the one hand, by the needs, values, norms, beliefs shared by the participants, and on the other hand, by public opinion, law, and the state. Transformative a system of social institutions includes the coordinated actions of people in which appear corresponding statuses and roles.

Social institutions are characterized by a set of institutional features that distinguish them forms of social connection from others. These include: 1) material and cultural characteristics (for example, an apartment for a family); 2 institutional symbols (seal, brand name, coat of arms, etc.); 3) institutional ideals, values, norms; 4) a charter or code of conduct that sets out ideals, values, and norms; 5) ideology that explains social environment from the point of view of a given social institution. Social institutions are type(general) social connection between people and their specific(single) manifestation, and a system of specific institutions. For example, the institution of family represents a certain type of social connection, a specific family, and many individual families that are in social connections with each other.

The most important characteristic of social institutions is their functions in public environment consisting of other social institutions. The main functions of social institutions are the following: 1) stable satisfaction of the needs of the people for whom the institutions arose; 2) maintaining the stability of subjective regulators (needs, values, norms, beliefs); 3) determination of pragmatic (instrumental) interests, the implementation of which leads to the production of goods necessary to satisfy the corresponding needs; 4) adaptation of available funds to the chosen interests; 5) integration of people into a cooperative relationship around identified interests; 6) transformation of the external environment into necessary benefits.

Social institutions: structure, functions and typology

An important structure-forming element of society is social institutions. The term “institute” itself (from Lat. institutum- establishment, establishment) was borrowed from jurisprudence, where it was used to characterize a certain set of legal norms. He was the first to introduce this concept into sociological science. He believed that every social institution develops as a stable structure of “social actions.”

In modern sociology there are different definitions of this concept. Thus, the Russian sociologist Yu. Levada defines a “social institution” as “something similar to an organ in a living organism: it is a unit of human activity that remains stable over a certain period of time and ensures the stability of the entire social system" In Western sociology, a social institution is most often understood as a stable set of formal and informal rules, principles, norms, guidelines that regulate various spheres of human activity and organize them into a system of roles and statuses.

Despite all the differences in such definitions, the following can serve as a generalization: social institutions- these are historically established stable forms of organizing the joint activities of people, designed to ensure the reproduction of social relations. reliability and regularity of meeting the basic needs of society. Thanks to social institutions, stability and order are achieved in society, and predictability of people's behavior becomes possible.

There are many social institutions that appear in society as products of social life. The process of forming a social institution, which involves defining and consolidating social norms, rules, statuses and roles and bringing them into a system capable of satisfying socially significant needs, is called institutionalization.

This process includes several successive steps:

  • the emergence of a need, the satisfaction of which requires joint organized action;
  • formation of common goals;
  • the emergence of social norms and rules in the course of spontaneous social interaction, implemented by trial and error;
  • the emergence of procedures related to norms and regulations;
  • formalization of norms, rules, procedures, i.e. their acceptance and practical application;
  • establishment of a system of sanctions to maintain norms and rules, differentiation of their application in individual cases;
  • creation of a system of corresponding statuses and roles;
  • organizational design of the emerging institutional structure.

Structure of a social institution

The result of institutionalization is the creation, in accordance with the norms and rules, of a clear status and role structure, socially approved by the majority of participants in this process. If speak about structure of social institutions, then they most often have a certain set of constituent elements, depending on the type of institution. Jan Szczepanski identified the following structural elements of a social institution:

  • the purpose and scope of the institute;
  • functions necessary to achieve the goal:
  • normatively determined social roles and statuses presented in the structure of the institute:
  • means and institutions for achieving goals and implementing functions, including appropriate sanctions.

Common and fundamental for all social institutions function is satisfaction social needs , for the sake of which it is created and exists. But to carry out this function, each institution performs other functions in relation to its participants, including: 1) consolidating and reproducing social relations; 2) regulatory; 3) integrative: 4) broadcasting; 5) communicative.

The activities of any social institution are considered functional if they benefit society and contribute to its stability and integration. If a social institution does not fulfill its basic functions, then they talk about it dysfunction. It can be expressed in a decline in social prestige, the authority of a social institution and, as a consequence, lead to its degeneration.

The functions and dysfunctions of social institutions can be obvious, if they are obvious and understood by everyone, and implicit (latent) in cases where they are hidden. For sociology, it is important to identify hidden functions, since they can lead not only to increased tension in society, but also to disorganization of the social system as a whole.

Depending on the goals and objectives, as well as the functions performed in society, the entire variety of social institutions is usually divided into basic And non-main (private). Among the first to satisfy the fundamental needs of society are:

  • institutions of family and marriage - the need for the reproduction of the human race;
  • political institutions - in safety and social order;
  • economic institutions - in ensuring livelihoods;
  • institutes of science, education, culture - in obtaining and transmitting knowledge, socialization;
  • institutions of religion, social integration- in solving spiritual problems, searching for the meaning of life.

Signs of a social institution

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

The following are distinguished: signs of social institutions:

  • attitudes and patterns of behavior (for the institution of family - affection, respect, trust; for the institution of education - the desire for knowledge);
  • cultural symbols (for the family - wedding rings, marriage ritual; for the state - anthem, coat of arms, flag; for business - brand name, patent mark; for religion - icons, crosses, Koran);
  • utilitarian cultural features (for a family - a house, apartment, furniture; for education - classes, a library; for business - a store, factory, equipment);
  • oral and written codes of conduct (for the state - the constitution, laws; for business - contracts, licenses);
  • ideology (for family - romantic love, compatibility; for business - freedom of trade, business expansion; for religion - Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism).

It should be noted that the institution of family and marriage is at the intersection of the functional connections of all other social institutions (property, finance, education, culture, law, religion, etc.), while being a classic example of a simple social institution. Next we will focus on the characteristics of the main social institutions.

One of the factors characterizing society as a whole is the totality of social institutions. Their location seems to be on the surface, which makes them particularly suitable objects for observation and control.

In turn, a complex organized system with its own norms and rules is a social institution. Its signs are different, but classified, and it is they that are to be considered in this article.

The concept of a social institution

A social institution is one of the forms of organization. This concept was first used. According to the scientist, the whole variety of social institutions creates the so-called framework of society. The division into forms, Spencer said, is made under the influence of the differentiation of society. He divided the whole society into three main institutions, including:

  • reproductive;
  • distribution;
  • regulating.

Opinion of E. Durkheim

E. Durkheim was convinced that a person as an individual can realize himself only with the help of social institutions. They are also called upon to establish responsibility between interinstitutional forms and the needs of society.

Karl Marx

The author of the famous "Capital" assessed social institutions from the point of view of industrial relations. In his opinion, a social institution, the signs of which are present both in the division of labor and in the phenomenon of private property, was formed precisely under their influence.

Terminology

The term "social institution" comes from the Latin word "institution", which means "organization" or "order". In principle, all the features of a social institution are reduced to this definition.

The definition includes the form of consolidation and the form of implementation of specialized activities. The purpose of social institutions is to ensure the stability of the functioning of communications within society.

This is also acceptable short definition term: an organized and coordinated form of social relations, aimed at meeting the needs that are significant to society.

It is easy to notice that all of the definitions provided (including the above-mentioned opinions of scientists) are based on “three pillars”:

  • society;
  • organization;
  • needs.

But these are not yet full-fledged features of a social institution; rather, they are supporting points that should be taken into account.

Conditions for institutionalization

The process of institutionalization - a social institution. This occurs under the following conditions:

  • social need as a factor that will be satisfied by the future institution;
  • social connections, that is, the interaction of people and communities, as a result of which social institutions are formed;
  • expedient and rules;
  • material and organizational, labor and financial resources required.

Stages of institutionalization

The process of formation of a social institution goes through several stages:

  • the emergence and awareness of the need for an institute;
  • development of standards social behavior within the framework of the future institute;
  • creating your own symbols, that is, a system of signs that will indicate the social institution being created;
  • formation, development and definition of a system of roles and statuses;
  • creation of the material basis of the institute;
  • integration of the institute into the existing social system.

Structural characteristics of a social institution

The signs of the concept of “social institution” characterize it in modern society.

Structural features include:

  • Scope of activity, as well as social relations.
  • Institutions that have specific powers to organize people's activities and perform various roles and functions. For example: public, organizational and performing control and management functions.
  • Those specific rules and norms that are designed to regulate the behavior of people in a particular social institution.
  • Material means to achieve the goals of the institute.
  • Ideology, goals and objectives.

Types of social institutions

The classification that systematizes social institutions (the table below) divides this concept into four individual species. Each of them includes at least four more specific institutions.

What social institutions exist? The table shows their types and examples.

Spiritual social institutions in some sources are called cultural institutions, and the family sphere, in turn, is sometimes called stratification and kinship.

General characteristics of a social institution

The general, and at the same time the main, features of a social institution are as follows:

  • a circle of subjects who, in the course of their activities, enter into relationships;
  • the sustainable nature of these relationships;
  • a specific (and this means, to one degree or another formalized) organization;
  • behavioral norms and rules;
  • functions that ensure the integration of the institution into the social system.

It should be understood that these signs are informal, but logically follow from the definition and functioning of various social institutions. With the help of them, among other things, it is convenient to analyze institutionalization.

Social institution: signs using specific examples

Each specific social institution has its own characteristics - characteristics. They closely overlap with roles, for example: the main roles of the family as a social institution. That is why it is so instructive to consider examples and the corresponding signs and roles.

Family as a social institution

A classic example of a social institution is, of course, the family. As can be seen from the table above, it belongs to the fourth type of institutions, covering the same sphere. Therefore, it is the basis and ultimate goal for marriage, fatherhood and motherhood. Besides, family is what unites them.

Signs of this social institution:

  • ties by marriage or consanguinity;
  • general family budget;
  • living together in the same living space.

The main roles boil down to the well-known saying that she is a “unit of society.” Essentially, everything is exactly like that. Families are particles from the totality of which society is formed. In addition to being a social institution, the family is also called small social group. And it is no coincidence, because from birth a person develops under its influence and experiences it throughout his life.

Education as a social institution

Education is a social subsystem. It has its own specific structure and characteristics.

Basic elements of education:

  • social organizations and social communities (educational institutions and division into groups of teachers and students, etc.);
  • sociocultural activity in the form of an educational process.

The characteristics of a social institution include:

  1. Norms and rules - in an educational institute, examples include: thirst for knowledge, attendance, respect for teachers and classmates/classmates.
  2. Symbolism, that is, cultural signs - anthems and coats of arms educational institutions, the animal symbol of some famous colleges, emblems.
  3. Utilitarian cultural features such as classrooms and offices.
  4. Ideology - the principle of equality between students, mutual respect, freedom of speech and the right to vote, as well as the right to one’s own opinion.

Signs of social institutions: examples

Let's summarize the information presented here. The characteristics of a social institution include:

  • kit social roles(for example, father/mother/daughter/sister in the family institute);
  • sustainable models of behavior (for example, certain models for a teacher and a student at an educational institute);
  • norms (for example, codes and the Constitution of the state);
  • symbolism (for example, the institution of marriage or religious community);
  • basic values ​​(i.e. morals).

The social institution, the features of which were discussed in this article, is designed to guide the behavior of each individual person, directly being part of his life. At the same time, for example, an ordinary high school student belongs to at least three social institutions: family, school and state. It is interesting that, depending on each of them, he also owns the role (status) that he has and according to which he chooses his model of behavior. She, in turn, sets his characteristics in society.