SED2601-23-Y

ASSESSMENT 2

UNIQUE CODE: 890284

NAME: TAYLOR STANDER

STUDENT NUMBER: 18452973

Question 1

1.1. It’s a system that works with things that relate to each other to keep certain patterns in order. The
system concludes out of social structures and functionalists believe that basic needs such as food, water,
and shelter are needed to maintain social order. (P, 2018) An example of social order could be the
government and laws to maintain social order.

1.2 Socialism is a political system that surrounds the production of things controlled by our
governments. Everyone also works together to benefit from it. The goal of socialism is also to spread
wealth to make sure there is economic stability. (P, 2018)

1.3a. Society: A group of people that live together in a community. Societies usually interact with each
other and have common interests. (P, 2018) An example of a society is an industrial society that is a
society that uses technology and machines that supports a larger society. (Wikipedia, n.d.)

1.3b. Deviance: It means to do something against the average norm. A good example is doing something
that is against the law and committing a crime. (P, 2018)

1.4 We should allow a student to explore other cultures, not just their own. We could also help students
open their minds and curiosity to better their global mindset. We should help students use resources
given to them to help them predict outcomes better. (P, 2018)

1.5 – The self: It’s how people reflect themselves as objects and try to fix themselves. (P, 2018)

- Symbols: Something that was created by someone to give meaning to others. (P, 2018)

- Meanings: It’s when an opinion is raised when people interact with each other. They do this (Giving
their opinion) due to their own experiences. (P, 2018)

- Interactions: Topics being discussed between two or more people. This includes ideas and thoughts
being shared. (P, 2018)

- Culture: People place meaning into certain things depending on the different cultures. These things
have a lot of meaning to different cultural groups. (P, 2018)

Question 2

2.1 As the theory says, family forms someone’s personality and so does the environment of a school.
Students have constant interactions with other students and teachers daily which play a big role in
forming their personality and choosing their life paths. Students at school also tend to sit with students
whom they relate to in a way for example their status quo, beliefs, values, and culture. Socialization is a
big part of this theory as discussed that it forms someone’s personality and gets passed down from one
generation to another. So it is the same with school where subjects have work that gets passed down
from generation to generation for example where a grade 6 class of 2020 will learn about multiplication
or Pythagoras so will a grade 6 class of 2025 also learn the same things. The way that teachers also talk
to students can affect the way they think about themselves. This all adds up to where the student uses
their own knowledge that they have gained to form new knowledge(assimilation). (P, 2018)

2.2 The two divisions in symbolic interactionism are that one focuses on process and the other on the
structure. The two schools named Chicago and Lawa focused on different methods. Chicago School
focused on qualitative methods and lawa school focused on quantitative methods to measure the social
setting and interactions. (P, 2018)

2.3 From a functionalist’s perspective families apply values and norms over to learners through manifest
functions and latent functions. With manifest functions, it is intentional and obvious. How parents imply
this to their child is for instance taking them to church every Sunday and letting them gain more
knowledge about their religion that was passed down from generations to build values. With latent
functions, it is unintentional and not obvious (P, 2018). A good example is building up a student’s
confidence by motivating them all the time. Parents transmit this by giving them teaching them how to
act and what are the wrongs and rights of things.

2.4 They criticize that the dominant side of society benefits more than other groups in society. They also
say that values and norms set for lower classes should not rebel against them and listen. With this
theory, they don’t talk about how the lower class feels and how they are affected. They tend to ignore
how different institutions are and how they all work together to create a balance in society. (P, 2018)

Question 3:

3.1 The way how symbolic interactionism perceives schools in society is that it gives the students a
chance to think and develop cognitive knowledge. Students’ way of thinking is shaped by their
interaction with others around them. They also learn valuable things and meanings of symbols. They can
also adjust their meanings of certain symbols depending on the situation by using cognitive knowledge.
They also see that people’s interactions and actions in school help students form groups and make
friends with things that they have in common based on their backgrounds. The way students react to
their peers is also caused by cognitive knowledge. (P, 2018)

3.2 Functionalism keeps different parts of societies dependent on each other. The focus is on keeping
everything stable and running otherwise there would be dysfunction. Conflict theory makes sure that
there is a conflict of interest which makes disagreements unavoidable. They also use this theory to try
and understand where and how problems arise. (P, 2018)

3.3 Functionalists see the school as preparing students for life after school, as societies such as social
institutions around them and see school giving as a manifest function by giving traditional school
subjects. (P, 2018) They also view schools as having an intellectual purpose and teaching traditional
subjects. They also see that every function in the school forms a purpose as a whole.

3.4. Symbolic interactionism happens when people socialize with one another. This happens through
symbols with meanings that connect people together. They also learn how to act a certain way through
these interactions and identify roles in the community already from a young age. This also helps them to
choose a certain behavior when they enter different setting for example their home, church or shop.
(Peggy, 218)

3.5 – Ignores that there are multiple cultures (P, 2018)

-Ignores that students come from different backgrounds (P, 2018)

- Discourages us from trying to alter the social environment. (P, 2018)

Question 4:

4.1. The government and political structures as social institutions make rules, put out rules and decide
how to deal with other societies around them. There are also different governments in the world and
each runs a country differently with the power that they have, they also have different views and have a
certain amount of freedom they give their people. A good example of a government as a social
institution is when it comes to elections and people have the right to vote for which party they want in
charge to run their country. (P, 2018)

4.2 It is a process that uses the schooling system to improve students class in society. The school can do
this by giving certain subjects that help them choose what they want to become in life for example
providing. Biology and physics to choose from. Social placement also helps schools prepare for situations
out of school life by involving everyday situations in their school work. Social placement also helps the
student to achieve bigger things in life by studying further. (P, 2018)

4.3 A hidden curriculum is something that isn’t included in the average school curriculum. It is a very
broad curriculum that has things that include all unrecognized knowledge in schools such as values and
beliefs. For example, Schools teach students how to be respectful, when they need to communicate
back to the teacher, and how they communicate back to the teacher with the tone of voice. They also
learn values on how to look after themselves by making sure they are dressed well and neatly.

4.4. Functionalism theory because the school forms a function towards our societies by preparing them
for life after school and choosing what they want to do to provide for the community. The school also
teaches our children the norms and values that are needed in life. The purpose of functionalism is to
serve a purpose for the community and that’s how a school serves its purpose.

Question 5:

5.1 Family plays a big role in the social institution even though it is a micro-unit in the ecological system
theory. They play a role by giving each other support when needed, a play to stay, a feeling of belonging
and passing down traditions from generation to generation. That is why children in the family have a
choice on whether they want to stay with their culture or not. Children are born into a family to hold
value and fulfill the needs in societies. This is also how a family plays a role in a social institution and
providing culture with values and norms to a larger society. (P, 2018)

5.2 Religion is very well known as having a very strong impact on people in the community. It also has a
system that brings peoples beliefs and practices together and guides them on how they should live.
With religion, it gives a purpose in peoples lives, values to live by, making people feel proud and making
peoples relationships stronger with each other which also leads to helping out others in times of need.
(P, 2018)
.It has a particular reference to the belief systems, lifestyles, hazards and life course options that are
surrounding each system. (P, 2018)

5.4 The micro-system is the development of face to face interactions through activities, social roles and
interpersonal relationships. Examples of this are family, the workplace and friends. (P, 2018)

5.5 Socialization is where people learn from each other. It can be learnt internal or external.
Socialization also give basics skills and ways to react when necessary when partaking in your own
society. (P, 2018)

5.6 What is meant by social and cultural innovation is that it’s new strategies, concepts and ideas that
make a society spread wider and also make it stronger. For instance, a school prepares students to
become something that strengths society like a doctor or scientist (P, 2018)

The under-mentioned declaration must accompany written assignments. Your assignment will be
cancelled and returned unmarked if you do not include a fully completed and signed declaration form.

I (full names): Taylor Stander

Student number: ________18452973___________________

Declare that…

1. I understand what plagiarism entails and am aware of the University’s policy in this regard.

2. I declare that this assignment is my own, original work. Where I used someone else’s work, whether a
printed source, the internet or any other source, I give the proper acknowledgement and include a
complete reference list.

3. I did not use another current or previous student’s work, submitting it as my own.

4. I did not allow and will not allow anyone to copy my work with the intention of submitting it as his or
her own work.

Signature __________TStander_______________ Date: __________30/05/23________________

P, S., 2018. Social and cultural innovation. In: Sociology of education. s.l.:Oxford University Press, p. 32.

P, S., 2018. Sociology of education. In: Sociology of education. s.l.:Oxford University Press, p. 7.

P, S., 2018. Sociology of education. In: Sociology of education. s.l.:Oxford university express, p. 39.

P, S., 2018. Sociology of education. In: Sociology of education. s.l.:Oxford university Press, p. 12.

P, S., 2018. Sociology of education. In: Sociology of education. s.l.:Oxford University press, p. 32.

P, S., 2018. Sociology of education. In: Sociology of education. s.l.:Oxford University Press, p. 32.

P, S., 2018. Sociology of education. In: Sociology of education. s.l.:Oxford University Press, p. 29.

P, S., 2018. Sociology of education. In: Sociology of education. s.l.:Oxford University Press, p. 32.

P, S., 2018. Sociology of education. In: Sociology of education. s.l.:Oxford University Press, p. 36.

P, S., 2018. Sociology of Education. In: Sociology of Education. s.l.:Oxford Univesity Press, p. 11.

P, S., 2018. Sociology of Education. In: Sociology of Education. s.l.:Oxford Univesity Press, pp. 33,101.

P, S., 2018. Sociology of Education. In: Sociology of Education. s.l.:Oxford Univesity Press, p. 101.

P, S., 2018. Sociology of Education. In: Sociology of Education. s.l.:Oxford Univesity Press, p. 96.

P, S., 2018. Sociology of Education. In: Sociology of Education. s.l.:Oxford Univesity Press, pp. 4-6.

P, S., 2018. Sociology of Education. In: Sociology of Education. s.l.:Oxford Univesity Press, p. 21.

P, S., 2018. Sociology of Education. In: Sociology of Education. s.l.:Oxford Univesity Press, p. 46.

P, S., 2018. Sociology of Education. In: Sociology of Education. s.l.:Oxford Univesity Press, p. 23.

P, S., 2018. Sociology of Education. In: Sociology of Education. s.l.:Oxford Univesity Press, p. 19.

P, S., 2018. Sociology of Education. In: Sociology of Education. s.l.:Oxford Univesity Press, p. 46.

P, S., 2018. Sociology of Education. In: Sociology of education. s.l.:Oxford University Express, p. 23.

P, S., 2018. Sociology of Education. In: Sociology of Education. s.l.:Oxford University Press, p. 30.

Wikipedia, n.d. Industrial society. [Online]