AS Family What is A family?

Contents Starter Homework (1) Course contents What is a family? (1) Kinship definition Household definition Family or household? (1) Family or household? (2) Family or household? (3) Family or household? (4) Nuclear family Extended family Horizontally-extended family Modified extended family Reconstituted family Beanpole families Anagrams What is a family? (3) Murdock’s definition (1) Murdock (2) Murdock (3) Murdock (4) Relevance of the Nuclear family Family diversity today Higher or lower? Answer (1) One person households Answer (2)

Contents (2) Lone parent households Answer (3) Reconstituted families People who are against it… People who are for diversity… Extension

Starter Match the key concept with the correct definition

Homework Make sure you have completed your childhood enrolment and introductory day work Learn the key concepts that are on the yellow hand-out to be prepared for a test Complete ‘What is Sociology?’ and answer the associated questions

Course – 2 units, worth 50% each Families and Households, with research methods (1 hour 30 mins) Starts now and finishes December Mock week Education, with methods in context (1 hour 30 mins) Starts in December, exam in May Learner planners – use these to structure your folder for this unit. Insert hand-outs directly behind these. There is lots of extension work here, and also in the extension tray

What is a family? Activity: Write your own definition of a family. Then show your partner and combine your ideas to form one overall definition.

What is a family? A social institution consisting of a group of people who are related by kinship ties: by relationships of blood, marriage or adoption

So, what is kinship? Kinship refers to blood relatives or people connected because they are marital partners. People can also enter kinship systems through adoption and fostering. Kinship refers to both those in the immediate nuclear family and the wider extended family

So, what is household? A household is comprised of people sharing a house, students for example, but is increasingly made up of people living alone. In the past, household sizes were much larger, often because they contained domestic servants Source of image: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/10/15/article-1320949-0B4D947B000005DC-877_472x307.jpg

Family or household?

Unmarried couple, cohabitating with a child Family or household Unmarried couple, cohabitating with a child

Family or household? Two men who are married

Man and woman living together Family or household? Man and woman living together

Nuclear Family Two generations

Extended Family These usually consist of three generations (grandparents, parents and dependent children), who may or may not live with one another Grand-parents – vertically extended family

Horizontally Extended Family Two generations Parents’ brothers and sisters (of the same generation as the parents - aunts, uncles) and their children

Modified Extended Family These families don’t live together, but maintain close ties with members of the extended family via phone calls, sending cards and via the internet

Reconstituted Family Step Families https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/.Hr9hMpFE7BxPAJhRRsgsA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9NTgxO2g9MzYz/http://media.zenfs.com/en-US/homerun/hello_giggles_454/691b286cce9d3ab2b79befce07ee2569

Beanpole families A family that is ‘long and thin’ It is vertically extended (with grandparents and parents), but not horizontally (with aunts and uncles)

DIDDED EFXITEMAEN FYMOIL Unscramble the following key terms... Write their definition next to them NCRAELU IAYFML RSTITUAIT FEEMOLCNDY TDEENXTD LFIAYM NGAPSI RELENT DIDDED EFXITEMAEN FYMOIL

What is the family? When explaining what the family is, Sociologists have often used a definition based on the idea of a nuclear family… Why do you think this is the case? Consider George Murdock’s definition on your ‘What is the Family’ hand-out…

Defining the family Murdock (1949) ‘The family is a social group characterised by common residence, economic co-operation and reproduction. It includes adults of both sexes and least two of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship and one or more children, own or adopted of the sexually cohabiting adults.

Therefore, a nuclear family, he argues is universal George Murdock Families live together, work together, pool their resources and reproduce Includes males and females who have a sexual relationship and have children Based on a sample of 250 societies Therefore, a nuclear family, he argues is universal

Therefore, a nuclear family, he argues is essential George Murdock He believes the family performs four essential functions, which only the nuclear family can do: Sexual Reproductive Economic Socialisation Therefore, a nuclear family, he argues is essential

Is Murdock’s definition relevant? There have been a number of changes to the family recently… Read through the ‘What is the family’ hand-out and consider the questions about Murdock’s definition Then consider, what reasons there might be for the changes in the family? Complete the table on your hand-out

Is the nuclear family no longer relevant? This image is often referred to as the ‘cereal packet family’ (Leach) It consists of a married couple with dependant children (a nuclear family) This is often seen by the media and by politicians as the ‘best’ family type

Family Diversity Today There have been a number of changes to the ‘family’… More lone parent families One person households Reconstituted families Cohabitation Same-sex relationships Ethnicity and diversity http://www.endtime.com/wp-content/uploads/gay-marriage.jpg

10% of couples are in same sex relationships True, Higher or Lower? 10% of couples are in same sex relationships

Lower! Answer: between 5 and 7 %

Are half of all households one person households?

Lower! It is 3 in 10 households

Lone parent households Are10% of families comprised of lone parents?

Lone parent households Higher! It’s 24%

Reconstituted Families Make up 25% of all families

Reconstituted Families Lower, it is 10%

People who are against it… Functionalists believe that the nuclear family ‘fits’ society (Murdock’s definition) The New Right highlight the importance of the nuclear family – giving stability for children

People who are for diversity… Feminism – Family diversity means women can be free from the traditional nuclear family and create relationships based on equality Marxism – The nuclear family keeps the working class as working class

Extension What do you think?… Is family diversity is a positive thing for society?