Social institutions - education, family, and religion | Society and Culture | MCAT | Khan Academy

Summary

This script delves into the intricate roles of education, family, and religion in society. It highlights the subtle social lessons learned in schools, the impact of funding disparities, and the categorization of students affecting their potential. The family institution is explored through its diverse forms, the economic influences on family size, and the challenges of divorce and abuse. Lastly, religion's pervasive presence is examined, from personal beliefs to organized sects, and the effects of secularization and fundamentalism on societal values.

Takeaways

• 🏫 Education is not just about academic learning; it also teaches social behaviors and norms, including standing in line and treating peers with respect.
• 🔍 The 'hidden curriculum' in schools can unintentionally socialize students to accept social inequalities, such as different treatment based on gender.
• 📚 Teachers' expectations significantly influence students' performance, as they tend to perform to the level of expectation set for them.
• 📈 School funding disparities based on property taxes lead to educational segregation and stratification, reflecting socioeconomic inequalities.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 The family institution is diverse, with various forms including nuclear, extended, single-parent, and adoptive families, each with unique dynamics.
• 🌾 Historically, family size was linked to economic necessity, with large families being beneficial in rural production-based economies.
• 🏙 Urbanization has shifted family roles and expectations, with smaller families becoming more common as consumption-based economies prevail.
• 💔 Divorce is becoming a normal part of family life in the United States, creating tensions due to societal expectations of marriage permanence.
• 👶 Family issues include various forms of abuse, such as child neglect and elder abuse, highlighting the need for societal awareness and support.
• 🤝 Spousal abuse is a prevalent issue that affects both men and women, often rooted in economic issues and control over the partner.
• 🙏 Religion is a pervasive institution with various expressions, from private beliefs to institutionalized practices and sects.
• 🕌 Religious organizations range from established churches to sects and cults, each with distinct characteristics and societal impacts.
• 📉 Modernization and increased information availability have led to secularization, weakening the social and political power of religious organizations.
• 🔙 Fundamentalism can be seen as a reaction to secularization, with a return to strict religious teachings, although it may lead to social conflicts.

Q & A

What is the role of institutions in society according to the script?

Institutions play a fundamental role in both creating and supporting society, and they shape the individuals who make up that society.

What is the concept of a 'hidden curriculum' in education?

The 'hidden curriculum' refers to the unwritten lessons taught outside the official curriculum, such as learning how to stand in line, wait for one's turn, and treat peers.

How do teachers' expectations affect students' learning?

Teachers' expectations can influence what students learn and how well they perform. If teachers expect a certain level of effort or skill, that's often all the students will give.

What is the issue with categorizing students based on perceived abilities?

Categorizing students based on perceived abilities can lead to incorrect expectations, which may prevent students from being challenged enough to reach their true potential.

How does the funding of schools through property taxes contribute to educational inequality?

Funding schools through property taxes creates inequalities between different school districts, with schools in lower-income districts often receiving less funding than those in affluent neighborhoods.

What are the various forms of family structures mentioned in the script?

The script mentions various family forms including married couples, single parents, stepfamilies, gay couples, adoptive families, and generation skips where grandparents take care of the children.

How has urbanization affected family roles and child care?

Urbanization has led to changes in family roles and child care, with families becoming more consumption-based and having a large family becoming a strain on resources.

What are some of the issues surrounding divorce in the context of family life?

Divorce creates tension, especially when children are involved, leading to custody battles or issues when a parent remarries. It has become a normal aspect of family life but still presents challenges.

What are the different types of religious organizations mentioned in the script?

The script mentions churches as established religious bodies, sects as smaller groups established in protest of an established church, and cults as radical groups that reject societal values and undergo a complete religious renovation.

How has modernization affected the role of religion in society?

Modernization has led to more information being available to the public and less emphasis on religion, resulting in secularization, which is the weakening of the social and political power of religious organizations.

What is the relationship between secularization and fundamentalism?

Fundamentalism is a reaction to secularization, where people return to strict religious teachings and beliefs. However, this can create social problems when people become too extreme in their beliefs.

Outlines

00:00

📚 The Impact and Hidden Aspects of Education

This paragraph delves into the multifaceted role of education in society, emphasizing that it extends beyond formal learning to include socialization and the internalization of social norms and inequalities. It discusses the 'hidden curriculum' where students learn unwritten social rules and behaviors, such as waiting in line and interacting with peers. The script highlights how teacher expectations can inadvertently limit student potential and touches on educational segregation caused by property tax-based school funding, reflecting socioeconomic disparities.

05:03

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 The Dynamics and Challenges of Family Institutions

The second paragraph explores the institution of family, recognizing its diverse forms and the influence of societal values and economic factors on family structure. It contrasts rural and urban family dynamics, noting the shift from production-based to consumption-based family units with urbanization. The paragraph addresses the prevalence of divorce and its implications, including custody disputes and the normalization of serial monogamy. It also confronts the issue of family violence, including child and elder abuse, and the challenges faced by abused spouses in seeking help, considering societal stigmas and economic factors.

🕌 The Role and Evolution of Religion in Society

The final paragraph examines religion as a pervasive social institution, discussing the spectrum of religious practice from personal beliefs to institutionalized religion. It differentiates between established churches, sects, and cults, noting their origins and characteristics. The script reflects on the impact of modernization and secularization on religious involvement and the emergence of fundamentalism as a reaction to these trends. It concludes by acknowledging the universal influence of religion, in one form or another, on individuals within society.

Keywords

💡Institutions

Institutions refer to established organizations or patterns of behavior that have a significant role in society. In the video, institutions such as education, family, and religion are explored for their fundamental roles in shaping individuals and supporting societal structures. The script discusses how each institution has a 'hidden curriculum' or underlying influence that extends beyond their immediate, observable functions.

💡Education

Education is defined as the process of acquiring knowledge, skills, and habits, typically through formal schooling. The video emphasizes that education involves more than academic learning; it also includes the socialization process where students learn behaviors and attitudes, such as waiting in line and treating peers with respect. The script also touches on issues like educational segregation and the self-fulfilling prophecy of teacher expectations.

💡Hidden Curriculum

The 'hidden curriculum' refers to the unofficial, unspoken lessons that students learn in school, which may not be part of the formal syllabus. The video script uses this term to describe the social norms and behaviors that are internalized by students, such as how to interact with peers and authority figures, which are essential for societal functioning.

💡Socialization

Socialization is the process by which individuals learn the norms, values, and behaviors of the society they live in. The video script illustrates this concept by explaining how schools contribute to socialization through the 'hidden curriculum,' teaching students to internalize social inequalities and norms without necessarily realizing it.

💡Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

A self-fulfilling prophecy is a belief or expectation that influences a person's behavior in such a way that the initial expectation comes true. In the context of the video, it refers to teachers' expectations of their students' abilities, which can inadvertently limit students to meeting those lowered expectations rather than achieving their full potential.

💡Educational Segregation

Educational segregation refers to the separation of students into different educational environments based on factors such as race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status. The script points out that the way schools are funded, often through property taxes, contributes to this segregation, leading to inequalities in resources and opportunities between different school districts.

💡Family

Family is a fundamental social institution characterized by various forms of kinship, including blood relations, marriage, and adoption. The video script discusses the evolution of family structures, from production-based in rural settings to consumption-based in urban environments, and the diversity of family forms, such as nuclear, single-parent, and blended families.

💡Urbanization

Urbanization is the process of migration from rural to urban areas, leading to changes in family structures and societal expectations. The video script connects urbanization with the shift from large, production-based families to smaller, consumption-based families, affecting the dynamics and roles within the family unit.

💡Marriage and Divorce

Marriage and divorce are significant life events that mark the beginning and end of family units. The video script notes the prevalence of serial monogamy in the United States, where individuals may experience multiple marriages in their lifetime, and the challenges that divorce brings, especially in terms of child custody and family reconfiguration.

💡Abuse

Abuse, within the context of the video, refers to the mistreatment or harm inflicted on family members, which can be physical, psychological, or through neglect. The script highlights different forms of abuse, including child abuse, elder abuse, and spousal abuse, and the complexities associated with identifying and addressing these issues within the family institution.

💡Religion

Religion is a social institution involving a system of faith and worship. The video script explores the various dimensions of religiosity, from private beliefs to institutionalized practices, and the different types of religious organizations, such as churches, sects, and cults. It also discusses the impact of modernization and secularization on religious practices and the emergence of fundamentalism as a reaction to secular trends.

💡Secularization

Secularization is the process by which society becomes less religious or where religious authority, influence, and belief decline. The video script describes how modernization and the increased availability of information have led to a decrease in the social and political power of religious organizations, reflecting a broader trend of secularization in society.

💡Fundamentalism

Fundamentalism refers to a strict adherence to the basic principles of a religion, often as a reaction against secularization. The video script explains that fundamentalism can arise as a response to the perceived loss of traditional values and religious significance in a secularizing society, although it may lead to social problems when taken to extreme levels.

Highlights

Institutions play a fundamental role in creating and supporting society, shaping individuals within it.

Education involves a hidden curriculum of social behaviors and norms learned outside official subjects.

Social inequalities are internalized in schools through differential treatment of genders by teachers.

Teacher expectations significantly affect student learning and performance.

Categorization of students by perceived abilities can limit their potential if misjudged.

Educational segregation and stratification are influenced by school funding disparities based on property taxes.

Socioeconomic inequalities are reflected in school funding and residential segregation.

Family institution is essential to society, with diverse forms beyond the traditional nuclear family.

Urbanization has shifted family structures from production-based to consumption-based, affecting family size preferences.

Family roles and child care expectations have evolved with changing societal and economic conditions.

Marriage and divorce are significant aspects of family life, with divorce becoming a normal part of family dynamics.

Child abuse, neglect, and elder abuse are serious issues within families, often stemming from lack of resources or planning.

Spousal abuse is common and can be both physical and psychological, affecting both men and women.

Religion is a pervasive institution with varying degrees of religiosity from private beliefs to institutionalized practices.

Religious organizations range from established churches to sects and cults, each with unique characteristics.

Secularization, the decline in religious involvement and belief, has been influenced by modernization and increased information availability.

Fundamentalism is a reaction to secularization, emphasizing strict religious teachings, but can lead to social problems.

Religion, in its various forms, affects everyone in society, shaping beliefs and social interactions.

Transcripts

Voiceover: We've heard in general about institutions.

What they are, what role they play in society.

Now let's take a closer look at

specific institutions like education, family and religion.

Each of these institutions plays a fundamental

role in both creating and supporting society.

And each shapes the individuals who make up that society.

Education is more than just going to school, memorizing what the teacher writes

on the board, and taking a test on it a few weeks later.

There is a hidden curriculum of information

that is taught outside the official curriculum.

We learn how to stand in line, how to wait

our turn to ask a question, how to treat our peers.

We learn without realizing it.

We are socialized to internalize certain social inequalities when girls

and boys are treated differently in school by their teachers.

Teachers expect different things from different students.

And that expectation affects how students learn.

Teachers tend to get what they expect from their students.

If the teacher only expects a certain level of

effort or skill, that's all the students will give them.

Teachers put students into categories

based on the student's perceived abilities.

And the teacher expect certain things based on the categorization.

But what if the categorization is wrong?

Then the student is not challenged enough and might only meet the

teacher's expectations rather than exceeding the

expectation to reach their true potential.

Sometimes the limiting factor comes from outside the classroom itself.

Schools experience educational segregation and stratification in part because the

way that we fund schools is most often through property taxes.

This creates inequalities between different school

districts which have different property taxes.

So the schools in lower income districts will

often get less funding than those in affluent neighborhoods.

You can see a reflection of the socioeconomic

inequalities in our society in the funding given to

schools, and the residential segregation that occurs based

on what neighborhoods people can afford to live in.

There's a lot more to the institution of education than first meets the eye.

Let's see what's hidden in some other institutions.

Family is another institution essential to our society.

It can defined by many forms of kinship including blood, marriage and adoption.

In the United States, we put more value on

the small nuclear family than on the larger extended family.

Though, that depends on the society.

Different family values go hand in hand with different

social obligations to the family, and also with the economy.

Rural families were production-based, so large families were beneficial.

As people moved into cities, families became consumption-based.

So, having a large family actually became a strain on their resources.

With urbanization came changes and expectations

of family roles and child care.

There's much diversity in family forms.

A family can be a married couple or a single parents or step families, or

gay couples, adoptive families, generation skips where

the grandparents take care of the little ones.

Or some other unit I haven't mentioned.

There is no one uniform type of family.

When we talk about family, we have to talk about marriage and divorce.

New families often begin with marriage.

When people join together, and begin a life together.

For something that was intended to be rather permanent, citizens of

the United States tend to experience multiple marriages in their lifetime.

We are serial monogamists as we go from one marriage or relationship to the next.

This means that divorce is becoming a normal aspect of family

life, but because we expect marriage to be permanent, divorce created tension.

Especially when children are involved and

custody battles or when a parent remarries.

No family is perfect.

And unfortunately, some families contain violence.

We often hear of extreme cases of

child abuse where the child is physically abused.

Often by another member of the family.

More common though is abuse through neglect, such as a

lack of parental supervision, or poor nutrition or insufficient clothing.

Children aren't the only family members to be abused.

Elder abuse occurs when families aren't ready

for the responsibility of taking care of elders.

Having no plan of who will take care of the elderly, and the expense of

nursing homes, can lead to robbery, threats,

and neglect of elder members of the family.

Spousal abuse is also very common.

Again abuse is not just physical, it can also be psychological.

While spousal abuse is usually perpetrated by men, men can also be the victims.

Often, it is economic issues that lead to abuse.

A pattern or behavior that takes years to escalate.

It is about controlling the partner and limiting their support network, which

makes it difficult for a victim to get out of the situation.

It is difficult for abused spouses to seek help.

Women's shelters don't always accept kids, while for men, the

social stigma that men don't get abused keeps them quiet.

There's much more to the institution of family than raising a kid.

Religion is another institution that permeates our society.

The religiosity, or how religious a person is, can

range from private beliefs to spiritual routines to institutionalized religion.

Or, to reading the Bible but not attending church.

To celebrating Passover because your grandmother cooks dinner.

To facing a keebla and praying five times every day.

There are many types of religious organizations.

Churches are established religious bodies like the Roman Catholic church.

Sects tend to be smaller and are

established in protest of an established church.

They are a revival and break away from the established church

like the movement of the restoration of the ten commandments of God.

Cults are more radical.

They break away and reject the values

of outside society undergoing a complete religious renovation.

They rise when there is a break

down of societal belief systems but they're usually

short lived because they depend on an inspirational

leader who will only live for so long.

Over the years religion has been affected by social change.

Modernization has led to more information being available to the

public, and less emphasis in society on religion, leading to secularization.

Secularization in turn, is the weakening of social and political

power of religious organizations, as religious involvement and belief declines.

But then you have the reaction to secularization

in fundamentalism, when people go back to the

strict religious teachings and beliefs, though this can

create social problems when people become too extreme.

In the end, in some shape or form, religion affects everyone in society.