Families & Households
(Teachers: If you like the resources on this page and want to edit and use them with your students then visit the downloads page.)
The material on this page is useful for those of you studying the families and households option on both the AQA and OCR specifications.
Both the AQA and OCR units look at factors such as:
- What is a family?
- Sociological viewpoints on the family
- How have families changed?
- In history
- In recent years
- Why have families changed? (this is covered under sections on the history of the family and recent changes)
- Changes in the law
- Changes in social attitudes
- Economic changes
- The growth of family diversity
- What are the roles of men and women in the family?
- What is childhood and how is it changing?
What is a family?
This not an easy question to answer. As we will see, families have changed a lot over the past 30-40 years and also over the past 200 years. As you will also find, there is no such thing as a “normal” family.
To have a closer look at this question and what some sociologists have said about it, look at this PowerPoint.
Sociological viewpoints on the family
The four key viewpoints on the family that you need to look at and know are:
- Functionalist
- Marxist
- Feminist
- New Right
There are PowerPoints on each of these perspectives.
Functionalists essentially see the family as an institution that is beneficial to its members and to wider society. The family raises children who will later contribute to society and provides a stress free atmosphere for adults away from the world of work. For both Parsons and Murdock a woman’s role was at home, caring for her family (the expressive role) and this was something “natural”, while a man’s role was as a breadwinner – the instrumental role.
functionalism and the family quiz
Marxists, on the other hand, see the family as a tool of capitalist oppression – the family hands down wealth and power from generation to generation, meaning that the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor. The family also provides workers at low cost to the economy as women aren’t paid for their work in keeping house and raising children.
Feminists also have a problem with the traditional vision of the family. They see it as oppressing and exploiting women as they are used as free labour and without wages are kept powerless by men.
The New Right are in many ways a political perspective. They see the changes in the family as negative and look back to the “golden age of the family”. The New Right see the “breakdown” of the nuclear family as the reason for rising crime and other problems in society.
on November 24th, 2006 at 1:16 pm
I believe in all that you are saying but i doubt feminist.That’s not true and women are not supposed to be treated like that.
on November 24th, 2006 at 9:21 pm
I think you may have mis-read what’s on the page - I was talking about the feminist viewpoint - many feminists believe that within the family women are mistreated by being used as free labour to run the home and raise children.
It’s not so much a matter of agreeing or disagreeing with the viewpoint, more understanding that that’s what the different viewpoints are.
Hope that helps
Ruth
on November 27th, 2006 at 12:25 pm
Your notes are excellent. This kind of well structred form is not easy to fine. Though, I was wondering if there is any chance that you would update some notes about the childhood as well?
on January 25th, 2007 at 1:12 pm
Well said, i have gone over your notes and they help me a lot with my sociology coursework that Iam studying. Your site is very useful but where can i find the Definition of the Concept Triple Shift?
on January 25th, 2007 at 7:27 pm
Glad you have found the site helpful. Dencombe and Marsden were the researchers who came up with the idea of women’s triple shift - it is the idea that women in contemporary society are expected to take on three roles - paid employment, emotional work and housework/childcare - in other words they are still doing their traditional roles, but with the added expectation of taking on paid work as well.
on March 29th, 2007 at 10:30 am
Thanks for giving us this note because they are helping us alot. can i please get some notes on porvety and education cause am doing my analysis for lone parent in divorce.
on April 23rd, 2007 at 2:18 pm
your notes are excellent, i must after reading your notes it has helped me to build my confidence within myself about sociology thank you
on May 3rd, 2007 at 12:59 pm
Hi Ruth
Take a look at the article by Madeleine Bunting in the Guardian 25/4/07 for a critical review of issues surrounding Young and Wilmott’s study.
on May 22nd, 2007 at 3:22 pm
wow this site is great its just such a shame i only found it the day before my exam
but i’m going to tell my teacher about it. Good luck to everybody else who is doing the exam tomorrow.
on September 20th, 2007 at 10:31 am
Thankyou Ruth, this site is a brilliant help for me. I am studying AS and A2 Sociology and my teacher has recommended this site for me. I find your notes and comments a real inspiration and great help on my course.
Thankyou
on January 27th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Hiya Ruth,
Just wanted to say your straight forward information has really helped me in my first sociology essay as i am in year 10 and have just taken the subject . colud you possilby do a paragraph about domestic violence because i don’t really know how to write it and your website is the only one that explains thing clearly.
Thank you
sarah
on January 31st, 2008 at 12:59 pm
hi ruth.
i have gone through your noates and found them really helpful, but i was wondering if you could prehaps go over how the distibution of emotional work in the family has changed over the years with regards to the job becoming more joint.
thanks