2.4.1

Timeline

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Relationships Within Families Through Time

Relationships within families have changed over time. This can be due to the way societies are constructed, i.e. based on location and time.

Pre-industrial families (1600-1800)

Pre-industrial families (1600-1800)

  • Families worked together as a single unit.
  • Children were seen as miniature adults who had to work to support their families.
  • During the pre-industrial period, your role in life was determined the minute you were born (ascribed). The system was closed (you would stay in the class that were born in until you died).
Industrialised families (post-1800)

Industrialised families (post-1800)

  • Industrialisation affected the way families functioned. Many villagers moved into the city in search of work in the factories (urbanisation). As a result, extended families began breaking apart, and families became more nuclear.
  • Men were expected to be the breadwinners (instrumental role).
  • Women were expected to look after the home and the children (expressive role).
  • Education was now offered by the state.
Contemporary families

Contemporary families

  • Contemporary families are very diverse given the emergence of new family types.
  • Contemporary families are becoming smaller in size as people tend to be more independent.
  • Society is characterised as being child-centred, meaning that family decisions revolved more around the children.
  • Partners/spouses tend to share responsibilities and roles.

Changing Role of Children

Relationships within families have changed through time.

Pre-industrialisation (1600-1800)

Pre-industrialisation (1600-1800)

  • Children used to bear similar responsibilities to adults and were viewed as miniature adults.
  • Child labour was seen as common practice.
Post-industrialisation (post-1800)

Post-industrialisation (post-1800)

  • Education was now offered by the state and viewed as a priority for children.
  • This changed the role that children played in the family home since they now went to school instead of working.
  • As a result, children had more of a childhood experience and became more financially-dependent on their families.
Child-centred families

Child-centred families

  • Families in the 19th and 20th century were more child-centred. This means that children were put at the centre of family decisions, and parents had a tendency to focus more on the well-being of their children.
  • Nowadays, children tend to depend more on their peers and the internet than their families.
  • There is a growing concern about the emergence of a ‘toxic childhood’ as children have access to unsuitable websites which could stigmatise and traumatise them.
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1

The Sociological Approach

1.1

Introduction to Sociology

1.1.1What is Sociology?1.1.2Culture & Socialisation
1.2

Sociological Approaches

1.2.1Marxism1.2.2Marxism 21.2.3Functionalism1.2.4Feminism
1.3

The Consensus vs. Conflict Debate

1.3.1The Consensus vs. Conflict Debate1.3.2End of Topic Test - The Sociological Approach
2

Families

2.1

Functions of Families

2.1.1Functionalist Views on Family2.1.2Marxist Views on Family2.1.3Feminist Views on Family
2.2

Family Forms

2.2.1What is a Family?2.2.2Nuclear Family2.2.3Families in a Global Context2.2.4The Rapoports & Family Diversity2.2.5Causes of Family Diversity2.2.6End of Topic Test - Family Forms
2.3

Conjugal Role Relationships

2.3.1Conjugal Roles
2.4

Changing Relationships Within Families

2.4.1Timeline2.4.2Domestic Abuse2.4.3Symmetrical Family
2.5

Criticisms of Families

2.5.1Functionalist Views of Families2.5.2Marxist Views of Families2.5.3Feminist Views of Families2.5.4Declining Marriage Rate2.5.5End of Topic Test - Criticisms of Families
2.6

Divorce

2.6.1Reasons For Rise in Divorce Rate2.6.2Consequences of Divorce2.6.3Functionalist Views2.6.4Marxist Views2.6.5Feminist Views2.6.6End of Topic Test - Divorce
3

Education

3.1

Roles & Functions of Education

3.1.1The Functionalist Approach3.1.2Evaluating Different Perspectives3.1.3Types of School3.1.4Alternative Education3.1.5State & Private Schools
3.2

Processes Within Schools

3.2.1Internal Processes3.2.2External Processes
3.3

Educational Achievement

3.3.1Measuring Educational Success3.3.2Social Class & Education3.3.3Social Class & External Factors3.3.4Gender & Education3.3.5Ethnicity & Education3.3.6Parental Choice3.3.7History of UK Education Policy3.3.8Recent UK Education Policy3.3.9End of Topic Test - Education
4

Crime & Deviance

4.1

The Social Construction of Crime

4.1.1Defining Crime & Deviance4.1.2Sociological Explanations of Crime4.1.3Interactionist Explanations of Crime4.1.4Alternative Explanations of Crime
4.2

Social Control

4.2.1Informal Social Control4.2.2Formal Social Control4.2.3End of Topic Test - Social Construction of Crime
4.3

Criminal & Deviant Behaviour

4.3.1Explanations of Crime4.3.2Social Class & Crime4.3.3Gender & Crime4.3.4Ethnicity & Crime4.3.5Age & Crime4.3.6Criminal Responsibility4.3.7The Prison System4.3.8Media Reporting of Crime4.3.9Functionalist Explanations of Crime
4.4

Data on Crime

4.4.1Measuring Crime4.4.2End of Topic Test - Criminal & Deviant Behaviour
5

Social Stratification

5.1

Social Stratification

5.1.1What is Social Stratification?5.1.2Functionalism5.1.3Socio-Economic Class5.1.4Socio-Economic Class 25.1.5Life Chances5.1.6The Affluent Worker5.1.7End of Topic Test - Social Stratifictaion
5.2

Poverty as a Social Issue

5.2.1Defining Poverty5.2.2Factors Affecting Poverty5.2.3Explanations of Poverty5.2.4Impact of Globalisation5.2.5End of Topic Test - Poverty as a Social Issue
5.3

Power & Authority

5.3.1Weber5.3.2Sociological Perspectives5.3.3Power Relationships5.3.4End of Topic Test - Power & Authority
6

Sociological Research Methods

6.1

Research Methods

6.1.1Research Design6.1.2The Scientific Method6.1.3Other Considerations6.1.4Primary Sources6.1.5Secondary Sources6.1.6Surveys6.1.7Sampling6.1.8Questionnaires6.1.9Interviews6.1.10Observation6.1.11Statistics6.1.12Case Studies6.1.13Longitudinal Studies6.1.14Ethnography6.1.15Experiments6.1.16Small Scale Research6.1.17End of Topic Test - Research Methods

Practice questions on Timeline

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  1. 1
    What role did men typically play during the post-industrialisation (post-1800)?Multiple choice
  2. 2
    What were some characteristics of a pre-industrial family (1600-1800)?True / false
  3. 3
    Families in the 19th and 20th century were more child-centred. What does being child-centred mean?Multiple choice
  4. 4
    What role did children play post-industrialisation (post-1800)?True / false
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Conjugal Roles

Domestic Abuse