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What are structural theories?
Top-down approaches that focus on society being more important than the individuals within it
The role of social institutions and social structures determines the behaviour of individuals- behaviour of individuals- behaviour is shaped by social forces
Preference for positivist methodologies and quantitative data that offer solutions to social issues
What are the structural theories?
Consensus theories:
Functionalism
New Right
Conflict theories:
Marxism
Feminism
What are the structural theories for the spec?
Education- Functions of education, differences in social class, gender and ethnic achievement
Family- Functions of nuclear family and the role of socialisation
Crime- Structural and subcultural explanations of crime and deviance
Methods- Positivist approaches, use of quantitative data
Why are structural theories still relevant?
Divisions still exist in society- social class, gender and ethnicity
Relevance of theories such as boundary maintenance, functions of education, social solidarity
Large sections of society remain part of metanarratives- not quite evolved into a postmodern society
Social institutions still exist, and functions may have changed, but education, family and media still perform vital functions for society
Why arenât structural theories relevant anymore?
Increased individual choice and greater diversity mean less need for a âone size fits allâ theory
Society is more fragmented, according to postmodernists and therefore metanarratives lack an understanding of the variety of different perspectives in society
Overly deterministic in nature- even theories such as Marxism and feminism have evolved to take into account the different life experiences people have
What is the structure and action or Structuration theory?
Anthony Giddens proposed an alternative- structuration theory- a combination of both structural forces and social actions
Even when displaying agency, individuals are tied to structures through rules and resources- these are both structurally assigned but created through the individual acts of people
People are able to change social institutions by reflecting and choosing new actions that change a structure- e.g. change of school policies by a headteacher
What is the duality of structure?
Giddens suggests that structure and action co-exist and one cannot exist without the other
Language is constructed by rules that guide the way individuals use it, individuals also have the ability to change language and create new words and thus change the structure
Symbols may be structurally constructed by individuals who can assign meanings to them that change their structural function