Full Families and Households Notes and Flashcards
Functionalist View of the Family: Best Fit Theory
Society is like a body with interdependent parts; institutions work together for a smooth-running society.
Social Institutions:
Institutions have clear social functions, ensuring consensus about norms and values and enabling orderly social change.
Warm Bath Theory:
Talcott Parsons described the family as providing emotional support and stress relief, stabilising personalities and preparing individuals to return to society refreshed.
Universal Nuclear Family
Two generations living together, typically parents and children.
Traditional gender and conjugal roles are expected.
Functionalist View of the Family
The family has important functions for both society and individuals.
Functions of the Family (Murdoch):
Economic: Pooling resources to ensure all members have what they need.
Reproductive: Producing the next generation.
Sexual: Ensuring stable and controlled adult sexual relationships.
Educational: Teaching children societal norms and values (primary socialisation).
Functions of the Family (Parsons):
Primary Socialisation: The family is the main agent, teaching children how to interact and prepare for adult roles.
Stabilisation of Adult Personalities: Emotional security adults achieve within a marital relationship.
Preventing disruptive behaviour: Encouraging conformity to social norms, especially during stress.
Emotional support: Providing emotional support to its members via the warm bath theory.
Evaluation of the Functionalist View
Parsons argued families helped prevent adults from behaving in disruptive or dysfunctional ways by encouraging them to conform to social norms, especially at times of stress.
Marxist Views of the Family
Economic Base:
The fundamental economic structure of a society (means of production and relations of production) dictates the social, political, and cultural aspects of society (superstructure).
Superstructure:
Institutions, culture, and ideas that support the ruling class; determined by the economic base.
Cushioning Effect:
The family acts as a protective buffer against the stresses and alienation experienced by workers in a capitalist society (Eli Zaretsky).
Ideological State Apparatus
Institutions that spread bourgeois ideology ensure that the proletariat is in a state of false class consciousness.
Inheritance of Private Property
The bourgeoisie began owning private property for personal profit; monogamous nuclear family structure emerged to prevent property from being shared.
According to Engels, this structure reproduced and reinforced social class inequality, with wealth remaining in the hands of the bourgeoisie.
The monogamous, nuclear family structure is advantageous to class hierarchy, inequality, and capitalism.
Marxist View of the Family
Families are conservative institutions that help to preserve capitalism and weaken the position of individual workers.
Functions of the Family (Marxism)
Engels argued that the family had a clear economic function for capitalism, by ensuring that wealth remained in the hands of the bourgeoisie.
Family relations, based on clear legal contracts, facilitate inheritance.
False Class Consciousness
The proletariat does not recognise its exploitation by the bourgeoisie and contributes to its own exploitation through bourgeois ideology.
Evaluation of the Marxist View
Critiques:
Economic determinism: Overemphasis on economic functions.
Outdated theories: Assumptions about the worker being male and only one worker in the family.
Ignores non-economic factors: Neglects emotional support and comfort.
Doesn't consider cultural factors: Ignores the role of cultural factors, such as religious beliefs, in family formation.
Marxist view:
The family is a social institution serving the needs of capitalism, maintaining class inequalities, and reproducing ideologies that support capitalism.
Feminist Views of the Family
Reserve Army of Labour:
Unemployed workers are prepared to work for low wages in temporary jobs, serving the interests of the bourgeoisie.
Domestic Violence:
Radical feminists see domestic violence as a means by which men control women and exercise patriarchal power (Dobash and Dobash).
Triple Shift:
Women take on paid work, unpaid domestic work, and emotional labour (Duncombe and Marsden).
Dual Burden
The workload of people (often women) who work for money and do unpaid domestic labour.
Anne Oakley found that women had an unequal workload, and increased female employment had not made the family more equal.
Patriarchy
Rule by the father; a society dominated by men with systematic gender oppression.
Malestream Sociology
When male social scientists assume their findings about men apply to women.
General Feminist View of the Family
The family is a social institution that perpetuates gender inequality and oppression.
Liberal Feminist View on the Family
Families can be made equal through legal and social change; historically, they have been a source of inequality.
Marxist Feminist View on the Family
The family is a patriarchal institution integral to capitalism that oppresses women.
Women are exploited in the family and workplace.
Radical Feminist View on the Family
The family is a primary structure of patriarchy that oppresses women.
Traditional family structures limit women’s autonomy and subject them to male control.
Evaluation of Feminist Views
Criticisms:
They haven’t considered and given importance to the impact of inequalities of class and ethnicity.
Contributions:
They provided important insights into how families perpetuate gender inequalities
New Right View of the Family
Welfare:
Welfare policies undermine the traditional nuclear family and lead to inadequate socialisation (Charles Murray).
Dependency Culture:
The welfare state undermines individual responsibility (Charles Murray).
Single Parent Family:
Changes in family forms are damaging to society.
Nuclear Family
Support of the traditional heterosexual nuclear family.
Conformity and raising children within a family made up of two natural parents, and the division of instrumental and expressive gender roles is very important.
Underclass
Murray suggested that the welfare state created welfare dependency and encouraged lone parenthood.
Generations of boys grew up without male role models, leading to a criminal underclass.
Evaluation of New Right View
Accused of ‘blaming the victim’ and not considering other explanations for poverty.
Considered a political position rather than a sociological perspective.
Postmodernism and Sociology of Personal Life
Sociology of Personal Life:
Key Thinker: Carol Smart
Definition of the Family: A broad concept that includes more than just blood relatives.
Personal Life View of the Family: People construct their own families based on choice and social context.
Other Significant Relationships: Close friendships, relationships with deceased family members, chosen families, and bonds with pets.
Evaluation: Examines how people form relationships and define their families.
Postmodernist View of the Family
Giddens’ View of the Family:
Family has changed due to greater gender equality and freedom of choice.
People enter into relationships on their own terms.
Stacey’s View of the Family:
Women have more freedom to choose their family arrangements.
Evaluation of Postmodernist Views:
Critiques: Overemphasis on choice, underemphasis on social structures, and promotion of relativism.
Social Policy and the Family
What is a Social Policy?
The study of how societies distribute resources to meet human needs and how governments respond to social challenges.
Functionalist View on Social Policies
Social policies help society function smoothly and efficiently.
New Right View on Social Policies
The state should have minimal involvement in society.
Feminist View on Social Policies
Social policies often uphold patriarchal structures, benefiting men at the expense of women.
Marxism's View on Social Policies
Social policies serve the interests of the ruling class and maintain the capitalist system.
Types of Social Policy
Child Support: The Child Support Agency was established in 1993 to ensure that absent fathers paid child maintenance.
Adoption: The Adoption Act of 2005 allowed cohabiting and same-sex couples to adopt
Civil Partnerships: The Civil Partnership Act of 2004 increased the number of legally recognised same-sex partnerships.
Same-sex marriage: The Same Sex Couples Act of 2013 allowed same-sex marriage.
Child Protection: The Children Act of 1989 outlined the rights of children.
Parental leave: Parents can share up to 50 weeks of leave, 37 of which are paid.
Timeline of Social Policies and the Family
1980-1990s- Conservative Policies:
The Children Act 1989 – a piece of legislation that clearly outlines the rights of children
The Child Support Agency, 1993 – established to ensure absent fathers paid maintenance for the upbringing of their children
Married Men’s Tax Allowance
Proposed changes to divorce rules
Section 28
Back to Basics
1997-2010- New Labour Policies:
Cuts to lone parent benefits.
Working family tax credits.
Paid paternity leave
Civil Partnership Act
Adoption and Children’s Act (2002). allowed same-sex couples to adopt children
Equal age of consent in 2001
The repeal of Section 28 in 2003
2010 Onwards- Coalition Policies:
Removing the so-called couples’ penalty
Shared parental leave.
Equal marriage.
Other important Policies:
Child protection laws, parental leave policies, childcare provision, tax benefits for families, policies regarding adoption, benefits for single parents, policies addressing domestic violence, and legislation concerning same-sex couples and their rights to parenthood.
Family Diversity
Family Diversity:
The variety of family types and characteristics that exist in society
Dominant Family Types and Why:
Murdock:
Nuclear Family:
He believed it is a universal structure found in all societies, performing essential functions like reproduction, socialisation, economic cooperation, and sexual regulation across different cultures; essentially arguing that the nuclear family is the most prevalent and functional family unit across the globe
Peter Wilmott:
Symmetrical Family:
Men and Women perform similar roles. Modern families have men and women both doing paid work, and both doing work around the house, including childcare. did not find that men and women did exactly the same types of jobs- whether in the workplace or at home- but family life was becoming more shared and equal
Julia Brannan
Brannon believes that family structures have changed, and the new family type is the beanpole family.
Rappaport’s 5 types of Family Diversity:
C: Cultural Diversity
Different cultural groups have different values, beliefs and practices about family life
L: Life Course Analysis
Individuals experience different family structures and arrangement throughout their lives, meaning people may move through various family types like nuclear, single-parent household, or reconstituted family, depending on life stages like marriage, divorce or having children, highlighting that family diversity is not just a snapshot in time but a dynamic process across the life course.
O: Organisational Diversity
The different ways in which families are structured and the role that individuals within families assume
G: Generational Diversity
The presence of people from different generations in the family
S: Social Class Diversity
The variation in family structures, experiences, and dynamics that occur across different social classes, meaning that families from different socioeconomic backgrounds will have distinct family patterns due to their varying access to resources, cultural norms, and life experiences associated with their class position; this can include differences in family size, living arrangements, work patterns, child-rearing practices, and attitudes towards marriage and cohabitation.
Causes of Family Diversity:
Changing attitudes:
Marriage and divorce:
Lower marriage rates and higher divorce rates reflect changing priorities and lifestyles.
Child-bearing:
Attitudes towards having children have changed over time.
Secularisation:
The decline of religion and religious attitudes means people no longer feel religious pressures to get married.
Migration:
Cultural mix:
Migration brings family traditions from other cultures, which can lead to a deviation from the traditional nuclear family norm.
Life-course changes:
Age diversity:
Different generations have different life experiences, which can affect family formation.
Family structure:
The acceptable family structure and gender roles have changed over time.
Family types:
Families can go through different stages of their lives, for example, starting as a nuclear family, then becoming a lone parent family after a divorce.
Other causes:
Interracial couples:
The number of interracial couples has increased.
Transnational families:
The number of transnational families has increased.
Blended families:
Two different parents come together, each bringing their children from a previous relationship.
Theories of Family Diversity:
Functionalism (Parsons):
It is not a central concept, as he primarily focused on the nuclear family as the ideal family structure, believing that it best serves the needs of modern, industrialised societies due to its ability to facilitate geographical mobility and social mobility, with clearly defined gender roles where the husband takes on "instrumental" roles (breadwinner) and the wife takes on "expressive" roles (emotional support); however, his emphasis on the nuclear family is criticised for overlooking diverse family structures and being overly idealised based on the American middle-class family of his time.
New Right (Murray):
The rise of single-parent families and a growing "underclass" is largely due to welfare policies that incentivise dependency on the state, creating a culture where people are less likely to work and more likely to rely on benefits, particularly single mothers, leading to a decline in traditional nuclear family structures and increased social problems; essentially, he believes that excessive welfare benefits encourage single parenthood and undermine the nuclear family as the ideal family form.
Postmodernism:
Family is unique for everyone, and the family dynamics or interactions cannot (and should not) be generalised. This is evident in the increase in alternative family types, such as: single-parent families. reconstituted families.
Feminism (Stacy):
Family structure:
Traditional family structures have reinforced gender roles that favour men.
Gender inequality:
Women are often disadvantaged in the workforce due to unpaid maternity leave and other factors.
Social injustice:
Women are often objectified and experience domestic violence.
Family diversity:
Different types of families, including single-parent, lesbian, gay, and families in poverty, experience gender inequality differently.
Neo Conventional Family (Chester):
A modern family structure that is considered the new norm, characterised by dual-earner couples where both partners work outside the home, essentially a more egalitarian version of the traditional nuclear family, reflecting the changing dynamics of gender roles in society; it signifies a shift away from the traditional "breadwinner-homemaker" family model while still maintaining a nuclear family structure at its core
Cohabitation, Mariage, and Divorce
Cohabitation:
When two people live together in a domestic partnership without being married. It has become more common and socially acceptable in many societies.
Marriage:
A legally and socially sanctioned union between two people. It is a social institution that helps create the basic unit social structure.
Divorce:
The legal ending of a marriage between two people. It’s a significant social phenomenon that affects more than just the couple involved
Trends in Cohabitation:
The number of cohabiting couples in the UK has increased by 144% between 1996 and 2021.
The age gap between cohabiting couples has become more similar to that of married couples.
One in three children is born to cohabiting parents
Cohabitations formed after 2000 have a higher risk of dissolution than earlier cohorts
Trends in Marriage:
The number of marriages in England and Wales peaked in 1972 and has since almost halved
Same-sex marriages and civil partnerships are becoming more common. Remarriage and blended families are also becoming more common.
People are marrying for love instead of economic reasons. People are questioning the link between marriage and parenting, gender roles and heterosexuality
Trends in Divorce:
In 2022, divorce rates in England and Wales were lower than in 2021. The number of divorces granted in 2022 was the lowest since 1971.
The rate of ‘grey divorce’ (divorce at age 50 and older) has increased. This trend presents challenges, such as dividing assets like retirement funds and real estate.
The way society views divorce has changed, with many seeing it as a step toward personal growth. Younger generations are more likely to view marriage as a partnership that can evolve over time
Couples are waiting longer to get married, or choosing not to get married at all
The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act, which came into effect in April 2022, introduced no-fault divorce. This meant that people could get a divorce without having a valid reason to do so
Causes of the Trends in Cohabitation, Marriage, and Divorce:
Money is a common cause of arguments and resentment in relationships. Financial pressures can lead to strained relationships and divorce.
Domestic and emotional abuse are common reasons for divorce. Any type of abuse is a valid reason for divorce.
Unfaithfulness is a leading cause of divorce. Infidelity can damage trust and respect in a marriage.
Couples may report problems related to managing work and household duties. Couples may report growing apart or not getting enough attention.
Young couples are increasingly living together before deciding to marry or enter a civil partnership. Cohabitation can be a way to ‘try before you buy’
The Divorce Reform Act 1969 made it easier for couples to divorce, which contributed to an increase in divorces in the 1970s.
Impact of the Trends:
Positive:
Cohabitation:
Increased compatibility testing before marriage, potential for stronger relationships through deeper understanding, improved communication and compromise skills, shared financial benefits, enhanced social support, and the ability to build a stronger foundation for commitment before formalising a marriage.
Marriage:
Improved mental and physical health for individuals, increased financial stability, stronger social networks, enhanced parenting outcomes, reduced risk of risky behaviours, and a greater sense of purpose and life satisfaction.
Divorce:
Increased personal freedom and independence, opportunity for personal growth, escape from unhealthy relationships, potential for improved mental health, a more stable environment for children in high-conflict marriages, and the ability to pursue new life paths and relationships.
Negative:
Cohabitation:
A lack of legal protection for couples, potential for increased relationship instability, difficulties with asset division in case of separation, potential for financial disputes, challenges with navigating personal boundaries, and a perception of reduced commitment to the relationship compared to marriage, which can lead to higher rates of relationship dissolution.
Marriage:
Increased societal pressure to marry young, potential for economic instability due to reliance on one partner’s income, a decline in commitment to long-term relationships, increased stress and conflict due to unrealistic expectations, and potential for negative impacts on children from unstable family structures due to high divorce rates
Divorce:
Increased rates of mental health issues like depression and anxiety for both adults and children involved, potential economic hardship due to reduced income, disruption of family dynamics, negative effects on children’s academic performance, higher risk of substance abuse and potential social isolation
Childbearing:
Total Fertility Rate:
The average number of children a woman would have during her childbearing years
General Fertility Rate:
The number of live births per 1,000 women of childbearing age (typically considered to be between 15 and 44 years old) in a given population during a specific time period
Birth Rate:
The number of births per 1,000 people in a population in a given year
Average Family Size:
The average number of people in a household
Average Households:
A group of people who live together in a house, and is considered typical or normal
Trends and Changes:
A significant decline in birth rates across many developed nations, characterised by women having fewer children later in life, often due to increased focus on education and careers, improved access to contraception, and changing societal values around family structures and individualisation
Reasons for the Trends:
Changing gender roles (increased female workforce participation), shifts in marriage patterns (later marriage ages). Evolving attitudes towards family planning, economic concerns, technological advancements in reproductive health and broader societal changes like secularisation
Impact of Changing Fertility Rates:
Significantly impact the population structure, family dynamics, economic landscape and social policies of society, with decling fertility rates often leading to an aging population, increased dependency ratios, and pressure on social services due to fewer young people entering the workforce to support the growing elderly population; while rising fertility rates can strain resources and impact education and healthcare systems for a larger younger generation
Domestic Division of Labour
Domestic Division of Labour:
The division of tasks within the household between partners
Decision Making in the Family:
Very important decisions:
Those involving finance, a change of job or moving house, were either taken by the husband alone or taken jointly but with the husband having the final say.
Important decisions:
Those about children's education or where to go on holiday were usually taken jointly, and seldom by the wife alone.
Less important decisions
The choice of home decor, children's clothes or food purchases was usually made by the wife.
Traditional Views of Domestic Division of Labour:
Stereotypically, the cereal packet family would influence how couples would structure the division of domestic labour. Men would be expected to be the
March of Progress View (Willmott and Young):
Men are becoming more involved in housework and childcare, just as women are becoming more involved in paid work outside the home
Why are Roles Changing?
Women are experiencing growing success and equality, such as outperforming males in education and in many areas of the labour market, thus reducing traditional stereotypes. There is now a wider range of roles which are available for women
Decision Making in the Family (Money):
Men usually make the decisions about spending on important items. Research shows that family members do not share resources such as money and food equally
To What Extent have the levels of change in the Domestic Division Labour been exaggerated?
Consequences of Inequality:
Domestic Violence:
A pattern of behaviour in any relationship that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner.
Triple Shift:
Theorists:
Duncombe and Marsdon
Women might suffer from the dual burden (doing household chores and a paid job) or the triple shift (doing housework, paid work and offering emotional support or caring for the elderly)
Impact of Family Life on Career and Job Prospects:
Before Becoming Mothers:
Freedom to go out and work longer hours
After Becoming Mothers:
There is a decline in mothers' participation in the workforce after childbirth. On average, 24% of women exit the labour market in their first year of motherhood. Five years later, the percentage drops to 17%, and after a decade, still 15% are absent
Impact of Triple Shift on Women:
Leisure Time:
A significantly reduced amount of leisure time because of the time spent on work, household chores and caring for elderly family members.
Mental Health:
Because of the reduced leisure time, women don’t have the time to focus on themselves and relax, so this leads to demotivation and low moods.
Theoretical Perspectives on the Cause of Domestic Violence:
Radical Feminist:
Widespread domestic violence is an inevitable feature of patriarchal society and serves to preserve the power that all men have over all women. In their view, this helps to explain why most domestic violence is committed by men.
New Right:
Violence is only prevalent in unstable families, possibly as a result of increasing numbers of cohabiting couples and divorces
Marxist Feminist:
Domestic violence is the product of capitalism: Male workers are exploited at work, and they take out their frustration on their wives. This helps to explain why domestic violence is male violence against females
Childhood as a Social Construction:
Social Construction:
The meaning, notion, or connotation placed on an object or event by a society, and adopted by that society with respect to how they view or deal with the object or event
Biological Determination:
The belief that human behaviour is directly controlled by an individual’s genes or some component of their physiology, generally at the expense of the role of the environment, whether in embryonic development or in learning.
A Child is:
The social grouping of humans from birth to the age of twenty.
Childhood:
It is understood as a distinct and significant period in an individual’s life characterised by specific sets of roles, rights and responsibilities shaped by socio-cultural, economic and political structures.
Is Childhood a Social Construction?
Aries argues that in the Middle Ages, the idea of childhood did not exist and that children were not seen as essentially different to adults like they are today.
The distinction between adults and children is weakening, and there is a merging of tastes, styles and experiences that once separated these life stages. Children are no longer sheltered from adult experiences and knowledge due to the growth of global media, especially on the Internet.
Separateness:
Key Thinker:
Jane Pilcher (1995)
Socially Separated:
Childhood is a separate stage of life, which is non-universal, and it is subject to cross-cultural differences
Physically Immaturity:
Children and adolescents are typically not fully physically mature, and they may continue to grow and develop in terms of height, weight and other physical characteristics into their late teens and early twenties
Psychological Immaturity:
The tendency to express emotions without restraint or those that are excessive for the situation. Some key characteristics of a person behaving with emotional immaturity include selfishness, difficulty in relationships and inadequate communication skills
Dominate Framework:
Key Thinker:
Talcott Parsons and Jean Piaget
Children:
The dominant perspective associated childhood with irrationality, incompetence and play; adulthood is rational, competent and work
Adults:
Adulthood is rational, component and work
Sensible Analytical Approach:
Definition:
Recognising and respecting cultural differences while also identifying universal aspects of child development and well-being.
Explanation/Evidence:
The cross-cultural study of childhood provides valuable insights into the socially constructed nature of this life stage
Cultural Relativity:
Explanation:
The ability to understand a culture on its own terms and not to make judgments using the standards of one's own culture. The goal of this is to promote understanding of cultural practices that are not typically part of one's own culture.
Evidence:
In reality, people make cultural judgments all the time. If you've ever eaten food from another culture and described it as 'gross' or learned about a specific cultural practice and called it 'weird,' you've made a judgment about that culture based on the norms of your own.
Historical Relativity:
Explanation:
The stance adopted by the German-American anthropologist Franz Boas (1858–1942), and others, that a historical era can only be understood on its own terms.
Evidence:
In its extreme form, a rejection of the validity of historical (or cross-cultural) comparisons and evolutionary schemata.
Changes to the status of Children:
March of Progress View:
Overview:
Symmetrical families refer to those that are equally balanced and flexible, and where partners share both the instrumental and expressive roles. Young and Willmott support the 'march of progress' view of modern families, in that families are becoming less patriarchal and more symmetrical
Evidence:
The modern nuclear family has less gender segregation than the early industrial family, with men and women both in employment and both contributing to domestic chores. Also, the family has ceased to be a unit of production and has become a unit of consumption.
Conflict View:
Overview:
It views society as a system characterised by power dynamics and the inevitable presence of conflict. The theory emphasises the role of social inequality, competition for resources, and class struggle in shaping the social order.
Intra-Child Conflict and Inequality:
Disparities and struggles that arise within a child's own experiences, thoughts, and behaviours, often stemming from external factors like poverty or inequality, leading to internal conflict and hindering their development
Adult and Child Conflict and Inequality:
It arises from power imbalances, different life stages, and various societal factors, leading to inequalities and potential harm to children. Adult control over children's lives can manifest as neglect, abuse, or limiting their autonomy, particularly in areas like access to resources, free time, and their bodies. Additionally, inequalities between children based on social class, gender, and ethnicity further exacerbate these disparities.
Child Liberationist View:
Children are entitled to more freedom from interference than we currently acknowledge socially or legally
Ways Children are Controlled by Adults:
They control how children sit, walk, run, what they wear, their hairstyles and whether they can have their ears pierced.
In industrial societies, children have only limited opportunities to earn money and so remain dependent economically on adults.
School stops them from getting part-time jobs
The Future of Childhood:
Toxic Childhood:
Palmer created the theory of the toxic childhood, which refers to the damaging effects of the 21st century on children. Which means there is a generation of children whom are not appropriately socialised to maintain the norms and values needed for society to function well.
Child Centeredness:
The family unit has become more centred on the needs of children rather than the needs of adults
Information Hierarchy:
The idea that media and the information that it gives us can be (and is) controlled and filtered by adults so that children don't know 'adult business' (death, war, politics, etc.) until they reach that age.
Disappearing Childhood Thesis:
Thinker:
Postman
Overview:
He claimed that childhood is essentially a social artefact. Its origin was closely linked to the printing press and the growth of literacy, which made possible the segregation of groups into children and adults.
Evidence:
Children are no longer sheltered from adult experiences and knowledge due to the growth of global media, especially on the Internet
Evaluation:
Childhood is essentially a social artefact. Its origin was closely linked to the printing press and the growth of literacy, which made possible the segregation of groups into children and adults
Toxic Childhood Thesis:
Thinker:
Palmer
How?:
The dependency on technology results in 'toxic childhood syndrome', where children are being deprived of a proper childhood.
Why?:
Children who are not appropriately socialised may not maintain the norms and values needed for society to function well.
Evaluation:
More products for children will necessarily benefit their childhood. Sue Palmer (2006), a former headteacher, argues that children are experiencing psychological and physical damage due to modern parenting
Universal Childhood:
Overview:
The conviction that all children should enjoy an equitable childhood experience, irrespective of their social background. However, concrete ideas on what a universal childhood should look like are numerous and varied.
Evidence:
Universal early childhood education and care have a positive impact on reducing inequalities
New Sociology of Childhood:
It emerged in the 1980s and 1990s as a reaction against prevailing views of the child in developmental psychology and traditional socialisation theory
Demographics:
The Dependency Ratio:
The proportion of the population that is dependent on the welfare state in comparison with the proportion of the population in employment.
Ageism:
Discrimination against older people because of negative and inaccurate stereotypes
Structural Dependency:
It describes how retirement, poverty, institutionalism and restriction of domestic and community roles in later life have contributed to artificially structuring or deepening the dependency of older people
Migration:
The movement of people away from their usual place of residence to a new place of residence, either across an international border or within a state
Net Migration:
The difference between the number of immigrants and the number of emigrants per year is divided by the population. When the number of immigrants is larger than the number of emigrants, a positive net migration rate occurs
Immigration:
The international movement of people to a destination country where they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality to settle as permanent residents.
Emigration:
The act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere. Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another. A migrant emigrates from their old country and immigrates to their new country
Globalism:
The idea that events in one country cannot be separated from those in another, and that a government should consider the effects of its actions on the rest of the world
Birth Rate:
Definition:
The total number of live human births per 1,000 population for a given period divided by the length of the period in years.
Trend:
There were 605,479 live births in England and Wales in 2022, a 3.1% decrease from 624,828 in 2021 and the lowest number since 2002.
Reasons for the Trend:
Legal equality with men
Increased educational opportunities for women
More women in paid employment
Changes in attitudes to family life and women’s roles
Easier access to divorce
Access to abortion and reliable contraceptives
The number remains in line with the recent trend of decreasing live births observed before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Impact of the Trend:
The proportion of older adults in the population increases, placing pressure on social services, healthcare, and pensions, as there are fewer working-age individuals. Economically, a shrinking workforce can lead to labour shortages and reduced economic growth.
Total Fertility Rate:
1.57 births per woman (2022)
Definition:
The total fertility rate of a population is the average number of children that are born to a woman over her lifetime, if they were to experience the exact current age-specific fertility rates through their lifetime, and they were to live from birth until the end of their reproductive life.
Trend:
The global total fertility rate was 1.57 children per woman in 2022, less than half the rate (2.9) in 1964.
Reasons for the Trend:
The total fertility rate is declining in most countries, even those that had much higher fertility rates in the recent past.
Impact of the Trend:
Death Rate:
Definition:
A measure of the number of deaths in a particular population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time.
Trend:
Mortality rate from all causes reduced significantly for both sexes, but the 2023 rates were still significantly higher than pre-pandemic rates for 2019: 4% higher for males and 3% for females.
Reasons for the Trend:
More people are dying from heart disease and cancer
Impact of the Trend:
Infant Mortality Rate:
Definition:
Infant mortality is the death of an infant before the infant's first birthday. The occurrence of infant mortality in a population can be described by the infant mortality rate, which is the number of deaths of infants under one year of age per 1,000 live births
Trend:
The number of child deaths around the world reached a historic low in 2022. In 2022, the annual number of under-five deaths dropped to 4.9 million. And since 2000, the global under-five mortality rate (U5MR) has declined by more than half.
Reasons for the Trend:
Improved pre-conception care, including maternal health and education. A life course approach to infant mortality must include maximising the physical and mental health and wellbeing of women pre-conception and during pregnancy, including pregnancy planning.
Impact of the Trend:
When infant mortality rates are lower, it means that more infants are surviving. This can lead to parents, including mothers, feeling more confident and secure in their ability to raise children successfully
Life Expectancy:
Definition:
A statistical measure of the estimate of the average remaining years of life at a given age. The most commonly used