Structural Theory

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

Examples of structural theories:

• Consensus theories:

  • Functionalism

  • New Right

• Conflict theories:

  • Marxism

  • Feminism

Structural theories across the specification:

• 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

Are structural theories still relevant? Yes

• 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

Are structural theories still relevant? No

• Increased individual choice and greater diversity mean less need for a ‘one size fits all’ 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

Structure and Action- 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

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