CHAPTER IV.

SOCIAL
INSTITUTION
Meaning and Nature of Social Institutions

Sociologically, an institution is not a person or group.

It is a part of the culture, a patterned segment of the
way of life of a people. Social relation and social
roles form the major elements of the institution.

An institution is a configuration or combination of

behavioral patterns shared by a plurality and focused
upon the satisfaction of some basic group needs.

 
Characteristics of Institutions

– The following are the essential characteristics of institutions:

– 1. Institutions are purposive.Each of them has its own goal or objective for the satisfaction of social
needs.
– 2. Institutions are relatively permanent in their content. The patterns, roles, and relations that
people enact in a particular culture become traditional and enduring. Although institutions are
subject to change, this change is relatively slow.
– 3.The institution is structured. The components tend to bond together and reinforce one another.
This is because social roles and social relations are in themselves structured combinations of
behavioral patterns.
– 4.Each institution is a unified structure. It functions as a unit. Institutions are interdependent on one
another. However, each does not function as a distinct series of human behavior.
– 5.The institution is necessarily value-laden. Its repeated uniformities, patterns, and trends become
codes of conduct. Most of theses codes subconsciously exert social pressures. However, others are in
the form of rules and laws.
Functions of an Institution

– Do the functions of an institution differ from those of a group? The following have to
be noted:
– The objectives, goals, or purposes of an institution are the same as those of a group
since the economic , religious, and political groups strive for economic, religious, and
political ends.
– The functions of the group are the conceptual and external activities performed in
patterned ways by the people. They are what the people actually do in their social
roles and relations, and these constitute the main content of institutions.
– Besides having the specific objectives and the patterned activities of the group, there
are certain generalized functions that all institutions perform for the people.
It has too be noted that some functions of the institution bring about a higher level of integration and coordination in
groups, while others do not.
– What then are the functions of institutions?
– Institutions simplify social behavior for the individual person. The ways of thinking and even acting have become
largely regularized and pre-arranged for the individual before he/she enters the society. The social institutions
provide every child with all the needed social and cultural mechanisms through which he/she can grow socially.
– Institutions therefore provide ready-made forms of social relations and social roles for the individual. The
individuals did not invent the principal roles; the institutions provide them.
– Institutions also act as agencies of coordination and stability for the total culture. The ways of thinking and
behaving that are institutionalized make sense to people. They provide a means of security because they become
the normal and proper ways, which the great majority of people approve of.
– Institutions tend to control behavior. They contain the systematic expectations of the society. Group behavior is
often subconsciously fixed through constant repetition, and when there is a need for planning, the group can
easily ascertain from its institutions the normal modes, trends, and procedures. Social pressure is maintained
even on the possibly deviant groups by the mere existence of institutions.
Classification of Institutions

– Some institutions are strongly compulsive; others place little obligation on people; some are
as wide as the society in their applications; others are relatively local; some involve high
social values; others deal in a lower order of values.
– There are two general classifications of institutions. They are major and subsidiary
institution. The major institutions are those in which the largest number of people
participates that are essential to the society, and that are considered most important for the
individual and for the economic, political, religious, and recreational institutions.
– On the other hand, the subsidiary institutions do not have these characteristics. They are the
numerous, minor, and variable institutions that are contained within the major institutions.
Every subsidiary institution can be classified under one of the major institutions, although in
the concrete life situation, it may partake of the aspects of several major institutions
 The 6 basic major institutions are the following:

– Familial Institution. This is the system that regulates, stabilizes, and standardizes sexual relations and the reproduction of children. Its most widespread form is
the monogamous union of male and female living together with their children in a household. The sub-institutions of courtship, marriage,child care, in-law
relations, and many others are contained under this main institution.
– Educational Institution. This is basically the systematized process of socialization occurring informally in the home and in the general cultural environment, and
formally in the complex educational arrangements of the society. Within the framework of this institution are the subsidiary arrangements for grading, testing,
graduations,degrees, homework, and the honor system.
– Economic Institutions. This is the configuration of patterned social behavior through which material goods and services are provided for the society. It involves
fundamentally the production, distribution, exchange, and consumption of commodities. There are many subsidiary institutions like credit and banking,
bookkeeping,advertising,collective bargaining, and seniority systems.
– Political Institutions. This functions primarily to satisfy the need for general administration and public order in society. There are many sub-institutions within it
as the legal, police, and military systems;the forms of appointment; and the diplomatic relations with foreign countries.
– Religious Institutions. This is the institution that satisfies man,s basic social need for a relationship with God. It is expressed in creeds and in forms of worship
people perform together. It always includes moral and ethical systems indicating the rightness or wrongness of both external and conceptual patterns of
behavior.Subsidiary institutions are the lay-clerical relationships, the systems of prayer, and the arrangements for divine sacrifices. Practices of magic and
superstitions are in some places institutionalized by religious groups.
– Recreational Institutions. This fulfills the social need for physical and mental relaxation. It includes numerous subsidiary institutions such as
games,sports,dancing and swimming,as well as the aesthetic systems of art,music,painting, and drama.
 FAMILY

– The family plays a very important role in the life of any nation. It is the basic or most fundamental unit in any society. Universal
Declaration of Human Rights declared that, “The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to
protection by society and the State.” (Article 16,3)
– Murdock (1949) gave the following definition of the family:
– “... a social group characterized by common residence, economic cooperation, and reproduction. It includes adults adults of
both sexes, at least two of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship, and one or more children, owned or
adopted, of the sexually cohabiting adults.”
– Other definitions of sociologists and anthropologists have highlighted other aspects of family by suggesting that it is a group of
people united by ties of marriage, ancestry, or adoption, and reorganized as well as recognized by the community as members of
a single household with share responsibility for rearing children and caring for them.
– The United States census defines the family as two or more persons who are related to each other by blood, marriage, or
adoption, and who live together. However, with the growing acceptance of same sex marriage, the concept of family is
broadening to include adults who are not relatives but live together under a commitment to each other as a family.
– Murdock’s definition added other dimensions to the concept of family by treating it as a social group that is characterized by such
aspects as shared domicile and responsibility in terms of having common residence, economic cooperation, and reproduction. As
described by some young people, the family simply means
– F-ather
– A-nd
– M-other,
– I-mplying the presence of children,
– L-ove which must prevail, and
– Y-ou.
Characteristics of the Family

– The family has certain unique characteristics summed up in the following:

– 1. The family is a social group that is universally recognized and is a significant
element in every individual’s life. As Murdock put it, “The family exists because
there is no other social unit which can fulfill its vital functions in and for the
society.”
– 2. The family is the most basic autonomous unit in any given society and the first
social group the individual is exposed to.
– 3. Family contact and relationships are repetitive and continuous. They extend over
a long period of time, often a lifetime. It is said that the individual’s earliest and
longest experience in living takes place in a family setting.
– 4. The family is a very close and intimate group. This is very true to Filipinos and other Asian families,
where family ties among members are close.
– 5. It is the setting of the most intense emotional experiences during the lifetime of an individual-
birth, childhood, puberty, adolescence, marriage, and death. Thus, the family’s influence on
personality and character is significant and pervasive.
– 6. The family affects the individual’s social values, dispositions, and outlook in life. The family is the
source of the individuals ideals, aspirations, and basic motivations in life.
– 7. The family has the unique position of serving as a link between the individual and the larger society.
It is through the family’s functions of reproduction, biological and psychological support, and training
for social participation and citizenship that society is able to elicit contribution from an individual.
– 8. The family is also unique in providing continuity of social life. I t is the meeting ground of
generations not only in terms of biological traits but also socio-cultural heritage. The family is the
major agent of transmitting culture. This means that cultural traditions are handed down from
generation to generation through socialization of family members.
EDUCATION

– Is deliberate, systematic, and sustain effort to transmit or acquire knowledge,

skill, attitude, and values.
– Refers to the organized transmission of a culture’s knowledge, skill, and values
from one generation to another.
– LEARNING
– Is a part of socialization, the process of integrating an individual into a full and
responsible member of society.
According to this view, education may be
seen in different perspective: formal,
informal, and non-formal.
– 1. EDUCATION-This is symbolized by a diploma. It is the education system with its
hierarchical structures, chronologically graded learning experience with sequential grades
from primary to university, and requiring certification for the learner to progress from
lower level to high level, and is organized and provided by the formal school system.
– 2. INFORMAL EDUCATTION- This does not offer certification of knowledge and
competencies transmitted and acquired but are only seen in action in the life of
individual.
– 3. NON FORMAL EDUCATION- This is symbolized certificate of attendance, completion, or
participation. Its comprises all those educational activities that are organized outside the
established formal system and can range from an hour or whole-day training to even two
years and may function separately or as an important of a broader activity with
identifiable clientele and educational objectives. 
 GOALS AND FUNCTION OF EDUCATION

Education has intended (manifest or pre-determined) function and unintended (latent) functions.
– 1. SOCIALIZATION- Formal education serves to prepare the newborn and newcomers to take their place in the economy of society and to exercise their responsibility as a
full participant in society.
– 2. CULTURAL TRANSMISSION- Education is responsible for passing on the social and cultural heritage of one generation to the next.
– 3. SELECTION AND ALLOCATION TO ADULT POSITIONS- Education for complex societies provide a system for assigning people to various positions without relying on a
system of the direct inheritance or family background, race, religion, birth order, and sex. Schools provide meritocratic means to individuals in the running of specific life
positions.
– 4. KNOWLEDGE GENERATION- Educational institution are also responsible for knowledge generation, which they disseminate and impact and highly valuable to all
members of society.
– This is done through research especially in institutions of higher learning.
– 5. POLITICAL AND SOCIAL INTEGRATION- Through educations, countries tend to lessen racial and political discrimination. Conflicts are avoided. 
– 6. SELECTING TALENT- During the 20th century, average schooling levels increased dramatically from one generation to the next. However, despite the increasing availability
of schooling to all persons, the privileged classes have maintained their advantage over the poorer classes in completing more years of school.
– 7. TEACHING SKILLS- Various skills and competencies are identified by the formal school system. The needs of individuals and the entire community or society become the
basis of the teaching for formal school.
– 8. INNOVATIONS- Educational institutions do not just transmit society’s knowledge but also innovative and re-invent the same to come up with better quality and
appropriate knowledge and skills demanded by society
MEANING OF EDUCATION IN SOCIETY

– Informal education in any society is carried on through the various social

institutions.
– A social institution may be defined as a standard solution to the problems of
collective life, one of the basic structures for daily living.
– Example: Family, languages, the economy, politics, education, and art
recreation.
– Number of institutions for the performance of one or both of two basic social function:
– 1. To help perpetuate the society’s culture; and
– 2. To facilitate the process of social change
– In fact, social institutions serve one or more of the fur function:
– 1. They maintain existing social structures.
– 2. They integrate diverse social elements.
– 3. They adapt structural elements to change.
– 4. They attain the goals of society.
FORMAL EDUCATION AND TEACHING

– Is perform by the formal school system as shown by the fallowing organizational

structure of school:
– In most simple, organized societies, education may be almost entirely by
informal means. Group ways are learned by imitating the behaviour of adults. In
pre-literate societies, the major opportunity for the younger member of society
to change and given insight into the cultural tradition through relatively formal
means often occur during puberty, mating rites, death rituals, and other
ceremonies.
SOCIALIZATION AND EDUCATIONAL
CAREER

– The socialization of adults into professional roles is a three-stage process.

During the stage people shift their attention from the goals that led them to
choose the profession to the specific goals of learning the profession. The
second stage, they develop the loyalty toward their co-workers in the
profession from whom they seek knowledge ad approval. During the third
stage, they take on the values and behaviours of the profession.
The following is an illustration of the three
stages in the nursing profession;

– 1. STAGE ONE. Learning the profession. The student nurses may say that they taking up
nursing to help suffering people. However, the first semester is a disappointment because it
is spent in the classroom. When at last they do start in the hospital, they want to form close
relationship with the patients. They soon see, however, that they purpose of this part of
their training is to learn certain skills and routines and not to treat patients.
– 2.STAGE TWO. Identifying with professional co-workers. At the start of the training, student
nurses identified closely with their patients. As their interest shifted learning the proper
skills, however, they began to think like the other people in the hospital.
– 3. STAGE THREE. Taking to the values of profession. This stage occurred when the nurses
were actually on the job after their training had been completed. Personal characteristic
and values of little concern.
EDUCATION IN THE PHILIPPINES

In any county, the educational system reflect the economic, political, social and religious values of the society. Philippine
education has been influenced greatly by the Spanish and American system. However, early historians and anthropologists
maintain that even before the coming of the Spaniards, Filipinos already knew how to read and write, though scholars do not
agree on the characteristics of the syllabic writing.
The Spanish conquistadores brought educational practices that reflected the ideologies of these colonizer and the ideals
inculcated represented their cultures.
Under Spain, the objective of education was to teach moral and religious subjects using Spanish as the medium of instruction.
School were put up to spread Christianity.
The early school included;
– The Royal College of San Jose (1905)
– University of Santo Tomas (1605-1610), which converted into university in 1945.
With the coming of the Americans in 1898, the emphasis on the spread of Christianity and the transmission of the Spanish
culture were replaced by the development of new patterns that would prepare the nation to be a self-governing democratic
country.