SOC 112 Final 1

Question 1

What is the idealized nuclear family?

Answer 1

Married heterosexual couple with children, usually two children- a boy and girl, lives in suburbs or rural setting, middle class, white, christian, father working, mother stays at home.

Question 2

What are common characteristics of a single parent family?

Answer 2

1. Usually a female parent
2. Parent is usually working in the paid labour force and also does domestic chores
3. Many single parent families live at or below the poverty line
4. Single parent families tend to be members of visible minorities

Question 3

What are common characteristics of common law couples?

Answer 3

1. Typically heterosexual who don’t like the legally binding status of marriage
2. May or may not have children
3. Children may be from an existing relationship or previous

Question 4

What are two family problems?

Answer 4

1. Sandwich generation
2. Boomerang children
3. Parents who rely on daycare when they work

Question 5

What is a sandwich generation?

Answer 5

Parents who are looking after their aging parents and children at the same time

Question 6

What are boomerang children?

Answer 6

Children who return home after economic hardship (losing a job, retraining when skills are obsolete)

Question 7

What is absolute poverty?

Answer 7

When the household income does not cover all the basic necessities, such as food, shelter, and clothing.

Question 8

What is relative poverty?

Answer 8

When a family does not have all the things that middle class families typically enjoy, including a car, tv, microwave, dishwasher or stereo, washer/dryer, new toys, musical instruments, etc.

Question 9

What is cultural capital? (pierre bourdieu)

Answer 9

Children’s social assets gained from their parents which will help them to succeed in school. These assets include values, beliefs, attitudes, and competencies in language and culture.

Question 10

What are four points in that functionalists (functional theory) point out in regards to education?

Answer 10

1. Allocation
2. Socialization
3. Hidden curriculum
4. Meritocracy

Question 11

What is allocation? (functional theory)

Answer 11

By assigning grades and handing out certificates, diplomas, and degrees, schools act as a sorting mechanism for future roles in society. Educational credentials matter as an indicator of what positions people might find themselves in the social division of labour.

Question 12

What is socialization? (functional theory)

Answer 12

Schools teach students how to function in the public sphere of social life as children learn to respond to authority and develop habits of punctuality

Question 13

What is the hidden curriculum? (functional theory)

Answer 13

Obedience of classroom routines, following rules, learning to be competitive, respecting authority, and internalizing the values of the dominant culture.

Question 14

What is meritocracy? (functional theory)

Answer 14

Resources are to be distributed fairly on the basis of individual achievement, although this concept fails to recognize the circumstances that students are born in to.