Sociology Optional Paper-I Section B by Smriti Rao

Model Answer

Question #1. In the contemporary time period, social institutions such as family and marriage are more susceptible to cultural change than structural continuity. Critically analyse.

Answer: Family and marriage are closely interrelated key structures of the society. Marriage can be understood as a legally recognised social contract legitimising sexual relationship between consenting adults. Family refers to the smallest unit in kinship studies which is characterised by common residence, economic cooperation, and reproduction and it is also universally found, according to G.P. Murdoch. 

As the society evolved from traditional to modern societies, a change occurred in the nature of relationships such as polygamous to monogamous marriages, widow remarriages, discontinuation of child marriages, and neolocality. Contemporary trends in the key institution of marriage further indicate change in the cultural interaction, in the following manner: 

• Acceptance of LGBTQ partners, leading to same-sex households, lavender marriages.
• Remarriage, transcending divorce stigma.
• Serial Monogamy which refers to the phenomena where individuals enter into monogamous marriage, however, they may engage in a series of marriages.
• Empty shell marriages.
• Late marriages as more individuals give primacy to education and career building. 

According to the sociologist Goran Therborn, the institution of family is structured by three elements, namely, patriarchy, marriage- non marriage in the regulation of sexual behaviour, and birth control measures for production of demographic trends. In terms of contemporary trends, changes in family as an institution can be seen through emerging arrangements which are cultural in nature :

• Single head households.
• Beanpole families- rise in 4 generation families.
• Reconstituted families – Where 2 families come together after having divorced their previous partners. 
• DINK – Double Income No Kids. 
• Live In relationships.
• Joint to Nuclear families.

To summarise the contemporary trends, Diana Gittins refers to the term ‘families’ to indicate the plurality in the diverse forms of family which can be seen across different cultures.

The changing nature of families is linked to change in the traditional functional roles.  Technological assistance aids the process of surrogacy and artificial reproduction technologies such as IVF which have further changed the nature of reproduction. In the same vein, institutionalisation of child care through crèche facilities, day care services, and even grandparents’ role in informal childcare. 

Factors that lead to changes :
-Social processes such as industrialisation, urbanisation, globalisation, and modernisation have also brought a change in the cultural practices of family and marriages as social institutions. 
-Rise in legal marriageable age to 21 years
-Individualism leading to assortative mating which refers to individual choices and autonomy in mate selection.
-Modernity leads to exposure of different cultural values, often resulting in democratic decision making and gender neutrality in families.
-Industrialisation and urbanisation have changed the traditional dichotomy of gender based roles such as men being the breadwinners and women being the home makers.

However, despite cultural changes, the institution of marriage and family is still widely prevalent and contributes to structural stability of the society through performative functions such as primary socialisation, and personality stabilisation as suggested by Parsons. Sociologists define family as the basic functioning unit of society; therefore, changes in the structure and institution of family have a wider implication on the society, which renders it a character of utmost importance in contemporary study. 

Question #2. The Covid 19 pandemic not only affected education systems but also exposed inequalities. Critically evaluate and provide solutions for the same.   

Answer: The covid 19 pandemic has had a disastrous impact on human lives and livelihoods. Beyond demographic implications, Covid 19 further debilitated learning outcomes through formal education. Education is not only a process of attaining knowledge and skills, according to functionalists, it is also an agent of social change and social stability as it helps in cultural transmission, social integration, and personal development. 

The contagious nature of the disease impacted formal educational institutions in the following manner: 

• Paucity in classroom teaching- which has impacted learning outcomes adversely. 
• Limited scope of engagement as teacher student interaction gets virtual.
• Social distancing and social isolation has an alarming impact on social behaviour and psychological needs of children. According to Emile Durkheim, education plays an important role in the socialisation of children.
• Limitations of remote learning have revealed dwindling scores in basic numeracy and comprehension. According to UNICEF, a brief overview reveals that over 1 billion children are at a risk of falling behind. 
• Teachers have faced issues in adapting to the changing interface in teaching. 
• Unmet nutritional requirement. Students enrolled in public educational institutions across the world, often rely on subsidised or free meals. The mid-day meal scheme in India is an example of the same. As schools remain shut following the lockdown period, may children from rural tribal areas, underprivileged sections face hunger and nutrition deficiencies.

Furthermore, the challenges caused by pandemic reveal inequalities in the process of education: 

• Disproportionate impact on impoverished sections of the society. Those with fewer financial resources have channelled their resources to livelihood and sustenance, due to which education takes a backseat. 
• Virtual academic sessions have exposed an entrenched digital divide in the society. Lack of resources point out to unavailability of technological gadgets and internet as a basic requirement for online learning.
• Widened gender gap. As many girls are subjected to gender based division of labour, following lockdown restrictions. Furthermore, many have discontinued schooling leading to higher drop-out rates. Rising incidents of domestic violence, child abuse, child labour, not only have disastrous implications on the wellbeing of children but also lead to impaired learning and inaccessibility to avenues of social mobility. 
• Marginalised communities and vulnerable sections of the society have had to face the brunt of growing inequalities. The government of India has recognised the occurrence of ‘Covid orphans’ those children who have lost one or both of their parents and are left to fend for themselves.   

The Covid 19 pandemic has amplified the effects of existing inequalities. In order to tackle these challenges, some measures are pertinent and need to be effectively applied : 

• Learning recovery programmes. Collaboration with ed-tech companies and e-universities to democratise education.
• Schools are adopting a hybrid model in Delhi where the students have an option to attend the classes from school or home. 
• The Government of India has announce free and subsidised education for covid orphans
• Integrated social and emotional learning, as exemplified by the Happiness curriculum in Delhi schools, needs to be restructured to meet the demands of the Covid induced challenges. 
• Infrastructural developments to aid learning in rural areas, underprivileged sections of the society. 

The process of providing a level playing platform in knowledge acquisition is a multi-stakeholder responsibility. Various social groups such as educational institutional, governments, families, CSR activities within companies need to engage in the dialogue on social transformation through education.