FIRST GROUP TOPIC

SCOPES OF LEARNING SOCIAL STUDIES

WHAT ARE THE SCOPES OF LEARNING SOCIAL STUDIES? The scope of social studies includes the
content, subject matter or the experience that are to be provided to the learner through the teaching of this subject.
The scope of social studies is vast as it includes a variety of man’s needs and problems. It has a very wide scope.

The National Council for Social Science (NCSS) 1994 include the following in the scope of Social Studies:

CULTURE: Characteristics of the cultures found in the world are studied and children are taught the similarities of the
cultures and appreciation of those different cultures are done in this course.

TIME, CONTINUETY AND CHANGE: Change is an important factor in social studies when and how are the three
questions answered by social science. What was man in the past, how he has learnt different things, what are his
achievements and how he has reached at this stage? All these questions are answered through this subject.
PEOPLE, PLACES AND ENVIRONMENT: People living in different parts of the world face different
environmental and geographical problems relating to their physical and geographical conditions. Environment
has an effect on people and places. What are those influences? How do people get affected? What are their life
styles?
DEVELOPING RESPONSIBLE CITIZENS: Developing them as responsible and accountable citizens, who will
be informed and educated citizen of the country, who will be aware about their rights and duties.
INDIVIDUAL GROUP AND ORGANIZATION: Individual is definitely influenced by the various groups and
organizations which are present in the society. So, it includes study of all the institutions and organizations of the society.
POWER, AUTHORITY AND GOVERNMENT: It includes the types of government the rights and duties of
citizens. It also includes the study of state’s powers and authorities as well as how the states protect their citizens.
PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION AND CONSUMPTION: Here social studies take assistance of economics in
studying the production, distribution and consumption of resources and their influence on human behavior and national
growth.
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY: Society is definitely influence by the development of science
and technology and it contributes to the economy of the nation.
GLOBAL INTERDEPENDENT: People are dependent on other countries for their daily needs. Countries have
interdependence in the fields of trade, commerce, transportation, communication and research.
DEMOCRATIC IDEALS AND PRACTICES: Social Studies aim at producing responsible productive citizens of
the world by stressing on universal and global citizenship concept.
CURRENT TRANDS AND CURRENT ISSUES IN THE WORLD: Social Studies include the study of current
events in the community, states and countries as well as the world so the citizen can become aware about world affairs and
development, which can help them to become aware citizens who can participate in the societal enlistment.
PHILOSOPHICAL BACKGROUND
The year 1783 marked the end of the American Revolution and set this country on a path as the
"United" States of America. The majority of Americans at this time were uneducated. The home, job,
and church all played a greater role in education than did the schools (Barr, Barth, and Shermis, 1977).
The citizens of the United States would need, however, to be educated in the values and
responsibilities necessary for national cohesion and survival. According to Cremin (1980),
The goal was nothing less than a new republican individual, of virtuous character, abiding
patriotism, and prudent wisdom, fashioned by education into an independent yet loyal citizen. ... Only
as Americans could awaken and nurture a corresponding independence of manners and opinion
would the Revolution be completed and a proper foundation for the Republic established. The task of
erecting and maintaining that foundation became the task of American education.
As this country began its experiment with self-government, the seeds for what we call "social
studies" were planted to ensure the survival of the nation. Benjamin Franklin and other influential
citizens saw the need for an educational system that would develop in students a sense of patriotism
and nationalistic values. They encouraged instruction that would promote "moral training, training for
citizenship, the judgment, and the imagination" (Hooper and Smith, 1993, 14).
Some of the great minds of the early nineteenth century viewed the subjects that would become
part of the "social studies" as a critical part of education. Thomas Jefferson's thinking influenced
educational thought for years. As Chairman of the Commissioners for the University of Virginia,
Jefferson reported in 1818 that history and geography were important subjects for a primary education
(Cremin, 1980, 110). He also believed that these subjects, with political economy and the law of nature

FSSE 101: Foundation of Social Studies

SOUTH EAST ASIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Page - 1 - of 17
and nations, were essential to achieve the goal of a higher education. Benjamin Rush, another
signatory of the Declaration of Independence, saw the need for education to develop good citizens. He
thought young men and women should study history, geography, and political economy. And John
Adams, when asked by Jefferson about subjects of practical value, included geography, history, and
chronology as courses of "real value in human affairs" (Cremin, 1980, 249).

The Emergence of Social Education

Saxe (1991) contends that the social studies "had its own set of unique beginnings" and did not
originate, as many writers argue, "with the examination of the development of history as a field of study
in the nineteenth century and its extension into the twentieth century" (1). He asserts that the
"foundations" of social studies originated in Great Britain during the 1820s and quickly moved to the
United States (3). Social studies emerged as an attempt to use education as a vehicle to promote
social welfare, and its subsequent development was influenced both by Americans and others.
When examining the inception of social education in this country, the textbooks of the time are one of
the best resources (Hooper and Smith 1993; Smith and Vining, 1990). According to Jarolimek (1981),
history, geography, and civics were the dominant social science courses found in the early American
elementary and secondary curricula. It seems appropriate to examine these types of texts for clues
about the content of the early social sciences, the precursor of social studies.

History and the Social Science

Social education at the turn of the century was dominated by historians. The emerging social sciences
of sociology, political science, and economics were still establishing themselves in colleges and
universities, and were not able to obtain a secure place in high school classrooms. The founding of the
American Historical Association (AHA) in 1884 by university-trained historians marked the
establishment of a professional organization that would allow historians to exert influence over the
school curriculum (Hertzberg, 1989; Barr, Barth, and Shermis, 1977). As noted by Keels (1980), "In the
years between 1890 and 1911, it was a given that the historians [through the American Historical
Association] were the appropriate authority for making recommendations concerning the social
studies..." (106).History encouraged the initial social studies curriculum reform effort in 1892 at the
Madison Conference in the subcommittee on "History, Civil Government and Political Economy."
Historians also formed the AHA Committees of Seven (1899), Five (1905), and Eight (1907) to endorse
a history-dominated curriculum. Of these committees, NEA's Committee on History, Civil Government
and Political Economy and AHA's Committee of Seven were the more influential for the early social
studies curriculum (Cruikshank, 1957; Hertzberg, 1989; Jenness, 1990; Nelson, 1992; Saxe, 1991;
Tryon, 1935; Wesley, 1950; Whelan, 1991).

Despite the domination of history during the early years of the twentieth century, social scientists
wanting to further the interests of their respective disciplines began to form new professional
organizations. The founding of the American Political Science Association (APSA) occurred in 1903.
The American Sociology Association was created in 1905 (Barr, Barth, and Shermis, 1977). Free from
control of the historians, these social scientists viewed the school curriculum as fertile ground for their
respective disciplines.

Social scientists found history unable to provide the answers to the complex and difficult problems
facing twentieth-century America. The social sciences were increasingly viewed as a vehicle for
studying and proposing solutions to the problems resulting from a dynamic and evolving American
landscape. With increasing immigration, and the growth of industrialization and urbanization, American
society was understood to be experiencing rapid and unprecedented change (Hofstadter, 1955; Ross,
1991). Through the social sciences, students of social studies would focus on first understanding, and
then improving a rapidly changing, contemporary American society. It was social studies, its advocates
argued, that would properly educate democratic citizens to live in their present world.

Cruikshank (1957) summarized the social studies curriculum of 1893 to 1915 as one where the
subject matter in secondary social studies became stabilized, with the content being determined mostly
by historians. "Government" became "Civics," a more practical course. Geography was taught either as
part of history or mostly as physical geography. Economics appeared to be well established in the
curriculum. Sociology had been introduced by 1911, but was rarely found in schools.

FSSE 101: Foundation of Social Studies

SOUTH EAST ASIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Page - 2 - of 17
SECOND GROUP TOPIC
HUMAN AS SOCIAL BEINGS

Human being is a social animal and cannot stay as an independent being, thus proving the fact that
living in a society is the basic need of a human being. From the beginning of the world, we human
beings have learnt to live in the world as a society and not as a separate being, away from everyone
else.

Lot of philosophers had given definitions and explanations as to human as social beings but I would
like to give emphasis on the explanation of General Secretary Kim Jong II, a former leader of North
Korea. Jong said that “Humans are social being. This implies that he is a being who lives in a social
relationship. This term is used to distinguish man from natural being.” When man is referred to social
being who lives and conducts activity in social relationship differently from natural being. Man lives in
the society unlike the other living matters. Man’s life and activity are possible only in the social collective
that is organically linked on the basis of certain social relation. There can’t be a man who lives outside of
social relation. It is therefore a peculiar mode of existence for a man to live and conduct activity forming
the social collective in social relation.

The key to the mysteries of human nature is to be found in society. Society is the human being in
his social relations, and every human being is an individual embodiment of social relations, a product
not only of the existing social system but of all world history. He absorbs what has been accumulated
by the centuries and passed on through traditions. Modern man carries within himself all the ages of
history and all his own individual ages as well. His personality is a concentration of various strata of
culture. He is influenced not only by modern mass media, but also by the writings of all times and
every nation. He is the living memory of history, the focus of all the wealth of knowledge, abilities, skills,
and wisdom that have been amassed through the ages.

SOCIALIZATION
Socialization is the lifelong process through which people learn the values and norms of a given
society. Socialization is not the same as socializing. Socializing is to mix socially with others (i.e.,
family, friends, neighbours, co-workers), whereas socialization is a process that may
include socializing as one element, but is a more complex, multi-faceted and formative set of
interactive experiences. It is also an adaptive lifelong learning experience, because society is
constantly changing, and because we may find ourselves in new situations—such as a new job with
different norms and values, or in a different familial role—such as that of parent or caregiver to an
older relative.

Early birthday parties can socialize children to understand the

significance of birthdays and teach them to associate sweets and gifts
with birthdays. (Photo courtesy of Jorge Ibanez/unsplash)

Socialization is critical both to individuals and to the societies in

which they live. As individuals, social interaction provides us the means by which we gradually become
able to see ourselves through the eyes of others, and how we learn who we are and how we fit into the
larger world. In addition, to function successfully in society, we have to learn the basics of both material
and nonmaterial culture, everything from how to dress ourselves to what’s suitable attire for a specific
occasion; from when we sleep to what we sleep on; and from what’s considered appropriate to eat for
dinner and even how to use the stove to prepare it. Most importantly, we have to learn
language—whether it’s the dominant language or one common in a subculture, whether it’s verbal or
through signs—in order to communicate and to think.

FSSE 101: Foundation of Social Studies

SOUTH EAST ASIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Page - 3 - of 17
 Socialization teaches us our society’s expectations for dining out. The
manners and customs of different cultures (When can you use your hands to
eat? How should you compliment the cook? Who is the “head” of the table?)
are learned through socialization. (Photo courtesy of Niyam Bhushan/flickr)

AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION

Socialization helps people learn to function successfully in their social worlds. How does the
process of socialization occur? How do we learn to use the objects of our society’s material culture?
How do we come to adopt the beliefs, values, and norms that represent its nonmaterial culture? This
learning takes place through interaction with various agents of socialization, like peer groups and
families, plus both formal and informal social institutions.

Social Group Agents

Social groups often provide the first experiences of socialization. Families, and later peer groups,
communicate expectations and reinforce norms. People first learn to use the tangible objects of
material culture in these settings, as well as being introduced to the beliefs and values of society.

Family
Family is the first agent of socialization. Mothers and fathers, siblings and grandparents, plus
members of an extended family, all teach a child what he or she needs to know. For example, they
show the child how to use objects (such as clothes, computers, eating utensils, books, bikes); how to
relate to others (some as “family,” others as “friends,” still others as “strangers” or “teachers” or
“neighbors”); and how the world works (what is “real” and what is “imagined”). As you are aware, either
from your own experience as a child or from your role in helping to raise one, socialization includes
teaching and learning about an unending array of objects and ideas.
Keep in mind, however, that families do not socialize children in a vacuum. Many social factors
affect the way a family raises its children. For example, we can use sociological imagination to
recognize that individual behaviors are affected by the historical period in which they take place. Sixty
years ago, it would not have been considered especially strict for a father to hit his son with a wooden
spoon or a belt if he misbehaved, but today that same action might be considered child abuse.
Sociologists recognize that race, social class, religion, and other societal factors play an important
role in socialization. For example, poor families usually emphasize obedience and conformity when
raising their children, while wealthy families emphasize judgment and creativity (National Opinion
Research Center, 2008). This may occur because working-class parents have less education and
more repetitive-task jobs for which it is helpful to be able to follow rules and conform. Wealthy parents
tend to have better educations and often work in managerial positions or careers that require creative
problem solving, so they teach their children behaviors that are beneficial in these positions. This
means children are effectively socialized and raised to take the types of jobs their parents already
have, thus reproducing the class system (Kohn, 1977). Likewise, children are socialized to abide by
gender norms, perceptions of race, and class-related behaviors.

FSSE 101: Foundation of Social Studies

SOUTH EAST ASIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Page - 4 - of 17
Peer Groups
A peer group is made up of people who are similar in age and social status and who share
interests. Peer group socialization begins in the earliest years, such as when kids on a playground
teach younger children the norms about taking turns, the rules of a game, or how to shoot a basket. As
children grow into teenagers, this process continues. Peer groups are important to adolescents in a
new way, as they begin to develop an identity separate from their parents and exert independence.
Additionally, peer groups provide their own opportunities for socialization since kids usually engage in
different types of activities with their peers than they do with their families. Peer groups provide
adolescents’ first major socialization experience outside the realm of their families. Interestingly,
studies have shown that although friendships rank high in adolescents’ priorities, this is balanced by
parental influence.

Institutional Agents
The social institutions of our culture also inform our socialization. Formal institutions—like schools,
workplaces, and the government—teach people how to behave in and navigate these systems. Other
institutions, like the media, contribute to socialization by inundating us with messages about norms
and expectations.

School
Most U.S. children spend about seven hours a day, 180 days a year, in school, which makes it
hard to deny the importance school has on their socialization (U.S. Department of Education 2004).
Students are not in school only to study math, reading, science, and other subjects—the manifest
function of this system. Schools also serve a latent function in society by socializing children into
behaviors like practicing teamwork, following a schedule, and using
textbooks.

These kindergarteners aren’t just learning to read and write; they are
being socialized to norms like keeping their hands to themselves,
standing in line, and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. (Photo courtesy
of Bonner Springs Library/flickr)

School and classroom rituals, led by teachers serving as role models and leaders, regularly
reinforce what society expects from children. Sociologists describe this aspect of schools as
the hidden curriculum, the informal teaching done by schools.
For example, in the United States, schools have built a sense of competition into the way grades
are awarded and the way teachers evaluate students (Bowles and Gintis 1976). When children
participate in a relay race or a math contest, they learn there are winners and losers in society. When
children are required to work together on a project, they practice teamwork with other people in
cooperative situations. The hidden curriculum prepares children for the adult world. Children learn how
to deal with bureaucracy, rules, expectations, waiting their turn, and sitting still for hours during the day.
Schools in different cultures socialize children differently in order to prepare them to function well in
those cultures. The latent functions of teamwork and dealing with bureaucracy are features of U.S.
culture.
Schools also socialize children by teaching them about citizenship and national pride. In the United
States, children are taught to say the Pledge of Allegiance. Most districts require classes about U.S.
history and geography. As academic understanding of history evolves, textbooks in the United States
have been scrutinized and revised to update attitudes toward other cultures as well as perspectives on
historical events; thus, children are socialized to a different national or world history than earlier
textbooks may have done. For example, information about the mistreatment of African Americans and
Native American Indians more accurately reflects those events than in textbooks of the past.

FSSE 101: Foundation of Social Studies

SOUTH EAST ASIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Page - 5 - of 17
The Workplace
Just as children spend much of their day at school, many U.S. adults at some point invest a
significant amount of time at a place of employment. Although socialized into their culture since birth,
workers require new socialization into a workplace, in terms of both material culture (such as how to
operate the copy machine) and nonmaterial culture (such as whether it’s okay to speak directly to the
boss or how to share the refrigerator).
Different jobs require different types of socialization. In the past, many people worked a single job until
retirement. Today, the trend is to switch jobs at least once a decade. Between the ages of eighteen
and forty-six, the average baby boomer of the younger set held 11.3 different jobs (U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics, 2014). This means that people must become socialized to, and socialized by, a
variety of work environments.

Religion

While some religions are informal institutions, here we focus on practices followed by formal
institutions. Religion is an important avenue of socialization for many people. The United States is full
of synagogues, temples, churches, mosques, and similar religious communities where people gather
to worship and learn. Like other institutions, these places teach participants how to interact with the
religion’s material culture (like a mezuzah, a prayer rug, or a communion wafer). For some people,
important ceremonies related to family structure—like marriage and birth—are connected to religious
celebrations. Many religious institutions also uphold gender norms and contribute to their enforcement
through socialization. From ceremonial rites of passage that reinforce the family unit to power
dynamics that reinforce gender roles, organized religion fosters a shared set of socialized values that
are passed on through society.

Government

Although we do not think about it, many of the rites of passage people go through today are based
on age norms established by the government. To be defined as an “adult” usually means being
eighteen years old, the age at which a person becomes legally responsible for him- or herself. And
sixty-five years old is the start of “old age” since most people become eligible for senior benefits at that
point.
Each time we embark on one of these new categories—senior, adult, taxpayer—we must be
socialized into our new role. Seniors must learn the ropes of Medicare, Social Security benefits, and
senior shopping discounts. When U.S. males turn eighteen, they must register with the Selective
Service System within thirty days to be entered into a database for possible military service. These
government dictates mark the points at which we require socialization into a new category.

Mass Media
Mass media distribute impersonal information to a wide audience, via television, newspapers,
radio, and the Internet. With the average person spending over four hours a day in front of the
television (and children averaging even more screen time), media greatly influences social norms
(Roberts, Foehr, and Rideout 2005). People learn about objects of material culture (like new
technology and transportation options), as well as nonmaterial culture—what is true (beliefs), what is
important (values), and what is expected (norms).
Our direct interactions with social groups, like families and peers, teach us how others expect us to
behave. Likewise, a society’s formal and informal institutions socialize its population. Schools,
workplaces, and the media communicate and reinforce cultural norms and values.

FSSE 101: Foundation of Social Studies

SOUTH EAST ASIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Page - 6 - of 17
3RD GROUP TOPIC
GROUPS IN THE SOCIETY
Man is a social being. He is born into group, grows up in a group, socializes with a group, learns
many things in a group, and he will die in a group. For the last time, his own group will follow him to pay
their last homage to him.

This illustrates the sociability and gregariousness of man. As the song goes, “No man is an island;
no ma stands alone; each man is my brother; each man is my friend.” The desire to be with others
gives rise to the belief that sociability is part of the human condition.

THE CONCEPT OF GROUP

The following are some of the most common concepts about the human group:

1. A group is composed of two or more persons interacting with each other, guided by a set of
norms. Sociologists point out that social interaction or interpersonal behavior of group members
are the most important criteria in the concept of group.
The members of group exist through their consistent, coordinated action directed toward the
achievement of some common objectives, the achievement of which will bring gratification to
the participating members.

2. A group is specified number of individuals where each recognized members as distinct from
non-members; each has a sense of what others do and think as well as what the purpose of the
association or grouping is.
The word group is often used to refer to two or more people coming together. However, a social
group consists of two or more people who interact recurrently in a patterned way and who
recognize that they constitute a distinct social unit.

For a social group to exists, the individuals must interact with other individuals and with one
another according to established patterns in terms of the statuses and roles they recognize. The
members develop expectations of proper behavior from people occupying different positions in the
social group. The people have a sense of identity and realize they are different from others who are
not members. Social groups have a set of values and norms that may or may not be similar to those of
the larger society.

3. Three meanings are always implied by the term group.

a. Social Category. Some people use it to refer to a set of individuals with some similar
characteristics, such as age or occupation.
b. Individuals sometimes speak of a group as any number of individuals who meet occasionally
or regularly and have a sense of who is present or absent, such as in organizational
meetings. These meaning stresses two conditions of group life: (1) common presence, and
(2) a minimum awareness of other.
c. Still others use group to mean a “specific number of individuals,” where each recognizes
members from non-members; each has a sense of what others do and think as well as what
the purpose of the association is. This meaning emphasizes three elements: (1) common
association, (2) awareness of others, and (3) socially shared goals. This third meaning is the
essence of social group.

Common Basis for Groups

FSSE 101: Foundation of Social Studies

SOUTH EAST ASIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Page - 7 - of 17
 One of the most widely used systems of group classification, and perhaps the simplest to grasp for
an introductory understanding, is that of the four common bases for group association. These four
bases upon which all people associate in group life according to Joseph Fichter are:

1. Common ancestry is traditionally the strongest tie that binds human beings in their social
relations, although its importance has been greatly lessened in the modern complex, and
large-scale societies. The groups based upon common ancestry are sometimes called “blood”
groups, those in which members are related by birth, marriage, or adoption. Both the immediate
conjugal family, consisting of parents and children, and the consanguine family, including
cousins, aunts, uncles, and others are of this type. Extended families are also included.
2. Territorial proximity is a good basis for a group’s classification. People comprising a group
must be limited to a physical territory. The sociological neighborhood, not merely an aggregate,
and the true community are examples of territorial groups. These groups are identified with the
name of the place where they are.
3. The classification of groups based on bodily characteristics of members is widely used in
modern societies, and the listing of groups under this heading would be interminable. In
primitive societies, the similarity of biological characteristics is closely allied to the fact’s
common ancestry, as well as common territory. In the complex, modern societies, common
racial features are still a basis of imposed social groupings. For example, this grouping applies
to athletic groups who may be similar in terms of bodily traits.
4. The sharing of common interest is the basis for a great variety of modern social groupings. In
fact, the “interest group” is sociologically more significant than the other groups. The
proliferation of scientific, business, and professional associations is merely one indication of the
tremendous number and variety of this kind of group.

Basic Classification of Social Groups

Groups may be classified into different categories depending on the purpose of classification:

Primary Group. Defined by Charles H. Cooley as a group that is characterized by “intimate

face-to-face relationships and close associations, and cooperation.
Primary groups are groups in which relationships are spontaneous, personal and intimate. They
involve interaction among members who have an emotional investment in one another and in situation,
who know one another intimately, and interact as total individuals rather than through specialized
roles.
Cooley identified three basic primary groups: the family, the children’s play groups, and
neighborhood or community groups
Primary groups serve to bind individuals together with a sense of community, particularly in an
ethnic neighborhood where one’s choice of those with whom one interacts is by propinquity.
Meanwhile in primary groups to which individuals elect to belong because of a particular ideology, the
group may form basis for political activity either to defend or oppose the status quo. Where primary
groups channel goals and their activities to serve the ends of the community, institutions, or state, they
act as an integrative force; where they act as barriers, they facilitate conflict rather than consensus.

Secondary Group. This are groups in which relationship are impersonal and widely separate. They
are characterized by much less intimacy among the members. They usually have specific goals and
formally organized and impersonal.
Second groups tend to be larger than primary groups and their members do not necessarily
interact with all other members. In fact, many members do not know one another at all; to the extent
that they do, rarely do they know more about one another than about their respective social identities.
Members’ feeling about, and behavior toward, one another are patterned mostly by their statuses and
roles rather than by personality characteristics.

Fichter and associates give the following comparative relationships in these two types of groups:

FSSE 101: Foundation of Social Studies

SOUTH EAST ASIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Page - 8 - of 17
PRIMARY GROUP SECONDARY GROUP
1. PHYSICAL CONDITIONS
* Small number * big number
* Long duration * short duration
2. SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS
*Intrinsic valuation * extrinsic valuation
of the relation of the relation
*Inclusive knowledge of * specialized and limited
other person knowledge of another person
*Feeling of freedom and *feeling of external
spontaneity constraints
*Operation of informal controls *operation of formal controls
3. SAMPLE RELATIONSHIPS
*Friend-friend *clerk-customer
*Husband-wife *announcer-listener
*Parent-child *performer-spectator
*Teacher-pupil *officer-subordinate
4. SAMPLE GROUPS
* Play group *nation
*family *church hierarchy
*Village or neighborhood *professional association
*Work-team *corporation

In-groups and out-groups. Some groups go a long way toward distinguishing themselves and other
groups. This distinction may be based on unique racial, ethnic, religious, or social class characteristics
or on special interests, residential location, or unique common experiences.

In-group according to William Graham Sumner, the members of this groups use as a point of
reference. Their definition of who they are is closely related and associated with the in-group. There is
a “we” feeling generated among the members of the group, who are immediately aware of those who
do not belong-the “they” group.

On the other hand, those who do not belong to the in-group are part of the out-group, which exists
in the perceptions of the in-group members and takes on social reality as a result of behavior by
in-group members who use the out-group as a negative point of reference. As an in-group member,
one rejects out-group people or at least do not think of them as having a standing equal to that of his
in-group members.

Informal and formal groups. This classification is based on the form of organization of the group. An
Informal group arises spontaneously out of the interactions of two or more persons. These are
unplanned, have no explicit rules for members and recruitment, and do not have specific objectives to
be attained. They possess the characteristics of primary group, and the members are bound by
emotions and sentiments, rather than by formal ties. The members exchange confidence and trust,
share a feeling of intimacy, and acquire a sense of belonging. Social ties develop around individuals,
not necessarily round positions.

On the other hand, formal groups are groups where the purpose and objectives are explicitly
labelled. Roles and statuses of individuals in the group are specifically defined. Norms of behavior are
formalized in the form of policies and regulations. These groups have named and are often governed
by constitutions and by-laws.

It is possible that within the formal structure, informal groups may exist and operate. These small
informal groups

Gemeinschaft and gesselschaft. These concept of group or community were espoused by

Ferdinand Toennis. He looked at the pattern of social ties and organizations in order to typify a society
as either gemeinschaft of gesselschaft. In a gemeinschaft type of society, relationships are close,
durable, and highly valued by the members. The important unit of society is the family, with kinship
networks serving as the basis of social organization. Social control is maintained by customs and

FSSE 101: Foundation of Social Studies

SOUTH EAST ASIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Page - 9 - of 17
tradition. Individuals are agents of conformity. Such a set of social ties is usually typical of a
pre-industrial or communal society in which there is little or no division of labor and only minimal
specialization of roles.

In a gemeinschaft society, the members live together and develop common experiences, interests,
memories, and histories. There is a very strong tendency of identification with the community. There is
a high degree of conformity with the customs, folkways, , and values of the community. The unity is
based on similarity of objectives, traits, and experiences- the type of social unity called “mechanical
solidarity” by Durkheim.

On the other hand, gesselschaft society, social relationships to tend to be impersonal and
segmented. Social networks other than the family tend to be pivotal points around which individuals
organize the major part of their daily lives. Social ties become associational, springing from an
elaborate division of labor. The work environment is governed by contract and highly specialized roles.
The locus of social control is law with appeal to formal agents of enforcement. Such a mix of social
networks and organizations is typically found in societies undergoing urbanization and
industrialization.

Richmond added another type of society that arises as a result of a recent technological innovation
in electronics and jet and rocket propulsion that are rapidly changing the modes of transportation,
production, and communication of the world. To describe the major pattern of social networks and
organization in a post-industrial society, Richmond coined the German term verbindungsnetzchaft,
which he translates as “social and communication networks”. If gemeinschaft is typical of pre-industrial
societies and gesselschaft of industrial societies, then, verbindungsnetzchafr are characteristics of
post-industrial societies.

According to Richmond, “in this type of society, interaction takes place through social networks
and communication channels that are not necessarily limited to primary and secondary groups in
terms of relations.” The electronic church, for example, that televises religious services into one’s
home, removes the individual from the primary and secondary group interaction that he or she would
participate in at a conventional church service. These social and communication networks are
maintained not only by television but by other means of rapid communication such as telephone and
telex, and even the fax machines, aided by jet-propelled aircraft and space satellites. In the words of
Richmond:
“Such interactions are not dependent upon face-to-face contact in a territorial community, nor do
they necessarily involve participation in formal organizations. This does not mean that they compete
effectively with them for the individual’s attention and involvement.”

Linkages in Group

Sociologists and anthropologists have also become interested on how people’s social ties with one
another shape their thoughts and actions. J.L. Moreno earlier in this century was curious about why
some adolescent females ran away from homes for girls while others did not. He found out that those
girls who took flight were all socially linked to one another.

Diagramming Social Relationships. Moreno contended that “social scientist could not only study
the mix of feelings that persons have about one another in any social relationship.” This approach is
called sociometry. The forces of interpersonal attraction and repulsion, feelings of disliking and liking,
of wanting to be with someone, and repulsion, could be represented graphically. A graph in which
these social choices or ties are diagrammed is called a sociogram. This process leads one to come up
with the “stars” (frequently selected), and the isolates (least chosen), and those who are linked with
one another.

Sociometry helps us understand how people interrelate in social relationships in which everyone
knows everybody else. School teachers when arranging seating plans often use this tactic to identify
friendships and thereby try to break unwanted conversations.

FSSE 101: Foundation of Social Studies

SOUTH EAST ASIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Page - 10 - of 17
 Social Networks. A number of sociologist and anthropologists are engaged in the study of social
networks. A person’s social networks consist of all those people whom he/she is directly and indirectly
linked. To learn about your social networks theoretically, a researcher would need to ask who your
friends are and then ask your own friends who their friends are. If a close-knit group of people know
few people outside their group, their social networks could be very similar, whereas people involved in
several groups might have very dissimilar social networks. In any case, all the people in a person’s
social network in our society are not typically acquainted with one another, whereas in less complex
societies, members of a person’s social network may be more intertwined.

What are the importance of one’s knowing social networks?

1. It helps people who are interested in the adoption of innovations or the transmission of
information to people.
2. Network analysis may be used to understand which people have power in a community, as well
how corporations are interlocked through the members of their board of directors.
3. Social networks can provide data about social structure.
4. They provide data on people’s interrelationships. Social networks provide social and emotional
support to people in a complex society.
5. Sociologists and anthropologists may utilize knowledge of social networks in order to categorize
the societies in which they are found.

Some Dimensions of Groups

1. Size. Groups vary in terms of their sizes. Social relationships range in numbers from two
persons up to the entire population. Sociologist use size to distinguish types of groups.
A small group may be a dyad (two persons), a triad (three persons), or a collectivity of 20 to 30
individuals. Intermediate and large-scale relationships include various social units such as
organizations, communities, and societies.

2. Structure. Structure refers to the patterning of actual behavior. When people do the same
things repeatedly in the same circumstances, we refer to the situation as having structure. In
fact, people expect that the same activities will occur in a particular kind of setting. If the
activities are not performed, disorientation and feeling of being uncomfortable usually result.
3. Nature of goals. Just as any group interaction is influenced by its size and structure, groups
also vary in terms of the nature of their goals. Social relationships are geared toward the
achievement of quite specific goals or ends. Task groups often are set up among corporation
personnel with the sole aim to identifying problems in management, marketing, or production
and then preparing alternative strategies for solving these problems.
4. Identifiability of members. Sociologist often catalogue social relationships using the
yardsticks of whether or not a person recognizes other individuals. In some cases, persons
expect to threat others as “nonpersons”. People are expected to behave and act, and interact
with others in any given group according to the occasion with her customer. However, in this
encounter she does not delve into personal feelings or goals of the other person. She is
expected to maintain a sense of decorum and formality by keeping the conversation flowing and
avoiding serious topics, and at all cost avoiding a sense of intimacy. Such impersonal
relationships are transient and not important in providing a participant with a sense of social
belonging, defining oneself and one’s associates. In other instances, persons interact with
people they know intimately – such people are crucial in marking their social identity, their
community of friends, and their sphere of daily activity.
5. Cohesiveness is the degree to which members of a group cooperate. It refers to the intensity
of conformity, degree of social participation, feelings of satisfaction, and level of productivity in a
group.
6. Leadership styles. in order to understand the dynamics of groups and to define a good leader,
some social scientists have focused on which leadership traits mark a “good” leader as well as
which traits affect behaviors and feelings of group members.

FSSE 101: Foundation of Social Studies

SOUTH EAST ASIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Page - 11 - of 17
 From friendship to families to entire societies, humans naturally form social groups; in fact, this
tendency is essential to what it means to be human. A social group is any grouping of two or more
interacting people who recognize their relationship with each other as a distinct social unit. Social
groups play an important role in daily life and help humans make meaning of the world around them.

4TH GROUP TOPIC

CULTURE AND IDENTITIES

What Is Culture?

The word culture is derived from the Latin culture which means care, or cultus, meaning
“civilization.” This is based on the fact that the human person has a long period of dependency and
has to be taken care of by the people around him. The culture of the group to which an individual is
born provides him the needed care and attention as he grows into mature person. It is a long this
framework that the differences in the culture of different places become evident as reflected in the care
and training provided to the individual.

When we meet someone from a different culture, that person’s culture becomes immediately
evident to us. We notice his clothing, mannerism, language, beliefs, taste for food, among others. The
characteristics, which may contrast sharply with our own, alert us to broad differences in the way the
person was raised – to that person’s culture.

In the words of Sir Edward Tylor, “Culture refers to that complex whole which includes knowledge,
beliefs, art, morals, law, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member
of society.”

Types of Culture

Generally, there are two types of culture: Material and Non-material.

Material Culture includes physical objects or artifacts – thing that human beings create by altering the
natural environment. They are easy to observe and are often impressive. Examples of these are
dwelling units, tools, weapons and implements, clothing, stone axes, wooden chair, book, jet airplanes,
and other concrete elements of culture that can be perceived as an important part or product of any
behaviour system of man, past, present, and future
Material culture, therefore, refers to the concrete and tangible things that man creates and uses.
They range from pre-historic stone tools of the primitive man to the most advanced computer of the
modern man.

Non-material Culture consists of words people use, the habits they follow, the ideas, customs,
behaviour, of any society profess and to which they strive to conform. Laws, techniques, lifestyle, and
knowledge are included too. The non-material aspect of culture is the meaning and substance inherent
in culture.

Components of Culture

Things covered under the broad headings material and non-material cultures are the components
of culture.

Norms. These are often described as social norms. These are guides or models of behaviour which
tell us what is proper and which are appropriate or inappropriate, right or wrong. They set limits within
which individuals may seek alternatives or ways to achieve their goals. Norms regulate people’s
behaviour in a given society.
Norms are usually in the form of rules, standards or prescriptions followed by people who follow
certain standards or roles. For instance, there are norms of conduct for doctors, for teachers, for

FSSE 101: Foundation of Social Studies

SOUTH EAST ASIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Page - 12 - of 17
military, for engineers, for nurses, and others. The norms indicate the society’s standard of propriety,
morality, ethics, and legality.

FORMS OF SOCIAL NORMS

Folkways are customary patterns of everyday life that specify what is socially correct and proper in
everyday life
According to Sumner, “folkways are a great mass of usages of all degrees of importance, covering all
the interests in life, embodying a life philosophy, forming a character, and containing a life policy.”
Folkways are customary ways. They are the repetitive or the typical habits and patterns of
expected behaviour followed until they become self-perpetuating. They are handed down from one
generation to another.
Example of folkways are shaking of hands, bathing frequently and regularly, keeping one’s lawn
cut and orderly, not drinking liquor in church, and others. They are considered the right way but are not
rigidly enforced by society. Sanctions used are ridicule, raised eyebrows, critical and sarcastic remarks,
disapproval, or embarrassment to those who do not conform.

Mores. In contrast to folkways, mores are seen as extremely important and are considered vital for the
group’s welfare and survival. While folkways specify socially correct and proper behaviour, mores
define what is morally right and morally wrong.
Mores embody the code of ethics and standards of morality in the society. They include standards
on sex, behaviour, family relations, attitudes toward authority, religion, and the unfortunate sectors in
the society.
Laws. They are norms that are enforced formally by a special political organization. They are
formalized social norms enacted by people who have been vested through the machinery of the state.
The enforcing agencies are the police, courts, prisons, and others. Laws are components of culture
regulating or controlling the people’s behaviour and conduct.

VALUES. Another important component of culture are values. Unlike norms which constitute
standards for behaviour, values represent the standards we use to evaluate the desirability of things.
Values define what is right, good, and moral. The values of a society shape its normative system and
guide the behaviour of its people. By analysing the norms of a society, one can determine the basic
values of the society.

LANGUAGE. This is another component f culture. It refers to a symbol that has specific and arbitrary
meaning in a given society. It is this symbolic communication or language that sets human beings
apart from other species. With the use of language, we can go beyond just transmitting simple feelings
and emotions in the “here and how”. It enables as to talk and think about the past and the future.
Language makes it possible for us to learn from others experiences and to accumulate knowledge
from one generation to the next.

FASHIONS, FADS, CRAZES. These are other components of culture. They are more short-lived
social norms with which people are expected to comply with. They may operate as forces of social
change. Examples of this are new styles of clothes, bags, shoes and hairdo. They may also include
new styles of houses, cars, appliances, shows and even music. The prestige and status of a person
depends on his use of these new styles.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE

The most fundamental characteristics of culture remain the same everywhere and through all time.
These are: (1) culture is always a product of human behaviour; (2) it is always transmitted through
learning; (3) it always gratifies human needs; and (4) it always tends toward integrating a society.
Because of these four universal characteristics, culture, whatever its form, can be studied scientifically.

FSSE 101: Foundation of Social Studies

SOUTH EAST ASIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Page - 13 - of 17
Adaptations of Culture

One major characteristics of culture is its being adaptive. It can be said that culture has existed
whenever human beings have lived in group of life. However, culture vary greatly from one society to
another, from one period to another, and to lesser a degree, a culture may vary internally from one
institution to another.
Man is one but cultures are many. This is so since there are many factors involved in the process
of culture adaptation.

Four Principal Ways in Adaptation of Culture

Parallelism refers to the independent development of a culture characteristic in two widely separated
cultures. There is no historical evidence that the use of the wheel, or the arch of buildings, or
domesticated dogs, pigs, and other animals was originated by one people in only one place. Even in
the modern world, the same mechanical invention or scientific discovery occurs in plac3s that are very
far apart.
Diffusion is the much more common process of patterns and traits passing back and forth from one
culture to another. Examples of these are behaviour patterns, food, customs, religious practices, rituals,
festivities.
Fission is a process that can be traced historically when a long-established society breaks up into two
or more independent units.
Convergence is the fusion of two or more cultures into a new one which is somewhat different from its
predecessors.

Functions of Culture

A culture exists to systematize the satisfaction of the social needs of the people. The means for
this satisfaction are the various major and subsidiary institutions that constitute the culture. The culture
as a whole performs a number of functions distinct from the objectives of the various institutions.
As a construct, culture has two major uses: as a general category for the classification of
phenomena, and as a tool in predicting social behaviour.

Culture as a category. By using the construct of culture, the social scientist classifies phenomena and
thereby defines the scope of his field. Through classification which uses categories, man is able to
segregate things that must occupy his priority.

Culture as a tool in prediction. Prediction of social behaviour depends upon understanding how the
human organism will react to its environment. Because culture is learned and internalized by all
individuals in a society, it is part of their usual subjective way of responding to stimuli. Consequently,
though cultures and the portions of culture known to different individuals in the same social group may
vary, knowledge about what a person or group has learned, or internalized, provides some basis for
predicting future behaviour.

The following are some of the more specific functions of culture, distinct from the objectives of the
various social institutions;

1. Culture serves as trademark or special feature that distinguishes one society from another. It
characterizes a people more meaningfully and more scientifically than the color of their skin or
any other physiological making. It provides for the student of society a basis for distinguishing
people that is much more realistic than territorial and political boundaries and so-called national
characteristics.
2. Culture brings together, contains, and interprets the values of a society in a more or less
systematic manner. Through culture, people discover the meaning and purpose of both social
and individual living. Meanings and values become integrated in and through the culture of a
given society.
3. Culture provides one of the most important bases for social solidarity. It inspires loyalty and
devotion to associates and the society in general. Culture provides the people of any given
society the knowledge of the common objectives of such society, which all of them try to

FSSE 101: Foundation of Social Studies

SOUTH EAST ASIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Page - 14 - of 17
 accomplish. In this way, common feelings, common sentiments, and common aspirations are
developed, thereby attaining a common national pride.
4. Culture provides a blueprint of, as well as the materials for social structures. It systematizes
social behaviour so that the person participates in society without the necessity of constantly
relearning and investing ways of doing things. Culture relates and coordinates all the various
segments of the behaviour of the individuals and groups.
5. The culture of any society is the dominant factor in establishing and moulding the social
personality. It is the fact that in any given society, a sort of cultural stamp is always observed
despite the differences in the individuals. One’s social personality is the product of his culture.
6. The culture of a society provides behavioural patterns. The behaviour of people in any given
society is governed by culture. It provides them with some norms to follow. As a result of this,
there is a coherent, consistent, and systematic pattern of behaviour manifested by the
individuals of the society. This will explain why a student will not come wearing her bathing suit
when attending her classes.

Culture provides individual with the meaning and direction of his existence. Not only individual
aspirations and objectives will guide the individual in his quest for meaning but also the objectives of
the group where he belong, the goals of the group and community where he is a participant, and the
concepts and motives of the society where he belongs; all these will certainly shape his life’s meaning
and direction.

Modes of Acquiring Culture

Generally, there are three (3) ways by which culture may be acquired: (1) by example and imitation,
(2) by indoctrination or formal training, and (3) by conditioning through a system of rewards and
punishments.

It is said that culture acquisition is primarily an intellectual process. Its material aspects become
meaningful only because of the mind. Because of this nature, man possesses the ability to learn his
cultural environment. Learning or acquiring culture may involve any or all of the following modes:

1. Imitation. The process of socialization plays a very important role in the development of every
individual. As the child grows, he imitates the things around him: the language of the people
around him; and his parents’ behaviour. He also acquires the values he sees in his family. He
imitates even the undesirable traits from his peer group. The process of imitation becomes
possible because of the examples set by the social environment. And the individual continually
undergoes the process of imitation even his adult life.
2. Indoctrination. This may take the form of formal teaching or training which may takes place
anywhere the individuals find himself interacting with his fellow humans. This formal teaching
takes into account the cultural components of the society where the learning individual lives.
3. Conditioning. Through the social norms prevailing in one’s social and cultural milieu, the
individual acquires a certain pattern of beliefs, values, behaviour, and actions through the
process of conditioning. This process is further by a system of reward and punishments found in
the cultural system.

Cultural Variability

As pointed out by Dean Champion and his associates, “the range of variations between cultures is
almost endless and yet at the same time cultures resemble one another in many important ways”. All
known cultures recognize certain categories that we often referred to as “cultural universals”. In the
words of Murdock, “cultural universals include bodily adornment, courtship, dancing, education, family,
food taboos, funeral rites, wedding ceremonies, gestures, hospitality, religion, and sexual restrictions.”
While the categories are found in all cultures, specific contexts of each of them vary from one culture
to another.

Two Important Concepts of Cultural Variations

1. Ethnocentrism. This is a universal phenomenon. This arises from the fact that culture differs

FSSE 101: Foundation of Social Studies

SOUTH EAST ASIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Page - 15 - of 17
 and each culture defines reality differently. Even in the early times, people judged other cultures
in terms of their own ideas, norms, and values. The members of a society have the tendency to
regard their culture as the best, and superior to those of others. Here, one’s own culture is taken
as a standard against which all other cultures are judged.

For example, racial discrimination arises because of the tendency of one group to regard his own
race as superior to those of others.

2. Cultural relativity. This is also known as cultural relativism. The concept was formulated by
William Graham Sumner in his book folkways. He argued that there are no universal moral
standards of right and wrong, and good and bad for evaluating cultural phenomena. Standards
are relative to the culture in which they appear. Customs can only be judged by how well or how
poorly fit in with other aspects of culture. For instance, polygyny or having several wives’
functions in a society when women are needed to work in the fields. Abandoning sick or
disabled elderly persons who can no longer travel is the practical thing to do for nomadic people.
The attempt to judge behaviour according to its cultural context is called cultural relativity.

Other Concept of Cultural Significant

Subcultures. Although members of a culture share norms and values, they do not always behave or
think exactly alike. In any society, there are groups of people who do not exactly meet their society’s
ideals. They share most of its norms, values, and beliefs, but they change some of society’s ideals to
reflect more closely their own needs. In trying to fulfil their own needs, they create subcultures. These
groups may differ from the large society in a variety of ways, including language or special vocabulary,
modes of dresses, values, religion, and food.

Subcultures may be based on religious differences or ethnic differences. Occupational groups

such as military or the medical professions may give rise to subcultures

Example of subcultures are gangs of youth manifesting common interest; people belonging to the
same professions or calling like the military, medical profession, businessmen, people in the
prostitution or flesh trade and people in the so-called high culture.

Culture shock. all humans tend to believe that their way of life, which has been handed down from
generation to generation, is the right way. Because their own values and norms are so ingrained,
people of one culture sometimes become upset when they are confronted with those of another culture.
When this people go to other societies very different from theirs, they may lose familiar signs and
symbols of social intercourse and experience some kind of unpleasant events. Their expectation will
be shaken, and some kind of reactions will ensue. What these people experience is called culture
shock.

Culture shock may be experienced by migrants, or even professionals who go to another country
whose culture they are not familiar with.

Cultural lag. This concept was expounded first by William Ogburn. By this meant the dysfunctions in,
or inability of a given society to adopt a culture immediately as a result of the disparity in the rate of
change between the material and non-material elements of the culture. Cultural lag arises when the
village folks, for instance, cannot accept innovations in scientific farming because they cannot give up
the antiquated methods they learned from their forefathers, even if their system of farming can no
longer meet the demands of the present time; they resist the new methods despite saturated soil, lack
of irrigation facilities, need for insecticides, just because they have practiced the traditional system for
years.

Cultural dualism. According to Onofre D. Corpuz, “one thing that characterizes Filipino culture is
cultural dualism.” It is not an altogether different concept for it is dependent on the first part of the
traditional idea. It acknowledges the firmly establish influences of the East on Filipino culture in terms

FSSE 101: Foundation of Social Studies

SOUTH EAST ASIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Page - 16 - of 17
of social, religious, and political values. However, the influences of the west are also dominant. This
gives rise to an East-West dualism in Filipino culture. Cultural dualism is now manifested in the Filipino
culture. It cannot be denied that this cultural phenomenon has historical background.

FSSE 101: Foundation of Social Studies

SOUTH EAST ASIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Page - 17 - of 17