What is a social institution definition. Functions of social institutions

Society is a complex social formation, and the forces operating within it are so interconnected that it is impossible to foresee the consequences of each individual action. In this regard, institutions have overt functions that are easily recognized as part of the recognized goals of the institution, and latent functions that are carried out inadvertently and may not be recognized or, if recognized, are considered a by-product.

People with significant and high institutional roles often do not realize enough latent effects that can affect their activities and the activities of people associated with them. As a positive example of the use of latent functions in American textbooks, the activities of Henry Ford, the founder of the campaign that bears his name, are most often cited. He sincerely hated labor unions, big cities, large loans and installment purchases, but as he advanced in society, he stimulated their development more than anyone else, realizing that the latent, hidden, side functions of these institutions work for him, for him. business. However, the latent functions of institutions can either support recognized goals or make them irrelevant. They can even lead to significant damage to the norms of the institution.

How does a social institution function? What is its role in the processes taking place in society? Let's consider these questions.

Explicit functions of social institutions. If we consider in the most general form the activity of any social institution, then we can assume that its main function is to satisfy social needs, for which it was created and exists. However, in order to perform this function, each institution performs functions in relation to its participants that ensure the joint activities of people striving to meet needs. These are primarily the following functions.
1. The function of consolidation and reproduction of social relations. Each institution has a system of rules and norms of behavior that fixes, standardizes the behavior of its members and makes this behavior predictable. Appropriate social control provides the order and framework in which the activities of each member of the institution must proceed. Thus, the institution ensures the stability of the social structure of society. Indeed, the code of the institution of the family, for example, implies that members of society should be divided into sufficiently stable small groups - families. With the help of social control, the institution of the family seeks to ensure the stability of each individual family, and limits the possibility of its disintegration. The destruction of the family institution is, first of all, the appearance of chaos and uncertainty, the collapse of many groups, the violation of traditions, the impossibility of ensuring a normal sexual life and high-quality education of the younger generation.
2. Regulatory function is that the functioning of social institutions ensures the regulation of relationships between members of society by developing patterns of behavior. The whole cultural life of a person proceeds with his participation in various institutions. Whatever type of activity an individual engages in, he always encounters an institution that regulates his behavior in this area. Even if some kind of activity is not ordered and regulated, people immediately begin to institutionalize it. Thus, with the help of institutions, a person exhibits predictable and standardized behavior in social life. He fulfills the role requirements-expectations and knows what to expect from the people around him. Such regulation is necessary for joint activities.
3. Integrative function. This function includes the processes of cohesion, interdependence and mutual responsibility of members of social groups, occurring under the influence of institutional norms, rules, sanctions and systems of roles. The integration of people in the institute is accompanied by the streamlining of the system of interactions, an increase in the volume and frequency of contacts. All this leads to an increase in the stability and integrity of the elements of the social structure, especially social organizations.
Any integration in an institution consists of three main elements or necessary requirements: 1) consolidation or combination of efforts; 2) mobilization, when each member of the group invests its resources in achieving goals; 3) the conformity of the personal goals of individuals with the goals of others or the goals of the group. Integrative processes carried out with the help of institutions are necessary for the coordinated activities of people, the exercise of power, and the creation of complex organizations. Integration is one of the conditions for the survival of organizations, as well as one of the ways to correlate the goals of its participants.
4. Broadcasting function. Society could not develop if it were not possible to transfer social experience. Each institution for its normal functioning needs the arrival of new people. This can happen both by expanding the social boundaries of the institution and by changing generations. In this regard, each institution provides a mechanism that allows individuals to socialize to its values, norms and roles. For example, a family, raising a child, seeks to orient him to the values ​​of family life that his parents adhere to. State institutions seek to influence citizens in order to instill in them norms of obedience and loyalty, and the church tries to accustom as many members of society as possible to the faith.
5. Communicative function. Information produced in an institution should be disseminated both within the institution for the purpose of managing and monitoring compliance with regulations, and in interactions between institutions. Moreover, the nature of the institute's communicative links has its own specifics - these are formal links carried out in a system of institutionalized roles. As the researchers note, the communicative capabilities of institutions are not the same: some are specifically designed to transmit information (mass media), others have very limited opportunities for this; some actively perceive information (scientific institutions), others passively (publishing houses).

The explicit functions of institutions are both expected and necessary. They are formed and declared in codes and fixed in the system of statuses and roles. When an institution fails to fulfill its explicit functions, it is bound to face disorganization and change: these explicit, necessary functions can be appropriated by other institutions.

latent functions. Along with the direct results of the actions of social institutions, there are other results that are outside the immediate goals of a person, not planned in advance. These results can be of great importance to society. Thus, the church seeks to consolidate its influence to the greatest extent through ideology, the introduction of faith, and often achieves success in this. However, regardless of the goals of the church, there are people who leave production activities for the sake of religion. Fanatics begin to persecute non-believers, and there may be the possibility of major social conflicts on religious grounds. The family seeks to socialize the child to the accepted norms of family life, but it often happens that family education leads to a conflict between the individual and the cultural group and serves to protect the interests of certain social strata.

The existence of the latent functions of institutions is most prominently shown by T. Veblen, who wrote that it would be naive to say that people eat black caviar because they want to satisfy their hunger and buy a luxurious Cadillac because they want to buy a good car. Obviously, these things are not acquired for the sake of satisfying obvious urgent needs. T. Veblen concludes from this that the production of consumer goods performs a hidden, latent function - it satisfies the needs of people to increase their own prestige. Such an understanding of the actions of the institute for the production of consumer goods radically changes the opinion about its activities, tasks and conditions of functioning.

Thus, it is obvious that only by studying the latent functions of institutions can we determine the true picture of social life. For example, very often sociologists are faced with a phenomenon that is incomprehensible at first glance, when an institution continues to successfully exist, even if it not only does not fulfill its functions, but also prevents their implementation. Such an institution obviously has hidden functions by which it satisfies the needs of certain social groups. A similar phenomenon can be observed especially often among political institutions, in which latent functions are developed to the greatest extent.

Latent functions, therefore, are the subject that should primarily interest the student of social structures. The difficulty in recognizing them is compensated by the creation of a reliable picture of social connections and features of social objects, as well as the ability to control their development and manage the social processes that take place in them.

Relationships between institutions. There is no social institution that would operate in a vacuum, in isolation from other social institutions. The action of any social institution cannot be understood until all of its interrelations and relationships are explained from the standpoint of the general culture and subcultures of groups. Religion, government, education, production and consumption, trade, family - all these institutions are in multiple interaction. Thus, the conditions of production must take into account the formation of new families in order to meet their needs for new apartments, household items, childcare facilities, etc. At the same time, the education system largely depends on the activities of government institutions that maintain the prestige and possible prospects for the development of educational institutions. Religion can also affect the development of education or government agencies. The teacher, the father of the family, the priest, or the functionary of a voluntary organization are all subject to the influence of the government, since the actions of the latter (for example, issuing regulations) can lead to both success and failure in achieving vital goals.

An analysis of the numerous interconnections of institutions can explain why institutions are rarely able to fully control the behavior of their members, to combine their actions and attitudes with institutional ideas and norms. For example, schools may apply standard curricula to all students, but student response to them depends on many factors beyond the teacher's control. Children whose families encourage and carry out interesting conversations and who join reading books that develop them acquire intellectual interests more easily and to a greater extent than those children whose families prefer watching TV and reading entertainment literature. Churches preach high ethical ideals, but parishioners often feel the need to neglect them under the influence of business ideas, political allegiances, or the desire to leave the family. Patriotism glorifies self-sacrifice for the good of the state, but it is often inconsistent with the many individual desires of those raised in families, business institutions, or some political institutions.

The need to harmonize the system of roles assigned to individuals can often be satisfied by agreement between individual institutions. Industry and commerce in any civilized country depend on the support of the government, which regulates taxes and arranges exchange between the individual institutions of industry and commerce. In turn, government depends on industry and commerce to economically support regulations and other government actions.

In addition, given the importance of some social institutions in public life, other institutions are trying to seize control over their activities. Since, for example, education plays a very significant role in society, attempts to fight for influence on the institution of education are observed among political organizations, industrial organizations, churches, etc. Politicians, for example, contribute to the development of the school, confident that by doing so they support attitudes towards patriotism and national identity. Church institutions are trying, with the help of the education system, to instill in students loyalty to church doctrines and a deep faith in God. Industrial organizations are trying to orient students from childhood to the development of industrial professions, and the military - to raise people who can successfully serve in the army.

The same can be said about the influence of other institutions on the institution of the family. The state is trying to regulate the number of marriages and divorces, as well as the birth rate. In addition, it establishes minimum standards for the care of children. Schools are looking for cooperation with the family by creating teachers' councils with the participation of parents and parents' committees. Churches create ideals for family life and try to hold family ceremonies within a religious framework.

Many institutional roles begin to conflict because the person who performs them belongs to several institutions. An example is the well-known conflict between career and family orientations. In this case, we are dealing with clashes of norms and rules of several institutions. Sociological research shows that each institution seeks to the greatest extent possible to “disconnect” the individuals included in it from playing roles in other institutions. Enterprises try to include the activities of the wives of their employees in their sphere of influence (a system of benefits, orders, family vacations, etc.). Army institutional rules can also be bad for family life. And here they find ways to include wives in army life, so that the husband and wife are related to uniform institutional norms. The problem of fulfillment by the individual of the exclusively role of this institution is most definitely solved in some institutions of the Christian church, where the clergy are released from family responsibilities by taking a vow of celibacy.

The appearance of institutions is constantly adapting to changes in society. Changes in one institution tend to lead to changes in others. After changing family customs, traditions and rules of conduct, a new social security system for such changes is created with the participation of many institutions. When peasants come from the countryside to the city and create their own subculture there, the actions of political institutions, legal organizations, etc. must change. We are accustomed to the fact that any change in the political organization affects all aspects of our daily lives. There are no institutions that would be transformed without change into other institutions or would exist separately from them.

institutional autonomy. The fact that institutions are interdependent in their activities does not mean that they are ready to give up internal ideological and structural control. One of their main goals is to exclude the influence of the leaders of other institutions and to keep their institutional norms, rules, codes and ideologies intact. All major institutions develop patterns of behavior that help maintain a certain degree of independence and resist the dominance of people grouped in other institutions. Enterprises and businesses strive for independence from the state; educational institutions also try to achieve the greatest independence and prevent the penetration of the norms and rules of foreign institutions. Even the institution of courtship achieves independence in relation to the institution of the family, which leads to some mystery and secrecy in its rituals. Each institution tries to carefully sort the attitudes and rules brought in from other institutions in order to select those attitudes and rules that can least affect the independence of this institution. Social order is a successful combination of the interaction of institutions and their respect for independence in relation to each other. This combination avoids serious and destructive institutional conflicts.

The dual function of intellectuals in relation to institutions. In all complex societies, institutions require constant ideological and organizational support and strengthening of the ideology, the system of norms and rules on which the institution relies. This is carried out by two role groups of members of the institution: 1) bureaucrats who monitor institutional behavior; 2) intellectuals who explain and comment on the ideology, norms and rules of behavior of social institutions. In our case, intellectuals are those who, regardless of education or occupation, devote themselves to the serious analysis of ideas. The importance of ideology lies in maintaining loyalty to institutional norms, through which the heterogeneous attitudes of those people who are able to manipulate ideas are developed. Intellectuals are called upon to satisfy urgent needs for explaining social development, and to do so in terms consistent with institutional norms.

For example, intellectuals associated with political communist institutions set themselves the task of showing that modern history is indeed developing in accordance with the predictions of K. Marx and V. Lenin. At the same time, intellectuals who study US political institutions argue that real history is built on the development of the ideas of free enterprise and democracy. At the same time, the leaders of the institutions understand that intellectuals cannot be completely trusted, since in studying the basic foundations of the ideology they support, they also analyze its imperfections. In this regard, intellectuals can begin to develop a competitive ideology that is more suited to the needs of the times. Such intellectuals become revolutionary and attack traditional institutions. That is why in the course of the formation of totalitarian institutions, first of all, they seek to protect ideology from the actions of intellectuals.

The 1966 campaign in China, which destroyed the influence of the intellectuals, confirmed Mao Zedong's fear that the intellectuals would refuse to support the revolutionary regime. Something similar happened in our country in the prewar years. If we turn to history, we will undoubtedly see that any power based on faith in the ability of leaders (charismatic power), as well as power that uses violence, non-democratic methods, seeks to protect the actions of the institution of power from the participation of intellectuals or completely subordinate them to its influence. . Exceptions only emphasize this rule.

So, it is often difficult to use the activities of intellectuals, because if today they can support institutional norms, then tomorrow they become their critics. Nevertheless, there are no institutions in the modern world that have escaped the constant influence of intellectual criticism, and there are no features of institutions that can continue to exist for a long time without intellectual protection. It becomes clear why some totalitarian political regimes are torn between a certain freedom and the repression of intellectuals. The intellectual most capable of defending fundamental institutions is the person who does so out of a desire for truth, regardless of obligations to institutions. Such a person is both useful and dangerous for the well-being of the institution - useful because he skillfully achieves the protection of institutional values, respect for the institution, and dangerous because, in search of truth, he is able to become an opponent of this institution. This dual role forces fundamental institutions to deal with the problem of ensuring discipline in society and the problem of conflict and loyalty for intellectuals.

1.Plan……………………………………………………………………………………1

2. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..2

3. The concept of "Social institution"……………………………………………..3

4. Evolution of social institutions……………………………………………..5

5. Typology of social institutions………………………………………….…...6

6. Functions and dysfunctions of social institutions……………………….……8

7. Education as a social institution……………………………..….…...11

8. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………….13

9. References………………………………………………….……..………15

Introduction.

Social practice shows that it is vital for human society to consolidate certain types of social relations, to make them obligatory for members of a certain society or a certain social group. This primarily applies to those social relations, entering into which the members of a social group ensure the satisfaction of the most important needs necessary for the successful functioning of the group as an integral social unit. Thus, the need for the reproduction of material goods forces people to consolidate and maintain production relations; the need to socialize the younger generation and educate young people on the samples of the culture of the group makes it necessary to consolidate and maintain family relations, the relationship of training young people.

The practice of consolidating relationships aimed at meeting urgent needs consists in creating a rigidly fixed system of roles and statuses that prescribe rules of behavior for individuals in social relations, as well as in determining a system of sanctions in order to achieve strict compliance with these rules of behavior.

Systems of roles, statuses and sanctions are created in the form of social institutions, which are the most complex and important types of social ties for society. It is social institutions that support joint cooperative activities in organizations, determine sustainable patterns of behavior, ideas and incentives.

The concept of "institution" is one of the central ones in sociology, therefore the study of institutional relations is one of the main scientific tasks facing sociologists.

The concept of "social institution".

The term "social institution" is used in a wide variety of meanings.

One of the first detailed definition of a social institution was given by the American sociologist and economist T. Veblen. He viewed the evolution of society as a process of natural selection of social institutions. By their nature, they represent habitual ways of responding to stimuli that are created by external changes.

Another American sociologist, C. Mills, understood the institution as the form of a certain set of social roles. He classified institutions according to the tasks performed (religious, military, educational, etc.) that form the institutional order.

The German sociologist A. Gehlen interprets an institution as a regulatory institution that directs people's actions in a certain direction, just as institutions control the behavior of animals.

According to L. Bovier, a social institution is a system of cultural elements focused on meeting a set of specific social needs or goals.

J. Bernard and L. Thompson interpret the institution as a set of norms and patterns of behavior. This is a complex configuration of customs, traditions, beliefs, attitudes, laws that have a specific purpose and perform specific functions.

In domestic sociological literature, a social institution is defined as the main component of the social structure of society, integrating and coordinating many individual actions of people, streamlining social relations in certain areas of public life.

According to S.S. Frolov, a social institution is an organized system of connections and social norms that combines significant social values ​​and procedures that meet the basic needs of society.

According to M.S. Komarov, social institutions are value-normative complexes through which the actions of people in vital areas - the economy, politics, culture, family, etc. are directed and controlled.

If we sum up all the variety of the above approaches, then a social institution is:

Role system, which also includes norms and statuses;

A set of customs, traditions and rules of conduct;

Formal and informal organization;

A set of norms and institutions governing a particular area

public relations;

A separate set of social actions.

That. we see that the term "social institution" can have different definitions:

A social institution is an organized association of people performing certain socially significant functions, ensuring the joint achievement of goals based on the members of their social roles, set by social values, norms and patterns of behavior.

Social institutions are institutions designed to meet the fundamental needs of society.

A social institution is a set of norms and institutions that regulate a certain area of ​​social relations.

A social institution is an organized system of connections and social norms that combines significant social values ​​and procedures that meet the basic needs of society.

The evolution of social institutions.

The process of institutionalization, i.e. formation of a social institution, consists of several successive stages:

The emergence of a need, the satisfaction of which requires joint organized action;

Formation of common goals;

The emergence of social norms and rules in the course of spontaneous social interaction, carried out by trial and error;

The emergence of procedures related to rules and regulations;

Institutionalization of norms and rules, procedures, i.e. their adoption, practical application;

Establishment of a system of sanctions to maintain norms and rules, differentiation of their application in individual cases;

Creation of a system of statuses and roles covering all members of the institute without exception.

The birth and death of a social institution are clearly visible in the example of the institution of noble duels of honor. Duels were an institutionalized method of sorting out relations between nobles in the period from the 16th to the 18th century. This institution of honor arose due to the need to protect the honor of a nobleman and streamline relations between representatives of this social stratum. Gradually, the system of procedures and norms developed and spontaneous quarrels and scandals turned into highly formalized fights and fights with specialized roles (chief manager, seconds, doctors, attendants). This institution supported the ideology of unsullied noble honor, adopted mainly in the privileged strata of society. The institution of duels provided for fairly strict standards for protecting the code of honor: a nobleman who received a challenge to a duel had to either accept the challenge or leave public life with the shameful stigma of cowardly cowardice. But with the development of capitalist relations, ethical norms in society changed, which was expressed, in particular, in the needlessness of defending noble honor with arms in hand. An example of the decline of the institution of duels is the absurd choice of dueling weapons by Abraham Lincoln: throwing potatoes from a distance of 20 m. So this institution gradually ceased to exist.

Typology of social institutions.

A social institution is divided into main (basic, fundamental) and non-main (non-main, frequent). The latter hide inside the former, being part of them as smaller formations.

In addition to dividing institutions into main and non-main ones, they can be classified according to other criteria. For example, institutions may differ in the time of their emergence and duration of existence (permanent and short-term institutions), the severity of sanctions applied for violations of the rules, the conditions of existence, the presence or absence of a bureaucratic management system, the presence or absence of formal rules and procedures.

Ch. Mills counted five institutional orders in modern society, in fact, meaning by this the main institutions:

Economic - institutions that organize economic activity;

Political - institutions of power;

Family - institutions that regulate sexual relations, the birth and socialization of children;

Military - institutions that protect members of society from physical danger;

Religious - institutions that organize the collective worship of the gods.

The purpose of social institutions is to satisfy the most important vital needs of society as a whole. Five such basic needs are known, they correspond to five basic social institutions:

The need for the reproduction of the genus (the institution of family and marriage).

The need for security and social order (the institution of the state and other political institutions).

The need to obtain and produce means of subsistence (economic institutions).

The need for the transfer of knowledge, the socialization of the younger generation, the training of personnel (institute of education).

The need for solving spiritual problems, the meaning of life (Institute of Religion).

Non-core institutions are also called social practices. Each major institution has its own systems of established practices, methods, techniques, procedures. Thus, economic institutions cannot do without such mechanisms and practices as currency conversion, protection of private property,

professional selection, placement and evaluation of the work of employees, marketing,

market, etc. Within the institution of family and marriage there are institutions of paternity and motherhood, naming, family revenge, inheritance of the social status of parents, etc.

Non-principal political institutions include, for example, the institutions of forensic examination, passport registration, legal proceedings, advocacy, juries, judicial control of arrests, the judiciary, the presidency, etc.

Everyday practices that help organize the concerted action of large groups of people bring certainty and predictability to social reality, thereby supporting the existence of social institutions.

Functions and dysfunctions of social institutions.

Function(from Latin - execution, implementation) - the appointment or role that a certain social institution or process performs in relation to the whole (for example, the function of the state, family, etc. in society.)

Function a social institution is the benefit that it brings to society, i.e. it is a set of tasks to be solved, goals to be achieved, services to be rendered.

The first and most important mission of social institutions is to meet the most important vital needs of society, i.e. without which society cannot exist as a current one. Indeed, if we want to understand what the essence of the function of this or that institution is, we must directly connect it with the satisfaction of needs. E. Durheim was one of the first to point out this connection: “To ask what is the function of the division of labor means to investigate what need it corresponds to.”

No society can exist if it does not constantly replenish with new generations of people, obtain food, live in peace and order, acquire new knowledge and pass it on to the next generations, deal with spiritual issues.

List of universal, i.e. functions inherent in all institutions can be continued by including in it the function of consolidating and reproducing social relations, regulatory, integrative, broadcasting and communicative functions.

Along with universal, there are specific functions. These are functions that are inherent in some institutions and are not characteristic of others, for example, establishing order in society (the state), discovering and transferring new knowledge (science and education), etc.

Society is arranged in such a way that a number of institutions perform several functions simultaneously, and at the same time, several institutions can specialize in the performance of one function at once. For example, the function of educating or socializing children is performed by such institutions as the family, church, school, state. At the same time, the institution of the family performs not only the function of education and socialization, but also such functions as the reproduction of people, satisfaction in intimacy, etc.

At the dawn of its inception, the state performs a narrow range of tasks, primarily related to the establishment and maintenance of internal and external security. However, as society became more complex, so did the state. Today, it not only protects borders, fights crime, but also regulates the economy, provides social security and assistance to the poor, collects taxes and supports health care, science, schools, etc.

The Church was created for the sake of solving important worldview issues and establishing the highest moral standards. But in modern times, she also began to engage in education, economic activity (monastic economy), the preservation and transfer of knowledge, research work (religious schools, gymnasiums, etc.), guardianship.

If an institution, in addition to benefit, brings harm to society, then such an action is called dysfunction. An institution is said to be dysfunctional when some of the consequences of its activities interfere with the performance of another social activity or another institution. Or, as one sociological dictionary defines dysfunction, it is “any social activity that contributes negatively to the maintenance of the effective functioning of the social system.”

For example, economic institutions, as they develop, make more and more demanding requirements for those social functions that the institution of education should perform.

It is the needs of the economy that lead in industrial societies to the development of mass literacy, and then to the need to train an increasing number of qualified specialists. But if the institution of education does not cope with its task, if education is put out of hand very badly, or if it does not train the specialists that the economy requires, then the society will not receive developed individuals or first-class professionals. Schools and universities will release into life routines, dilettantes, semi-knowers, which means that the institutions of the economy will not be able to meet the needs of society.

So functions turn into dysfunctions, plus into minus.

Therefore, the activity of a social institution is considered as a function if it contributes to maintaining the stability and integration of society.

The functions and dysfunctions of social institutions are explicit, if they are distinctly expressed, recognized by all and quite obvious, or latent if they are hidden and remain unconscious for the participants of the social system.

The explicit functions of institutions are both expected and necessary. They are formed and declared in codes and fixed in the system of statuses and roles.

Latent functions are the unintended result of the activities of institutions or persons representing them.

The democratic state that was established in Russia in the early 1990s with the help of new institutions of power - parliament, government and president, it would seem, sought to improve the life of the people, create civilized relations in society and inspire citizens with respect for the law. These were the explicit goals and objectives declared in all heard goals. In reality, crime has increased in the country, and the standard of living has fallen. Such were the by-products of the efforts of the institutions of power.

Explicit functions testify to what people wanted to achieve within the framework of this or that institution, and latent functions indicate what came of it.

The explicit functions of the school as an institution of education include

acquisition of literacy and a matriculation certificate, preparation for a university, training in professional roles, assimilation of the basic values ​​of society. But the institution of the school also has hidden functions: acquiring a certain social status that will allow a graduate to climb a step above an illiterate peer, establishing strong school friendships, supporting graduates at the time of their entry into the labor market.

Not to mention a host of latent functions such as shaping classroom interactions, hidden curriculum, and student subcultures.

Explicit, i.e. Quite obvious, the functions of the institution of higher education can be considered to be preparing young people for the development of various special roles and the assimilation of the value standards, morality and ideology prevailing in society, and the implicit ones are the consolidation of social inequality between those who have higher education and those who do not.

Education as a social institution.

The material and spiritual values ​​and knowledge accumulated by mankind must be passed on to new generations, therefore maintaining the achieved level of development, its improvement is impossible without mastering the cultural heritage. Education is an essential component of the process of socialization of the individual.

In sociology, it is customary to distinguish between formal and non-formal education. The term formal education implies the existence in society of special institutions (schools, universities) that carry out the learning process. The functioning of the formal education system is determined by the prevailing cultural standards in society, political attitudes, which are embodied in the state policy in the field of education.

The term non-formal education refers to the unsystematized training of a person with knowledge and skills that he spontaneously masters in the process of communicating with the surrounding social environment or through individual assimilation of information. For all its importance, non-formal education plays a supporting role in relation to the formal education system.

The most significant features of the modern education system are:

Transforming it into a multi-stage (elementary, secondary and higher education);

Decisive influence on the personality (essentially education is the main factor of its socialization);

Predestination to a large extent of career opportunities, achieving a high social position.

The Institute of Education ensures social stability and integration of society by performing the following functions:

Transmission and dissemination of culture in society (because it is through education that scientific knowledge, achievements of art, moral norms, etc. are transmitted from generation to generation);

Formation among young generations of attitudes, value orientations and ideals that dominate in society;

Social selection, or a differentiated approach to students (one of the most important functions of formal education, when the search for talented youth in modern society is elevated to the rank of state policy);

Social and cultural change implemented in the process of scientific research and discovery (modern institutions of formal education, primarily universities, are the main or one of the most important scientific centers in all branches of knowledge).

The model of the social structure of education can be represented as consisting of three main components:

students;

teachers;

Organizers and leaders of education.

In modern society, education is the most important means of achieving success and a symbol of a person's social position. The expansion of the circle of highly educated people, the improvement of the system of formal education have an impact on social mobility in society, making it more open and perfect.

Conclusion.

Social institutions appear in society as large unplanned products of social life. How does it happen? People in social groups try to realize their needs together and look for different ways to do this. In the course of social practice, they find some acceptable patterns, patterns of behavior, which gradually, through repetition and evaluation, turn into standardized customs and habits. After some time, these patterns and patterns of behavior are supported by public opinion, accepted and legitimized. On this basis, a system of sanctions is being developed. Thus, the custom of making a date, being an element of the institution of courtship, developed as a means of choosing a partner. Banks - an element of a business institution - developed as a need for saving, moving, borrowing and saving money, and as a result turned into an independent institution. members from time to time. societies or social groups can collect, systematize and give legal confirmation of these practical skills and patterns, as a result of which institutions change and develop.

Proceeding from this, institutionalization is a process of defining and fixing social norms, rules, statuses and roles, bringing them into a system that is able to act in the direction of satisfying some social need. Institutionalization is the replacement of spontaneous and experimental behavior with predictable behavior that is expected, modeled, regulated. Thus, the pre-institutional phase of the social movement is characterized by spontaneous protests and speeches, disorderly behavior. Appear for a short time, and then the leaders of the movement are displaced; their appearance depends mainly on vigorous appeals.

Every day a new adventure is possible, each meeting is characterized by an unpredictable sequence of emotional events in which a person cannot imagine what he will do next.

When institutional moments appear in a social movement, the formation of certain rules and norms of behavior, shared by the majority of its followers, begins. The place of gathering or rally is appointed, a clear time limit for speeches is determined; each participant is given instructions on how to behave in a given situation. These norms and rules are gradually accepted and become self-evident. At the same time, a system of social statuses and roles begins to take shape. There are stable leaders who are formalized according to the accepted procedure (for example, they are chosen or appointed). In addition, each member of the movement has a certain status and performs an appropriate role: he can be a member of an organizational asset, be part of a leader's support group, be an agitator or ideologist, and so on. Excitation is gradually weakened under the influence of certain norms, and the behavior of each participant becomes standardized and predictable. There are preconditions for organized joint actions. As a result, the social movement becomes more or less institutionalized.

So, an institution is a peculiar form of human activity based on a clearly developed ideology, a system of rules and norms, as well as developed social control over their implementation. Institutional activities are carried out by people organized into groups or associations, where the division into statuses and roles is carried out in accordance with the needs of a given social group or society as a whole. Institutions thus maintain social structures and order in society.

Bibliography:

1. Frolov S.S. Sociology. Moscow: Nauka, 1994
2. Methodical instruction on sociology. SPbGASU, 2002
3. Volkov Yu.G. Sociology. M. 2000

One of the factors that characterize society as a whole is the totality of social institutions. Their location seems to be on the surface, which makes them especially successful objects for observation and control.

In turn, a complex organized system with its own norms and rules is a social institution. Its signs are different, but classified, and it is they that are to be considered in this article.

The concept of a social institution

A social institution is one of the forms of organization. For the first time this concept was applied. According to the scientist, the whole variety of social institutions creates the so-called framework of society. The division into forms, Spencer said, is produced under the influence of the differentiation of society. He divided the whole society into three main institutions, among which:

• reproductive;
• distributive;
• regulating.

E. Durkheim's opinion

E. Durkheim was convinced that a person as a person can realize himself only with the help of social institutions. They are also called upon to establish responsibility between inter-institutional forms and the needs of society.

Karl Marx

The author of the famous "Capital" evaluated social institutions from the point of view of industrial relations. In his opinion, the social institution, the signs of which are present both in the division of labor and in the phenomenon of private property, was formed precisely under their influence.

Terminology

The term "social institution" comes from the Latin word "institution", which means "organization" or "order". In principle, all the features of a social institution are reduced to this definition.

The definition includes the form of consolidation and the form of implementation of specialized activities. The purpose of social institutions is to ensure the stability of the functioning of communications within society.

The following short definition of the term is also acceptable: an organized and coordinated form of social relations, aimed at meeting the needs that are significant for society.

It is easy to see that all of the definitions provided (including the above opinions of scientists) are based on "three pillars":

• society;
• organization;
• needs.

But these are not yet full-fledged features of a social institution, rather, key points that should be taken into account.

Conditions for institutionalization

The process of institutionalization is a social institution. It occurs under the following conditions:

• social need as a factor that will satisfy the future institution;
• social ties, that is, the interaction of people and communities, as a result of which social institutions are formed;
• expedient and rules;
• material and organizational, labor and financial necessary resources.

Stages of institutionalization

The process of establishing a social institution goes through several stages:

• the emergence and awareness of the need for an institution;
• development of norms of social behavior within the framework of the future institution;
• the creation of its own symbols, that is, a system of signs that will indicate the social institution being created;
• formation, development and definition of a system of roles and statuses;
• creation of the material basis of the institute;
• integration of the institution into the existing social system.

Structural features of a social institution

Signs of the concept of "social institution" characterize it in modern society.

Structural features cover:

• Scope of activity, as well as social relations.
• Institutions that have certain powers in order to organize the activities of people, as well as perform various roles and functions. For example: public, organizational and performing the functions of control and management.
• Those specific rules and norms that are designed to regulate the behavior of people in a particular social institution.
• Material means to achieve the goals of the institute.
• Ideology, goals and objectives.

Types of social institutions

The classification that systematizes social institutions (table below) divides this concept into four separate types. Each of them includes at least four more specific institutions.

What are the social institutions? The table shows their types and examples.

Spiritual social institutions in some sources are called institutions of culture, and the sphere of the family, in turn, is sometimes called stratification and kinship.

General signs of a social institution

The general, and at the same time the main, signs of a social institution are as follows:

• the range of subjects that, in the course of their activities, enter into relationships;
• the sustainability of these relationships;
• a certain (and this means, to some extent formalized) organization;
• behavioral norms and rules;
• functions that ensure the integration of the institution into the social system.

It should be understood that these signs are informal, but logically follow from the definition and functioning of various social institutions. With the help of them, among other things, it is convenient to analyze institutionalization.

Social institution: signs on specific examples

Each specific social institution has its own characteristics - signs. They closely overlap with roles, for example: the main roles of the family as a social institution. That is why it is so revealing to consider examples and the signs and roles corresponding to it.

Family as a social institution

A classic example of a social institution is, of course, the family. As can be seen from the above table, it belongs to the fourth type of institutions covering the same area. Therefore, it is the basis and ultimate goal for marriage, fatherhood and motherhood. In addition, the family also unites them.

Features of this social institution:

• marriage or consanguinity ties;
• overall family budget;
• cohabitation in the same dwelling.

The main roles are reduced to the well-known saying that she is a "cell of society". Essentially, that's exactly what it is. Families are particles that together form society. In addition to being a social institution, the family is also called a small social group. And it is no coincidence, because from birth a person develops under its influence and experiences it for himself throughout his life.

Education as a social institution

Education is a social subsystem. It has its own specific structure and features.

Basic elements of education:

• social organizations and social communities (educational institutions and division into groups of teachers and students, etc.);
• sociocultural activity in the form of an educational process.

The characteristics of a social institution include:

1. Norms and rules - in the institute of education, examples can be considered: craving for knowledge, attendance, respect for teachers and classmates / classmates.
2. Symbolism, that is, cultural signs - anthems and coats of arms of educational institutions, the animal symbol of some famous colleges, emblems.
3. Utilitarian cultural features such as classrooms and classrooms.
4. Ideology - the principle of equality between students, mutual respect, freedom of speech and the right to vote, as well as the right to one's own opinion.

Signs of social institutions: examples

Let's summarize the information presented here. The characteristics of a social institution include:

• a set of social roles (for example, father/mother/daughter/sister in the institution of the family);
• sustainable behavior patterns (for example, certain models for the teacher and student at the institute of education);
• norms (for example, codes and the Constitution of the state);
• symbolism (for example, the institution of marriage or a religious community);
• basic values ​​(i.e. morality).

The social institution, the features of which were considered in this article, is designed to guide the behavior of each individual person, being directly a part of his life. At the same time, for example, an ordinary senior student belongs to at least three social institutions: the family, the school, and the state. Interestingly, depending on each of them, he also has the role (status) that he has and according to which he chooses his behavior model. She, in turn, sets his characteristics in society.

D.P. Le Havre
doctor of sociological sciences

The concept of "institution" (from Latin institutum - establishment, institution) was borrowed by sociology from jurisprudence, where it was used to characterize a separate set of legal norms that regulate social and legal relations in a certain subject area. In legal science, such institutions were considered, for example, inheritance, marriage, property, etc. In sociology, the concept of "institution" retained this semantic coloring, but acquired a broader interpretation in terms of denoting some special type of stable regulation of social relations and various organizational forms of social regulation of behavior of subjects.

The institutional aspect of the functioning of society is a traditional area of ​​interest for sociological science. He was in the field of view of thinkers, whose names are associated with its formation (O. Comte, G. Spencer, E. Durkheim, M. Weber, etc.).

O. Comte's institutional approach to the study of social phenomena stemmed from the philosophy of the positive method, when one of the objects of the sociologist's analysis was the mechanism for ensuring solidarity and consent in society. “For a new philosophy, order is always a condition for progress, and vice versa, progress is a necessary goal of order” (Comte O. A course in positive philosophy. SPb., 1899. S. 44). O. Comte considered the main social institutions (family, state, religion) from the standpoint of their inclusion in the processes of social integration and the functions performed at the same time. By contrasting the functional characteristics and nature of ties between family association and political organization, he acted as a theoretical predecessor of the concepts of dichotomization of the social structure of F. Tennis and E. Durkheim (“mechanical” and “organic” types of solidarity). The social statics of O. Comte was based on the position that the institutions, beliefs and moral values ​​of society are functionally interconnected, and the explanation of any social phenomenon in this integrity implies finding and describing the patterns of its interaction with other phenomena. O. Comte's method, his appeal to the analysis of the most important social institutions, their functions, and the structure of society had a significant impact on the further development of sociological thought.

The institutional approach to the study of social phenomena was continued in the works of G. Spencer. Strictly speaking, it was he who first used the concept of "social institution" in sociological science. G. Spencer considered the struggle for existence with neighboring societies (war) and with the natural environment to be the determining factors in the development of the institutions of society. The task of the survival of the social organism in its conditions. According to Spencer, the evolution and complexity of structures give rise to the need to form a special kind of regulatory institution: “In the state, as in a living body, a regulatory system inevitably arises ... When a stronger community is formed, higher centers of regulation and subordinate centers appear” (Spencer H. First principles. N. Y., 1898. P. 46).

Accordingly, the social organism consists of three main systems: regulatory, producing means of life and distribution. G. Spencer distinguished such types of social institutions as institutions of kinship (marriage, family), economic (distributive), regulatory (religion, political organizations). At the same time, much of his reasoning about institutions is expressed in functional terms: “In order to understand how an organization arose and develops, one must understand the need that manifests itself in the beginning and in the future” (Spencer H. The principles of ethics. N.Y., 1904. Vol. 1. P. 3). Thus, every social institution takes shape as a stable structure of social actions that performs certain functions.

The consideration of social institutions in a functional way was continued by E. Durkheim, who adhered to the idea of ​​the positivity of public institutions, which are the most important means of human self-realization (see: Durkheim E. Les formes elementaires de la vie religieuse. Le systeme totemique en Australie. P., 1960) .

E. Durkheim called for the creation of special institutions to maintain solidarity in the conditions of the division of labor - professional corporations. He argued that corporations, unjustifiably considered anachronistic, are in fact useful and modern. Corporations E. Durkheim calls institutions of the type of professional organizations, including employers and workers, standing close enough to each other to be for everyone a school of discipline and a beginning with prestige and power (see: Durkheim E. O division of social labor. Odessa, 1900).

K. Marx paid notable attention to the consideration of a number of social institutions, who analyzed the institution of majorat, the division of labor, the institutions of the tribal system, private property, etc. He understood institutions as historically formed, conditioned by social, primarily industrial, relations, forms of organization and regulation of social activity.

M. Weber believed that social institutions (state, religion, law, etc.) should “be studied by sociology in the form in which they become significant for individual individuals, in which the latter are actually guided by them in their actions” (History sociology in Western Europe and the USA, Moscow, 1993, p. 180). Thus, discussing the question of the rationality of the society of industrial capitalism, he considered it (rationality) at the institutional level as a product of the separation of the individual from the means of production. The organic institutional element of such a social system is the capitalist enterprise, considered by M. Weber as a guarantor of the individual's economic opportunities and thus turning into a structural component of a rationally organized society. A classic example is M. Weber's analysis of the institution of bureaucracy as a type of legal domination, conditioned primarily by purposeful rational considerations. At the same time, the bureaucratic mechanism of management appears as a modern type of administration, acting as the social equivalent of industrial forms of labor and "as related to previous forms of administration, as machine production is to home-tire" (Weber M. Essays on sociology. N. Y., 1964. p. 214).

The representative of psychological evolutionism is an American sociologist of the early 20th century. L. Ward considered social institutions as a product of mental rather than any other forces. “Social forces,” he wrote, “are the same psychic forces operating in the collective state of man” (Ward L.F. The physical factors of civilization. Boston, 1893. P. 123).

In the school of structural-functional analysis, the concept of "social institution" plays one of the leading roles, T. Parsons builds a conceptual model of society, understanding it as a system of social relations and social institutions. Moreover, the latter are interpreted as specially organized "nodes", "bundles" of social relations. In the general theory of action, social institutions act both as special value-normative complexes that regulate the behavior of individuals, and as stable configurations that form the status-role structure of society. The institutional structure of society is given the most important role, since it is it that is designed to ensure social order in society, its stability and integration (see: Parsons T. Essays on sociological theory. N. Y., 1964. P. 231-232). It should be emphasized that the normative-role representation of social institutions that exists in structural-functional analysis is the most common not only in Western, but also in Russian sociological literature.

In institutionalism (institutional sociology), the social behavior of people is studied in close connection with the existing system of social normative acts and institutions, the need for which is equated with a natural historical pattern. The representatives of this trend include S. Lipset, J. Landberg, P. Blau, Ch. Mills, and others. Social institutions, from the point of view of institutional sociology, imply “a consciously regulated and organized form of activity of a mass of people, the reproduction of repetitive and most stable patterns behavior, habits, traditions passed down from generation to generation. “Each social institution that is part of a certain social structure is organized to fulfill certain socially significant goals and functions (see; Osipov G. V., Kravchenko A. I. Institutional Sociology//Modern Western Sociology. Dictionary. M., 1990. S. 118).

Structural-functionalist and institutionalist interpretations of the concept of "social institution" do not exhaust the approaches to its definition presented in modern sociology. There are also concepts based on the methodological foundations of a phenomenological or behavioral plan. So, for example, W. Hamilton writes: “Institutions are a verbal symbol for the best description of a group of social customs. They signify a permanent way of thinking or acting which has become a habit for a group or a custom for a people. The world of customs and habits to which we adapt our lives is an interweaving and continuous fabric of social institutions. (Hamilton W. lnstitution//Encyclopedia of social sciences. Vol. VIII. P. 84).

The psychological tradition in line with behaviorism was continued by J. Homans. He gives the following definition of social institutions: “Social institutions are relatively stable models of social behavior, the maintenance of which is aimed at the actions of many people” (Homans G.S. The sociological relevance of behaviorism//Behavioral sociology. Ed. R. Burgess, D. Bushell. N. Y., 1969, p. 6). In essence, J. Homans builds his sociological interpretation of the concept of "institution" based on the psychological foundation.

Thus, in sociological theory there is a significant array of interpretations and definitions of the concept of "social institution". They differ in their understanding of both the nature and functions of institutions. From the point of view of the author, the search for an answer to the question of which of the definitions is correct and which is erroneous is methodologically unpromising. Sociology is a multi-paradigm science. Within the framework of each of the paradigms, it is possible to build its own consistent conceptual apparatus that obeys the internal logic. And it is up to the researcher working within the framework of the theory of the middle level to decide on the choice of the paradigm within which he intends to seek answers to the questions posed. The author adheres to the approaches and logic that lie in line with system-structural constructions, this also determines the concept of a social institution that he takes as a basis,

An analysis of foreign and domestic scientific literature shows that within the framework of the chosen paradigm in the understanding of a social institution, there is a wide range of versions and approaches. Thus, a large number of authors consider it possible to give the concept of "social institution" an unambiguous definition based on one key word (expression). L. Sedov, for example, defines a social institution as “a stable complex of formal and informal rules, principles, guidelines, regulating various spheres of human activity and organizing them into a system of roles and statuses that form a social system” (cited in Modern Western Sociology, p. 117). N. Korzhevskaya writes: “A social institution is community of people performing certain roles based on their objective position (status) and organized through social norms and goals (Korzhevskaya N. Social institution as a social phenomenon (sociological aspect). Sverdlovsk, 1983, p. 11). J. Shchepansky gives the following integral definition: “Social institutions are institutional systems*, in which certain individuals, elected by group members, are empowered to perform social and impersonal functions in order to satisfy essential individual and social needs and to regulate the behavior of other members of the groups" (Schepansky Ya. Elementary concepts of sociology. M., 1969. S. 96-97).

There are other attempts to give an unambiguous definition, based, for example, on norms and values, roles and statuses, customs and traditions, etc. From our point of view, approaches of this kind are not fruitful, since they narrow the understanding of such a complex phenomenon as social institution, fixing attention only on one aspect, which seems to this or that author to be its most important side.

Under the social institution, these scientists understand a complex, covering, on the one hand, a set of normative-value determined roles and statuses designed to meet certain social needs, and on the other hand, a social education created to use society's resources in the form of interaction to meet this need ( cm.: Smelzer N. Sociology. M., 1994. S. 79-81; Komarov M.S. On the concept of a social institution// Introduction to sociology. M., 1994. S. 194).

Social institutions are specific formations that ensure the relative stability of ties and relations within the framework of the social organization of society, some historically determined forms of organization and regulation of public life. Institutions arise in the course of the development of human society, the differentiation of activities, the division of labor, the formation of specific types of social relations. Their occurrence is due to the objective needs of society in the regulation of socially significant areas of activity and social relations. In the nascent institution, a certain type of social relations is essentially objectified.

Common features of a social institution include:

Identification of a certain circle of subjects entering into relationships that acquire a stable character in the process of activity;

A certain (more or less formalized) organization:

The presence of specific social norms and regulations that regulate the behavior of people within the framework of a social institution;

The presence of socially significant functions of the institution, integrating it into the social system and ensuring its participation in the process of integration of the latter.

These signs are not normatively fixed. They rather follow from the generalization of analytical materials about the various institutions of modern society. In some of them (formal - the army, the court, etc.), signs can be fixed clearly and in full, in others (informal or just emerging) - less clearly. But in general, they are a convenient tool for analyzing the processes of institutionalization of social formations.

The sociological approach focuses on the social functions of the institution and its normative structure. M. Komarov writes that the implementation of socially significant functions by the institution “is ensured by the presence within the social institution of an integral system of standardized patterns of behavior, i.e., a value-normative structure” (Komarov M.S. O the concept of a social institution//Introduction to sociology. S. 195).

The most important functions that social institutions perform in society include:

Regulation of the activities of members of society within the framework of social relations;

Creating opportunities to meet the needs of members of society;

Ensuring social integration, sustainability of public life; - socialization of individuals.

The structure of social institutions most often includes a certain set of constituent elements that appear in a more or less formalized form, depending on the type of institution. J. Shchepansky identifies the following structural elements of a social institution: - the purpose and scope of the institution; - functions provided to achieve the goal; - normatively determined social roles and statuses presented in the structure of the institute;

Means and institutions for achieving the goal and realizing functions (material, symbolic and ideal), including appropriate sanctions (see: Shchepansky Ya. Decree. op. S. 98).

Various criteria for classifying social institutions are possible. Of these, we consider it appropriate to focus on two: subject (substantive) and formalized. Based on the subject criterion, i.e., the nature of the substantive tasks performed by institutions, the following are distinguished: political institutions (state, parties, army); economic institutions (division of labor, property, taxes, etc.): institutions of kinship, marriage and family; institutions operating in the spiritual sphere (education, culture, mass communications, etc.), etc.

Based on the second criterion, i.e. the nature of the organization, institutions are divided into formal and informal. The activities of the former are based on strict, normative and, possibly, legally fixed prescriptions, rules, and instructions. These are the state, the army, the court, etc. In informal institutions, there is no such regulation of social roles, functions, means and methods of activity and sanctions for non-normative behavior. It is replaced by informal regulation through traditions, customs, social norms, etc. From this, the informal institution does not cease to be an institution and perform the corresponding regulatory functions.

Thus, when considering a social institution, its features, functions, structure, the author relied on an integrated approach, the use of which has a developed tradition within the framework of the system-structural paradigm in sociology. It is a complex, but at the same time sociologically operational and methodologically rigorous interpretation of the concept of "social institution" that allows, from the point of view of the author, to analyze the institutional aspects of the existence of social education.

Let us consider the possible logic of substantiation of the institutional approach to any social phenomenon.

According to the theory of J. Homans, in sociology there are four types of explanation and justification of social institutions. The first is the psychological type, proceeding from the fact that any social institution is a psychological formation in its genesis, a stable product of the exchange of activities. The second type is historical, considering institutions as the final product of the historical development of a certain field of activity. The third type is structural, proving that "each institution exists as a consequence of its relationship with other institutions in the social system." The fourth is functional, based on the position that institutions exist because they perform certain functions in society, contributing to its integration and the achievement of homeostasis. The last two types of explanations for the existence of institutions, which are mainly used in structural-functional analysis, are declared by Homans to be unconvincing and even erroneous (see: Homans G.S. The sociological relevance of behaviorism//Behavioral sociology. P. 6).

Without rejecting the psychological explanations of J. Homans, I do not share his pessimism regarding the last two types of argumentation. On the contrary, I consider these approaches to be convincing, working for modern societies, and I intend to use both functional, structural, and historical types of substantiation of the existence of social institutions in the study of the chosen social phenomenon.

If it is proved that the functions of any phenomenon under study are socially significant, that their structure and nomenclature are close to the structure and nomenclature of functions that social institutions perform in society, this will be an important step in substantiating its institutional nature. Such a conclusion is based on the inclusion of a functional feature among the most important features of a social institution and on the understanding that it is social institutions that form the main element of the structural mechanism by which society regulates social homeostasis and, if necessary, implements social changes.

The next step in substantiating the institutional interpretation of the hypothetical object we have chosen is b: "analysis of the ways of its inclusion in various spheres of social life, interaction with other social institutions, proof that it is an integral element of any one sphere of society (economic, political, cultural, etc.), or a combination of them, and ensures its (their) functioning. This logical operation is advisable to do for the reason that the institutional approach to the analysis of social system, but at the same time, the specificity of the main mechanisms of its functioning depends on the internal patterns of development of the corresponding type of activity.Therefore, consideration of an institution is impossible without correlating its activities with the activities of other institutions, as well as systems of a more general order.

The third stage, following the functional and structural justification, is the most important. It is at this stage that the essence of the institution under study is determined. An appropriate definition is formulated here, based on an analysis of the main institutional features. affects the legitimacy of its institutional representation. Then its specificity, type and place in the system of institutions of society are singled out, the conditions for the emergence of institutionalization are analyzed.

At the fourth and final stage, the structure of the institution is revealed, the characteristics of its main elements are given, and the patterns of its functioning are indicated.

History of the term

Basic information

The peculiarities of its word usage are further complicated by the fact that in the English language, traditionally, an institution is understood as any well-established practice of people that has the sign of self-reproducibility. In such a broad, not highly specialized, sense, an institution can be an ordinary human queue or the English language as a centuries-old social practice.

Therefore, a social institution is often given a different name - “institution” (from Latin institutio - custom, instruction, instruction, order), understanding by it the totality of social customs, the embodiment of certain habits of behavior, way of thinking and life, transmitted from generation to generation, changing depending on the circumstances and serving as an instrument of adaptation to them, and under the "institution" - the consolidation of customs and procedures in the form of a law or institution. The term "social institution" has absorbed both "institution" (customs) and the "institution" itself (institutions, laws), as it combines both formal and informal "rules of the game".

A social institution is a mechanism that provides a set of constantly repeating and reproducing social relations and social practices of people (for example: the institution of marriage, the institution of the family). E. Durkheim figuratively called social institutions "factories for the reproduction of social relations." These mechanisms are based both on codified codes of laws and on non-thematized rules (non-formalized “hidden” ones that are revealed when they are violated), social norms, values ​​and ideals that are historically inherent in a particular society. According to the authors of a Russian textbook for universities, “these are the strongest, most powerful ropes that decisively determine the viability [of the social system]”

Spheres of life of society

There are 4 spheres of the life of society, each of which includes various social institutions and various social relations arise:

• Economic- relations in the production process (production, distribution, consumption of material goods). Institutions related to the economic sphere: private property, material production, market, etc.
• Social- relations between different social and age groups; activities to ensure social guarantees. Institutions related to the social sphere: education, family, health care, social security, leisure, etc.
• Political- relations between civil society and the state, between the state and political parties, as well as between states. Institutions related to the political sphere: state, law, parliament, government, judiciary, political parties, army, etc.
• Spiritual- relations that arise in the process of creating and preserving spiritual values, creating the dissemination and consumption of information. Institutions related to the spiritual sphere: education, science, religion, art, media, etc.

institutionalization

The first, most commonly used meaning of the term "social institution" is associated with the characteristics of any kind of ordering, formalization and standardization of social ties and relations. And the process of streamlining, formalization and standardization is called institutionalization. The process of institutionalization, that is, the formation of a social institution, consists of several successive stages:

1. the emergence of a need, the satisfaction of which requires joint organized action;
2. formation of common goals;
3. the emergence of social norms and rules in the course of spontaneous social interaction carried out by trial and error;
4. the emergence of procedures related to rules and regulations;
5. institutionalization of norms and rules, procedures, that is, their adoption, practical application;
6. the establishment of a system of sanctions to maintain norms and rules, the differentiation of their application in individual cases;
7. creation of a system of statuses and roles covering all members of the institute without exception;

So, the end of the process of institutionalization can be considered the creation in accordance with the norms and rules of a clear status-role structure, socially approved by the majority of participants in this social process.

The process of institutionalization thus involves a number of points.

• One of the necessary conditions for the emergence of social institutions is the corresponding social need. Institutions are designed to organize the joint activities of people in order to meet certain social needs. Thus, the institution of the family satisfies the need for the reproduction of the human race and the upbringing of children, implements relations between the sexes, generations, etc. The institution of higher education provides training for the workforce, enables a person to develop his abilities in order to realize them in subsequent activities and ensure his own existence, etc. The emergence of certain social needs, as well as the conditions for their satisfaction, are the first necessary moments of institutionalization.

• A social institution is formed on the basis of social ties, interactions and relationships of specific individuals, social groups and communities. But it, like other social systems, cannot be reduced to the sum of these individuals and their interactions. Social institutions are of a supra-individual nature and have their own systemic quality. Consequently, a social institution is an independent public entity that has its own development logic. From this point of view, social institutions can be considered as organized social systems characterized by the stability of the structure, the integration of their elements and a certain variability of their functions.

First of all, we are talking about a system of values, norms, ideals, as well as patterns of activity and behavior of people and other elements of the sociocultural process. This system guarantees similar behavior of people, coordinates and directs their certain aspirations, establishes ways to satisfy their needs, resolves conflicts that arise in the process of everyday life, provides a state of balance and stability within a particular social community and society as a whole.

In itself, the presence of these socio-cultural elements does not yet ensure the functioning of a social institution. In order for it to work, it is necessary that they become the property of the inner world of the individual, be internalized by them in the process of socialization, embodied in the form of social roles and statuses. The internalization by individuals of all sociocultural elements, the formation on their basis of a system of personality needs, value orientations and expectations is the second most important element of institutionalization.

• The third most important element of institutionalization is the organizational design of a social institution. Outwardly, a social institution is a set of organizations, institutions, individuals equipped with certain material resources and performing a certain social function. Thus, the institution of higher education is put into action by the social corps of teachers, service personnel, officials who operate within the framework of institutions such as universities, the ministry or the State Committee for Higher Education, etc., who for their activities have certain material values ​​​​(buildings, finance, etc.).

Thus, social institutions are social mechanisms, stable value-normative complexes that regulate various areas of social life (marriage, family, property, religion), which are not very susceptible to changes in people's personal characteristics. But they are set in motion by people who carry out their activities, "play" by their rules. Thus, the concept of "the institution of a monogamous family" does not mean a separate family, but a set of norms that is realized in an innumerable set of families of a certain type.

Institutionalization, as shown by P. Berger and T. Luckman, is preceded by the process of habitualization, or “accustoming” of everyday actions, leading to the formation of patterns of activity that are later perceived as natural and normal for a given occupation or solving problems typical in these situations. Action patterns, in turn, serve as the basis for the formation of social institutions, which are described in the form of objective social facts and are perceived by the observer as a "social reality" (or social structure). These trends are accompanied by signification procedures (the process of creating, using signs and fixing meanings and meanings in them) and form a system of social meanings, which, forming into semantic connections, are fixed in natural language. Signification serves the purposes of legitimation (recognition as legitimate, socially recognized, legitimate) of the social order, that is, to justify and substantiate the usual ways of overcoming the chaos of destructive forces that threaten to undermine the stable idealizations of everyday life.

With the emergence and existence of social institutions, the formation in each individual of a special set of sociocultural dispositions (habitus), practical schemes of action that have become for the individual his internal "natural" need is connected. Thanks to habitus, individuals are included in the activities of social institutions. Therefore, social institutions are not just mechanisms, but "a kind of" factory of meanings "that set not only patterns of human interactions, but also ways of comprehending, understanding social reality and the people themselves" .

Structure and functions of social institutions

Structure

concept social institution suggests:

• the presence of a need in society and its satisfaction by the mechanism of reproduction of social practices and relations;
• these mechanisms, being supra-individual formations, act in the form of value-normative complexes that regulate social life as a whole or its separate sphere, but for the benefit of the whole;

Their structure includes:

• role models of behavior and statuses (prescriptions for their execution);
• their justification (theoretical, ideological, religious, mythological) in the form of a categorical grid that defines a "natural" vision of the world;
• means of transmitting social experience (material, ideal and symbolic), as well as measures that stimulate one behavior and repress another, tools to maintain institutional order;
• social positions - the institutions themselves represent a social position (“empty” social positions do not exist, so the question of the subjects of social institutions disappears).

In addition, they assume the existence of a certain social position of "professionals" who are able to put this mechanism into action, playing by its rules, including a whole system of their training, reproduction and maintenance.

In order not to denote the same concepts by different terms and to avoid terminological confusion, social institutions should be understood not as collective subjects, not social groups and not organizations, but as special social mechanisms that ensure the reproduction of certain social practices and social relations. And collective subjects should still be called "social communities", "social groups" and "social organizations".

Functions

Each social institution has a main function that determines its "face", associated with its main social role in the consolidation and reproduction of certain social practices and relationships. If this army, then its role is to ensure the military-political security of the country by participating in hostilities and demonstrating its military power. In addition to it, there are other explicit functions, to some extent characteristic of all social institutions, ensuring the implementation of the main one.

Along with explicit, there are also implicit - latent (hidden) functions. Thus, the Soviet Army at one time carried out a number of hidden state tasks unusual for it - national economic, penitentiary, fraternal assistance to "third countries", pacification and suppression of riots, popular discontent and counter-revolutionary putsches both within the country and in the countries of the socialist camp. The explicit functions of institutions are necessary. They are formed and declared in codes and fixed in the system of statuses and roles. Latent functions are expressed in unforeseen results of the activities of institutions or persons representing them. Thus, the democratic state that was established in Russia in the early 1990s, through the parliament, the government and the president, sought to improve the life of the people, create civilized relations in society and inspire citizens with respect for the law. Those were the clear goals and objectives. In fact, the crime rate has increased in the country, and the standard of living of the population has fallen. These are the results of the latent functions of the institutions of power. Explicit functions testify to what people wanted to achieve within the framework of this or that institution, and latent ones indicate what came of it.

The identification of the latent functions of social institutions allows not only to create an objective picture of social life, but also makes it possible to minimize their negative and enhance their positive impact in order to control and manage the processes taking place in it.

Social institutions in public life perform the following functions or tasks:

The totality of these social functions is formed into the general social functions of social institutions as certain types of social system. These features are very versatile. Sociologists of different directions tried to somehow classify them, to present them in the form of a certain ordered system. The most complete and interesting classification was presented by the so-called. "institutional school". Representatives of the institutional school in sociology (S. Lipset, D. Landberg and others) identified four main functions of social institutions:

• Reproduction of members of society. The main institution that performs this function is the family, but other social institutions, such as the state, are also involved in it.
• Socialization is the transfer to individuals of patterns of behavior and methods of activity established in a given society - the institutions of the family, education, religion, etc.
• Production and distribution. Provided by the economic and social institutions of management and control - the authorities.
• The functions of management and control are carried out through a system of social norms and regulations that implement the corresponding types of behavior: moral and legal norms, customs, administrative decisions, etc. Social institutions control the individual's behavior through a system of sanctions.

In addition to solving its specific tasks, each social institution performs universal functions inherent in all of them. The functions common to all social institutions include the following:

1. The function of fixing and reproducing social relations. Each institution has a set of norms and rules of conduct, fixed, standardizing the behavior of its members and making this behavior predictable. Social control provides the order and framework in which the activities of each member of the institution must proceed. Thus, the institution ensures the stability of the structure of society. The Code of the Institute of the Family assumes that members of society are divided into stable small groups - families. Social control provides a state of stability for each family, limits the possibility of its collapse.
2. Regulatory function. It ensures the regulation of relationships between members of society by developing patterns and patterns of behavior. All human life takes place with the participation of various social institutions, but each social institution regulates activities. Consequently, a person, with the help of social institutions, demonstrates predictability and standard behavior, fulfills role requirements and expectations.
3. Integrative function. This function ensures cohesion, interdependence and mutual responsibility of the members. This happens under the influence of institutionalized norms, values, rules, a system of roles and sanctions. It streamlines the system of interactions, which leads to an increase in the stability and integrity of the elements of the social structure.
4. Broadcasting function. Society cannot develop without the transfer of social experience. Each institution for its normal functioning needs the arrival of new people who have learned its rules. This happens by changing the social boundaries of the institution and changing generations. Consequently, each institution provides a mechanism for socialization to its values, norms, roles.
5. Communication functions. The information produced by the institution should be disseminated both within the institution (for the purpose of managing and monitoring compliance with social norms) and in interaction between institutions. This function has its own specifics - formal connections. This is the main function of the media institute. Scientific institutions actively perceive information. The commutative possibilities of institutions are not the same: some have them to a greater extent, others to a lesser extent.

Functional qualities

Social institutions differ from each other in their functional qualities:

• Political institutions - the state, parties, trade unions and other kinds of public organizations pursuing political goals, aimed at establishing and maintaining a certain form of political power. Their totality constitutes the political system of a given society. Political institutions ensure the reproduction and sustainable preservation of ideological values, stabilize the social class structures that dominate in society.
• Sociocultural and educational institutions aim at the development and subsequent reproduction of cultural and social values, the inclusion of individuals in a particular subculture, as well as the socialization of individuals through the assimilation of sustainable sociocultural standards of behavior and, finally, the protection of certain values ​​and norms.
• Normative-orienting - mechanisms of moral and ethical orientation and regulation of the behavior of individuals. Their goal is to give behavior and motivation a moral argument, an ethical basis. These institutions assert imperative universal human values, special codes and ethics of behavior in the community.
• Normative-sanctioning - social and social regulation of behavior on the basis of norms, rules and regulations, enshrined in legal and administrative acts. The binding nature of the norms is ensured by the coercive power of the state and the system of appropriate sanctions.
• Ceremonial-symbolic and situational-conventional institutions. These institutions are based on a more or less long-term adoption of conventional (by agreement) norms, their official and unofficial consolidation. These norms regulate everyday contacts, various acts of group and intergroup behavior. They determine the order and method of mutual behavior, regulate the methods of transmission and exchange of information, greetings, addresses, etc., the rules of meetings, sessions, and the activities of associations.

Dysfunction of a social institution

Violation of normative interaction with the social environment, which is a society or community, is called a dysfunction of a social institution. As noted earlier, the basis for the formation and functioning of a particular social institution is the satisfaction of a particular social need. Under the conditions of intensive social processes, the acceleration of the pace of social change, a situation may arise when the changed social needs are not adequately reflected in the structure and functions of the relevant social institutions. As a result, dysfunction may occur in their activities. From a substantive point of view, dysfunction is expressed in the ambiguity of the goals of the institution, the uncertainty of functions, in the fall of its social prestige and authority, the degeneration of its individual functions into “symbolic”, ritual activity, that is, activity not aimed at achieving a rational goal.

One of the clear expressions of the dysfunction of a social institution is the personalization of its activities. A social institution, as you know, functions according to its own, objectively operating mechanisms, where each person, on the basis of norms and patterns of behavior, in accordance with his status, plays certain roles. The personalization of a social institution means that it ceases to act in accordance with objective needs and objectively established goals, changing its functions depending on the interests of individuals, their personal qualities and properties.

An unsatisfied social need can bring to life the spontaneous emergence of normatively unregulated activities that seek to make up for the dysfunction of the institution, but at the expense of violating existing norms and rules. In its extreme forms, activity of this kind can be expressed in illegal activities. Thus, the dysfunction of some economic institutions is the reason for the existence of the so-called "shadow economy", resulting in speculation, bribery, theft, etc. The correction of dysfunction can be achieved by changing the social institution itself or by creating a new social institution that satisfies this social need.

Formal and informal social institutions

Social institutions, as well as the social relations they reproduce and regulate, can be formal and informal.

Role in the development of society

According to American researchers Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson (English) Russian it is the nature of the social institutions that exist in a given country that determines the success or failure of the development of a given country.

Having considered examples of many countries of the world, scientists came to the conclusion that the defining and necessary condition for the development of any country is the presence of public institutions, which they called public institutions. Inclusive institutions). Examples of such countries are all developed democratic countries of the world. Conversely, countries where public institutions are closed are doomed to fall behind and decline. Public institutions in such countries, according to researchers, serve only to enrich the elites that control access to these institutions - this is the so-called. "privileged institutions" extractive institutions). According to the authors, the economic development of society is impossible without anticipatory political development, that is, without the formation public political institutions. .

see also

Literature

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Footnotes and notes

1. Social Institutions // Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy
2. Spencer H. First principles. N.Y., 1898. S.46.
3. Marx K. P. V. Annenkov, December 28, 1846 // Marx K., Engels F. Works. Ed. 2nd. T. 27.S. 406.
4. Marx K. To the criticism of the Hegelian philosophy of law // Marx K., Engels F. Soch. Ed. 2nd. T.9. S. 263.
5. see: Durkheim E. Les forms elementaires de la vie religieuse. Le systeme totemique en Australie.Paris, 1960
6. Veblen T. Theory of an idle class. - M., 1984. S. 200-201.
7. Scott, Richard, 2001, Institutions and Organizations, London: Sage.
8. See ibid.
9. Fundamentals of Sociology: A Course of Lectures / [A. I. Antolov, V. Ya. Nechaev, L. V. Pikovsky et al.]: Ed. ed. \.G.Efendiev. - M, 1993. P.130
10. Acemoglu, Robinson
11. Theory of institutional matrices: in search of a new paradigm. // Journal of Sociology and Social Anthropology. No. 1, 2001.
12. Frolov S. S. Sociology. Textbook. For higher educational institutions. Section III. Social relationships. Chapter 3. Social institutions. Moscow: Nauka, 1994.
13. Gritsanov A. A. Encyclopedia of sociology. Publishing House "Book House", 2003. -.p. 125.
14. See more: Berger P., Lukman T. The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise on the Sociology of Knowledge. M.: Medium, 1995.
15. Kozhevnikov S. B. Society in the structures of the life world: methodological research tools // Sociological journal. 2008. No. 2. S. 81-82.
16. Bourdieu P. Structure, habitus, practice // Journal of Sociology and Social Anthropology. - Volume I, 1998. - No. 2.
17. Collection "Knowledge in the connections of sociality. 2003" : Internet source / Lektorsky V. A. Foreword -