What social institutions. Social institutions: examples, main features, functions

Social institutions are classified according to different criteria. The most common classification is by goals (content of tasks) and field of activity. In this case, it is customary to single out economic, political, cultural and educational, social complexes of institutions:

- economic institutions - the most stable, subject to strict regulation of social ties in the field of economic activity - these are all macro-institutions that ensure the production and distribution of social wealth and services, regulate money circulation, organize and division of labor (industry, agriculture, finance, trade). Macro-institutions are built from institutions such as ownership, governance, competition, pricing, bankruptcy, and so on. Satisfy the needs for the production of means of subsistence;

- political institutions (the state, the Verkhovna Rada, political parties, the court, the prosecutor's office, etc.) - their activities are associated with the establishment, execution and maintenance of a certain form of political power, the preservation and reproduction of ideological values. Satisfy the need for security of life and ensuring social order;

- institutions of culture and socialization (science, education, religion, art, various creative institutions) are the most stable, clearly regulated forms of interaction in order to create, strengthen and disseminate culture (value system), scientific knowledge, socialization of the younger generation;

- Institute of family and marriage- contribute to the reproduction of the human race;

- social- organizing voluntary associations, the vital activity of collectives, i.e. regulating everyday social behavior of people, interpersonal relationships.

Hidden within the main institutions are non-main or non-main institutions. For example, within the institution of family and marriage, non-basic institutions are distinguished: paternity and motherhood, tribal revenge (as an example of an informal social institution), naming, inheritance of the social status of parents.

By the nature of the objective functions social institutions are divided into:

- normative-oriented, carry out the moral and ethical orientation of the behavior of individuals, affirm universal human values, special codes and ethics of behavior in society;

- regulatory, carry out regulation of behavior on the basis of norms, rules, special additions fixed in legal and administrative acts. The guarantor of their implementation is the state, its representative bodies;

- ceremonial-symbolic and situational-conventional, define the rules of mutual behavior, regulate the ways of information exchange, communicative forms of informal subordination (appeal, greeting, affirmations/non-confirmations).

Depending on the number of functions performed, there are: monofunctional (enterprise) and polyfunctional (family).

According to the criteria of the method of regulation of behavior people are singled out formal and informal social institutions.

Formal social institutions. They base their activities on clear principles (legal acts, laws, decrees, regulations, instructions), carry out managerial and control functions on the basis of sanctions related to rewards and punishments (administrative and criminal). These institutions include the state, the army, and the school. Their functioning is controlled by the state, which protects the accepted order of things by the power of its power. Formal social institutions determine the strength of society. They are regulated not only by written rules - most often we are talking about the interweaving of written and unwritten rules. For example, economic social institutions operate on the basis of not only laws, instructions, orders, but also such an unwritten norm as loyalty to a given word, which often turns out to be stronger than dozens of laws or regulations. In some countries, bribery has become an unwritten norm, so widespread that it is a fairly stable element in the organization of economic activity, although it is punishable by law.

When analyzing any formal social institution, it is necessary to investigate not only formally fixed norms and rules, but also the entire system of standards, including moral standards, customs, traditions that are steadily involved in the regulation of institutionalized interactions.

informal social institutions. They do not have a clear regulatory framework, that is, interactions within these institutions are not formally fixed. They are the result of social creativity based on the will of citizens. Social control in such institutions is established with the help of norms enshrined in civil thought, traditions, and customs. These include various cultural and social funds, associations of interest. An example of informal social institutions can be friendship - one of the elements that characterizes the life of any society, an obligatory stable phenomenon of the human community. The regulation in friendship is quite complete, clear and sometimes even cruel. Resentment, quarrel, termination of friendships are peculiar forms of social control and sanctions in this social institution. But this regulation is not framed in the form of laws, administrative codes. Friendship has resources (trust, liking, duration of acquaintance, etc.) but no institutions. It has a clear delimitation (from love, relationships with colleagues in the service, fraternal relations), but does not have a clear professional consolidation of the status, rights and obligations of partners. Another example of informal social institutions is the neighborhood, which is a significant element of social life. An example of an informal social institution is the institution of blood feud, which has been partially preserved among some peoples of the east.

All social institutions, to varying degrees, are united in a system that provides them with guarantees for a uniform, conflict-free process of functioning and reproduction of social life. All members of the community are interested in this. However, we must remember that in any society there is a certain amount of the anomic, i.e. behavior of the population that does not obey the normative order. This circumstance can serve as the basis for the destabilization of the system of social institutions.

There is a dispute among scientists about which social institutions have the most significant impact on the nature of social relations. A significant part of scientists believe that the institutions of economics and politics have the most significant impact on the nature of changes in society. The first creates a material basis for the development of social relations, since a poor society is not able to develop science and education, and, consequently, to increase the spiritual and intellectual potential of social relations. The second creates laws and implements power functions, which allows you to prioritize and finance the development of certain areas of society. However, the development of educational and cultural institutions that will stimulate the economic progress of society and the development of its political system can lead to no less social changes.

The institutionalization of social ties, the acquisition by the latter of the properties of an institution leads to the deepest transformations of social life, which acquires a fundamentally different quality.

The first group of consequences are obvious consequences.

· Formation of the institution of education on the site of sporadic, spontaneous and, perhaps, experimental attempts to transfer knowledge leads to a significant increase in the level of mastery of knowledge, enrichment of the intellect, abilities of the individual, its self-realization.

The result is an enrichment of all social life and an acceleration of social development as a whole.

In fact, every social institution, on the one hand, contributes to a better, more reliable satisfaction of the needs of individuals, and on the other hand, to the acceleration of social development. Therefore, the more social needs are satisfied by specially organized institutions, the more multifaceted society is developed, the richer it is qualitatively.

· The wider the area of ​​the institutionalized, the greater the predictability, stability, orderliness in the life of society and the individual. The zone in which the person is free from willfulness, surprises, hopes for "maybe" is expanding.

It is no coincidence that the degree of development of a society is determined by the degree of development of social institutions: firstly, what type of motivation (and therefore norms, criteria, values) forms the basis of institutionalized interactions in a given society; secondly, how developed is the system of institutionalized systems of interactions in a given society, how wide is the range of social tasks solved within the framework of specialized institutions; thirdly, how high is the level of orderliness of certain institutional interactions, the entire system of institutions of society.

The second group of consequences- perhaps the most profound consequences.

We are talking about the consequences that are generated by the impersonality of the requirements for someone who claims a certain function (or already performs it). These demands are presented in the form of clearly fixed, unambiguously interpreted patterns of behavior - norms supported by sanctions.

social organizations.

Society as a social reality is ordered not only institutionally, but also organizationally.

The term "organization" is used in three senses.

In the first case, an organization can be called an artificial association of an institutional nature that occupies a certain place in society and performs a certain function. In this sense, the organization acts as a social institution. In this sense, an “organization” can be called an enterprise, an authority, a voluntary union, etc.

In the second case, the term "organization" may refer to a specific organization activity (distribution of functions, establishing stable relationships, coordination, etc.). Here, the organization acts as a process associated with a targeted impact on the object, with the presence of the organizer and those organized. In this sense, the concept of "organization" coincides with the concept of "management", although it does not exhaust it.

In the third case, "organization" can be understood as a characteristic of the degree of ordering of any social object. Then this term denotes a certain structure, structure and type of connections that act as a way of connecting parts into a whole. With this content, the term "organization" is used when it comes to organized or unorganized systems. It is this meaning that is implied in the terms "formal" and "informal" organization.

Organization as a process of ordering and coordinating the behavior of individuals is inherent in all social formations.

social organization- a social group focused on achieving interrelated specific goals and the formation of highly formalized structures.

According to P. Blau, only social formations, which in the scientific literature are usually referred to as "formal organizations", can be classified as organizations.

Features (signs) of social organization

1. A clearly defined and declared goal that brings individuals together on the basis of a common interest.

2. It has a clear obligatory order, a system of its statuses and roles - a hierarchical structure (vertical division of labor). High level of formalization of relations. According to the rules, regulations, routines cover the entire sphere of behavior of its participants, whose social roles are clearly defined, and relations imply power and subordination.

3. Must have a coordinating body or management system.

4. Perform fairly stable functions in relation to society.

The importance of social organizations lies in the fact that:

First, any organization is made up of people involved in activities.

Secondly, it is focused on the performance of vital functions.

Thirdly, it initially involves control over the behavior and activities of people who are part of organizations.

Fourthly, it uses the means of culture as a tool for this regulation, it is focused on achieving the set goal.

Fifthly, in the most concentrated form it focuses some basic social processes and problems.

Sixthly, the person himself uses a variety of services of organizations (kindergarten, school, clinic, shop, bank, trade union, etc.).

A necessary condition for the functioning of the organization is: firstly, connection of heterogeneous activities into a single process, synchronization of their efforts in order to achieve the set common goals and objectives dictated by the needs of a wider society. Secondly, the interest of individuals (groups) in cooperation as a means of realizing their own goals and solving their problems. This, in turn, implies establishment of a certain social order, vertical division of labor, which is the third prerequisite for the formation of an organization. The performance of a managerial function implies the empowerment of persons specializing in this activity with certain powers - power and formal authority, i.e. the right to give instructions to subordinates and demand their implementation. From this moment on, the persons performing the basic activities and the person performing managerial functions enter into a leadership-subordination relationship, which implies the restriction of part of the freedom and activity of the former and the transfer of part of sovereignty to them in favor of the latter. Recognition of the need for an employee to alienate part of his freedom and sovereignty in favor of another person in order to ensure the necessary level of coordination of actions and social order is a condition and prerequisite for the formation of an organization and its activities. In this regard, it is mandatory to single out in a group of people endowed with power and authority. This type of worker is called leader, and the type of specialized activity performed by him - leadership. Managers take on the functions of setting goals, planning, programming the connection, synchronizing and coordinating basic activities, and monitoring their results. Establishment and recognition of the power of one person over another is one of the important components of the formation of the organization.

The next component of the formation of organizational relations, complementing and at the same time limiting the power of the leader, is formation of general universal rules and social norms, socio-cultural standards, prescriptions regulating activities and organizational interactions. The formation and internalization of uniform rules and social norms that regulate the behavior of people in an organization makes it possible to increase the stability of social interactions between the behavior of participants in an activity. It is associated with the formation of predictable and stable relationships, ensuring a certain level of stability in people's behavior. It involves the consolidation of power, a system of rights, duties, subordination and responsibility in a system of impersonal positions (official statuses) - official and professional, supported by a system of legally fixed norms that create grounds for the legitimacy of the power of a particular official. At the same time, the power of the norm limits the power and arbitrariness of the leader, allows you to ensure the level of social order without the intervention of the leader.

Consequently, we can name two interrelated, but fundamentally different sources of regulation of people's behavior: the power of a person and the power of a social norm. At the same time, the power of the social norm opposes the power of the individual and limits his arbitrariness in relation to others.

The main criterion for structuring social organizations is the degree of formalization of the relations existing in them. With this in mind, a distinction is made between formal and informal organizations.

Formal organization - it is the basic subsystem of an organization. Sometimes the term "formal organization" is used as a synonym for the concept of organization. The term "formal organization" was introduced by E. Mayo. formal organization is an artificially and rigidly structured impersonal system of regulation of business interactions, oriented towards achieving corporate goals, enshrined in regulatory documents.

Formal organizations build social relations on the basis of the regulation of connections, statuses, and norms. These include, for example, industrial enterprises, firms, universities, municipal authorities (mayor's office). The basis of formal organization is the division of labor, its specialization according to functional characteristics. The more developed the specialization, the more versatile and complex the administrative functions, the more multifaceted the structure of the organization. The formal organization resembles a pyramid in which tasks are differentiated at several levels. In addition to the horizontal distribution of labor, it is characterized by coordination, leadership (hierarchy of official positions) and various vertical specializations. Formal organization is rational, it is characterized by exclusively service connections between individuals.

The formalization of relations means narrowing the range of choice, limiting, even subordinating the will of the participant to an impersonal order. Following the established order means: the initial restriction of freedom, activity of each participant in the activity; the establishment of certain rules governing interaction and creating a field for their standardization. As a result of following a clear order, the concept of "bureaucracy" arises.

M. Weber considered the organization as a system of power and developed the theoretical foundations of its management. In his opinion, the requirements of a specialized and multifaceted organization are best met by a bureaucratic system. The advantages of bureaucracy are most noticeable when, during the performance of official duties, it manages to exclude personal, irrational, emotional elements. According to this, bureaucracy is characterized by: rationality, reliability, economy. Efficiency, neutrality, hierarchy, legitimacy of actions, centralization of power. The main disadvantage of bureaucracy is the lack of flexibility, stereotyped actions.

However, as practice shows, it is impossible to build the activities of organizations entirely on the principles of formalizing relations, since:

First, the real activity of the bureaucracy is not so idyllic and generates a number of dysfunctions.

Secondly, the activity of the organization implies not only a strict order, but also the creative activity of the employee.

Thirdly, there are many restrictions on the total formalization of relations:

The whole sphere of human interactions cannot be reduced to business;

formalization of business relations is possible only if the methods of activity and tasks are repeated;

There are a lot of problems in the organization that require innovative solutions;

a high level of formalization of relations is possible only in an organization in which the situation is relatively stable and defined, which makes it possible to clearly distribute, regulate and standardize the duties of employees;

For the establishment and legalization of norms, it is necessary that these norms be observed in an informal sphere

There are different classifications of formal organizations: by form of ownership; the type of the goal being realized and the nature of the activity performed; the ability of employees to influence organizational goals; the scope and scope of organizational control; the type and degree of rigidity of organizational structures and the degree of formalization of relations; the degree of centralization of decision-making and the rigidity of organizational control; the type of technology used; size; the number of functions performed; the type of environment and the way of interacting with it. For various reasons of organization classified into societal and local; scalar (rigidly structured) and latent (less rigidly structured); administrative and public; business and charitable; private, joint-stock, cooperative, state, public, etc. Despite significant differences, they all have a number of common features and can be considered as an object of study.

Often, service relations do not fit into purely formal ties and norms. To solve a number of problems, employees sometimes have to enter into relations with each other that are not provided for by any rules. Which is completely natural, because. the formal structure cannot provide for the full complexity of the relationship.

Informal organizations- this is an alternative, but no less effective subsystem of social regulation of behavior, spontaneously arising and operating in an organization at the level of small groups. This type of regulation of behavior is focused on the implementation of the common goals and interests of a small group (often not coinciding with the general goals of the organization) and maintaining social order in the group.

Informal organizations appear not by order or decision of the administration, but spontaneously or consciously to address social needs. An informal organization is a spontaneously formed system of social connections and interactions. They have their own norms of interpersonal and intergroup communication that are different from the formal structures. They arise and operate where formal organizations do not perform any functions important to society. Informal organizations, groups, associations compensate for the shortcomings of formal structures. As a rule, these are self-organized systems created to implement the common interests of the subjects of the organization. A member of an informal organization is more independent in achieving individual and group goals, has more freedom in choosing a form of behavior, interaction with other individuals of the organization. These interactions are more dependent on personal attachments, sympathies.

Informal organizations operate according to unwritten rules; their activities are not strictly regulated by orders, management guidelines, or instructions. Relations between participants in informal organizations are formed on the basis of oral agreements. The solution of organizational, technical and other problems is most often distinguished by creativity and originality. But in such organizations or groups there is no rigid discipline, therefore they are less stable, more plastic and subject to change. Structure and relationships largely depend on the current situation.

Arising in the process of activity, an informal organization can operate both in the sphere of business and non-business relations.

The relationship between formal and informal organizations is complex and dialectical.

Obviously, the discrepancy between goals and their functions often provokes conflicts between them. On the other hand, these subsystems of social regulation complement each other. If a formal organization, objectively focused on achieving corporate goals, often provokes conflicts between participants in joint activities, then an informal organization removes these tensions and strengthens the integration of the social community, without which the organization's activities are impossible. In addition, according to Ch. Barnadr, the connection between these systems of regulation is obvious: firstly, the formal organization arises from the informal, i.e. patterns of behavior and norms created in the process of informal interactions are the basis for constructing a formal structure; secondly, an informal organization is a testing ground for testing the created samples, in the absence of which the legal consolidation of social norms in the formal subsystem of regulation leads to their invalidity; thirdly, the formal organization, filling only a part of the organizational space, inevitably gives rise to an informal organization. The informal organization has a significant impact on the formal, and seeks to change the existing relations in it according to its needs.

Thus, each type of organization has its advantages and disadvantages. A modern manager, lawyer, entrepreneur must have a meat idea about this in order to skillfully use their strengths in practical work.

conclusions

Modern society cannot exist without complex social connections and interactions. Historically, they expand and deepen. A special role is played by interactions and connections that provide the most important needs of the individual, social groups, and society as a whole. As a rule, these interactions and connections are institutionalized (legalized, protected from the influence of accidents), and have a stable self-renewable character. Social institutions and organizations in the system of social ties and interactions are a kind of pillars on which society rests. They ensure the relative stability of social relations within society.

Determining the role of social institutions in social change and development can be reduced to two interrelated actions:

First, they provide a transition to a qualitatively new state of the social system, its progressive development.

Secondly, they can contribute to the destruction or disorganization of the social system.

Literature

1. Sociology: Navch. Posіbnik / For red. G.V. Butler - 2nd view., Rev. and add. - K .: KNEU, 2002.

2. Sociology: Uch. settlement ed. Lavrinenko V.N. - 2nd bridle, reworked and additional. – M.: UNITI, 2000.

3. Sociology / As edited by V. G. Gorodyanenko. - K., 2002.

4. General sociology: Textbook. allowance / Ed. A.G. Efendiev. M., 2002.

5. Kharcheva V. Fundamentals of sociology: a textbook for students. – m.: Logos, 2001.

6. Ossovsky V. Social organization and social institution // Sociology: theory, method, marketing. - 1998 - No. 3.

7. Reznik A. Institutional factors of stability of a poorly integrated Ukrainian society // Sociology: theory, methods, marketing. - 2005 - No. 1. - P.155-167.

8. Lapki V.V., Pantin V.I. Mastering the Institutions and Values ​​of Democracy by the Ukrainian Russian Mass Consciousness // Polis - 2005 - No. 1. - P.50-62.

Similar information.

Social institutions

The concepts of "social institution" and "social organization".

Types and functions of social institutions.

The family as a social institution.

Education as a social institution.

The concepts of "social institution" and "social organization"

Society as a social system has the property of dynamics. Only constant variability can guarantee him self-preservation in a constantly changing external environment. The development of society is accompanied by a complication of its internal structure, a qualitative and quantitative change in its elements, as well as their connections and relationships.

At the same time, the change of society cannot be absolutely continuous. Moreover, as the history of mankind testifies, the priority characteristic of specific social systems is their relative immutability. It is this circumstance that makes it possible for successive generations of people to adapt to this particular social environment and determines the continuity of the development of the material, intellectual and spiritual culture of society.

Given the need to preserve those basic social ties and relationships that are guaranteed to ensure its stability, society takes measures to secure them fairly rigidly, excluding accidental spontaneous change. To do this, society fixes the most important types of social relations in the form of normative prescriptions, the implementation of which is mandatory for all members. At the same time, a system of sanctions is being developed and, as a rule, legitimized to ensure the unconditional execution of these instructions.

Social institutions- these are historically established stable forms of organization and regulation of the joint life of people. This is a legally fixed system of social ties and relations. The process and result of their consolidation is denoted by the term "institutionalization". So, for example, we can talk about the institutionalization of marriage, the institutionalization of education systems, etc.

Marriage, the family, moral standards, education, private property, the market, the state, the army, the courts, and other similar forms in society are all clear examples of institutions already established in it. With their help, communications and relations between people are streamlined and standardized, their activities and behavior in society are regulated. This ensures a certain organization and stability of public life.

Structure of social institutions often represents a very complex system, since each institution covers a number of sociocultural elements. These elements can be grouped into five main groups. Consider them on the example of such an institution as the family:

1) spiritual and ideological elements, i.e. such feelings, ideals and values ​​as, say, love, mutual fidelity, the desire to create your own cozy family world, the desire to raise worthy children, etc.;

2) material elements- house, apartment, furniture, cottage, car, etc.;

3) behavioral elements- sincerity, mutual respect, tolerance, willingness to compromise, trust, mutual assistance, etc.;

4) cultural and symbolic elements- marriage ritual, wedding rings, wedding anniversary celebrations, etc.;

5) organizational and documentary elements- civil registration system (ZAGS), marriage and birth certificates, alimony, social security system, etc.

No one "invents" social institutions. They grow gradually, as if by themselves, from this or that specific need of people. For example, out of the need to protect public order, the institution of the police (militia) arose and established itself in due time. The process of institutionalization consists in streamlining, standardizing, organizational design and legislative regulation of those ties and relations in society that “claim” to be transformed into a social institution.

The peculiarity of social institutions is that they, being formed on the basis of social ties, relations and interaction of specific people and specific social communities, are individual and supra-group in nature. A social institution is a relatively independent social entity that has its own internal logic of development. From this point of view, a social institution should be considered as an organized social subsystem, characterized by the stability of the structure, the integration of its elements and functions.

The main elements of social institutions are, first of all, systems of values, norms, ideals, as well as patterns of activity and behavior of people in various life situations. Social institutions coordinate and direct the aspirations of individuals into a single channel, establish ways to meet their needs, contribute to the expansion of social conflicts, and ensure the stability of the existence of specific social communities and society as a whole.

The existence of a social institution is associated, as a rule, with its organizational design. A social institution is a set of persons and institutions that have certain material resources and perform a certain social function. Thus, the institution of education includes managers and employees of state and regional educational authorities, teachers, teachers, students, pupils, service personnel, as well as educational institutions and educational institutions: universities, institutes, colleges, technical schools, colleges, schools and children's gardens.

By itself, the fixation of socio-cultural values ​​in the form of social institutions does not yet ensure their effective functioning. In order for them to "work", it is necessary that these values ​​become the property of a person's inner world and be recognized by social communities. The assimilation of sociocultural values ​​by the members of society is the content of the process of their socialization, in which a huge role is assigned to the institution of education.

In addition to social institutions in society, there are also social organizations, which are one of the forms of ordering connections, relationships and interactions of individuals and social groups. Social organizations have a number of characteristics:

they are created to achieve certain goals;

social organization gives a person the opportunity to satisfy his needs and interests within the limits that are established by the norms and values ​​​​accepted in this social organization;

social organization helps to increase the efficiency of the activities of its members, since its emergence and existence is based on the division of labor and on its specialization according to a functional basis.

A characteristic feature of most social organizations is their hierarchical structure, in which the governing and managed subsystems are quite clearly distinguished, which ensures its stability and functioning efficiency. As a result of the combination of various elements of social organization into a single whole, a special organizational, or cooperative effect arises. Sociologists call its three main components:

1) the organization unites the efforts of many of its members, i.e. the simultaneity of many efforts of each;

2) the participants of the organization, being included in it, become different: they turn into its specialized elements, each of which performs a very specific function, which significantly increases the effectiveness and effect of their activities;

3) the managing subsystem plans, organizes and harmonizes the activities of the members of the social organization, and this also serves as a source of increasing the effectiveness of its actions.

The most complex and most significant social organization is the state (public-authoritative social organization), in which the central place is occupied by the state apparatus. In a democratic society, along with the state, there is also such a form of social organization as civil society. We are talking about such social institutions and relations as voluntary associations of people with the same interests, folk art, friendship, the so-called “unregistered marriage”, etc. At the center of civil society is a sovereign person who has the right to life, personal freedom and property. Other important values ​​of civil society are: democratic freedoms, political pluralism, the rule of law.

Types and functions of social institutions

Among the huge variety of institutional forms, one can single out the following main groups of social institutions.

Each of these groups, as well as each institution separately, fulfill their own certain functions.

Economic institutions are called upon to ensure the organization and management of the economy for the purpose of its effective development. For example, property relations secure material and other values ​​to a certain owner and enable the latter to receive income from these values. Money is called upon to serve as a universal equivalent in the exchange of goods, and wages as a reward to the worker for his work. Economic institutions provide the entire system of production and distribution of social wealth, while at the same time connecting the purely economic sphere of society's life with its other spheres.

Political institutions establish a certain power and govern society. They are also designed to ensure the protection of the sovereignty of the state and its territorial integrity, state ideological values, taking into account the political interests of various social communities.

Spiritual institutions associated with the development of science, education, art, the maintenance of moral values ​​in society. Sociocultural institutions aim to preserve and enhance the cultural values ​​of society.

As for the institution of the family, it is the primary and key link in the entire social system. From the family people come into society. It brings up the main personality traits of a citizen. The family sets the daily tone of all social life. Societies thrive when there is prosperity and peace in the families of its citizens.

The grouping of social institutions is very conditional, and does not mean that they exist in isolation from each other. All institutions of society are closely interconnected. For example, the state operates not only in “its own” political area, but also in all other areas: it is engaged in economic activities, promotes the development of spiritual processes, and regulates family relations. And the institution of the family (as the main cell of society) is literally at the center of the intersection of the lines of all other institutions (property, wages, the army, education, etc.).

Formed over the centuries, social institutions do not remain unchanged. They develop and improve along with the movement of society forward. At the same time, it is important that the governing bodies of society should not be late with the organizational (and especially with the legislative) formalization of the overdue changes in social institutions. Otherwise, the latter perform their functions worse and hinder social progress.

Each social institution has its own social functions, goals of activity, means and methods to ensure its achievement. The functions of social institutions are diverse. However, all their diversity can be reduced to four major:

1) reproduction of members of society (the main social institution that performs this function is the family);

2) socialization of members of society and, above all, new generations - the transfer to them of the industrial, intellectual and spiritual experience accumulated by society in its historical development, established patterns of behavior and interactions (institute of education);

3) production, distribution, exchange and consumption of material goods, intellectual and spiritual values ​​(State Institute, Institute of Mass Communications, Institute of Art and Culture);

4) management and control over the behavior of members of society and social communities (the institution of social norms and regulations: moral and legal norms, customs, administrative decisions, the institution of sanctions for non-compliance or for improper compliance with established norms and rules).

In 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, resulting in, as they say, their dysfunction. The essence of the dysfunction of a social institution lies in the "degeneration" of the goals of its activity and in the loss of the social significance of the functions performed by it. Outwardly, this is manifested in the fall of his social prestige and authority and in the transformation of his activity into a symbolic, “ritual” one, not aimed at achieving socially significant goals.

Correction of the dysfunction of a social institution can be achieved by changing it or creating a new social institution whose goals and functions would correspond to the changed social relations, connections and interactions. If this is not done in an acceptable way and in a proper way, an unsatisfied social need can give rise to the spontaneous emergence of normatively unregulated types of social ties and relations that can be destructive for society as a whole or for its individual areas. So, for example, the partial dysfunction of some economic institutions is the reason for the existence of the so-called "shadow economy" in our country, resulting in speculation, bribery, theft.

Family as a social institution

The family is the initial structural element of society and its most important social institution. From the point of view of sociologists, family is a group of people based on marriage and consanguinity, connected by common life and mutual responsibility. At the same time, under marriage the union of a man and a woman is understood, giving rise to their rights and obligations in relation to each other, to their parents and to their children.

marriage may be registered And actual (unregistered). Here, apparently, special attention should be paid to the fact that any form of marriage, including unregistered marriage, differs significantly from extramarital (disordered) sexual relations. Their fundamental difference from the marriage union is manifested in the desire to avoid the conception of a child, in the evasion of moral and legal responsibility for the onset of an unwanted pregnancy, in the refusal to support and raise a child in the event of his birth.

Marriage is a historical phenomenon that arose in the era of mankind's transition from savagery to barbarism and developed in the direction from polygamy (polygamy) to monogamy (monogamy). Basic forms polygamous marriage, passing successively to replace each other and preserved up to the present time in a number of "exotic" regions and countries of the world, are group marriage, polyandry ( polyandry) and polygamy ( polygamy).

In a group marriage, there are several men and several women in the marriage relationship. Polyandry is characterized by the presence of several husbands for one woman, and for polygamy - several wives for one husband.

Historically, the last and currently most common form of marriage, the essence of which is a stable marriage union of one man and one woman. The first form of the family based on monogamous marriage was the extended family, also called the kinship or patriarchal (traditional). This family was built not only on marital relations, but also on consanguinity. Such a family was characterized by having many children and living in the same house or in the same farmstead for several generations. In this regard, patriarchal families were quite numerous, and therefore well adapted for relatively independent subsistence agriculture.

The transition of society from natural economy to industrial production was accompanied by the destruction of the patriarchal family, which was replaced by the married family. Such a family in sociology is also called nuclear(from lat. - core). A married family consists of a husband, wife and children, the number of which, especially in urban families, is becoming extremely small.

The family as a social institution goes through a number of stages, the main ones are:

1) marriage - formation of a family;

2) the beginning of childbearing - the birth of the first child;

3) the end of childbearing - the birth of the last child;

4) "empty nest" - marriage and separation of the last child from the family;

5) termination of the existence of the family - the death of one of the spouses.

Any family, regardless of what form of marriage underlies it, has been and remains a social institution, designed to perform a system of specific and unique social functions inherent in it. The main ones are: reproductive, educational, economic, status, emotional, protective, as well as the function of social control and regulation. Let's consider in more detail the content of each of them.

The most important thing for any family is its reproductive function, which is based on the instinctive desire of a person (individual) to continue his kind, and society - to ensure the continuity and succession of successive generations.

Considering the content of the reproductive function of the family, it should be borne in mind that in this case we are talking about the reproduction of the biological, intellectual and spiritual essence of a person. A child passing into this world must be physically strong, physiologically and mentally healthy, which would provide him with the opportunity to perceive the material, intellectual and spiritual culture accumulated by previous generations. Obviously, apart from the family, no “social incubator” like the “Baby House” is able to solve this problem.

Fulfilling its reproductive mission, the family is "responsible" not only for the qualitative, but also for the quantitative growth of the population. It is the family that is that kind of birth rate regulator, by influencing which one can avoid or initiate a demographic decline or a demographic explosion.

One of the most important functions of the family is educational function. For the normal full development of the child, the family is vital. Psychologists note that if a child is deprived of maternal warmth and care from birth to 3 years, then its development slows down significantly. The primary socialization of the younger generation is also carried out in the family.

essence economic function The family consists in the maintenance by its members of a common household and in the economic support of minors who are temporarily unemployed, as well as those who are unable to work due to illness or age of family members. "Outgoing" totalitarian Russia has contributed to the economic function of the family. The wage system was built in such a way that neither a man nor a woman could live separately from each other on wages. And this circumstance served as an additional and very significant incentive for their marriage.

From the moment of his birth, a person receives citizenship, nationality, social position in society inherent in the family, becomes an urban or rural resident, etc. Thus, it is carried out status function families. The social statuses inherited by a person at his birth can change over time, however, they largely determine the “starting” capabilities of a person in his final destiny.

Satisfying the inherent human need for family warmth, comfort and intimate communication is the main content emotional function families. It is no secret that in families in which an atmosphere of participation, goodwill, sympathy, empathy has developed, people get sick less, and when they get sick, they endure illness more easily. They also turn out to be more resistant to stress, for which our life is so generous.

One of the most significant is protective function. It manifests itself in the physical, material, mental, intellectual and spiritual protection of its members. In a family, violence, the threat of violence or infringement of interests shown in relation to one of its members, cause a response of opposition, in which the instinct of its self-preservation is manifested. The most acute form of such a reaction is revenge, including blood, associated with violent actions.

One of the forms of the defensive reaction of the family, which contributes to its self-preservation, is a solidary feeling of guilt or shame by the whole family for the illegal, immoral or immoral actions and deeds of one or more of its members. A deep awareness of one's moral responsibility for what happened contributes to the spiritual self-purification and self-improvement of the family, and thereby strengthening its foundations.

The family is the main social institution through which society carries out primary social control over the behavior of people and the regulation of their mutual responsibility and mutual obligations. At the same time, the family is that informal “court instance” that has the right to apply moral sanctions to family members for non-compliance or for improper observance of the norms of social and family life. It seems quite obvious that the family as a social institution implements its functions not in a "soulless space", but in a well-defined political, economic, social, ideological and cultural environment. At the same time, the existence of the family in a totalitarian society, which seeks to penetrate into all pores of civil society and, above all, into the family and family relations, turns out to be the most unnatural.

It is easy to verify the validity of this statement by looking more closely at the process of the post-revolutionary transformation of the Soviet family. The aggressive foreign and repressive domestic policy of the Soviet state, the essentially inhuman economy, the total ideologization of society and, especially, the education system led to the degradation of the family, to its transformation from normal to “Soviet”, with a corresponding deformation of its functions. The state limited its reproductive function to the reproduction of "human material", having appropriated to itself the monopoly right of its subsequent spiritual duping. The beggarly level of wages gave rise to sharp conflicts between parents and children on an economic basis, shaped both these and others a sense of their own inferiority. In a country in which class antagonism, spy mania and total denunciation were planted, there could be no question of any protective function of the family, especially the function of moral satisfaction. And the status role of the family has become completely life-threatening: the fact of belonging to one or another social stratum, to one or another ethnic group was often tantamount to a sentence for a grave crime. The control and regulation of people's social behavior was taken over by the punitive bodies, the party and party organizations, involving their faithful assistants in this process - the Komsomol, the pioneer organization, and even the Octoberists. As a result, the control function of the family degenerated into peeping and eavesdropping, followed by denunciation to state and party parties or with a public discussion of compromising material at "comradely" courts, at party and Komsomol meetings of the October "stars"

in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. the patriarchal family prevailed (about 80%), in the 1970s. more than half of Russian families adhered to the principles of equality and mutual respect. The forecasts of N. Smelser and E. Giddens about the post-industrial future of the family are interesting. According to N. Smelzer, there will be no return to the traditional family. The modern family will change, partially losing or changing some functions, although the family's monopoly on the regulation of intimate relationships, childbearing and caring for young children will continue into the future. At the same time, there will be a partial decay of even relatively stable functions. So, the reproduction function will be carried out by unmarried women. Centers for the upbringing of children will be more involved in socialization. Friendship and emotional support can be found not only in the family. E. Giddens notes a steady trend of weakening the regulatory function of the family in relation to sexual life, but believes that marriage and the family will remain strong institutions.

The family as a socio-biological system is analyzed from the standpoint of functionalism and conflict theory. The family, on the one hand, is closely connected with society through its functions, and on the other hand, all family members are interconnected by consanguinity and social relations. It should be noted that the family is also a carrier of contradictions both with society and between its members. Family life is connected with the solution of contradictions between husband, wife and children, relatives, surrounding people regarding the performance of functions, even if it is based on love and respect.

In the family, as in society, there is not only unity, integrity and harmony, but also a struggle of interests. The nature of conflicts can be understood from the standpoint of the exchange theory, which implies that all family members should strive for an equal exchange in their relationship. Tensions and conflicts arise from the fact that someone does not receive the expected "reward". The source of the conflict may be the low wages of one of the family members, drunkenness, violence, sexual dissatisfaction, etc. The strong severity of disturbances in metabolic processes leads to the breakup of the family.

The problems of the modern Russian family as a whole coincide with the global ones. Among them:

an increase in the number of divorces and an increase in single families (mainly with a “single mother”);

a decrease in the number of registered marriages and an increase in the number of civil marriages;

reduction in the birth rate;

an increase in the number of children born out of wedlock;

changes in the distribution of family responsibilities due to the growing involvement of women in labor activity, requiring the joint participation of both parents in raising children and organizing everyday life;

an increase in the number of dysfunctional families.

The most pressing problem is dysfunctional families arising from socio-economic, psychological, pedagogical or biological (for example, disability) reasons. stand out the following types of dysfunctional families:

Dysfunctional families deform the personality of children, causing anomalies both in the psyche and in behavior, for example, early alcoholization, drug addiction, prostitution, vagrancy and other forms of deviant behavior.

Another urgent family problem is the growing number of divorces. In our country, along with the freedom of marriage, there is also the right of spouses to divorce. According to statistics, currently 2 out of 3 marriages break up. But this figure varies depending on the place of residence and age of people. So in big cities there are more divorces than in rural areas. The peak number of divorces falls at the age of 25-30 years and 40-45 years.

As the number of divorces increases, the possibility that they will be compensated by remarriage becomes less and less. Only 10-15% of women with children remarry. As a result, the number of incomplete families is increasing. So what is divorce? Some say - evil, others - getting rid of evil. In order to find out this, it is necessary to analyze a wide range of questions: how does a divorced person live? Is he happy with the divorce? How have housing conditions and health changed? How did your relationship with the children develop? Is he thinking of remarrying? It is very important to find out the fate of a divorced woman and a man, as well as a child from a broken family. It is not for nothing that they say that divorce is like an iceberg in the sea: only a small part of the reasons are visible on the surface, but their main mass is hidden in the depths of the souls of the divorced.

According to statistics, a divorce case is initiated mainly at the request of women, because. a woman in our time has become independent, she works, she can support her family herself and does not want to put up with the shortcomings of her husband. At the same time, a woman does not think that she herself is not perfect and whether she deserves a perfect man. Imagination draws her such a perfect ideal, which in real life does not occur.

There are no words that a drunken husband is a misfortune for the family, wife, children. Especially when he beats his wife and children, takes money from the family, does not take care of the upbringing of children, etc. Divorce in these cases is necessary to protect the family from moral and material devastation. In addition to drunkenness, the reasons why wives file for divorce can be cheating on their husbands, male selfishness. Sometimes a man simply forces his wife to file for divorce by his behavior. He treats her disdainfully, does not tolerate her weaknesses, does not help in household chores, etc. Of the reasons why husbands file for divorce, we can highlight the betrayal of his wife or his love for another woman. But the main reason for divorce is the unpreparedness of spouses for family life. Domestic, financial problems pile on young spouses. In the first years of married life, the young people get to know each other more, the shortcomings that they tried to hide before the wedding are revealed, and the spouses adapt to each other.

Young spouses often unnecessarily hastily resort to divorce as a way to resolve any conflicts, including those that can be overcome at first. Such a “light” attitude towards the breakup of a family is formed due to the fact that divorce has already become commonplace. At the time of marriage, there is a clear set for divorce if at least one of the spouses is not satisfied with their life together. The reason for divorce can also be the unwillingness of one of the spouses to have a child. These cases are rare, but they do happen. According to sociological surveys, more than half of men and women would like to remarry. Only a small part preferred loneliness. American sociologists Carter and Glick report that 10 times more unmarried men than married men go to the hospital, the death rate of unmarried men is 3 times more, and unmarried women are 2 times more than married ones. Many men, like many women, easily go through with a divorce, but then experience its consequences very hard. In divorces, in addition to spouses, there are also interested parties - children. They suffer psychological trauma that parents often do not think about.

In addition to the moral disadvantages of divorce, there are also negative material aspects. When the husband leaves the family, the wife and child face financial difficulties. There is also a problem with housing. But the possibility of a family reunion is a real possibility for many couples who have broken up in the heat of the moment. Deep down, each of the spouses wants to have a good family. And for this, those who have entered into marriage need to learn mutual understanding, overcome petty egoism, and improve the culture of family relations. At the state level, in order to prevent divorce, it is necessary to create and expand a system for preparing young people for marriage, as well as a socio-psychological service for helping families and single people.

To support the family, the state forms family policy, which includes a set of practical measures that give families with children certain social guarantees for the purpose of the functioning of the family in the interests of society. In all countries of the world, the family is recognized as the most important social institution in which new generations are born and raised, where their socialization takes place. World practice includes a range of social support measures:

provision of family allowances;

payment of maternity leave for women;

medical care for women during pregnancy and childbirth;

monitoring the health of infants and young children;

granting parental leave;

benefits for single-parent families;

tax incentives, low-interest loans (or subsidies) for the purchase or rental of housing, and some others.

Assistance to families from the state can be different and depends on a number of factors, including the economic well-being of the state. The Russian state provides mainly similar forms of assistance to families, but their scale in modern conditions is insufficient.

Russian society faces the need to solve a number of priority tasks in the field of family relations, including:

1) overcoming negative trends and stabilizing the financial situation of Russian families; reducing poverty and increasing assistance to disabled family members;

2) strengthening the support of the family by the state as a natural environment for the life support of children; ensuring safe motherhood and protecting the health of children.

To solve these problems, it is necessary to increase spending on social support for families, increase the efficiency of their use, improve legislation to protect the rights and interests of the family, women, children and youth.

the following elements :

1) a network of educational institutions;

2) social communities (teachers and students);

3) educational process.

Allocate the following types of educational institutions(state and non-state):

1) preschool;

2) general education (primary, basic, secondary);

3) professional (primary, secondary and higher);

4) postgraduate professional education;

5) special (correctional) institutions - for children with developmental disabilities;

6) institutions for orphans.

With regard to preschool education, sociology proceeds from the fact that the foundations of a person's upbringing, his industriousness, and many other moral qualities are laid in early childhood. In general, the importance of preschool education is underestimated. It is too often overlooked that this is an extremely important step in a person's life, on which the fundamental foundation of a person's personal qualities is laid. And the point is not in quantitative indicators of "coverage" of children or satisfaction of the desires of parents. Kindergartens, nurseries, factories are not just a means of "looking after" children, here their mental, moral and physical development takes place. With the transition to teaching children from the age of 6, kindergartens faced new problems for themselves - organizing the activities of preparatory groups so that children can normally enter the school rhythm of life and have self-service skills.

From the point of view of sociology, the analysis of society's focus on supporting preschool forms of education, on the readiness of parents to resort to their help to prepare children for work and the rational organization of their social and personal life, is of particular importance. To understand the specifics of this form of education, the position and value orientations of those people who work with children - educators, service personnel - as well as their readiness, understanding and desire to fulfill the duties and hopes assigned to them are especially significant.

Unlike pre-school education and upbringing, which does not cover every child, the secondary general education school is aimed at preparing the entire younger generation for life, without exception. In the conditions of the Soviet period, starting from the 1960s, the principle of universality of complete secondary education was implemented in order to provide young people with an equal start when entering an independent working life. There is no such provision in the new Constitution of the Russian Federation. And if in the Soviet school, because of the requirement to give every young person a secondary education, percentage mania, registrations, artificial overestimation of academic performance flourished, then in the Russian school the number of dropouts from school is growing, which will eventually affect the intellectual potential of society.

But even in this situation, the sociology of education is still aimed at studying the values ​​of general education, at the guidelines of parents and children, at their reaction to the introduction of new forms of education, because graduating from a general education school turns out to be for a young person at the same time the moment of choosing a future life path, profession, kind of occupation. Choosing one of the options, the graduate of the school thereby gives preference to one or another type of vocational education. But what drives him in choosing the trajectory of his future life path, what influences this choice and how it changes throughout life is one of the most important problems of sociology.

A special place is occupied by the study of vocational education - vocational, secondary special and higher. Vocational education is most directly connected with the needs of production, with an operative and comparatively rapid form of bringing young people into life. It is directly carried out within the framework of large industrial organizations or the state education system. Emerging in 1940 as a factory apprenticeship (FZU), vocational education has gone through a complex and winding path of development. And despite the various costs (attempts to transfer the entire system to a combination of complete and specialized education in the preparation of necessary professions, poor consideration of regional and national characteristics), vocational training remains the most important channel for obtaining a profession. For the sociology of education, it is important to know the motives of students, the effectiveness of training, its role in improving the skills of real participation in solving national economic problems.

At the same time, sociological studies still record a relatively low (and for a number of professions, low) prestige of this type of education, because the orientation of school graduates to receive secondary specialized and higher education continues to prevail.

As for secondary specialized and higher education, it is important for sociology to identify the social status of these types of education for young people, assess the possibilities and role in future adult life, the correspondence of subjective aspirations and objective needs of society, the quality and effectiveness of training.

Particularly acute is the question of the professionalism of future specialists, that the quality and level of their modern training meet the realities of today. However, sociological studies show that many problems have accumulated in this regard. The stability of the professional interests of young people continues to be low. According to research by sociologists, up to 60% of university graduates change their profession.

In addition to those already mentioned, Russian education also faces the following problems:

the problem of optimizing the interaction of the individual and society as a search for a balance between social and normative pressure and the desire of the individual for socio-psychological autonomy, overcoming the inconsistency of the "needs" of the social order and the interests of the individual (student, teacher, parent);

the problem of overcoming the disintegration of the content of school education in the process of creating and implementing a new socio-educational paradigm that can become a starting point in the formation of a holistic picture of the world in a student;

problems of harmonization and integration of pedagogical technologies;

the formation of the development of problem thinking in students through a gradual departure from monologue communication to dialogical communication in the classroom;

the problem of overcoming the irreducibility of learning outcomes in various types of educational institutions through the development and introduction of unified educational standards based on a comprehensive systematic analysis of the educational process.

In this regard, modern Russian education faces following tasks.

In the Russian Federation are implemented two types of educational programs:

1) general education (basic and additional) - aimed at the formation of a general culture of the individual and its adaptation to life in society;

2) professional (basic and additional) - aimed at training specialists of appropriate qualifications.

Law of the Russian Federation "On Education" guarantees:

1) general availability and free of charge of primary general (4 grades), basic general (9 grades), secondary (complete) general (11 grades) and primary vocational education;

2) on a competitive basis, free secondary and higher professional and postgraduate education (postgraduate studies) in state and municipal educational institutions, if a person receives education for the first time.

Education performs in society essential functions:

1) humanistic- identification and development of the intellectual, moral and physical potential of the individual;

2) professional and economic- training of qualified specialists;

3) socio-political- acquisition of a certain social status;

4) cultural - the assimilation by the individual of the culture of society, the development of his creative abilities;

5) adaptive - preparing the individual for life and work in society.

The current system of education in Russia still poorly forms high spiritual demands and aesthetic tastes, strong immunity to lack of spirituality, "mass culture". The role of social science disciplines, literature, art lessons remains insignificant. The study of the historical past, the truthful coverage of the complex and contradictory stages of national history are poorly combined with an independent search for one's own answers to the questions that life puts forward. Global socio-cultural changes in the world, the so-called civilizational shifts, are increasingly revealing the discrepancy between the established education system and emerging social needs on the eve of a new anthropogenic reality. This discrepancy causes in our country from time to time attempts to reform the educational system.

Control questions

Describe the concept of "social institution".

What is the main difference between a social organization and a social institution?

What are the elements of a social institution?

What types of social institutions do you know?

Name the functions of social institutions.

List the functions of the family.

What types of families can you name?

What are the main problems of the modern family?

Describe education as a social institution.

What are the problems facing Russian education at the present time?

social institution or public institution- a form of organization of joint life activity of people, historically established or created by purposeful efforts, the existence of which is dictated by the need to meet the social, economic, political, cultural or other needs of society as a whole or part of it. Institutions are characterized by their ability to influence people's behavior through established rules.

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Subtitles

History of the term

Types of social institutions

• The need for the reproduction of the genus (the institution of family and marriage).
• The need for security and order (the state).
• The need to obtain means of subsistence (production).
• The need for the transfer of knowledge, the socialization of the younger generation (institutions of public education).
• Needs in Solving Spiritual Problems (Institute of Religion).

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, in Russian, 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, passed down 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 orders 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 the 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 a number of spheres of the life of society, in each of which specific social institutions and social relations are formed:
− Economic- relations in the production process (production, distribution, exchange, 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 the formation of spiritual values, their preservation, distribution, consumption, as well as transmission to the next generations. Institutions related to the spiritual sphere: religion, education, science, art, etc.

− Kinship institution (marriage and family)- associated with the regulation of childbearing, relations between spouses and children, the socialization of young people.

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 supra-individual in nature, have their own systemic quality. Consequently, a social institution is an independent public entity that has its own logic of development. 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 certain social positions of "professionals" who are able to put this mechanism into action, playing by its rules, including a whole system of their preparation, 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".

• “Social institutions are organizations and groups in which the life of community members takes place and which, at the same time, perform the functions of organizing and managing this life” [Ilyasov F.N. Dictionary of Social Research http://www.jsr.su/ dic/S.html].

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 relations. If this is an 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 coups both within the country and in the countries of the socialist camp. 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 communicative capabilities 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.

Classification of social institutions

In addition to the division into formal and informal social institutions, modern researchers distinguish conventions (or “strategies”), norms and rules. The convention is a generally accepted prescription: for example, “in the event of a telephone break, the one who called back calls back.” Conventions support the reproduction of social behavior. A norm implies a prohibition, requirement or permission. The rule provides for sanctions for violations, therefore, the presence in society of monitoring and control over behavior. The development of institutions is connected with the transition of a rule into a convention, i.e. with the expansion of the use of the institution and the gradual rejection in society of coercion to its execution.

Role in the development of society

According to American researchers Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson (English) Russian it is the nature of the public institutions that exist in a particular country that determines the success or failure of the development of this country, their book Why Nations Fail, published in 2012, is devoted to proving this statement.

After examining the 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 (Eng. 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. "extractive institutions" (eng. extractive institutions). According to the authors, the economic development of society is impossible without advancing political development, that is, without the formation public political institutions. .

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.

Social institutions are stable forms of organization and regulation of social life. They can be defined as a set of roles and statuses designed to meet certain social needs.

The term "social institution" in sociology, as well as in everyday language or in other humanities, has several meanings. The combination of these values ​​can be reduced to four main ones:

1) a certain group of persons called to perform tasks that are important for living together;

2) certain organizational forms of a set of functions performed by some members on behalf of the entire group;

3) a set of material institutions and means of activity that allow certain authorized individuals to perform social impersonal functions aimed at satisfying the needs or regulating the behavior of group members;

4) some social roles that are especially important for the group are sometimes called institutions.

For example, when we say that a school is a social institution, then by this we can mean a group of people working in a school. In another meaning - the organizational forms of the functions performed by the school; in the third sense, the most important for the school as an institution will be the institutions and means that it has at its disposal in order to fulfill the functions entrusted to it by the group, and finally, in the fourth sense, we will call the social role of the teacher an institution. Therefore, we can talk about different ways of defining social institutions: material, formal and functional. In all these approaches, however, we can identify certain common elements that form the main component of the social institution.

In total, there are five fundamental needs and five basic social institutions:

1) the need for the reproduction of the genus (the institution of the family);

2) needs for security and order (state);

3) the need to obtain means of subsistence (production);

4) the need for the transfer of knowledge, the socialization of the younger generation (institutions of public education);

5) the need for solving spiritual problems (the institute of religion). Consequently, social institutions are classified according to public spheres:

1) economic (property, money, regulation of money circulation, organization and division of labor), which serve the production and distribution of values ​​and services. Economic social institutions provide the entire set of production relations in society, connecting economic life with other areas of social life. These institutions are formed on the material basis of society;

2) political (parliament, army, police, party) regulate the use of these values ​​and services and are associated with power. Politics in the narrow sense of the word is a set of means, functions, based mainly on the manipulation of the elements of power to establish, execute and maintain power. Political institutions (state, parties, public organizations, court, army, parliament, police) in a concentrated form express the political interests and relations existing in a given society;

3) the institutions of kinship (marriage and family) are associated with the regulation of childbearing, relations between spouses and children, and the socialization of young people;

4) institutions of education and culture. Their task is to strengthen, create and develop the culture of society, to pass it on to the next generations. These include schools, institutes, art institutions, creative unions;

5) religious institutions organize a person's attitude to transcendent forces, i.e., to supersensitive forces acting outside the empirical control of a person, and the attitude to sacred objects and forces. Religious institutions in some societies have a strong influence on the course of interactions and interpersonal relations, creating a system of dominant values ​​and becoming dominant institutions (the influence of Islam on all aspects of public life in some countries of the Middle East).

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

1) create an opportunity for members of society to satisfy various kinds of needs;

2) regulate the actions of members of society within the framework of social relations, i.e., ensure the implementation of desirable actions and carry out repressions in relation to undesirable actions;

3) ensure the stability of public life by supporting and continuing impersonal public functions;

4) carry out the integration of the aspirations, actions and relationships of individuals and ensure the internal cohesion of the community.

Taking into account E. Durkheim's theory of social facts and proceeding from the fact that social institutions should be considered the most important social facts, sociologists have deduced a number of basic social characteristics that social institutions should have:

1) institutions are perceived by individuals as an external reality. In other words, the institution for any individual person is something external, existing separately from the reality of thoughts, feelings or fantasies of the individual himself. In this characteristic, the institution resembles other entities of external reality—even trees, tables, and telephones—each of which is outside the individual;

2) institutions are perceived by the individual as an objective reality. Something is objectively real when any person agrees that it really exists, and independently of his consciousness, and is given to him in his sensations;

3) institutions have coercive power. To some extent, this quality is implied by the two previous ones: the fundamental power of the institution over the individual is precisely that it exists objectively, and the individual cannot wish it to disappear at his will or whim. Otherwise, negative sanctions may occur;

4) institutions have moral authority. Institutions proclaim their right to legitimation - that is, they reserve the right not only to punish the violator in any way, but also to issue a moral reprimand to him. Of course, institutions vary in their degree of moral strength. These variations are usually expressed in the degree of punishment imposed on the offender. The state in an extreme case can deprive him of his life; neighbors or co-workers may boycott him. In both cases, punishment is accompanied by a sense of indignant justice in those members of society who are involved in this.

The development of society goes largely through the development of social institutions. The wider the institutionalized sphere in the system of social ties, the more opportunities society has. The diversity of social institutions, their development is, perhaps, the most accurate criterion for the maturity and reliability of a society. The development of social institutions manifests itself in two main variants: first, the emergence of new social institutions; secondly, the improvement of already established social institutions.

The formation and formation of an institution in the form in which we observe it (and take part in its functioning) takes a rather long historical period. This process is called institutionalization in sociology. In other words, institutionalization is the process by which certain social practices become sufficiently regular and long-lasting to be described as institutions.

The most important prerequisites for institutionalization - the formation and establishment of a new institution - are:

1) the emergence of certain social needs for new types and types of social practice and the socio-economic and political conditions corresponding to them;

2) development of the necessary organizational structures and related norms and rules of conduct;

3) internalization by individuals of new social norms and values, the formation on this basis of new systems of individual needs, value orientations and expectations (and, therefore, ideas about the patterns of new roles - their own and correlated with them).

The completion of this process of institutionalization is the emerging new kind of social practice. Thanks to this, a new set of roles is formed, as well as formal and informal sanctions for the implementation of social control over the corresponding types of behavior. Therefore, institutionalization is the process by which a social practice becomes sufficiently regular and continuous to be described as an institution.