Social institutions are stable forms of organization and regulation of public 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.

What is a "social institution"? What are the functions of social institutions?

Specific formations that ensure the relative stability of social ties and relations within the framework of the social organization of society are social institutions. The term "institution" itself is used in sociology in different meanings.

Firstly, it is understood as a set of certain persons, institutions, provided with certain material resources and performing a specific social function.

Secondly, from a substantive point of view, an "institution" is a certain set of standards, norms of behavior of individuals and groups in specific situations.

When we talk about social institutions, we mean in general a certain organization of social activity and social relations, including both standards, norms of behavior, and corresponding organizations, institutions that "regulate" these norms of behavior. For example, if we talk about law as a social institution, we mean both the system of legal norms that determine the legal behavior of citizens, and the system of legal institutions (court, police) that regulate legal norms and legal relations.

Social institutions- these are forms of joint activity of people, historically established stable, or relatively stable types and forms of social practice, with the help of which social life is organized, the stability of ties and relations is ensured within the framework of the social organization of society. Various social groups enter into social relations among themselves, which are regulated in a certain way. The regulation of these and other social relations is carried out within the framework of the relevant social institutions: the state (political relations), the labor collective (social and economic), the family, the education system, etc.

Each social institution has a specific goal of activity and, in accordance with it, performs certain functions, providing members of society with the opportunity to satisfy the corresponding social needs. As a result of this, social relations are stabilized, consistency is introduced into the actions of members of society. The functioning of social institutions, the performance of certain roles by people within their framework are determined by the presence of social norms in the internal structure of each social institution. It is these norms that determine the standard of people's behavior, on their basis the quality and direction of their activities are assessed, sanctions are determined against those who are characterized by deviant behavior.

Social institutions perform the following functions:

consolidation and reproduction of social relations in a certain area;

integration and cohesion of society;

regulation and social control;

communication and inclusion of people in activities.

Robert Merton introduced into sociology the distinction between explicit and latent (hidden) functions of social institutions. The explicit functions of the institution are declared, officially recognized and controlled by society.

Latent Functions- these are "not their own" functions, performed by the institution covertly or accidentally (when, for example, the education system performs the functions of political socialization that are not characteristic of it). When the discrepancy between explicit and latent functions is great, a double standard of social relations arises, threatening the stability of society. An even more dangerous situation is when, along with the official institutional system, so-called "shadow" institutions are formed, which take on the function of regulating the most important public relations (for example, criminal structures). Any social transformations are carried out through a change in the institutional system of society, the formation of new "rules of the game". First of all, those social institutions that determine the social type of society (institutions of property, institutions of power, institutions of education) are subject to change.

A social institution is a relatively stable and long-term form of social practice that is authorized and supported by social norms and through which social life is organized and the stability of social relations is ensured. Emile Durkheim called social institutions "factories for the reproduction of social relations."

Social institutions organize human activity into a certain system of roles and statuses, setting patterns of people's behavior in various spheres of public life. For example, such a social institution as a school includes the roles of teacher and student, and the family includes the roles of parents and children. There are certain role-playing relationships between them. These relations are regulated by a set of specific norms and regulations. Some of the most important norms are enshrined in law, others are supported by traditions, customs, and public opinion.

Any social institution includes a system of sanctions - from legal to moral and ethical, which ensure the observance of the relevant values ​​and norms, the reproduction of the corresponding role relations.

Thus, social institutions streamline, coordinate many individual actions of people, give them an organized and predictable character, and ensure standard behavior of people in socially typical situations. When this or that activity of people is ordered in the described way, they speak of its institutionalization. Thus, institutionalization is the transformation of people's spontaneous behavior into an organized one ("fight without rules" into "play by the rules").

Practically all spheres and forms of social relations, even conflicts, are institutionalized. However, in any society there is a certain amount of behavior that is not subject to institutional regulation. Usually there are five main complexes of social institutions. These are the institutions of kinship associated with marriage, family and the socialization of children and youth; political institutions associated with relations of power and access to it; economic institutions and institutions of stratification that determine the distribution of members of society in various status positions; cultural institutions associated with religious, scientific and artistic activities.

Historically, the institutional system has changed from institutions based on kinship and ascriptive attributes characteristic of traditional society to institutions based on formal relationships and statuses of achievement. In our time, the most important institutions of education and science are becoming, providing high social status.

Institutionalization means normative and organizational strengthening, streamlining social ties. When an institution appears, new social communities are formed, engaged in specialized activities, social norms are produced that regulate this activity, and new institutions and organizations ensure the protection of certain interests. For example, education becomes a social institution when a new society appears, professional activities for training and education in a mass school, in accordance with special norms.

Institutions can become obsolete and hinder the development of innovation processes. For example, the qualitative renewal of society in our country required overcoming the influence of the old political structures of a totalitarian society, old norms and laws.

As a result of institutionalization, such phenomena as formalization, standardization of goals, depersonalization, deindividualization may appear. Social institutions develop through overcoming the contradictions between the new needs of society and outdated institutional forms.

The specificity of social institutions, of course, is mainly determined by the type of society in which they operate. However, there is also continuity in the development of various institutions. For example, the institution of the family in the transition from one state of society to another may change some functions, but its essence remains unchanged. During periods of "normal" development of society, social institutions remain fairly stable and stable. When there is a mismatch between the actions of various social institutions, their inability to reflect public interests, to establish the functioning of social ties, this indicates a crisis situation in society. It is solved either by a social revolution and a complete replacement of social institutions, or by their reconstruction.

There are different types of social institutions:

economic, which are engaged in the production, distribution and exchange of material goods, the organization of labor, money circulation, and the like;

social, which organize voluntary associations, the life of collectives that regulate all aspects of the social behavior of people in relation to each other;

political, related to the performance of the functions of power;

cultural and educational, affirming, developing the continuity of the culture of society and passing it on to the next generations;

Religious, which organize people's attitude to religion.

All institutions are linked together in an integrated (combined) system, in which alone they can guarantee a uniform, normal process of collective life and fulfill their tasks. That is why all the listed institutions (economic, social, cultural and others) are generally referred to as social institutions. The most fundamental of them are: property, state, family, production teams, science, mass media system, upbringing and education systems, law and others.

A social institution in the sociological interpretation is considered as historically established, stable forms of organizing the joint activities of people; in a narrower sense, it is an organized system of social ties and norms designed to satisfy the basic needs of society, social groups and individuals.

Social institutions (insitutum - institution) - value-normative complexes (values, rules, norms, attitudes, models, standards of behavior in certain situations), as well as bodies and organizations that ensure their implementation and approval in the life of society.

All elements of society are interconnected by social relations - connections that arise between social groups and within them in the process of material (economic) and spiritual (political, legal, cultural) activities.

In the process of the development of society, some ties may die off, others may appear. Relationships that have proven to be beneficial to society are streamlined, become universally valid patterns, and are then repeated from generation to generation. The more stable these ties that are useful for society, the more stable the society itself.

Social institutions (from lat. institutum - device) are called elements of society, representing stable forms of organization and regulation of social life. Such institutions of society as the state, education, family, etc., streamline social relations, regulate the activities of people and their behavior in society.

The main social institutions traditionally include family, state, education, church, science, and law. Below is a brief description of these institutions and their main functions.

Family- the most important social institution of kinship, connecting individuals with a common life and mutual moral responsibility. The family performs a number of functions: economic (housekeeping), reproductive (childbirth), educational (transfer of values, norms, samples), etc.

State- the main political institution that manages society and ensures its security. The state performs internal functions, including economic (regulation of the economy), stabilization (maintaining stability in society), coordination (ensuring public harmony), ensuring the protection of the population (protection of rights, legality, social security) and many others. There are also external functions: defense (in case of war) and international cooperation (to protect the country's interests in the international arena).

Education is a social institution of culture that ensures the reproduction and development of society through the organized transfer of social experience in the form of knowledge, skills and abilities. The main functions of education include adaptation (preparation for life and work in society), professional (training of specialists), civil (training of a citizen), general cultural (introduction to cultural values), humanistic (disclosure of personal potential), etc.

The Church is a religious institution formed on the basis of a single religion. Church members share common norms, dogmas, rules of conduct and are divided into priesthood and laity. The Church performs the following functions: ideological (defines views on the world), compensatory (offers consolation and reconciliation), integrating (unites believers), general cultural (attaches to cultural values), and so on.

TYPES OF SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS

The activity of a social institution is determined by:

 firstly, a set of specific norms and regulations governing the relevant types of behavior;

 secondly, the integration of a social institution into the socio-political, ideological and value structures of society;

 thirdly, the availability of material resources and conditions that ensure the successful implementation of regulatory requirements and the exercise of social control.

The most important social institutions are:

 state and family;

 economics and politics;

 production;

 culture and science;

 education;

 Mass media and public opinion;

 law and education.

Social institutions contribute to the consolidation and reproduction of certain social relations that are especially important for society, as well as the stability of the system in all the main spheres of its life - economic, political, spiritual and social.

Types of social institutions depending on their field of activity:

 relational;

 Regulatory.

Relational institutions (for example, insurance, labor, production) determine the role structure of society based on a certain set of features. The objects of these social institutions are role groups (insurers and insurers, manufacturers and employees, etc.).

Regulatory institutions define the boundaries of the independence of the individual (se independent actions) to achieve their own goals. This group includes institutions of the state, government, social protection, business, health care.

In the process of development, the social institution of the economy changes its form and can belong to the group of either endogenous or exogenous institutions.

Endogenous (or internal) social institutions characterize the state of moral obsolescence of an institution, requiring its reorganization or in-depth specialization of activities, for example, institutions of credit, money, which become obsolete over time and need to introduce new forms of development.

Exogenous institutions reflect the impact on the social institution of external factors, elements of culture or the nature of the personality of the head (leader) of the organization, for example, changes occurring in the social institution of taxes under the influence of the level of tax culture of taxpayers, the level of business and professional culture of the leaders of this social institution.

FUNCTIONS OF SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS

The purpose of social institutions is to satisfy the most important needs and interests of society.

Economic needs in society are simultaneously satisfied by several social institutions, and each institution, through its activities, satisfies a variety of needs, among which are vital (physiological, material) and social (personal needs for work, self-realization, creative activity and social justice). A special place among social needs is occupied by the need of the individual to achieve - an attainable need. It is based on McLelland's concept, according to which each individual shows a desire to express, to manifest himself in specific social conditions.

In the course of their activities, social institutions perform both general and individual functions that correspond to the specifics of the institution.

General Features:

 The function of consolidation and reproduction of social relations. Any institution consolidates, standardizes the behavior of members of society through its rules, norms of behavior.

 Regulatory function ensures the regulation of relationships between members of society by developing patterns of behavior, regulation of their actions.

 The integrative function includes the process of interdependence and mutual responsibility of members of social groups.

 Broadcasting function (socialization). Its content is the transfer of social experience, familiarization with the values, norms, roles of this society.

Individual functions:

 The social institution of marriage and the family implements the function of reproducing members of society together with the relevant departments of the state and private enterprises (antenatal clinics, maternity hospitals, a network of children's medical institutions, family support and strengthening agencies, etc.).

 The Social Institute of Health is responsible for maintaining the health of the population (polyclinics, hospitals and other medical institutions, as well as state bodies organizing the process of maintaining and strengthening health).

 Social institution for the production of means of subsistence, which performs the most important creative function.

 Political institutions in charge of organizing political life.

 The social institution of law, which performs the function of developing legal documents and is in charge of compliance with laws and legal norms.

 Social institution of education and norms with the corresponding function of education, socialization of members of society, familiarization with its values, norms, laws.

 Social institution of religion, helping people in solving spiritual problems.

Social institutions realize all their positive qualities only if they are legitimized, that is, if the majority of the population recognizes the expediency of their actions. Sharp shifts in class consciousness, reassessment of fundamental values ​​can seriously undermine the population's trust in the existing governing and managing bodies, disrupt the mechanism of regulatory influence on people.

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

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

The concept of a social institution

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

• reproductive;
• distributive;
• regulating.

E. Durkheim's opinion

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

Karl Marx

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

Terminology

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

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

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

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

• society;
• organization;
• needs.

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

Conditions for institutionalization

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

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

Stages of institutionalization

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

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

Structural features of a social institution

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

Structural features cover:

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

Types of social institutions

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

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

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

General signs of a social institution

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

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

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

Social institution: signs on specific examples

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

Family as a social institution

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

Features of this social institution:

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

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

Education as a social institution

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

Basic elements of education:

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

The characteristics of a social institution include:

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

Signs of social institutions: examples

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Introduction.

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

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

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

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

The concept of "social institution".

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Role system, which also includes norms and statuses;

A set of customs, traditions and rules of conduct;

Formal and informal organization;

A set of norms and institutions governing a particular area

public relations;

A separate set of social actions.

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

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

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

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

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

The evolution of social institutions.

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

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

Formation of common goals;

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

The emergence of procedures related to rules and regulations;

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

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

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

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

Typology of social institutions.

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

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

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

Economic - institutions that organize economic activity;

Political - institutions of power;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Functions and dysfunctions of social institutions.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So functions turn into dysfunctions, plus into minus.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Education as a social institution.

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

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

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

The most significant features of the modern education system are:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

students;

teachers;

Organizers and leaders of education.

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

Conclusion.

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

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

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

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

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

Bibliography:

1. Frolov S.S. Sociology. Moscow: Nauka, 1994
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3. Volkov Yu.G. Sociology. M. 2000