 Haralambos and Holborn (2010) define the

family as a social group characterised by

common residence, economic cooperation
and reproduction.
 It includes adults of both sexes at least two
of whom maintain a socially approved sexual
relationship and have one or more children of
their own or adopted, of the sexually co-
habiting adults.
 A family is a group of related kins linked by
blood and umarriage who occupy a common
household and usually characterised by
economic cooperation and solidarity.
 Giddens (2010) defines a family as a group of
persons directly linked by kin connections,
the adult members of which assume
responsibility of caring for children
 A family is an exclusive relationship in which
members identify themselves as related,
usually by ancestry, marriage or adoption and
are committed to one another emotionally as
well as financially.
 The family provides the earliest socialisation
of the child
 It predetermines the social class the child will
be born into.
 Teaches the child the basic knowledge and
skills that the individual will need to develop
as a human being – the language,
 the material phenomena around,
 the use of things in the environment,
 one’s deportment in social interaction,
 one’s identity,
 operational rules and roles in the family.
 The family teaches gender roles right from
the start thus shaping individuals in terms of
attitudes and behaviours concerning males
and females according to the prevailing
culture.
 Families are universal – there are elements of
marriage, sex, and raising up of children ie feeding,
provision of shelter etc
 Families are supposed to be permanent
 Families are dynamic – experience changes
 Composition of the family is universal, it comprises of
the man, wife, children and close relatives.
 NB – Members of a family may or may not occupy a
common household.
 The basis of association is both biological and social
 A family is a universal social institution of society,
present in every community from simple to complex
in one form or the other.
1. Nuclear Family/Monogamous family
 It consists of one husband and one wife at a
time with their children
 It does not include any other person/relatives
 The man takes the wife to his domain
 It is common in the west and in Zimbabwe
urban.
 It is characterised by weak ties with relatives
of the wife and husband.
 It covers the parents of the couple and their
children, brothers and sisters of the parents,
brothers and sisters of the couple, grand
great children of the couple.
 Is made up of one or two generations living
together under one roof or in close proximity.
 Is composed of divorced or widowed parents
who marry to raise their children together.
 Children in this family structure are strangers
to one another
 Often relationships are tense and suspicious
hence they do not share educational
materials.
 Each parent helps his /her own child with
educational resources.
 The man marries more than one wife
 He controls the entire household
 He brings them all to his domain
 It is practiced in various parts of Africa and
Muslims ( Islamic )
 The Holy Koran allows Muslims four wives at
a time depending on their finances and other
considerations.
 Is the most common family structure in the
world
 Power and authority are held by the
husband/father or the eldest male family
member
 The man can have one or more than one wife
at any given time and has control over them
and their children.
 It consists of one husband and one wife at a
time
 A woman takes her husband to her home
 Power and authority are exercised by the
woman/ female spouse.
 Children of the marriage customarily belong
to the wife/woman
 A woman marries several husbands at a time
and brings them to her domain and exercises
control over the entire household
 Children of the association belong to the
woman and her lineage
 Is a form of matrilineal household and the
opposite of the polygamous family
 Several men marry by arrangement, several
women
 The women, children and form the family
 When the children grow up, the males
automatically become husbands and females
become wives
 Terms such as brothers and sisters are not
used on biological grounds.
 A single parent family is headed by one parent
who meets all the needs of the children
 Could be a woman or man
Causes:
 Divorce/separation

 Death of one spouse

 By choice
A single parent family is a viable alternative to
marriage for working mothers because they have
the financial resources to care for their children.
 Is a type of family whereby both parents are
deceased or separated and a child below the
age of 18 is responsible for the welfare of
younger brothers and sisters
 In some cases one parent is deceased and the
remaining parent is ill
 This is a challenge to the typical family
structure ( homosexuality is a challenge to
society )
 They have adopted children as they cannot
have children of their own.
1. Structural Functionalist
 Functionalists say that the family exists in
every society.
 Talcott Parsons argues that families are
functional and necessary in society to
maintain order and stability
 Families allocate roles to their children
according to ascribed cultural beliefs and
customs
Functionalists identified five basic functions of
the family:
 1. Reproduction; families ensure that the
population of society is replaced.
 The family gives children first instructions of
the norms
 Children are taught the language, values,
customs and skills needed to be productive
members of their society
 The family is the primary educational
institution
 It reinforces values and customs taught in
schools by helping children with homework
and providing educational materials eg
books etc
 The family gives the individual specific social
identity ie; social class, racial or ethnic
identity and religious affliation
 Social class, race or ethnicity influences the
quality of one’s education, health care and
housing.
 The family provides food, shelter, education
to its family members
 Functionalists describe the family as a “haven
in a heartless World” – a private place where
family members can be themselves; even at
their worst selves, without bring ridiculed and
where they can express their feelings and
receive love and affection.
NB: From the functionalist perspective, families
are weakened when other social institutions fail
to reinforce or support family functions ie laws
that support families to dissolve – such laws
devalue family life and relationships

Divorce can be a corrective measure for poor

marriage choices to seek more compatible
partners – thus improving the quality of
marriage.
 Critics argue that by depicting the family as a
“Haven in a heartless World”, functionalists
mask the tension and violence thar often
occur in families

 The family is dysfunctional for women

 Most important social functions of the family

favour men ie inheritance, ownership of
property etc
 The socio – economic status of the family is
of paramount importance for the socialisation
of its children within the framework of
societal demands.
 The socio – economic status of parents
determines children’s status
 Membership to classes affects:
 The child’s performance
 The child’s type of school the child goes to
 The qualification that enables one to enter an
institution of learning.
 Feminists look at gender inequality within the
family
 They consider the relationship between
husbands and wives as similar to the
relationship between capitalists and workers
 The boy child is favoured in the family when
resources are scarce he continues with school
while the girl child is withdrawn and works
for the family
 Male members of the family like capitalists
enjoy greater rights and privileges
 Interactionists concentrate on the dynamic
interaction within the family.
 Parents and children construct the family
through their daily communication eg daily
roles assigned to children have an attached
meaning, type of toys given to boys and girls,
comments given to boys and girls etc.
 1. Discuss ‘the Ideal pupil’ concept in the
family.
 2. Discuss educational implications of
children from:
a) Nuclear family
b) Compound family
c) Extended family
d) Single parent family
e) Child headed family
3. Discuss the Conflict perspective views on the
family.