Republic of the Philippines

PALAWAN STATE UNIVERSITY

SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS:

Education, Government & Economy

Prepared By:

Baloran, Joullienne Andyn

Gabuco, Noryll
Iligan, John Louie
Martino, Mariel Paz R.
Natividad, Andrea Nicole

Instructor:

Princess May A. Gaite

 SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS
“Institutions” refer to a realm of public action with its own sets of organized rules and beliefs
that direct how a society will carry out its basic needs.

A social institution is a complex, integrated set of social norms organized around the
preservation of basic societal values. Social institutions are integral part of a human society because
they are one of the most important structural elements that govern behavior in various spheres of social
life. They support the society's survival.

While societies may differ in how they establish these institutions and in how simple or complex
they are; we find the same five basic social institutions among all human groups.

Characteristics of an Institution (Palispis, 1996)

 Institutions are purposive.
 Relatively permanent in content.
 Institutions are structured.
 Institutions are a unified structure.
 Institutions are necessarily value-laden.

Functions of an Institution
1. Institutions simplify social behavior for the individual person.
2. Provide ready-made forms of social relations and social roles for individual.
3. Act as agencies of coordination and stability for the total culture.
4. Control behavior.

The 5 Basic Social Institutions

In any wide society, five major institutions are always present. These are the family, politics,
education, religion and economics. These institutions may have different applications but they are
interrelated in a number of ways. For instance, schools need funds, politics needs education and
religion, religion needs education and family while the family needs all of the aforementioned
institutions. Social institution change aspects of life in individuals such as social stratification, deviance,
cultural activities and socialization.

 Government – maintain order

 Economy – produce, distribute and consume goods and services
 Education – socialization and learning
 Religion – provide and maintain a sense of purpose
 Family – procreation

Although all sociologists agree on the big five, many consider other segments of society to be
social institutions as well – aging, the media, health care, social welfare, work, gender and others.
General Functions of Social Institutions
 Simplify social behavior for the individual
 Provide ready-made forms of social relations and social roles for the individual
 Act as agencies of coordination and stability for the total culture
 Control behavior
 SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS: EDUCATION
Education is a form of learning in which the knowledge, skills, and habits of a group of people
are transferred from one generation to the next through teaching, training, or research.
Education is a social institution responsible for the systematic transmission of knowledge, skills,
and cultural values within a formally organized structure (Kendall, 2003). It is the systematic and
formalized process through which specialized teachers transit skills, knowledge, and values to students
(Sullivan, 1995).
Education is the process of socialization, which begins informally at home and then formally in
educational institutions. Education as an institution helps develop knowledge, skill, attitude and
understanding of the people and strive to make them competent members of the society. Education
widens the mental horizon of the people and make them receptive to new ideas.

Traits of Education
1. Attitudes and behavior pattern – love of knowledge, class attendance, “cramming,” studying
2. Symbolic culture traits – school colors, mascots, and school song
3. Utilitarian traits – classrooms, library, gymnasium, dormitory, laboratories
4. Code of oral or written specifications – accreditation, rules, and curriculum
5. Ideologies – academic freedom; three R’s (Reading, Writing, Arithmetic); progressive education

Defining Education
 A society’s future largely depends on the successful socialization of new members.
 Every society develops a system of education consisting of the roles and norms that ensure the
transmission of knowledge, values and patterns of behavior from one generation to the next.
 In some preindustrial societies, education is largely informal and occurs mainly within the
family.
 Schooling is formal education, which involves instruction by specially trained teachers who
follow officially recognized policies.

Defining Education in Different Perspectives

 Functionalist view: Studies the ways in which education aids society
 Conflict view: Studies the ways in which education maintains the imbalance of power in society
 Interactions view: Studies the face-to-face interaction of the classroom.

The Purpose of Education

 to transmit the knowledge, skills, behavior patterns and values necessary for people to become
functioning members of society
 Intellectual Purposes
o to teach basic cognitive skills such as reading, writing, and mathematics.
o to transmit specific knowledge.
 Political Purposes
o to inculcate allegiance to the existing political order (patriotism).
 o to prepare citizens who will participate in the political order.
o to help assimilate diverse cultural groups into a common political order.
o to teach children the basic laws of society.
 Social Purpose
o to socialize children into the various roles, behavior, and values of society.
o to help solve social problems
o to ensure social cohesion
 Economic Purpose
o to prepare students for their later occupational roles.
o to select, train, and allocate individuals into the division of labor.

Functions of Schools
 School is the place for the contemplation of reality, and our task as a teacher, in simplest terms,
is to show this reality to our students, who are naturally eager about them.

Mcnergney & Herbert (2001)

- described the school as first and foremost a social institution, that is, an established
organization having an identifiable structure and a set of functions meant to preserve and
extend social order.

Multiple Functions of Schools (by Yin Cheong Cheng)

 TECHNICAL/ECONOMIC Function
o The contributions of schools to technical or economic development and needs of the
individual, the institution, the local community, the society and the international
community
 HUMAN/SOCIAL Functions
o The contribution of schools to human development and social relationships at different
levels of society.
 POLITICAL Functions
o The contribution of schools to the political development at different levels of society.
 CULTURAL Functions
o The contribution of schools to the cultural transmission and development at different
levels of society.
 EDUCATION Functions
o The contribution of schools to the development and maintenance of education at the
different levels of society.
 MANIFEST Functions - are defined as the open and intended goals or consequences of activities
within an organization or institution
6 Major Manifest Functions of Education in Society
o Social Control
  Schools are responsible for teaching values such as discipline, respect, obedience,
punctuality, and perseverance.
o Socialization
 Schools teach the students the student role, specific academic subjects, and political
socialization.
o Socialization Placement
 Schools are responsible for identifying the most qualified people to fill available
positions in society.
o Transmitting Culture
 As a social institution, education performs a conservable function – transmitting the
dominant culture.
o Promoting Social & Political Integration
 Transforming its population composed of diverse ethnic and religious groups into a
society whose members share a common identity.
o Agent of Change
 Promotes social change by serving as meeting ground where each society’s
distinctive beliefs and traditions can be shared.
 LATENT Functions - The hidden, unstated, and sometimes unintended consequences of
activities within an organization or institution
o Restricting some activities.
o Matchmaking and production of social networks.
o Creation of generation gap.

Functions of Schools (by Calderon, 1998)

 CONSERVATION Function
o The school conserves and preserves through its libraries and other devices recorded
accumulated experiences of the past generations.
 INSTRUCTIONAL Function
o To pass on the accumulated experiences of the past generations to the incoming
generations.
 RESEARCH Function
o The school conducts research to improve the old ways of doing things or to discover
unknown facts or systems to improve the quality of human life
 SOCIAL SERVICE Function
o To render some kind of social service in the place where it is located.

Perspectives on Education
The sociological theories (functionalism, conflict and interactionism) have influenced education
as a sociological institution with each of them influencing both the individual and the society’s view
hence creating a social change in the education.
  Functionalist Perspective – Education maintains social stability by transmitting culture, teaching
knowledge and skills, and preparing individuals for the world of work.
 Conflict Perspective – Education perpetuates a social system that limits the potential of certain
individuals and groups to gain social rewards and power.
 Interactionist Perspective – Face-to-face interactions between students and teachers
profoundly affect student educational achievement.

The Functionalist Perspective on Education

 Teaching Knowledge and Skills
o Children must learn the knowledge and skills they will need as adults.
o Education generates new knowledge, which is useful in adapting to changing conditions.
 Transmission of Culture
o For societies to survive, they must pass on core values of their culture.
o Societies use education to support their communities’ social and political system.
 Social Integration
o Education serves to produce a society of individuals who share a common national
identity.
o Schools foster social integration and national unity by teaching a core set of skills and
values.
 Occupational Placement
o Education screens and selects the members of society for the work they will do as
adults.
o Schools in industrialized countries identify students who show special talents and
abilities at an early age.

The Conflict Perspective on Education

 Reinforce inequality
o Education serves to sort students into social ranks and to limit the potential of certain
individuals and groups to gain power and social rewards.
o Students’ achievement or failure tends to reflect existing inequalities.
 Tracking
o Tracking - Involves the assignment of students to different types of educational
programs
o Classroom instructions used in the different tracks serve to reproduce the status quo.
 Social Control
o Schools produce unquestioning citizens who accept the basic inequalities of the social
system.
o Hidden curriculum - Schools’ transmission of cultural goals that are not openly
acknowledged.
 Education and Socioeconomic Status
o Opportunities for educational success are distributed unequally.
 o Higher-status college students outnumber lower-status college students.

The Interactionist Perspective on Education

 Student-Teacher Interaction
o Students labeled fast learners or slow learners without any data eventually took on the
characteristics of the label.
o A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that leads to behavior that makes the prediction
come true.
o When teachers treat students as if they are bright and capable, students begin to think
of themselves in this way and vice versa.
 Interactions among Students
o The Coleman Report found that the socioeconomic status of fellow students was the
most significant factor in explaining student success.
o Peer pressure may be a factor in this dynamic.

The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Students tend to accept the labels teachers place on them and behave accordingly. The
students’ behavior then confirms the teachers’ original expectations.
Conclusion

Education is one of the most important social institutions without which, all the other
institutions would be rendered obsolete. Apart from enlightening the masses, education plays a vital
role in the existence of peace and stability in the society and promotes harmony between interrelating
beings. It also promotes sound economic processes and political dispensations meaning that without
education, society would be in a state of absolute chaos. This means that the betterment of the society
depends on the quality of the education that members of that society get.
 GOVERNMENT as a SOCIAL INSTITUTION
Government

 Derived from the Latin Term “Gobernaculum,” meaning a rudder, gubernare, to steer, direct or
control (Aruego, 1981)
 Is the institution which solves conflicts that are public in nature and involve more than a few
people.
 The Supreme Court defines government as “that institution by which an independent society
makes and carries out those rules of action which are necessary to enable men to live in a social
state, or which are imposed upon the people for that society by those who possess the power or
authority of prescribing them” (Moreno, 1972, as cited and defined in the case of US vs. Dorr, 2
Phil. 332)

A Government is an institution entrusted with making and enforcing the rules of a society as
well as with regulating relations with other societies. In order to be considered a government, a ruling
body must be recognized as such by the people it purports to govern. A person or group that considers
itself the leading body of a society has no power if the members of the society do not recognize the
person or group as such.

Government as political institution, administers the regulatory functions of Law and Order, and
maintains security in society. Form of government and its method of working depend on the accepted
patterns of behavior in a society. Development work is now-a-days a major responsibility of the
government.

Administration refers to the aggregate of persons in whose hands the reigns of government are
for the time being. The government is aimed at maintaining a good social order where the people enjoy
the political and economic blessings of life in an atmosphere of justice, freedom, and equality. It is said
that the main purpose of every government is to let the people obtain “the maximum of life” (Nolledo,
1975).

Traits of Government
1. Attitudes and behavior pattern – subordination, cooperativeness, loyalty, ad obedience
2. Symbolic culture traits – flag, seal, anthem, uniform
3. Utilitarian traits – public buildings, public works, monuments, artistic works
4. Code of oral or written specifications – constitution, treaties, orders, laws
5. Ideologies – decentralization, nationalism, centralization, democracy, communism

Governments Classified

Governments vary widely in the nature of their organization, in the extent of the authority that
they exercised, in the relations among their various organs, and in many other ways.
I. According to the number of persons who share in exercising the sovereign powers of the
State, Aristotle classified it as:

a. Monarchy – Ruled by a King or Emperor or one in which the supreme and final authority
is in the hands of a single person without regard to the source of its election or the
nature or duration of his tenure.

i. Absolute Monarchy – or one in which the ruler rules by divine right. This notion
of divine right ruling by the ruler is prevailed in the ancient oriental empires,
where the rulers themselves were regarded as the descendants of God.

ii. Constitutional Monarchy – or one in which ruler rules in accordance with the
provisions of the Constitution.

b. Aristocracy – ruled by few powerful men or one in which political power is exercised by
a few privileged class for the benefit of the few.

c. Democracy - the government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

i. Direct or Pure Democracy – one in which the will of the state is formulated or
expressed directly and immediately through the people in a mass meeting or
primary assembly rather than through the medium of delegates or
representatives chosen to act for them;

ii. Indirect, Representative, or Republican Democracy – one in which the will of

the State is formulated and expressed through the agency of a relatively small
and select body of persons chosen by the people to act as their representatives
(De Leon and Lugue, 1982)

II. According to the identity or non-identity of the State with the Government, we have:

a. Primary – one in which the people govern themselves directly and not indirectly
through the chosen representatives;

b. Representative Government – one in which sovereignty is delegated to an organ, the

power to decide for it, in matters of government.

III. According to the nature of the official tenure, including the methods of constituting the
official relations:

a. Hereditary – ruled by persons deriving powers from their predecessors who are related
to them;

b. Elective or Popular Government – one in which those who manage the affairs of the
State are chosen by the people or by those who constitute the electoral body.

IV. According to the distribution or concentration or governmental powers:

 a. Unitary or Centralized – one in which the powers of government are concentrated in
one supreme organ from which all local governing authorities derived their existence
and powers;

b. Federal – one in which governmental powers are, by the common sovereign, distributed
between the central government and the local governments, each being supreme within
its own spheres but subject to the general jurisdiction of the national government
(Aruego, 1981).

V. According to the relations of the legislature to the executive:

a. Cabinet or Parliamentary System – The system in which the real executive, the Cabinet
or Ministry, is immediately and legally responsible to the legislature or one branch of it
(usually the more popular chamber) for its legislative and administrative acts, and
immediately or politically responsible to the electorate, while the titular head or
nominal executive – The Chief of State – occupies a position of irresponsibility (Martin
and Tiongson, 1961).

FEATURES:
1. Fusion of Powers
2. Two Party System
3. Shadow Government
4. Question Hour

b. Presidential System – the result of the Great Compromise offered by the delegates
from Connecticut which sought to balance “too much democracy with too much
aristocracy.” The objective of the delegated was to establish a framework for
government that would protect property against revolutionary expropriation and secure
liberty from a potentially tyrannical government.

FEATURES:

1. Separation of Powers
2. The Principle of Constitutional Check and Balances

Three Branches of Government

 Executive
 Legislative
 Judicial
 Across the years, however, since the day of Aristotle there evolved other forms of government
and among them are as follows:

1. Bureaucratic – administered by those especially trained for the public service;

2. Civil – governed by civilians and not the military;

3. Military – one governed by the military, usually after the armed struggle;

4. Constitutional – where government’s actions are subject to or subordinated upon the

fundamental law;

5. Despotic – where governmental powers are unlimited by any fundamental law;

6. Republican – where the people, directly or indirectly, exercise governmental powers;

7. De Jure – one which is established according to the mandates of the Constitution and lawfully
entitled to recognition and rightful supremacy;

8. De Facto – established against the will of the rightful government; the government exists in fact
but the possession is wrongful or precarious.

Most of the world’s governments fall into one of four categories: monarchy, democracy,
authoritarianism, or totalitarianism.

Monarchy

Monarchy is a political system in which a representative from one family controls the
government and power is passed on through that family from generation to generation. Most of the
world’s monarchies are Constitutional Monarchies, in which the reigning member of the royal family is
the symbolic head of state but elected officials actually do the governing. Many European countries
have constitutional monarchies.

Example: Saudi Arabia is a monarchy. Until recently it was an Absolute Monarchy, meaning that the king
had complete control of the country. The Saud royal family introduced a constitution in 1992.

Democracy

Democracy is a political system in which citizens periodically choose officials to run their
government.

Example: El Salvador has a democratic form of government. Throughout most of the nineteenth century,
El Salvador was beset by revolution and war, and from 1931 to 1979 it was ruled by military dictators.
From 1980 to 1992, the country was torn apart by civil war. The country currently has a stable
government and elected president.
Authoritarianism

Authoritarianism is a political system that does not allow citizens to participate in government.

Example: Zimbabwe is controlled by an authoritarian leader whose human rights violations and
disastrous economic policies have brought on international condemnation. However, not all
authoritarian governments are outcasts. China has an authoritarian government, but it is a member of
the World Trade Organization and a major player in international politics.

Authoritarian or Totalitarian?

There is disagreement among theorists about the exact difference between authoritarianism
and totalitarianism. Both tend to use brutal tactics to suppress perceived opposition. Totalitarian
governments, however, extend their control into virtually all aspects of people’s lives and feature a “cult
of personality” around their leader.

Totalitarianism

Totalitarianism is a political system under which the government maintains tight control over
nearly all aspects of citizens’ lives.

Example: Cambodia under the regime of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge from 1976 to 1978 was
totalitarian. Under the banner of socialism, Pol Pot attempted a radical reformation of Cambodia. He
forced the evacuation of the country’s cities and relocated citizens to communal farms in the countryside,
where they were to be “reeducated” to become part of an idealized communist agrarian society. Pol
Pot’s secret police tortured and murdered over a million “dissenters,” especially those he viewed as
urban intellectuals.

Conflicts in governments generally take three forms: Revolution, War, and Terrorism.

Functions of Government
1. The Constituent Functions – contribute to the very bonds of society and are therefore
compulsory. Among the constituent functions are as follows:
a. The keeping of order and providing for the protection of persons and property from
violence and robbery;
b. The fixing of the legal relations between husband and wife, and between parents and
children;
c. The regulation of the holding, transmission, and the interchange of property, and the
determination of its liabilities for the debt or for crime;
d. The determination of contractual rights between individuals;
e. The definition and punishment for crimes;
f. The administration of justice in civil cases;
g. The administration of political duties, privileges, and relations of citizens; and
 h. The dealings of the State with foreign powers, the preservation of the state from
external danger or encroachment and the advancement of its international affairs and
interests.
2. The Ministrant Functions – those undertaken to advance the general interest of society, such as
public works, public charity, and regulation of trade and industry. These functions are merely
optional. Significantly, though it is the performance of the ministrant function that distinguishes
the paternalistic government from the merely individualistic government which is concerned
only in the basic function of maintaining law and order (Cruz, 1983).
 SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS: ECONOMY
The Economy is the social institution organized around the production, consumption, and
distribution of goods and services (McNall and McNall, 1992).

Goods are tangible objects that are both necessary and desired (Kendall, 2003). Services are
tangible activities for which people are willing to pay. Services may include dry cleaning, a movie, or
medical care (Kendall, 2003).

Labor refers to the group of people who contribute their physical and intellectual services to the
production process in exchange for wages that they are paid by firms (Boyes and Melvin, 1994; Hyman,
1999 in Kendall, 2001).

Capital is wealth (money or property) owned or used in business by a person or corporation.

Undoubtedly, money, or financial capital, is needed to invest in the physical capital (such as machinery,
equipment, buildings, warehouses, and factories) used in production (Kendall, 2001).

Economic: Economy provides basic physical sustenance of the society by meeting the needs for food,
shelter, clothing, and other necessary supply and services. Economic institutions include agriculture,
industry, marketing, credit and banking system, co-operatives etc.

Traits of Economy
1. Attitudes and behavior pattern – efficiency, thrift, shrewdness, cooperation
2. Symbolic culture traits – trademark, patent sign, slogans, singing commercials
3. Utilitarian traits – shop, stores, factory, offices
4. Code of oral or written specifications – contracts, licenses, franchises
5. Ideologies – laissez faire, managerial responsibility, rights of labor

Division of Economics
1. Microeconomics
 Concerned with the specific economic units of parts that makes an economic system and the
relationship between those parts.
 Emphasis is placed on understanding the behavior of individual firms, industries,
households, and ways in which such entities interact. (Spencer, 1980; Javier, 2002)

2. Macroeconomics
 Concerned with the economy as a whole, or large segments of it.
 It focuses on such problems as the role of unemployment, the changing level of prices, the
nation’s total output of goods and services, and the ways in which government raises and
spends money.

Three Basic Economic Problems

1. What goods and services to produce and how much.
2. How to produce the goods and services.
 3. For whom are the goods and services.

Sectors of the Economy

 Primary sector – art of economy involved in the direct extraction of natural resources from the
environment. It includes hunting, farming, and fishing. In the preindustrial societies, almost the
entire population is engaged in the primary sector.
 Secondary sector – consist of manufacturing, or turning raw materials into finished products
such as plates, steel rails for locomotives, and airplanes. The secondary sector dominates in
advanced industrial societies
 Tertiary sector – consists of producing and processing information and services. Teachers, taxi
drivers, janitors, computer operators, nurses, and lawyers are all employees in the tertiary
sector.

Economic Systems
 Preindustrial Economies – hunting and gathering, horticultural and pastoral, and agrarian
societies are all preindustrial economic structures. The surplus goods are distributed through a
system of barter – the direct exchange of goods and services considered of equal value by the
traders. It was a limited method of distribution; equivalencies are difficult to determine because
there is no way to assign a set value to the items being traded. As a result, money – a medium of
exchange with a relatively fixed value, came into use in order to aid the distribution of goods
and services in society (Kendall, 2003).
 Industrial Economies – work becomes specialized and repetitive, activities become
bureaucratically organized, and workers primarily work with machines instead of with one
another (Kendall, 2003).
 Post Industrial Economies – based on tertiary sector production as a primary source of
livelihood for workers and profit for owners and corporate shareholders. Tertiary sector
production includes a wide range of activities, like fast-food service, transportation,
communication, education, real-estate, advertising, and entertainment.

REFERENCES:
SOCIETY AND CULTURE IN A CHANGING WORLD – Maria Elisa D. Baliao & Cristabel Rose F. Parcon

Introductory SOCIOLOGY and ANTHROPOLOGY: A Pedagogy – Jessie D. Javier, Rodrigo D. Costales and
Dionesio C. Rivas

Introduction to Sociology and Anthropology – Dr. Epistacio S. Palispis