1. Learning objectives :
• Know some of the ways in which policies may affect families
• Understand the different sociological perspectives in families and social
policy
• Be able to analyse these perspectives and evaluate thier usefulness in
understanding the relationship between families and social policy

2. Unit 1 ~ Families &
Households
Unit 1 of your A/s course is the sociological study of families & households. It is worth 40% of the A/s level
& 20% of the complete A level qualification.
Candidates will choose one topic from three & answer one question. Each question consists of five parts.
This is a written paper, has a total of sixty marks & will last for one hour.
Past A level exam papers and mark schemes are available to download from
http://web.aqa.org.uk/qual/gce/humanities/sociology_noticeboard.php?id=10&prev=10
We have been examining the following areas of the Sociology of Families & households ~
• The relationship of the family to the social structure & social change, with particular reference to the
economy & to state policies.
• We have looked at the relationship of the family to the social structure and social change – especially
in reference to the six theories we have looked at FUNCTIONALISM, MARXISM,FEMINISM,
NEW RIGHT,RADICAL PYSCHIATRY AND MODERNITY/POST MODERNITY .
• For the next two weeks (7th and 14th of march 2011) we will look at social policies in reference to
family
• We will look at social policies around the world and specifically UK social policies that means
looking at social policies set by the government
• This means looking at the policies set by the different political groups in the UK, conservative ,
labour and liberal democrats
• We will look at current policies as outlined by AQA this is policies post 1997 – meaning labour
government policies and coalition government policies
• We will also look at this policies from a theoretical point of view by observing how functionalist,
new right , Marxists and feminist would evaluate this policies

3. A/s sociology Academic timetable & exam
timetable
Tuesdays class – remaining weeks – and topics still to do
Week 1 – 01/03/11 – New right and post modernism- DONE
Week 2- 08/03/11- Social policy - start
Week 3- 14/05/11- social policy - finish
Week 4 – 22/03/11- Demography - start
Week 5 – 29/03/11- demography – finish
Week 6 – 05/04/11- revision – AFTER this 2 weeks Easter holiday
Week 7 – 26/04/11 revision
Week 8 - 03/05/11- revision –
Week 9 10/05/11 – revision

4. Unit 1 January 2011 – May 2011 Exam – 18th of May
Sociology of 2011
Families & Wednesday
Households
Time :
Unit 2 Retake
Sociology of 20th of May 2011
Education with
Friday
Research
Methods
COMPARATIVE VIEW OF SOCIAL POLICY
CHINA ONE CHILD POLICY NAZI GERMANY
* *
* OTHER * OTHER
* **
* **
* **
* **
* **
* **
* **
* **
* *
* *

5. Effects of China’s one-child policy
Read the following account of demographic changes in China:
Patterns of fertility in China have been significantly affected in the last thirty years by
several factors. In 1979 China introduced a strict family planning policy that allows most
couples to have only one child. Without this policy the Chinese government says that the
country’s population would have continued to grow at an alarming rate. However, one of the
results of this policy is the gradual emergence of a gender imbalance. In China as a whole,
there are 120 males born for every 100 females. In some provinces, the number of males
rises to160. The typical average ratio worldwide is about 105 boys for every 100 girls. There
are now 18 million more men than there are women of marriageable age and the numbers are
still growing.

6. The main reason for this imbalance lies in Chinese cultural traditions. When a woman
married, she lived with, and worked for, her husband’s family. Therefore, male children were
more valued, as they carried on the family line, earned money for the family and looked after
their parents in old age. This is still particularly true for rural areas – baby girls are not a
good investment!
At first there were incidents of baby girls being abandoned, or sometimes even killed. Today
many female foetuses are aborted. Modern ultrasound techniques can identify the sex of a
foetus and this can then influence a decision about abortion. Although there are now laws to
prevent doctors telling parents the sex of their unborn child, such sex-determined abortions
are still occurring.
The Chinese version of ‘Blind Date’ now attracts thousands of applicants from young men,
who are willing to sing, dance and ridicule themselves for the chance of a date with a young
woman. The status of older women as potential brides has improved and homosexuality has
become more common. More worrying are the increase of kidnapping of women, sex
trafficking from other Asian countries, and sexual crime by gangs of young men. In
response, the government has introduced a propaganda campaign stressing the importance of
girls.
Now discuss each of the following questions:
1 Explain how a range of different social, cultural and political influences have brought about this situation
. in China.

7. 2 Look back to the section on fertility (page 49) and identify which factors identified there are relevant in
. this case also.
3 What policies do you think the Chinese government could use to ease the growing problem of gender
. imbalance?
The family and Social policy
This exercise will help you devise a revision diagram
Divorce reform act (1969) Child support agency Council housing policy
Explain the impact of this on family life
Explain the impact of this on family Explain the impact of this on the models
To what extent does the CSA attempt to
life of family people live in
engineer an ideal type of family?
Has it been successful?

8. Social policy
and the
family
Maternity/paternity leave Working families tax credit Children act
Who introduced these and why Explain the impact of this on family life
What are people’s rights regarding
Does the social policy undermine To what extent does the children act
this do this rights reinforce traditional
traditional gender roles and family attempt to engineer an ideal type of
gender roles
structures? family
Has it been successful?
FUNCTIONALISM NEW RIGHT
* *
THEORITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON FAMILY & SOCIAL POLICY
* *
* *
* *
* *
* *
* *
* *
* *

9. MARXISM FEMINISM
878(
* *
* *
* *
* *
* *
* *
* *
* *
* *
* *
The Family and Social Policy
NEW RIGHT
1942: Beveridge lays welfare foundations
The coalition British Government has unveiled plans for a welfare state offering care to all from the cradle to
the grave.
The Beveridge report proposes a far-reaching series of changes designed to provide a financial safety net to
ensure a "freedom from want" after the war is over.
Everyone of working age would be expected to pay a weekly national insurance contribution.

10. In return benefits would be paid to the sick, widowed, retired, and unemployed and there would also be an
allowance for families.
Serious discrepancies
The architect of the report, economist Sir William Beveridge, drew on advice from various government
departments including the Home Office, Ministry of Labour and National Service, the Ministry of Pensions,
the Ministry of Health and the Treasury.
His report was based on research carried out between the two world wars, which looked at issues like
poverty, as well as old age and birth rates.
He found provision for old age represented one of the most pressing problems.
But there were other failings too. Medical provision was not universally available to all and Britain's
achievement, in his words, "fell seriously short" compared with other countries of the world.
There were also serious discrepancies in the social security system which meant an unemployed person was
paid a different rate of benefit to someone who was unable to work through sickness.
At a time when the war was destroying landmarks of every kind, he said, it was a "revolutionary moment in
the world's history, a time for revolutions, not for patching".
But the attack on want was only part of the way to reconstruction. Other things which needed tackling, he
said, included disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness.
The way to improvement in social security lay in co-operation between the state and the individual. In return
for offering financial security, the state should not "stifle individual incentive to provide for his or her
family".
The amount of benefit paid should be sufficient to live on but no more.
His key recommendations include a basic unemployment benefit for a man and his wife to be paid at 40s a
week and 24s for a single person.
There are also plans to extend social expenditure to pay a family allowance of 8s per child and to pay a
working mother to take off up to 13 weeks after a new baby.
A national health service would be provided offering free medical treatment and post-medical rehabilitation
for all.
The report estimates the cost of his social security scheme would amount to £697m in 1945, compared to
£432m for the existing system. Of this increase £86m would be borne by the exchequer - the rest through
individual contributions.
Much of the new right perspective arose as a criticism of
the welfare state that had been introduced following the
1942 Beveridge report. Using this information about the
beverage report above answer the following questions

11. In Context
The Beveridge Report aimed to
provide a universal social insurance
scheme covering everything from
unemployment to sickness and
family allowances. SOCIAL POLICY
It was greeted with great enthusiasm Functionalism – page 82 was Beveridge?
1.Who
and sold over half a million copies -
but the wartime coalition under 1. Identify two functions that the families perform for their
Conservative Prime Minister members apart from healthcare
Winston Churchill agreed to
postpone planning for its
implementation until after the war.
During a Commons debate on the
report in February 1943, Labour
came out strongly in favour of all the
recommendations made in the report.
2.What were the main parts of the welfare set up at
It was probably this which cost
Churchill victory in the 1945 2. Suggest the end of the welfare policiesWar and what ‘giant
ways in which Second World may help families to
carry out thesewere functions morecombat?
election and led to Clement Attlee evils’ two these meant to effectively
leading the first majority Labour
New Labour – page 83
government. 1. Identify two other means tested benefits that are only
3. What is meant by the phrase ‘welfare from the cradle
available to families on a low income
to the grave’? What principles underlie this phrase?
Under his leadership, the National
Insurance Act was introduced in
1946, offering a state contributory
pension for all, and the National
Health Service founded in 1948,
offering free medical care for all.
Feminism –page 83-84
1. Find out about maternity and paternity leave provision. How do the two differ? What effects
might it have on family life if they were the same?

12. Evaluation of the Marxist perspective – page 85-86
Read the section on the Marxist approach to family policies on pages 85 to 86 of the book and use that
information to help you complete the following passage. The missing words are listed at the end.
Strengths
1 Marxism offers a more ______________perspective on the family than consensus theories like
. functionalism.
2 It shows how ________________ may often favour the better off and serve __________________.
.
3 It shows how ______________ for ordinary workers are often too low to make a real difference
.
4 Marxists believe it is in the interests of capitalism to encourage nuclear families to
.
________________ workers and prevent________________ .
Weaknesses
1 It tends to be ‘gender-blind’ in failing to recognise the importance of ___________ in social policy
.
2 It is very ______________ , in that it assumes all aspects of family life are determined by
. ______________ forces.
3 The approach focuses on one particular type of family and does not deal adequately with ______________
. forms.
Missing words:
Policies
Support
Deterministic
Alternative
Capitalism
Patriarchy
Resistance
Economic
Critical
Benefits

13. The family under John Major’s government
Carol Smart and Bren Neale childcare and divorce
Conclusion