CHCLD514A

Analyse impacts of sociological factors on clients in community work

and services

What we will do this week

1. Review last week2. Presentations on your topic of interest3. Culture4. Inequality5. Project work6. Assessment & discussion of issues of concern

• Review last week

– Sociological perspective–History –Key theories– Socialisation• The family• Key influences

Culture – “is the shared products of human society”

(Robertson, 1989, 55)

• The UN definition of culture is the “set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features of a society or a social group ...and that it encompasses ....in addition to art and literature, lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs”

ACTIVITY 1

On a piece of paper make a list of:

•Family celebrations as a child•Memories of food•Your favourite foods now•The social activities you participated in as a child•Your own family “rituals” & where they came from•Discuss with your partner

• Culture is transmitted from the past to each new generation (trans-generational) – the main way is through the socialisation (the primary influence is the family)

- think about the first activity – what has been transmitted through to your own family from your grandparents time?

- Culture is transmitted to each generations through norms and values

ACTIVITY 2

What is Australian culture?

In small groups define Australian culture

Does Australia have it’s own culture? How is it different to the USA, China, Dubai, Aboriginal culture

How does it influence • Life aspirations• Roles of women/men• Marriage• Work

Norms and values

• Norms and values are the building blocks of culture

• Norms are the shared rules or guidelines that prescribe the behaviour appropriate in a given situation – eg. Eating with a knife & fork, marrying one person at a time (Robertson, 1989, 62)

• Values are socially shared ideas about what is good, right & desirable – eg public, free education (Robertson, 1989, 64)

Norms & values

• Norms are specific guidelines for different situations

• Values are abstract, general concepts such as freedom, fairness, democracy etc

• For example, if a country values education then it’s norms would support all students being able to go to a school (attendance 5 days a week, wouldn’t exclude particular social or economic groups from going to school etc)

Norms & values

ACTIVITY 3

In pairs write down the following:• What are some Australian values?• What are the norms that support those?

Inequality

Why is it important in Community Services Work to understand the causes and impacts of inequality in society?

Because we need to understand how are the personal experiences of individuals is explained by the social influences surrounding them

All societies treat their members differently depending on certain characteristics – eg. Age, religion, education, gender etc

Inequality

• Is “the unequal sharing of such social rewards such as wealth, power and prestige” (Robertson, 1989, 253)

• Conflict view – inequality occurs because capitalist society is designed for profit by the few (system based)

• Functionalist view – is based on the ability & contribution & that it is normal & necessary (system based)

• Interactionist view – inequality is created by social labelling (people try & minimise anxiety by stereotyping) (Kellehear, 1991, 60-62)

Key terms relating to inequality

• Social inequality• Social stratification• Class• Power• Status• Social mobility• Poverty

Key terms relating to inequality

Social inequality• is the differing access to power and resources

of a particular group – they are often labelled as disadvantaged

What are some groups that are commonly understood in Australia to be disadvantaged?

Social stratification

Social stratification• Is “the structured inequality of entire categories

of people who have different access to social rewards as a result of their status in a social hierarchy” (Robertson, 1989, 254)

• 2 forms of stratification systems– Closed (Caste, an ascribed status determined by birth

& you can’t change your status)– Open system (Class, an achieved status - more flexible

& you can move up or down depending often on your income)

Class

Modern Western countries have 3 main classes• A small wealthy upper class• Fairly large middle class – professionals or white collar workers• Large working class – less skilled blue collar workers

Agricultural societies have 2 main classes• A small & wealthy class of landowners• A large and poor class of peasants

ACTIVITY 4• What are some examples of each ?• In pairs – Is Australia an classless society

Power

Weber (German sociologist, 1946) separates class into 3 elements

• Economic status or wealth• Political status or power• Social status or prestige

Power is the ability to control the behaviour of others even without their consent

Power

ACTIVITY 5.

What are some situations where a Community Services Worker may have power over the people they are working with (with and without their consent?)

Status

A position in society– Ascribed status is one you have no control over – age,

race, gender– Prescribed status is one you have some control over –

become a spouse, a member of a different religion or political party

Most societies have inequality among different statuses eg the difference between the status of a supreme court

judge & a fruit picker is huge! (Robertson, 1989, 91)

Status

ACTIVITY 6

Make a list of the a range of occupations ranging from highest to lowest status

Would these rank similarly in India, East Timor,China or the USA?

Social mobility

Is the movement from one social status to another- Exchange mobility – someone in a high status job

gets downgraded to a lower status job- Structural mobility – economic recession causes

people to lose their jobs or vice versa- Intergenerational mobility – where a fruit picker’s

son becomes a high court judge(Robertson, 1989,258)

- Can you think of some examples?

Poverty

• Relative deprivation - The inability to maintain the living standards of society

• Absolute deprivation - The inability to afford minimum standards of shelter, health care, food etc (Robertson, 1989, 276,277)

• What is the poverty line in Australia?• Who are the poor in Australia?

Poverty

• Usually minority groups (CALD, indigenous, mental health issues, A&OD, criminals etc)

• Female headed households• Children & young people

Are there other emerging groups in Australia experiencing poverty?

What about older people, self funded retirees, students?