In early 2005, the Corporation for National and Community Service conducted the Youth Volunteering and Civic Engagement Survey in which they explored the connections between youth volunteering and the primary social institutions to which teenagers are exposed- family, schools, and religious congregation. Among other findings, the research analysis shows that:
- 74 percent of youth who volunteer do so at least in part through a religious organization, a school-based group, or a youth leadership organization such as Scouts or 4H, while 64 percent do so primarily through one of those three institutions.
- Students who volunteer do better in school than their counterparts who don’t volunteer.
- A youth from a family where at least one parent volunteers is almost twice as likely to volunteer as a youth with no family members who volunteer, and is nearly three times as likely to volunteer on a regular basis.
- Among youth who attend religious services regularly, 64 percent also volunteer.
Source: The Corporation for National and Community Service (2008). Retrieved from www.nationalservice.gov
The above scientific research demonstrates a relationship between certain social institutions (family, religion, and school) and youth volunteering. As agents of socialization, these social institutions help teenagers experience the value in helping others, and in the process give them an opportunity to learn to interact with their community. In this Discussion, you will choose a social institution and create the foundation for a scientific study on the institutions’ role in socialization by applying the steps of the scientific method
To prepare for this Discussion:
- Review the appropriate pages in the course textbook on your chosen social institution; pages 296 – 318 on the family, pages 322 – 351 on religion, pages 339 – 351 on education, pages 356 – 365 on the economy, or pages 365 – 380 on the government.
- Review pages 29 – 34 on the basic steps of the scientific method.
- Consider how different your life would be if institutions were not part of the social structure of your society.
- Reflect on how your chosen social institution shapes the values and beliefs of your society.
With these thoughts in mind:
Post by Day 3 a response in which you do the following:
- Select one of the social institutions of interest to you (i.e., family, religion, education, or government) and briefly describe how this social institution contributes to the transmission of society’s values.
- Choose an aspect of this social institution that might make for a research study that helps with the fundamental understanding of the process of socialization. How would this study contribute to the good of society?
- Describe the steps of the scientific method in your study.
Be sure to support your ideas by connecting them to the week’s Learning Resources, or something you have read, heard, seen, or experienced.
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RESOURCES……….
Readings
- Course Text: Sociology: A Brief Introduction
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- Chapter 12, pp. 296 – 321
- Chapter 13, pp. 322 – 355
- Chapter 14, pp. 356 – 385
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