Click here to learn about Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory and explore the five levels of the environment that can influence human development.
Consuming Kids: The Commercialization of Childhood (67 min.; Barbaro, A., Young, J. Earp, J. Jhally, S. (Director). 2008.) traces the evolution and impact of marketing to children. Drawing on the insights of children's health experts, media critics, and industry insiders, this film blows the lid off the youth marketing industry's stealth tactics and explores the effects of consumerism on the imaginative lives of children.
Note: Students will need to use their MSJC email to sign up for a free Kanopy account or log in to an existing MSJC Kanopy account in order to view the film.
The Children's Defense Fund (CDF) is a non-profit child advocacy organization that has worked relentlessly for more than 40 years to ensure a level playing field for all children. They champion policies and programs that lift children out of poverty, protect them from abuse and neglect, and ensure their access to health care, quality education and a moral and spiritual foundation.
A group of people, related by KINSHIP or similar close ties, in which the adults assume responsibility for the care and upbringing of their natural or adopted children.
Historically and comparatively, there have been wide variations in the family form. In order to analyse these differing family arrangements, sociologists have used the key notions of the EXTENDED FAMILY and the nuclear family. The extended family refers to a group of people, related by kinship, where more than two GENERATIONS of relatives live together (or in very close proximity), usually forming a single HOUSEHOLD. The nuclear family comprises merely parents (or parent) and their dependent child(ren).
(Source: Family. (2006). In Collins Dictionary Of Sociology.)
How do we define a family? - by Gwen Sharpe, PhD. December 26, 2012.
Taboo: Child Rearing (47 min.; Films Media Group. 2004). Child rearing practices are a main form of socialization. The way we raise our children is tied to deeply ingrained beliefs and traditions. This film examines the subject, focusing on wide disparities between cultures in the matter of parenting and child-rearing, presenting an eye-opening cultural contrast, and demonstrating different methods of socialization. Can you spot them?
"Since education is an essentially social function, the state cannot be indifferent to it. On the contrary, everything that pertains to education must in some degree be submitted to its influence" (Durkheim, 1956, p.80).
Explore the information below related to peer groups.
