Good Morning Class,
Social structure is the rule that individual personality is too unpredictable to provide this stability, so what has emerged in society is a set of structures called roles that produce predictable interactions (Dale & Smith, 2013). Additionally, Norms are the expectations of members of a social system regarding the behavior expected of a person in a position (Blumer, 1956).
I currently work in one of our local school districts in the Student Services department. Observing my role through the lens of social structure would include on the individual level assisting staff and students with understanding the risks of transmission of Covid and the ways they can prevent spread. Additionally, on the individual level teaching students the importance of social distancing and how personal hygiene affects their health. Living and working in the State of Oregon, you could apply this to a role of generalist practitioner by showing how one person can affect others through transmission of covid and forced quarantines. Helping students understand their decisions have the ability to impact other students, teachers, the school as a whole and even their community.
Kandice
Dale, O., & Smith, R. (2013). Human behavior and the social environment: Social systems theory. Pearson.
The social structure addresses the levels of the individual, family, group, organization, and community to work towards building a unified link between social and behavioral sciences (Dale & Smith, 2013). Last year I worked at an organization called ARC, which is a group program that helps individuals with developmental and mental disabilities learn the necessary skills to function properly in society. Using the perspective of social structure, on the individual level, the main focus was to teach the individuals daily life skills such as cooking, cleaning, money management, and other necessary skills so that they can maintain a certain level of independence. Another important task was to show the individuals how to properly compose themselves while in the public eye. We would participate in group outings when the individuals would attend movies, bowling sessions, go to the store or mall, amongst other public places. When the individuals acted out or had behavioral issues it went against social norms and typically resulted in distasteful looks and even being asked to leave. As a direct support professional, it was also our responsibility to interact with the families when they visited to get a general idea as to what it was, they seemed the individuals need to work on or learn. Some of these sessions were heartbreaking as they had expectations that were beyond the capability of the staff or for that matter the individual. As a generalist practitioner, understanding how different levels of a system can work together for the greater good of alleviating the social problem as well as understanding the social norms can be a great benefit. Society is built on norms and what is deemed as acceptable and unexpectable behavior and to go against this leads to being a social outcast.
Breanna Williams
Reference
Dale, O., & Smith, R. (2013). Human behavior and social environment: Social systems theory. Pearson. ISBN-13: 9780205036486
