Evolution of Non Profits Social Institutions

The Role of Non-Profits as Society Evolves

Turner concludes that the interchanges and interconnections between the cores of the major social institutions have become more complex. However, he goes on to add that although these interchanges have varied historically, the more fundamental relationships among institutions have remained the same. This text seeks to analyze how the role of nonprofits, including the impact, scope, and mission, have evolved historically with the evolving interconnections and interchanges of the core institutions. It specifically focuses on the evolution of the interconnections between the cores of family and religion, and the impact of these on the missions of early learning or daycare centers.

Evolution of the Cores of the Family Institution

Before the industrial and commercial revolutions, the family was largely patriarchal, and its role extended beyond the procreative couple to include lateral kin and grandparents. The pre-industrial family gained legitimacy from the traditions of property, community, and religion (Gerstein et al., 1988). With the demands of social and geographical mobility resulting from industrialization, this kind of family was replaced by one that a) was authorized by civil contracts, b) possessed greater equality between parents of different genders, and c) was isolated from the extended kin (Gerstein et al., 1988). Some sources have heralded these changes to the family as evidence of deterioration of the traditional Western family, while others view it as a sign of the family’s adaptability in a bid to fit into other modern institutions (Gerstein et al., 1988). There is contention, however, that the institutional cores of the family have changed within several fundamental lines.

First, the family unit has evolved from the extended family setup to the residentially-nuclear family type as a result of commercialization and industrialization that led to rural-urban migration (Stevenson & Wolfers, 2007). According to Gerstein et al. (1988), the pre-industrial extended family setup provided an environment in which children were raised in an emotionally-supportive environment to be responsible and independent. However, the ties of the extended family were not completely eroded – despite families being geographically dispersed, lateral kinship ties are still maintained through telephone and social media networks (Gerstein et al., 1988).

Society has changed the way it defines and structures the human life span. In the traditional society, the stages of life – childhood, adolescence, youth, midlife, and old age – were merely biologically-driven (Gerstein et al., 1988). Today, however, these are mostly consolidated as a product of educational and social forces (Gerstein et al., 1988). The post-industrial family has given up much of its direct control over marriage, courtship, and economic training of the young (Gerstein et al., 1988). With increases in cases of crime and immorality involving the young, these age groups demand new social attention that is mostly offered in schools and other community settings such as churches, rather than the family.

The third area of change has been the rise in the proportion of women joining the labor force and the rising cases of divorce and separation (Gerstein et al., 1988). These changes have been brought about by advocacy for gender equality, increases in the number of families founded through civil contracts, and no-fault divorce legislations (Gerstein et al., 1988). These factors have led to an unprecedented growth in single-parent families that are no longer patriarchal in nature (headed by a male), and where women spend less time bringing up their children, especially if they are the sole breadwinners (Buehler & O’Brien, 2017).

Evolution of the Cores of Religion

Sources contend that as societies become modernized, there is a move towards secularization, where religion tends to lose its force (Gerstein et al., 1988; Wood & Shaver, 2018). Religion was a strong force in the traditional society and religious values served as the guideline for the societal order (Wood & Shaver, 2018). With modernization, and increases in literacy levels, the society has grown less reliant on traditional religious beliefs (Wood & Shaver, 2018). Very often, the phenomenon of changing values derives from changes in society’s interpretation, including attaching new meanings to phenomena based on the socio-cultural and socio-economic context within which an individual lives (Wood & Shaver, 2018). With industrialization and modernization came substantial developments within society such as urbanization, growing economic security, as well as advances in science and technology, all of which have had a strong influence on the ranking of religious values (Wood & Shaver, 2018).

Looking at religious values and norms, a change of values can be observed, with religious institutions such churches as losing their influence on certain domains of social life such as in matters of crime, marriage, divorce, and abortion. The declining involvement of the church in marriage issues, for instance, due to the passage of no-fault legislation by the political class; limits the involvement of religious institutions and changes the way society views divorce. As more and more couples divorce based on the provisions of these legislation, society’s attitudes towards religious values that emphasize eternal vows for married couples are eroded as the society gets accustomed to the new way. Thus, the evolution of political institutions causes evolution of the family structure, which, in turn, affects the religious values and beliefs traditionally held by society.

The Evolution of Non-Profits as a Result of Evolving Institutions

This text focuses on one type of non-profit organization, early childhood and daycare centers. According to Kamerman (2007), early childhood programs in the US have evolved out of diverse historical streams including child protection, early childhood education, services for children with special needs, and services to facilitate mothers’ participation in the labor force (Kamerman, 2007). The history of early childhood education in the US traces back to the 1830s, with the establishment of child care centers (day nurseries) that mainly provided day-long care to the ‘unfortunate’ children of working mothers (Kamerman, 2007). Day nurseries were merely custodial in nature, focusing primarily on supervision and basic care of the children (Kamerman, 2007). No form of formal education was offered as most learning still took place at the family level.

Beginning from the 1860s through to the Second World War, day nurseries increased significantly in number, and also began to evolve into nursery schools or kindergarten programs (Kamerman, 2007). These nursery schools were based on the work of Friedrich Frobel (1782-1852), which introduced the concept of learning through play, and introduced some formal education guided by a curriculum (Kamerman, 2007). With this, nursery schools changed from an all-comers affair to a formal institution designed to offer enriched experience for middle-class children (Kamerman, 2007). During the Civil War, World War I, and World War II, more women were forced to take part in the labor force after to provide for their children as the men were out in the war zone (Kamerman, 2007). However, according to Kamerman (2007), these programs would often increase in number during the war and decline when the war ended. It was not until the 1970s that there was significant expansion of nursery schools due to a number of federal child care initiatives (Kamerman, 2007).

Given the increase in women’s labor force participation driven by rising divorce rates, increasing number of single-parent families headed by women, and no-fault legislation in the 1970s, more and more women worked outside the home. This meant that the family could not offer formal education as was the case traditionally (Kamerman, 2007). Nursery schools began to fill this gap by providing places where children of working mothers not only spent their day, but gained useful experience for facilitating the transition to school (Kamerman, 2007). As such, in response to increasing labor force participation by middle class women, early childhood centers evolved from custodial spaces focused on basic child care to early childhood education centers focused on instilling basic formal education and preparing children for school (Kamerman, 2007).