The functionalist perspective focuses on understanding why societies take specific forms, emphasizing interdependence among societal parts, the roles of social structure and culture, and the importance of consensus and cooperation. Emile Durkheim, a founding figure in sociology, developed this perspective, which highlights the maintenance of social order and stability through structures that fulfill essential functions. Modern functionalist theories also stress the significance of education in promoting equality of opportunity in democratic societies.

1. FUNCTIONALIST
PERSPECTIVE
-is primarily concern with why a society assumes
a particular form.
Emile Durkheim-a founder of sociology and is largely
credited with developing the functionalist perspective.

2. Key Principles of the functionalist
perspective(Farley,1990)
 1. Interdependency-is that society is made up of
interdependent parts. This means that every part of society is
dependent to some extent on other parts of society, so that
what happens at one place in society has important effects
elsewhere.

3. 2. Functions of Social Structure and Culture-this principles is
applied both social structure and culture.
• Social structure refers to the organization of society,
including its institutions, its social positions, and its
distribution of resources.
• Culture refers to a set of beliefs, language, rules, values,
and knowledge held in common by members of a society.

4. 3. Consensus and Cooperation- is that societies have a tendency toward
consensus; that is to have certain basic values that nearly everyone in
the society agrees upon. For example, our society agreed upon the
principles of freedom and democracy in order to achieve cooperation.
4. Equilibrium-this view holds that, once a society has achieved the
form that is best adapted to its situation, it has reached a state of
balance or equilibrium, and it will remain in that condition until it is
forced to change by some new.

5. Social Structures provide
present patterns which
evolve to meet human
needs
Stability, order, and
harmony
Maintenance of
society
The Structural-Function Model
• The structural functional model addresses the
question of social organization and how it is
maintained.

6. • In the study of society, a sociologist with this perspective tries to
identify the structures of society and how they function, hence the
name structural functio-nalism.
• Functionalist maintain the social structures exist in society for the
functions they have to carry out.
• Structural functionalism puts emphasis on social order and social
stability.
• Modern functionalist theories of education. From this
perspective, schooling performs an important function in the
development and maintenance of modern, democratic
society, especially with regard to equality of opportunity for all
citizens.