The term "integration" passed into the social sciences from other disciplines - biology, physics, etc. Under it is understood the state of connectedness of differentiated elements into a whole, as well as the process of combining these components. Consider further the process of social integration.
General information
The term "social integration" is not given much attention in modern literature. There is no clear conceptual apparatus in the sources. However, some general characteristics of the category can be identified. Social integration is the unification into a whole, the joint coexistence of elements of the system, previously disparate, on the basis of their mutual complementarity and dependence. Analyzing encyclopedic data, one can define the concept as:
- The degree to which an individual feels belonging to a group or collective based on shared beliefs, values, norms.
- Combining elements and parts into one whole.
- The degree to which the functions of individual institutions and subsystems become complementary rather than contradictory.
- Availability of specialinstitutions that support the coordinated activities of other subsystems.
Oh. Comte, G. Spencer, E. Durkheim
Within the framework of positivist sociology, the principles of the functional approach to integration were updated for the first time. According to Comte, cooperation, which is based on the division of labor, ensures the maintenance of harmony and the establishment of "universal" consent. Spencer identified two states. He said that there is differentiation and integration. According to Durkheim, social development was considered within the framework of two structures: with mechanical and organic solidarity. Under the latter, the scientist understood the cohesion of the team, the consensus established in it. Solidarity is determined or explained by differentiation. Durkheim understood cohesion as a condition for the stability and survival of the team. He saw integration as the main function of public institutions.
Suicide Phenomenon
Studying suicide, Durkheim searched for factors that ensured the protection of the individual from isolation. According to the results of research, he revealed that the number of suicides is directly proportional to the level of integration of the groups that the person belongs to. The scientist's position is based on the idea that people's behavior aimed at the realization of collective interests forms the basis of cohesion. The key factors on the basis of which social integration occurs are, according to Durkheim, political activity and moral education. Simmel took a close position. Heagrees with Durkheim in the sense that he also discovered in the institutions and structures of capitalism the functional equivalents of the simplest bonds of custom. They must maintain the unity of the traditional collective. Simmel also considers socio-economic integration. He points out that the division of labor and operations in the sphere of management contribute to the strengthening of trust in relations between people. Accordingly, this ensures a more successful integration.
T. Parsons
He believed that social adaptation and integration are closely related phenomena. Parsons argued that the formation and maintenance of relationships and interactions is one of the functional conditions for equilibrium in the team, along with the achievement of goals and the preservation of values. For the researcher, social adaptation and integration ensure the solidarity of individuals, the necessary degree of their loy alty to each other and to the structure as a whole. The desire to unite people is considered a fundamental property, a functional imperative of a societal collective. He, acting as the core of society, provides different orders and degrees of internal integration. Such an order, on the one hand, requires a certain and clear solidarity in the sequence of the normative model, and on the other hand, societal "coordination" and "harmony". Thus, the integration of social activity has a compensatory character. It contributes to the restoration of balance after past disturbances and guarantees the reproduction and continuity of collective existence.
Internationalization
She, according to Parson, is the basis for social integration. Society forms certain collective values. They are "absorbed" by the individual born in it, within the framework of interaction with other people. Thus, integration is a social and communicative phenomenon. Following generally valid standards becomes an element of a person's motivational structure, his need. This phenomenon was quite clearly described by J. G. Mead. According to his ideas, an individual needs to introduce into his personal consciousness a social process in the form of accepting an attitude that works for other people in relation to him and to each other. Then his behavior is directed towards collective activity. From this it follows that the formation and existence of a personality are realized in the course of the interaction of the subject with members of a particular social group, communication, joint affairs.
Specific interactions
This phenomenon as a whole is presented as a certain system. It has a close functional relationship between the centers of relations. The behavior or state of one is immediately reflected in the other. Changes in one individual, which is currently dominant, determine (often implicitly) adjustments in the activity of the counterparty. From this it follows that the unity, high integration of a social group is possible when functional ties are formed between the subjects - relations of interaction.
Ch. Mills opinion
This American researcher studiedordinal (structural) problems of social integration. During the analysis, he came to an important conclusion. The solidarity of structures focuses on unifying the motivations of activists. In an interpersonal way, there is a mutual penetration of the actions of individuals under the influence of ethical standards. The result is social and cultural integration.
Unity of individual and behavior
This question was considered by M. Weber. He believed that the individual acts as a "cell" of sociology and history, "the simplest unity", not subject to further splitting and decomposition. I. Kh. Cooley analyzed the phenomenon through the initial integrity of social consciousness and the relationship between society and man. As the researcher noted, the unity of consciousness is not in similarity, but in mutual influence, organization, causal connection of components.
Properties
Social integration, thus, acts as a characteristic of the degree of coincidence of goals, values, interests of various associations and individuals. Close concepts in different aspects are consent, cohesion, solidarity, partnership. Syncretism is considered as a natural variant of its absolutization. It assumes the value of an individual not so much in itself, but on the basis of his belonging to one or another unity, organization, association. The subject is considered as a component of the whole. And its value is determined by the contribution it makes.
Legal factor
He acts as anotherone prerequisite for the integration of the individual into society. The concepts of jurisprudence were used in their works by G. Spencer, M. Weber, T. Parsons, G. Gurvich. All opinions of scientists converge in essence. They believe that the right is a certain set of restrictions and measures of freedom. Through fixed norms of behavior, it acts as the basis for the self-reproduction of connections between individuals.
The concept of J. Habermas
In reasoning about life structure and the world within conceptual strategies, the scientist states that the fundamental issue of theory is the task of connecting in a satisfactory way the two directions designated by the concepts of "life world" and "structure". According to Habermas, the first is "social integration". Another important factor is described in the framework of the strategies. It is communication. The research approach focuses on several elements. First of all, this is the life world. In addition, the nature of the integration of the system of actions is analyzed through a normatively established or achieved consensus through communication. Theorists, starting from the latter, identify the association of individuals with the life world.
Thoughts by E. Giddens
This scientist saw the integration of the social system not as a synonym for consensus or cohesion, but as interaction. The scientist differentiates between concepts. In particular, he separates systemic and social integration. The latter is the interaction of collectives that form the basis for the unification of individuals as a whole. Socialintegration involves the relationship between the subjects of activity. Giddens defines it as structured on a personal level. Social integration, in his opinion, implies the temporal and spatial presence of interacting agents.
Research by N. N. Fedotova
She believes that any definition of social inclusion will not be universal. Fedotova explains her position by the fact that they take into account only a few components that function in the world. Social integration, according to the scientist, is a complex of phenomena due to which the connection of heterogeneous interacting links into a whole takes place. It acts as a form of maintaining a certain balance and stability in associations of individuals. In her analysis, Fedotova identifies two key approaches. The first is related to the interpretation of integration in accordance with common values, the second - on the basis of interdependence in terms of the division of labor.
The point of view of V. D. Zaitsev
According to the scientist, consideration of the unity of goals, beliefs, values, views of individuals as one of the key grounds for their integration should be considered insufficiently legitimate. Zaitsev explains his position as follows. Each person has his own system of preferences, values, views, and integration mainly involves joint activity based on interpersonal interaction. It is she, Zaitsev believes, that should be considered as a defining feature.
Conclusions
Public spaceintegration, thus, contributes to the formation of a communicative model of a person. It provides an opportunity to consciously and unconsciously comprehend the necessary, adequate and productive practices of interaction with the help of previously mastered roles. As a result, the individual develops the behavior expected by the team, due to the status of the subject - his position associated with specific rights, duties and norms. Social inclusion generally boils down to:
- To unite people on the basis of common values and mutual dependence.
- Formation of practices of interaction and interpersonal relationships, mutual adaptation between teams and individuals.
There are many concepts discussed above. In practice, there is no unified theory with which to identify the universal foundations of the phenomenon.
Social, educational integration
The fundamentals of the sciences studied in antiquity had the form of a holistic knowledge. Comenius believed that everything that is interconnected should be taught in the same way. The question of integration in education arises in situations where it is necessary to introduce children with developmental disabilities into school. It is worth saying that such cases cannot be called massive. As a rule, we are talking about interaction with a specific child and parents, to one degree or another - with an educational institution, a kindergarten. Integration in social work with children with disabilities is largely determined by the level of organization of psychological and pedagogical support.
Relevance of the issue
Currently, there is a tendency to integrate different disciplines. This is due to an increase in the amount of factual material of sciences, an understanding of the complexity of the objects under study, laws, phenomena, theories. All this cannot but be reflected in pedagogical practice. This is confirmed by the expansion of the number of disciplines studied in educational institutions of a new type. The consequence of the processes is an increase in attention to interdisciplinary interactions within the framework of organizational and methodological support. The curricula of general education schools introduce various disciplines that are integrative in content (life safety, social science, etc.). Taking into account the rather extensive experience that has been formed in the pedagogical field, we can talk about the established approach related to the study and use of methods in education and training to increase their effectiveness.
Socio-economic integration
It is considered the highest level of the division of labor at the international level. Economic integration is associated with the formation of stable and deep relationships between associations of states. This phenomenon is based on the implementation of a coordinated policy by different countries. In the course of such integration, reproduction processes coalesce, scientific cooperation is activated, and close trade and economic ties are created. As a result, there are zones of preferences, free exchange of goods, customs unions, common markets. This leads to the formation of an economic union and full integration.
Modern Issues
Currentlythe subject of the study is socio-cultural integration. In the rapidly changing modern conditions, young people are forced to adjust their behavior to the surrounding circumstances. Recently, this problem has been discussed in the pedagogical field. Modern realities force us to rethink the concepts that have been in force for a long time, to search for new resources and opportunities in technologies and practice. This issue is exacerbated during periods of crisis. In such situations, socio-cultural integration becomes the most important condition for the quality of life, a means to ensure the continuity of an individual biography, the preservation of mental personal he alth in a deformable society.
Determining Factors
The severity and scale of the problem of socio-cultural integration are determined by the content of the reforms, the increasing institutional alienation of people, the impersonality of the individual within the framework of professional relations. Equally important is the suboptimal functioning of state and civil institutions. The lack of integration of people, provoked by the content and scale of transformations in the familiar psychological, cultural, social, and professional environment, is beginning to take on an all-encompassing character. As a result, established relationships are broken. In particular, the professional-corporate, ethno-cultural, and spiritual community is being lost. Marginalization of large communities of the population, including young people, difficulties in self-realization and self-identification are accompanied by increasedpersonal dissatisfaction in key areas of life, growing tension.
Flaws of existing government programs
Measures that are carried out within the framework of state policy do not completely eliminate the problems that have arisen. Young people need systemic measures. Considering the set of measures aimed at creating conditions for the intellectual, creative, professional, cultural self-realization of the individual, it should be noted that the developed projects are insufficient. This, in turn, actualizes the issue of planning the functioning of the relevant institutions on the basis of not only a situational approach. It is also necessary to introduce systematic methods into practice. The search for additional reserves should not be limited to professional, leisure and other organizations. It is necessary to reconsider the priorities and functions of all institutions, the organization of the entire model of their interaction.
Customization
It is carried out through joint activities. The result of individualization is a person's awareness of his creative, intellectual, physical, moral difference from other people. As a result, a personality is formed - an infinite, unique being. However, in reality, a person is always within the limits. It is limited by conditions, socio-cultural environment, resources (temporal, biological, etc.).
Moral aspect
One of the most important factors is the totality of an individual's values. At the same time, it is the core of society, reflects the spiritual quintessence of the interests and needs of individuals and theirgroups. Depending on the functions, values can be unifying or differentiating. At the same time, the same category can implement different tasks in certain conditions. Values are one of the key incentives for social activity. They contribute to the unification of individuals, ensure their entry into the team, helping to make an acceptable choice of behavior in significant cases. The more universal the value, the higher will be the integrating function of the social actions stimulated by it. In this regard, ensuring the moral unity of the team should be considered as the most important direction of state policy.
