Alternatives to family life (communes, cohabitation)

    AQA
    GCSE

    Candidates must analyse the transition from the hegemony of the nuclear family to a landscape of family diversity (The Rapoports). This study area examines structural and cultural shifts facilitating alternatives such as cohabitation, single-person households (LATs), and communes. Analysis must cover the impact of secularisation, the changing position of women, and legal reforms (e.g., Civil Partnership Act 2004, Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013). Crucially, candidates must evaluate whether these forms represent a permanent rejection of the nuclear model or merely a shift in the life course (Chester's 'neo-conventional' family).

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    Objectives
    4
    Exam Tips
    4
    Pitfalls
    3
    Key Terms
    4
    Mark Points

    What You Need to Demonstrate

    Key skills and knowledge for this topic

    • Credit accurate definitions of cohabitation as a 'trial marriage' or a permanent alternative to marriage, linking to ONS data on it being the fastest-growing family type.
    • Award marks for specific examples of communes, such as the Kibbutz system in Israel, noting collective child-rearing and shared economic resources.
    • Candidates must link the rise in alternatives to specific social changes: secularisation reducing the stigma of sex outside marriage, and the changing position of women.
    • High-level responses must apply theoretical critique: e.g., Functionalist concerns regarding the stability of cohabitation versus Feminist support for the negotiation of roles in non-nuclear setups.

    Marking Points

    Key points examiners look for in your answers

    • Credit accurate definitions of cohabitation as a 'trial marriage' or a permanent alternative to marriage, linking to ONS data on it being the fastest-growing family type.
    • Award marks for specific examples of communes, such as the Kibbutz system in Israel, noting collective child-rearing and shared economic resources.
    • Candidates must link the rise in alternatives to specific social changes: secularisation reducing the stigma of sex outside marriage, and the changing position of women.
    • High-level responses must apply theoretical critique: e.g., Functionalist concerns regarding the stability of cohabitation versus Feminist support for the negotiation of roles in non-nuclear setups.

    Examiner Tips

    Expert advice for maximising your marks

    • 💡When discussing cohabitation, explicitly state whether it is being analysed as a prelude to marriage or a substitute for it; this distinction is crucial for AO3 evaluation.
    • 💡Use the Kibbutz example to counter the Functionalist argument that the nuclear family is universal (Murdock).
    • 💡In 12-mark questions, ensure every point made about an alternative family structure is directly compared back to the nuclear family norm to maintain focus on the 'Alternatives' aspect.
    • 💡Memorise ONS trend descriptions (e.g., 'doubling of cohabiting couples since the mid-90s') to support AO1 knowledge claims.

    Common Mistakes

    Pitfalls to avoid in your exam answers

    • Conflating 'living apart together' (LAT) with cohabitation; failing to distinguish between shared residence and separate residence.
    • Describing communes purely as religious cults rather than as secular, egalitarian living arrangements (e.g., shared housing co-operatives).
    • Asserting that the nuclear family has been 'replaced' rather than acknowledging it remains statistically dominant despite the rise of alternatives.
    • Providing anecdotal evidence of family friends rather than sociological evidence or trends.

    Key Terminology

    Essential terms to know

    Likely Command Words

    How questions on this topic are typically asked

    Identify
    Describe
    Explain
    Discuss
    Evaluate
    Discuss how far

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