Functional Approach (Or Functional-Structural)

different approaches and many definitions of family have been given. However, until now, what family is is still a matter of debate and is defined in many different ways. According to sociologist Tuong Lai, this term is still the most loosely defined term in the vocabulary of sociologists [44, p. 33].

In the work " The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State" , F.Enggels mentioned Morgan's concept of family: "The family is a dynamic element, it never stands still but it changes from a low form to a high form when society develops from a low form to a high form, when society develops from a low stage to a high stage". This definition emphasizes the "dynamic" element of the family, the transformation of the family is closely linked to the movement of social change. In the work " The German Ideology ", C.Mark gave the definition: "Every day recreating one's own life, people also create other people, multiply - that is the relationship between husband and wife, parents and children, that is the family" [28, p. 41]. With this concept, the family is emphasized on the aspects of family relationships, which are marriage and blood relationships.

In Vietnam, when discussing the concept of family , authors also give different definitions. According to the Great Vietnamese Dictionary , "Family is a group of people related by marriage and blood relations living together in the same house" [3, p. 719]. Author Ngo Cong Hoan in the book " Family Psychology " gives the definition: "Family is a small social group, closely related by marriage or blood relations, psychological physiology, sharing common material and spiritual values, stable in certain historical periods" [24, p. 9]. Author Le Ngoc Van in the monograph " Family and family transformation in Vietnam " defines: "Family is a group of people, related to each other by marriage, blood relations or foster relationships, having gender characteristics through marriage relations, living together, having a common budget" [16, p. 38]

Through the above concepts, it can be seen that there will not be a single definition for family in all cultures, all social regimes and all different historical periods. Although there are separate criteria for identifying family, there are also basic common criteria: Being a group of people (two or more people); related to each other by marriage, blood or adoption; living together.

In this thesis, we agree to use the legal definition of family in Vietnam as stated in the Law on Marriage and Family 2005.

Maybe you are interested!

2008 as follows: "Family is a group of people who are bound together by marriage, blood relations, or foster relationships, giving rise to obligations and rights between them according to law" .

Household

The United Nations Declaration on the Family states that: “A household is a group of people living together under one roof, sharing a common budget”. According to this concept, a household can be one person (single), 2, 3 people of the same or opposite sex living together.

In 1989, the General Statistics Office introduced the concept: "A household consists of people who are related by marriage, blood or adoption, have a common income and expenditure fund and live together for a long time". Each household has a population registration book including the head of household and members related to the head of household.

Thus , family and household are two different concepts. A family can be one household but there can be more than one household.

In Vietnam, when talking about family, it is often understood as household and so the concept of family is often understood as the concept of household.

1.2.1.2. Family transformation

Family is a social institution and of course a part of society. Therefore, family change is also a part of social change. To understand family change, it is necessary to understand social change. Social change can be understood as a process of transformation from one social form to another on a time axis. Or more specifically, at time t 1 , there is state x 1 , at time t 2 there is state x 2 ... and at time t n there is state x n. . From social change, we can deduce family change, which is a process of transformation of the family from one state to another on a time axis. In this thesis, we examine the transformation of the family state in terms of structure, function, relationship and some customs and rituals in the human life cycle.

1.2.1.3. Ritual

According to the Vietnamese dictionary, “Ritual is the rite and procedure of a ceremony” [44, p. 866]. According to the Vietnamese Encyclopedia, ritual is “traditional activities performed at important moments in human life and production activities. Distinguishing two main types of ritual: One type is associated with the human life cycle (from birth, wedding to funeral) called family ritual; one type is related to production

agriculture and other economic activities are called calendar rituals" 3 . In this thesis, we only mention some rituals associated with the human cycle in the family, which as the above concept is called family rituals.

1.2.2. Some theoretical approaches

1.2.2.1. Approach to Marxist theory

The thesis applies the principles and methodological principles of Dialectical Materialism and Historical Materialism, specifically:

- The principle of ensuring objectivity. This principle indicates that it is necessary to study things and phenomena as they actually exist, conclusions must come from reality, not subjective judgments; to have a correct understanding of things and phenomena, one must aim at the essence, not at the random and unstable.

- Research on things and phenomena in development. Every thing and phenomenon has a process of arising, moving (changing) and developing; all exist in a certain space and time. When researching, it is necessary to perceive things and phenomena in specific stages and in the entire development process; it is necessary to pay attention to the specific historical circumstances that give rise to that problem, to the objective and subjective real context. Only then will we be able to see the movement, change as well as explain the movement and development process of that thing and phenomenon.

- Studying things and phenomena in a complete whole. When examining things and phenomena, it is necessary to place them in the relationship between the parts, elements, and different attributes of the thing or phenomenon itself. At the same time, it is necessary to examine things and phenomena in their relationship with other things and phenomena.

Applying these principles to the study of family transformation of the Dao Quan Trang people, we consider the family to be a social institution that has a reciprocal relationship with other social institutions in the social whole. The family exists and transforms in specific historical circumstances under the influence of many objective and subjective factors.

1.2.2.2. Functional theory approach (or functional-structural)

Initiated by G. Spencer and E. Durkheim and then developed and perfected by prominent scholars such as Malinowski, Radcliffe – Brown and Talcott Parsons. This is a theory widely applied in social research.

3 http://bachkhoatoanthu.vass.gov.vn

sociology, ethnology and anthropology. The creators and developers of this theory all consider structural-functional theory as an important tool in approaching the study of culture and society. Each representative of this theory has his own interpretation, but basically they agree on the following points:

- Society exists as a system, which consists of many different elements that are related to each other to form the structure of the system. Each element of the system can become a subsystem and under the subsystem there are even smaller systems.

- There are mutual interactions and close connections between systems and the environment. Similarly, there are also such connections and interactions between the elements of the system.

- Each system, as well as each part of the system, ensures one or more functions to maintain the unity of the system. When the functions operate normally, the system operates stably and sustainably, and conversely, when these functions are disrupted, it will lead to instability of the overall structure, and may even destroy the overall structure.

Approaching the functional theory in the research topic " The Dao Quan Trang family in Tan Huong commune, Yen Binh district, Yen Bai province ", we believe that: First , the Dao family is a part of the social system. In turn, the Dao family is a system consisting of many elements such as structure, function, relationships... and the internal hierarchy of these elements includes even smaller elements; Second , as a part of the social system, the family undertakes a number of functions in the social system of the Dao Quan Trang people, both being affected by the social system and having an impact on social life. This argument helps us to raise directional questions such as what is the function of the Dao Quan Trang family? Has this function changed? What is the relationship between the function of the family and other social elements? If so, what leads to that change? ...

Thus, functional theory helps us to gradually approach the research object at increasingly specific levels and allows us to explain the changing phenomena of the family. In addition, functional theory also considers society as a unified and stable system over time, thereby helping to identify society in a balanced movement with all the elements that make it up.

1.2.3.3. Approach to cultural change theory

Cultural change (in the broad sense including social change) is a process that occurs in all societies and is an important field of study in anthropology. Regarding cultural change, there are many theories explaining this issue such as explaining cultural change according to the evolutionary process (over time); explaining cultural change according to "diffusion" or cultural diffusion (over space); explaining cultural change according to historical characteristics; explaining cultural change according to function; explaining cultural change according to psychological anthropology...

Among the many theories explaining cultural change, we pay special attention to the theory of acculturation.

Cultural adaptation refers to the contact between cultural systems with each other, leading to the transformation and integration of some cultural elements between those cultural systems. This contact increases the characteristics of one culture in another. Cultural adaptation includes many different processes such as dissemination, adaptation, reaction... and "cultural disintegration".

Cultural exchange and acculturation are the constant movements of society and culture, closely linked to social evolution and also closely linked to the development of culture. Cultural exchange and acculturation are both the result of cultural exchange and the exchange itself, therefore cultural exchange and acculturation have an important role in human history.

Cultural acculturation is the law of existence and development of all cultures and societies from ancient times to the present. In essence, cultural acculturation is the dialectical interaction between endogenous and exogenous factors of the development process. In which, endogenous factors, with humans at the center, play a decisive role in orienting their relationship with exogenous factors.

The theory of cultural adaptation is applied in the thesis to explain the changes of cultural values in the family such as rituals, concepts, and new perceptions of society.

1.2.3.4. Historical-comparative approach

This is an approach that considers things and phenomena as occurring in a process, including different historical stages. In each historical stage, things and phenomena exist in different states. If we compare these different states, we will see the transformation of things and phenomena from one stage to another.

Applying a historical-comparative approach to research

This will show us the transformation of the family that took place in the socio-economic processes at different historical periods (here mainly before and after the Renovation period, since 1986).

Entering the Doi Moi period, a turning point in the history of Vietnam, the characteristic of this period is that the country has transformed from a centralized bureaucratic subsidy mechanism to a market mechanism. In this historical period, two main events emerged: the implementation of Contract 10 (Resolution 10 of the Politburo in 1988) and the new Land Law in 1993. Along with the above two events, from 1986 to present, Vietnam has carried out the process of industrialization, modernization of the country and strongly opened up to integrate with the region and the world. The above events have had a strong and profound impact on social changes in Vietnam, including changes in the family.

In the two historical periods of the country - before and after Doi Moi, there are differences not only in economic aspects but also in political, social and cultural aspects. This difference affects the family in all aspects. Comparing the characteristics of the family in these two periods will show the transformation of the family.

So, in the theories presented above, which theory or aspect of the theories should be chosen to apply to the research topic? In fact, in social sciences, there is no theoretical framework that can explain all situations or phenomena in social life, which are very complex and governed by specific historical circumstances. Each theory or theoretical model sheds light on a certain aspect of social life. It is a mistake to want to apply a single theoretical model to the entire social life everywhere on the planet and at all times in the historical process. Therefore, this thesis has distilled some arguments of the above theories and applied them to the study of family transformation among the Dao Quan Trang people.

1.2.3. Research method

This study approaches the problem from the basis of cultural anthropology; in which, qualitative analysis is particularly emphasized. However, the combination and supplementation of qualitative and quantitative information sources as well as historical documents archived in state and people's institutions.

We began by collecting and evaluating existing information related to the topic. These sources have provided a systematic understanding of the family and family change in the local and national social context. Regarding the collection of secondary sources, to have a general and comprehensive view, we collected various types of reports, decisions, directives, documents, etc.

Statistical data related to the topic in Tan Huong commune, Yen Binh district and Yen Bai province.

In the process of embarking on the research, I used the expert method to consult with experts and those who have in-depth research experience on this topic in the professional community, especially ethnologists. In addition, I experienced the life and life stories of the people and officials who worked in the locality during the period before and after Doi Moi to determine the research focus.

Regarding primary sources, ethnographic fieldwork is considered the main research method to collect information and analyze the thesis's problems. This method includes basic operations such as collecting textual documents and socio-economic statistics related to the research topic, participant observation, in-depth interviews with research subjects, and questionnaire interviews. I conducted participant observation at in-depth research sites in Tan Huong commune, Yen Binh district, Yen Bai province, in the villages of the Dao Quan Trang people to directly learn about the families of the people from the socio-economic life, ecological environment, people, production activities and people's daily life. I divided the fieldwork into several phases during the year to collect quantitative and qualitative information to explore the research hypotheses.

Regarding qualitative information, I focused on talking to local people, recording and analyzing their family life stories, their thoughts and feelings about their families before and after the Doi Moi country, changes in livelihoods, life and rituals.

In addition, I conducted in-depth interviews with diverse community members, from village elders, village chiefs, wealthy and poor household heads to young people, women and retired officials. The interviews focused on historical issues and family life before and after Doi Moi, production situation and living standards, and people's assessments of changes in their families and villages.

We also conducted discussions with commune government officials and cultural officials in the area to learn about the family situation of the Dao Quan Trang people and families of other ethnic groups in the commune. Thereby, we considered their assessments of issues: policies, characteristics of current family changes compared to tradition.

To collect quantitative information, we conducted a sociological survey,

Using a detailed questionnaire on family and family change for household heads and members, one time per household in 50 different households at 3 in-depth research sites. The information collected is related to issues of household economic history, population, socio-economics, education... From there, combined with statistical data and survey reports from available sources, we analyze the data to find out trends, characteristics, and nature of the problem expressed in the form of numbers and charts.

In addition, the inheritance method used in the thesis as presented in the history of the problem, there are some works that mention the content or part of the content of the problem we research. Through these sources of documents, we inherit some results and also give us a general view.

Chapter 1 Summary

Family and family change in Vietnam is a broad and attractive topic that has attracted the attention of many scientists. Family change is not only the subject of interest of researchers and policy makers but also of the whole society. However, studies on family change in Vietnam mainly focus on the Vietnamese (Kinh) people in the delta and urban areas. There are very few studies on family change of ethnic minorities, especially no research on family change of the Dao Quan Trang people.

When conducting research on the transformation of the Dao Quan Trang family, we used dialectical materialism and historical materialism to perceive, analyze and evaluate issues scientifically and objectively. This is also the methodology to apply specific methods in the research process, such as selecting research samples, collecting information and data in the system of specialized research methods in ethnology/anthropology.

The thesis also chooses the approach of functional theory, acculturation theory and historical-comparative approach. However, we only distill some arguments of each theory to apply appropriately to each aspect of the research.

In addition, we also mention some basic concepts related to family and family transformation to unify the terminology used in this thesis.

Comment