ABSTRACT
One of the problems of the social sciences is the distance that exists between the ease of formulating theoretical propositions and the difficulties of undertaking empirical research to test them. This chapter presents theoretical writings that tend to have higher esteem than the efforts of those who labour in the field establishing sociological truths, and offers meaningful perspectives on the nature of residential institutions. It is concerned with a wide variety of residential provision for adolescents ranging from exclusive boarding schools and service academies to penal establishments. This analytic framework and methodology would no doubt apply to other kinds of institutions such as prisons, hospitals or barracks but there would be a need for modifications. The chapter examines the confusion in the way the term 'socialisation' has been used by other writers. It uses the framework to guide investigation and subsequently to develop hypotheses of increasing sophistication.
