ABSTRACT
This chapter provides the context in which the family now operates. It begins with the identification of several major trends in Canadian society which have influenced the nature, structure and size of the family. Betsy Rubiner points out people begin to see those people using the buzzword as a mean-spirited, self righteous bunch, armed with an ironclad list of old-fashioned family values that don't include individual freedom, compassion and tolerance. Values are the overriding themes that identify important goals and provide the individual with standards for evaluating her/his behavior. The entire constellation of values within a society can be viewed as a "compliance ideology". In an academic sense, the question then turns to how this compliance ideology is transmitted from one generation to the next. Stability in society is a function of how consistent values and attitudes are transmitted from one generation to the next or how commensurate changes in other institutional structures meet those impinging upon the family.
