Name - Pratima Mukherjee
Course - B.A. Programme
Semester - 4
Student ID - 201901944
Enrollment No. - 19-03033
Roll No. - 1 9BAB052
Subject - E
ducation & Society
(Sociology CBCS)
Submitted To - Prof. Shareena
Banu
What is Socialization?
At birth, the child possesses only the potentialities of becoming human.
Eventually through a variety of experiences that he goes through, he finally
becomes what the sociologist calls socialized.
Socialization is the process in which the newly born baby is transformed into
a social person capable of interacting with others. These Interactions include
several different kinds of activities like forming affectionate ties, carrying on a
conversation, participating as a member of many kinds of organizations such
as - a school classroom, a social club, a work group in a shop or office etc.
It is a dynamic life long process where the individual learns the principles,
values and symbols of the social system in which he or she participates and
the expression of those values and norms in the roles they enact.
Socialization is achieved in different stages which includes the oral, anal,
ocedipal and adolscence stage. Each stage corresponds to a specific age
group and characteristics of development.
● The Oral Stage - It involves the infant stage and during this stage
the infant is not involved in the family as a whole. He is only
involved in the environment consisting of him and his mother.
The infant builds up fairly definite expectations about the feeding
time, and learns to signal his pressing needs for care.
● The Anal Stage - It covers the period between first and third year
of child's life. Toilet training is one of the main focuses of this
stage. During this stage the child internalizes two roles- his own
and of his mother which is now clearly separate.
● The Oedipal Stage - It extends from about the fourth year to
puberty. The child becomes a member of the family as a whole
during this stage. The child identifies itself with the social role
ascribed to himiher on the basis of hisker sex.
● The Adolescence Stage - It begins roughly at puberty. At this
stage a young boy or girl wants to be freed from the control of
parents. There is much greater demands for independence which
eventually develops stress in his relationship with the family. By
the time maturity is attained by individuals, a major part of
socialization is over, though it continues for the whole of life.
Agents of Socialization
Socialization cannot take place in a vacuum. Institutions , groups and
Individuals create the social context for socialization to take place. It is with
the help and support of these agencies that we learn and incorporate the
values and norms of our culture. They also account for our positions in the
social structure with respect to gender, race and class. The habits, skills,
beliefs and standard of judgment that we learn in the socialization process
enable us to become functional members of a society.
The first experiences of socialization are often provided by the Social
groups. Families, and at a later stage peer groups, communicate
expectations and reinforce norms. People learn to be introduced to the
beliefs and values of society as well as the use of the tangible objects of
material culture in these settings.
The social institutions of our society also play a major role in
socialization. Institutions—like schools, workplaces, and the
government—teach people how to present oneself and navigate these
systems. Other institutions like for example the media, contribute to
socialization by inundating us with messages about norms and expectations.
Schools As An Agent Of Socialization
There is a general acknowledgement that children typically develop better in
a rich social and cultural context. Eventually, these contexts known as
socio-cultural factors have a huge impact on the child’s development. The
five basic Institutions (family, education, political, economic and religion) are
also included in these socio-cultural factors. Family is the initiator of a child’s
development in these institutions. Other than this, there are arrangements
such as that of school and other social activities that are responsible for
bringing up a child. These institutions help the child by teaching them a
particular culture of a particular society.
It is at the school setting where the child learns his new role as a student. For
example, when children start school they are socialized to obey authority (i.e.,
the teacher) and in how to be a student.
One of the major objectives of socialization in the schools is to make the
child socially competent. This social competence is gained when the
students embrace and achieve the socially sanctioned goals. Such goals like
learning to share, working in groups, participating in lessons, when
embraced, also serve to integrate the child into social groups at school. Social
approval is reached when the sanctioned goals of the school setting are
accepted and they are rewarded and reinforced on a regular basis through
social acceptance by teachers and other students. Within the school
environment a child must develop skills that allow him or her to function
socially, emotionally, and intellectually.
Schools serve two purposes in the socialization process:
● Manifest Functions – the intended purpose of formal education is to
transmit the appropriate skills and values for earning a living and being
a “good citizen”.
● Latent Functions – schooling also exposes students to new attitudes,
values, and points of view. It teaches them that the same rules apply to
everyone, and that there are lasting consequences for violating those
rules.
● Hidden Curriculum – schools introduce cooperation, order,
competition, discipline, and obedience. This is the key mantra to
success in a society which is dominated by cut throat competitions and
large organizations.
School socialization helps the growing child in gaining academic insights as
well as many values like discipline, resilience, the importance of punctuality,
cooperation, team work, etc. Schools play another significant role with
regards to gender socialization. Though the very first lessons on gender are
learnt from the family setting, yet it is at the school level that the child
comprehends its various dimensions. The school becomes the most
important agency at this stage. Simultaneously the child is introduced to the
peer group in the school and neighbourhood.
Socialization Problems in Public School that
Need to be Addressed
These are certain problems that restrict or limit the good socialization
programs in public schools.
● Bullying- This can have a long term negative impact on children.
● Too much on high-stakes testing for good socialization to take place.
● Absence of students breaks or recess at many of these public schools.
● Little focus on socialization due to education reforms.
● Insistence on student silence for most of the day including lunch
breaks by some public schools.
● Racial prejudice - This can affect how students socialize.
● Children with special needs require better peer group interactions.
● The public schools that do not have provisions for breaks or recess
harm the development of socialization skills in children.
● Spending too much time online and not enough time for face-to-face
interactions.
Socialization is a critical step and stage in a child’s life. How the students
socialize and interact at the school level will impact how they socialize as
adults. Therefore schools must provide ample time for students to socially
interact.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
The schols face various challenges to create an environment that helps the
students to develop requisite skills and capacities to perform in school and
even after completing school. Various research conducted by sociologists
suggests that there is a relationship between the social and emotional
conditions for learning, built environment, and student’s academic and
developmental outcomes. Further in depth knowledge of this relationship
would help improve our understanding of such interactions and experiences
within schools that contribute the most to learning and performance.
Any perseverance of schools as effective systems demand a holistic view of all
important and relevant physical attributes of the built environment that are
related to socialization processes. The approaches to scrutinize the effect of
the built environment and student outcomes mainly focus on one specific
factor of the school environment without much regard to students’ overall
experience. When students involve and interact in schools, it is within the
boundary of the whole environment and not just a single aspect.
School is a small miniature society where children of different religions,
different families, different castes and economic status come together and
take part in collective activities and learn to adjust to the society. It is in the
school that whatever the child has learnt hitherto through family, peer group
or community gets stabilized.
The school system functions within the society and complies with society’s
demands. It serves the purpose of being a catalyst when there is a need for
reform and dynamism. At the same time it keeps a check so that cultural
values of a society do not get diluted. Children who are deprived of school
education therefore will have only narrow socialization unlike their
counterparts in schools who have scope for greater interaction, exposure
and wider socialization.
In all the ways mentioned above, this is how, schools act as an agent and
plays a paramount role in the socialization of children along with reinforcing
the habits, values, and norms of the society which are learnt from the family
and at the same instance exposing them to new realms of thoughts and
deeds.
