SOCIALISATION

Socialization generally refers to the process in which people learn the skills,
knowledge, values, motives, and roles (i.e., culture) of the groups to which they
belong to the communities in which they live.
Main types of socialization
Primary socialization
This is the most important aspect of the socialization process as it takes place
during the early years of childhood that mainly takes place in the family. By
responding to the approval and disapproval of their behavior by their parents, and
copying their example the child learns the language and many of the basic behavior
patterns of his or her society.
Secondary socialization
This points to formal and planned educative activities that usually take place in
later years in school or any educational system of society. The important agencies
which operate here include schools, the church, the media, political parties, peer
groups and other socializing agencies. Within the peer groups, the young child by
interacting with others and playing childhood games learns to conform to the
accepted ways of a social group and to appreciate the fact that social life is based
on rules.
Developmental socialization
Type of socialization involves a learning process wherein the focus in on
developing our social skills.
Example: A shy student teacher starts to teach to pupils in order to develop verbal
communication.
Anticipatory socialization
This type of socialization refers to the process wherein a person practices or

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rehearses for future social relationships. Example: A child anticipates parenthood
as he observes his parents perform their daily roles.
Re-socialization
Socialization that involves rejecting previous behavior patterns and accepting new
ones so that individual can shift from one part of his/her life to another. Re-
socialization is said to be happening throughout human life cycle.
Voluntary Socialization

An individual decides on his/her own to follow certain norms and values. One
makes a personal decision to reach turning point E.g. born again Christians, Nuns,
and Priesthood etc.

Involuntary Socialization

Process where one is resocialised against his or her will. E.g. Prisoners, Mental
hospitals, etc.

Agents of socialization

The specific individuals, groups and institutions that provide the situations in
which socialization can occur are called agents of socialization. The following are
the main agents of socialization.
The Family
A family is a group consisting of one or two parents and their children. The family
is one of the many small face-to-face groups that are called primary groups saddled
with the responsibility of giving the offspring a qualitative and decent pattern of
living. The family is expected to satisfy an individual’s needs.
The School
A place where children go and obtain knowledge and skills through the help of
trained educators. The school is an important agent of socialization. After the

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home, the child is exposed to the school which also influences him/her. It
socializes the child, gives him the opportunity to manifest his qualities,
potentialities, capabilities, instincts, drives and motives and helps to develop his
personality. For the child, the teacher’s personality and character provide a mode
which he strives to copy, thereby consciously shaping his/her personality.
The Peer Group
This is a group of people of the same age or social status. The peer group as an
agent is the child’s own friends and equals with similar drives, motives and
interests. The social world of the child has its own mode of interaction, its own
values and acceptable forms of behavior, many of which adults cannot understand.
It is a world in which the child has equal and at times superior status to others.
Religion
Religion might be described as a reflection of man’s attempts to explain those
aspects of his environment which he cannot understand. Religious beliefs give rise
to certain types of behavior. Religion is therefore a whole way of life and not just
something that believer can take up or put down as the fancy takes them.
Mass Media
This is referred to sources of information and news that reach and influence large
numbers of people. The mass media as an agent of socialization have their own
technical characteristics. There are two major types namely ‘Print and Electronic’.
The print is in the group of newspapers, magazines, periodicals, texts, bill boards
and so on; while the electronics are the Radio, Television, video, projectors and so
forth. Media is used in different ways by children and hence different types of
messages are passed through mass media.
Factors Affecting Socialization
There are a number of factors that affect one’s process of socialization. These
include the following;
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 age
 gender
 tribe
 status
 race

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Importance of socialization
 transmission of culture
 reduces social distance
 contributes to the stability of social order
 develop right aspiration in life
 provides the knowledge of skills
 help to enact different roles
 converts people into social beings
 contributes to the development of personality
 brings about discipline
Failures of the socialization process and the problems of faulty socialization
 culture cannot be understood properly
 damage to the self-image
 resistance to excessive control
 failure to prepare children to face the challenges of ‘life cycle’
 confusions of mature adults
 failure of socialization and mental illness
 inability to equip people to face old age and death
 inconsistency in the ways of socialization
A number of theories exist to explain how we become socialized and develop a
sense of self. Our self is our conscious awareness of possessing a distinct
identity that separates us from other members of society. Three of these theories
are the Tabula Rasa of Locke, the looking glass self of Cooley and Role taking
of Mead.
The Tabula Rasa
The English philosopher John Locke (1632-1704) insisted that each newly born
individual is a Tabula Rasa or clean slate, on which can be written just about
anything. Locke claimed that each of us is born without a personality. We
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acquire our personality as a result of our social experiences. Locke believed
that human beings can be molded into any type of character. Through the
socialization process, we develop our sense of being a distinct member of
society.

The Looking-Glass self

Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929) was an American social psychologist. He
developed the notion of the primary group and evolved a theory explaining how
individuals develop a sense of self. Central to his theory is the concept of the
Look-Glass Self. The Looking-Glass Self refers to the interactive process by
which we develop an image of ourselves based on how we imagine we appear
to others. Other people act as a mirror, reflecting back their image we project
through their reaction to our behavior. According to Cooley, the development of
the looking glass self is a three-step process:
 We imagine how we appear to others
 Based on their reactions to us, we attempt to determine whether others
view us as we view ourselves
 We use our perceptions of how others judge us to develop feelings about
ourselves.
The process of identity development begins very early in childhood. According
to Cooley, a new born baby has no sense of person or place. The entire world
appears as one mass. Then, various members of the child, primary group,
parents, brothers, sisters other family members and friends interact with the
growing infant. They pick up the child. They talk to him or her. They reward
or punish the child’s behavior. In short, they provide the child with a mirror that
reflects his or her image. From this interactive process, the child develops a
sense of self. Parents, who think little of a child’s ability and let their feelings
be known, will likely give rise to feelings of inferiority in the child. On the
other hand, parents who treat their children as capable and competent children,
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Cooley was quick to note that while this process starts early in childhood, it is
continuous throughout our lives. We continually refine our self-image as we
alter our interpretations of the way we think others view us.

Role Taking (Role – Playing)

The American sociologist George Herbert Mead (1863-1931), added to
Cooley’s theory of socialization and the emergency of the self. According to
Mead, seeing ourselves as others see us is only the beginning. Eventually, we
come out only to see ourselves as others see us, but actually to take or pretend
to take the role of others. This act of role taking forms the basis of the
socialization process by allowing us to anticipate what others expects of us. We
thus learn to see ourselves through the eyes of others. According to Mead,
we first internalize the expectations of those closest to us, our parents, brothers,
sisters, relatives and other specific people who have a direct influence on our
socialization. Although Mead did not use the term sociologists now refer to the
people closest to us as significant others. As we grow older, however, the
expectations and attitudes of society take on added importance in guiding our
behavior and reinforcing our sense of self. Mead called the internalized
attitudes, expectations and viewpoints of society the generalized others. We
come to internalize the Generalized others through the process of role taking.

Children are not automatically capable of role taking. They must develop the
necessary skills through social interaction. Mead visualized role taking as a
three step process involving the following;
 imitation
 play
 games
Under about three years of age, children lack a sense of self. Consequently,
they only can imitate the actions of others. Young children most often imitate
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the gestures and actions of family members and others in their immediate
environment. Such mimicking is not role taking, but rather preparation for
learning role expectations.

At about the age of three, children begin to play and act out the roles of
specific people. They may dress up in their parents’ clothes, play house or
pretend to be doctors and nurses. For the first time, the children are attempting
to see the world through someone else’s eyes.

By the time children reach school age, they begin to take part in organized
games. Organized games require children not only to take on roles of their own
but also to anticipate the actions and expectations of others. Because it requires
internalizing the generalized other, the game stage of role taking most closely
resembles real life. Through role taking, individuals develop a sense of self.

With the foregoing explanations, we can describe Socialization as the process

of adaptation by the individuals to the conventional patterns of behavior. It thus
occurs on account of the individual’s interaction with others and the expression
of the culture which operates through them.

The human child has a remarkable capacity to imitate others to develop

according to the tenets of environment. Being a social animal, he/she tries to
win the appreciation of the group in which he/she lives and hence, he/she
naturally tries to imitate the culture of the group. It is through socialization
that he is transformed from the animals into the human, and it is
socialization which gives him/her a balanced personality. The social aspect
of the personality is no less important than the individual aspect. Socialization
teaches him/her to retain control over himself/herself in the interest of others.
Socialization, therefore, is the way a person learns to behave in a way that is

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acceptable in the society (Haralambos 2013). The term means the life-long
process where individuals learn about social expectations and how to interact
with other people in the society.

SOCIALIZATION AND EDUCATION

Both education and socialization are processes of learning.
Socialization is the process of learning to become human.
It is the way that society/culture perpetuates itself.
It focusses more on values and acceptable behavior.
It is evident that Socialization is (or historically was) distinguished from
education by being informal and unplanned.
It is the process of learning to be a fully sound human being acceptable in the
society. This is from one’s birth to death. We can also distinguish between
primary and secondary socialization as discussed above.
The first one starts at birth and the other whenever our social environment
changes and we need to adjust.
Schools spend more time on teaching the children basic life skills. Today many
things that are exactly taught by Schools are included in the curricula for pupils
at the lowest levels, some of these are for practical reasons, such as when and
where to defecate and urinate (not in the classroom, please). Others have to do
with safety coming to school and going home. Dressing for particular events,
seasons, and situations is included. Respecting authority, discipline, clean and
neatness, punctual just to mention a few.

It has to be stressed that Education is an important part of socialization.

Education has systems: formal education and Informal education.
Both Systems play a major role in initiating members of the society into the
way of life of the society. Formal education equips learners with adequate
knowledge and skills which are required for doing new things or doing old

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things in new ways. This helps to promote novelty and invention which are the
ingredients for social development in the society. It also helps to prepare young
members of the society for future careers.
Informal education, on the other hand, lends hand to the learning of moral
behavior, language, religion, greetings and other social values in the family.
Informal education helps to prepare young members of the society for
adulthood and enables them to see themselves as being responsible for the
social world.
In summary, Socialization equip one with the acceptable norms of the society. It
calls for conformity to the society’s norms and values. Education has elements
of training and follows a prepared and designed curriculum to equip the child
with occupational skills. It teaches individuals how to think, solve problems and
distinguish between logical and illogical thinking.
Social mobility
THE CONCEPT OF SOCIAL MOBILITY

Social mobility simply means the stratification system, particularly as a result of

changes in occupation, wealth or income. It is the movement of an individual
from one social stratum to another within the occupation, class structure or
society.
 Kelley (1967) sees social stratification as “the re lative location,
horizontal and vertical of persons towards each other in terms of the
relative ranking of power, wealth and honour within the social structure
known as the society”.
 Vertical Mobility:- This means the movement of individuals from one
social stratum to another social stratum. This type of mobility includes
both upward mobility and downward mobility. Upward mobility is an
increase in occupational status, moving to higher and more prestigious
positions. While the downward mobility is a decrease in occupational
status, from someone who is working to an unemployed person.
 Horizontal Mobility:- This simply refers to the movement of individuals
within a social stratum. In other words, it is a change in occupation that
involves no change in status, example autoworker to steelworker.

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 Horizontal mobility is also known as lateral mobility.
 Inter-generational mobility:-when changes in status occur from one
generation to another, it is called inter-generational mobility. For
example, if the son changes his status either by taking upon occupation of
higher or lower rank ith that of his father there inter-general mobility
takes place.

Intra-generational mobility: -when changes in status occur within one

generation, it is called intra-generational mobility. For example, the rise and fall
in the occupational structure of a family which leads to change in its social
status within one generation is called intra-generational mobility.
CULTURE

Concept of culture

The concept of culture has been defined in different ways Kibera and Kimokoti
(2007) define culture as a complex whole which include knowledge, beliefs, art,
moral, laws, customs and other capability acquired by man as man-made.
Culture is the set of important understanding that members of a community
share in common

Material and Non‐Material Culture

Sociologists describe two interrelated aspects of human culture (content): the

physical objects of the culture and the ideas associated with these objects.

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  music, architecture. Gestures, greetings, devotional practices and it also
include homes, neighbourhoods, cities, schools, churches, synagogues,
temples, mosques, offices, factories and plants, tools Material culture/
visible culture refers to the physical objects, resources, and spaces that
people use to define their culture. These include behaviours and practices;
clothing, language, food, means of production, goods and products,
stores, information and technological asserts and so forth. All has an
effect on school and society.
 Non‐material culture/invisible culture refers to the nonphysical ideas
that people have about their culture. It consist of invisible characteristic
including perceptions, attitudes, spiritual and others beliefs, values, rules,
norms, morals, worldviews modes of thinking, language, organizations,
and institutions. For instance, the non‐material cultural concept
of religion consists of a set of ideas and beliefs about God, worship,
morals, and ethics. These beliefs, then, determine how the culture
responds to its religious topics, issues, and events.
Characteristics of culture

 Culture is the product of human interaction and therefore it is not

inborn. The process of enculturation begins at birth. New members of the
society become uncultured through learning, living and by interacting with
other family and extended families, later school, religions, and other
institution play their roles as well.
 Culture extends beyond the life of each member of the society. Upon
death culture continues to initiate new members into the cultural heritage.
 Culture is cumulative and transmittable. It can be transmitted from one
generation to the next by language and non -verbal symbols
 Culture provides people with an identity. It tell them who there are,
where they come from and where they are heading, it provide them with

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 the power to create and recreate new ideas, value and product. All societies
have their culture and they are unique. What we do is greatly conditioned
by our culture – eating and drinking, loving and hating, playing and
working; so is thinking.
 Culture is both ideal and manifest. Ideal culture prescribes what people
should do or conform to while manifest culture stands for actual behavior
of people. Eg polygamous is normal in some Zambian tribes.
 Culture is both adaptive and integrative. E.g. environmental adaptation-
way of dress in very cold and hot places – ice lands and desert places
 Culture exerts influence upon biological factors and ultimately alters
people’s character. For example, people starve in the midst of plenty
because the food physically available to them is for one reason or other
culturally tabooed. Sociologist get puzzled understand why people in some
societies would rather go hungry while they have abundant of livestock in
their environment.
 Culture differs from society or from place to place this is called cultural
variation. This imply the way people differ in thing like adaptations to
meet essential human needs such as food, shelter and dress code. The way
Indians and Nigerians dress is quite different from the ways Zambians
dress. The way Lozi people dress and name their children after birth is also
different from the way Namwangas do.
 Culture is also universal, it has certain traits or complexes which are
common to people and are practiced by every normal adult member of the
society. If not allowed, a person meets disapproval or ridicule by others. If
he wants to be acceptable member of his group, he must accept and adopt
all the ways which are socially accepted. Universals are form of behaviour
uniformly done by the members of the society.

Types of culture

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  High culture: This is a culture practiced by the elite and upper or those
people with an ascribed status. It is associated with music, sports and arts.
 Subculture: This is the culture practiced or enjoyed by a small group of
people usually in the minority of a given society. They have their own
norms and values which make them a sub section of a society.
 Folk culture: Folk culture refers to the culture of ordinary people,
particularly those living in pre-industrial societies. Folk culture includes
traditional folk songs and traditional stories that have been handed down
from generation to generation.
 Popular: This is a culture that is borrowed from the high culture and
popularizes it making available for the masses. It is usually a product of
the media. It brings people of different background together in common
culture.
 Multicultural: Is similar to culture diversity, it is when different ethnic
groups live alongside each other. The example here is the Zambian ethnic
group live alongside.
 Real culture: The general culture of the society as it is practiced in
actual daily life.
 Mass culture: This is the culture spread through machines. It uses
technology and electronic media for example face book.
 Organic culture: This culture is not contaminated. It is original in
nature.

Elements of culture

 Culture has many elements some of these elements includes

Language

 This is an abstract system of words meanings and symbols for all aspect of
culture

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 It is the foundation of every culture
 It is an important tool in a society which is used to transmit all cultural
aspect from one generation to the other.

Norms

 These are established and accepted standards of behavior e.g. washing

hands before eating,
 There are two types of norms formal and informal- formal are rules that
have been written down while informal are rules that are not written e.g
kneeling down when giving something to an elderly person.

Values

 They are collective conceptions of what is considered good desirable and

proper or bad undesirables and improper in a culture.
 They indicate what is morally right or wrong.

Sanctions

 These are penalties and rewards for a conduct

 Conformity to norm can lead to a positive sanction such as praise, a medal a
word of gratitude.
 Negative sanctions include punishments, expulsion from school or
imprisonment.

Customs

 This refers to the accepted ways of behavior or doing things in a given

culture
 Customs also refers to habits or practices of doing things.

Education and Cultural Lag:

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 Due to rapid progress of scientific inventions and technological
advancement, material aspect of culture has gone ahead and its area has
been greatly widened. Learning institution is glued to too much of the
material culture such as ICT

Fork ways

 These are norms that do not have great moral significance attached to
them. They are the common customs of everyday life: take down the flag
before nightfall. Shake hands when you are introduced to someone. Do
your homework. Get to class on time. Some degree of nonconformity to
these norms is permitted because their violation by limited numbers of
people does not endanger the well- being or stability of society.

Mores

 On the other hand, have great moral significance attached to them. Unlike
nonconformity to folkways, the violation of mores endangers the well-
being and stability of society. If people go about killing one another for
example society is greatly threatened. Similarly, it is difficult for people
to acquire property if others are continually stealing it or setting it on fire.

Impact of Culture on Education

As mentioned above, culture and education have a give and take relationship.
Both compliments and supplements each other in various aspects. The
following are some of the influences of culture on education.

1. The aims and ideals of education are mostly determined by the values and
patterns of society.
2. Curriculum is conditioned according to the culture of society. It is framed
according to the ideals and needs of the society to realize the cultural

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 values e.g. localized curriculum, and introduction of early childhood
institutions in Zambian curriculum.
3. Methods of teaching and culture are intimately connected. The changing
cultural patterns of a society exert powerful influence upon the methods of
teaching also. The shift from the old teacher cantered teaching to child
centered education is an example. Socialized methods like project method,
seminar, symposium, discussion and use of familiar language, etc. are
widely used in the teaching learning process because of influence of
culture.
4. Discipline is also influenced by the cultural values. The present cultural
patterns of thinking and living are directly linked to our concept of
discipline. Corporal punishment as a way of discipline in the 1980s has
been replaced by the modern values of life and human rights.
5. Text books which are written according to the formulated curriculum and
promote and foster cultural ideals and values are welcomed e.g. language
used in books is gender sensitive.
6. Teacher who has imbibed the cultural ideals and values of the society only
can achieve his mission successfully. Only such teacher is able to infuse
higher ideals and moral values in children.
7. School is a miniature of society. The total activities and programme of the
school are organized according to the cultural ideals and values of society.
Hence school is the Centre of promoting, mouldings, reforming and
developing the cultural patterns of the society.

School subculture

A school subculture is a smaller group of students who share distinct styles,

behaviors, and interests. School subcultures offer participants an identity
outside of that ascribed by social institutions such as family and the school.

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Youth subcultures that show a systematic hostility to the dominant culture are
sometimes described as countercultures.
A high school subculture is a group of preteen or adolescent students in a
secondary education setting — junior high school, high school — which acts as
a subculture. Group members share a distinct set of behaviors, beliefs or
interests which differentiates them from their peers and/or the dominant culture.

Labels and groups

This is a list of common terms some people use to describe high school
subcultures (or what some consider subcultures). None of these terms is
standard, and persons, especially those labeled with them, will often not accept
the term. Many terms may be considered insults. Youth subcultures can be
defined as meaning systems, modes of expression or lifestyles developed by
groups in subordinate structural positions in response to dominant systems
— and which reflect their attempt to solve structural contradictions rising
from the wider societal context.
Stereotypical behavior
Stereotypical behaviors in high school subcultures may include:

 Associating socially with other members of the same group

 Eating meals together
 Wearing similar clothes (where uniforms do not exist)
 Using language differently; often including slang and special group
'jargon'
 Participating together in a specific official extracurricular activity

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