Socialization Process: Concept, Definitions, Characteristics, Processes, Agencies of Socialization

According to E. S. Bogardus, “Socialization is the process of working together, of developing group responsibility or being guided  by the  welfare  needs of others.”

W. F. Ogburn defines “Socialization is the process by which the individual learns to conform to the norms of the group.”

Lundberg says that “Socialization consists of the complex processes of interaction through which the individual learns the habits, beliefs, skills and standards of judgment that are necessary for his effective participation in  social groups  and communities.”

1. Socialization inculcates basic discipline. A person learns to control his impulses. He may show a  disciplined behaviour to gain  social approval.

2. It helps to control human behaviour. An individual from birth to death undergoes training and  his  behaviour is controlled  in numerous  ways.

Processes of Socialization

The processes of socialization are described below-

• Co-operation
• Competition
• Conflict
• Accommodation
• Assimilation

2. By providing opportunities for social learning, group learning, group work, games and other social activities like  dramatics, projects, debates,  discussions, etc.

Looking around the world, we see that different cultures use different techniques to socialize their children. There are two broad types of teaching methods– formal and informal. Formal education is what primarily happens in a classroom. It usually is structured, controlled, and directed primarily by adult teachers who are professional “knowers’’.

Role of the Family and School in Socialization Process
We can discuss the agencies of socialization as follows:

• In the family, from the parents he learns his speech and language.
• He is taught social morality.
• He learns respect for persons in authority.
• In the family, he learns a number  of civic virtues.
• The mother with whom the relation of the child is the most intimate plays a significant role in the process of moulding the  child in the initial stages.
• Of the parents, it is the mother who first begins the process of socialization.
• Family plays the most important role in the formation of personality.
• The family is rightly called the cradle of social virtues. The child gets his first lessons in co-operation, tolerance, self, sacrifice, love  and affection in  the family.

School

The school is the second agency of socialization. In the school, the child gets his education, which moulds his ideas and attitudes. A good education can make a child a good citizen, while a bad education can turn him into a criminal. Education is of great importance in socialization. A well-planned education can   produce socialized persons.

The school performs the functions in the process of socialization-

• An ideal environment of freedom and democracy should be created in school.
• Through the curriculum, the school in a formal  way provides  the child with:
• Cultural achievements of one’s society.
• Opportunities to acquire social and vocational abilities which are necessary in order to make one a social, useful and economically productive  member of the society.
• Gender roles are perceived as suitable roles by society.
• Co-curricular activities should be more   emphasized   in school with a view to socialization of the senses of children.
• Education teaches how to compete  responsibly.
• Schooling teaches how to cooperate.
• Schooling instills the community’s pattern of respect; thus how to relate to others well and obey rules.
• Schooling enables one to respect the culture of one’s society.

The child learns much from the family. After family his playmates and school wield influence on his socialization. After his education is over, he enters into a profession. Marriage initiates a person into social responsibility, which is one of the aims of socialization. In short socialization is a process which begins at birth and continues unceasingly until the death  of the individual.