Socialization is the process through which individuals learn the norms, values, behaviors, and social roles of their culture and society. There are several key agents of socialization, including family, school, peer groups, religious institutions, and mass media. These socializing agents teach individuals the culture and help socialize them starting from childhood through various processes like primary socialization by family, secondary socialization in school, and continued socialization through peer groups and mass media.

1. EDUCATION AS A PROCESS OF SOCIALIZATION
Socialization is a general term used to describe the processes happening between
society and human beings. But more specifically it is a core concept of sociology of education.
Socialization is a term used by sociology, social psychology and educational theories.
This term refers to the process of inheriting, learning and internalizing the norms, customs and
ideologies of a culture and society. A society develops a culture through a number of shared
norms, customs, values, traditions, social roles, symbols and languages. Socialization helps an
individual to learn and inherit these values. More than that, it helps him/her to gain the skills
and habits that necessary for participating within their own society. In other words, socialization
makes a person an accepted individual in a society by cultivating certain values. We can say
that socialization is the process by which society and culture continue to exist.
Socialization is the primary means by which human infants begin to acquire the skills necessary
to perform as a functioning member of their society. This is said to be the most influential
learning processes one can experience.
Culture according to sociology can be found at two levels:
A. It is manifest in the actions, customs, and behaviors of whole social groups
B. The most fundamental expression of culture is found at the individual level
Both these levels are important for the continuity of the culture. The individual expression of
culture occurs with the help of multiple agents. In other words, this is done only after an
individual has been socialized by its parents, family, extended family and extended social
networks. Socialization contains processes of learning and teaching.
THEORIES AND FUNCTIONS OF SOCIALIZATION:
Many philosophers have expressed their views on the process of socialization. Theories of
socialization are to be found in Plato, Montaigne and Rousseau. There is a dictionary entry from
1828 that defines ‘socialize’ as ‘to render social, to make fit for living in society’. However, it
was Georg Simmel who popularized this concept and as a result it was incorporated into various
branches of psychology and anthropology. According to the major theories, there are 6 types of
socialization. They are
1.Primary Socialization
2.Secondary Socialization
3.Developmental Socialization
4.Anticipatory Socialization
5.Resocialization
6. Organizational Socialization
1. Primary socialization:
A child learns the attitudes, values and actions appropriate to individuals as members of a
particular culture. In the beginning it happens through the interactions in the family and
extended family and community. For example, the behavior and opinions of the parents have
an impact on the child. When a child sees a particular behavior and opinions of his/her parents

2. and the members of the society, the child thinks this behavior is acceptable. This leads to the
child learning that particular habit/behavior/opinion. This process is called primary socialization.
2. Secondary socialization: Secondary socialization is the process of learning what an
appropriate behavior is as a member of a smaller group within the larger society. It is
usually associated with teenagers and adults.
3. Anticipatory socialization: This refers to the processes of socialization in which a
person prepares himself or herself for future positions, occupations, and social
relationships.
4. Developmental socialization: This is the process of learning behavior in a social
institution or developing your social skills.

3. 5. Resocialization: In his/her lifetime a person learns and unlearns behaviors and values
constantly. Resocialization is the process of discarding former behavior patterns and
accepting new ones as part of a transition in one’s life. Resocialization can be an intense
experience because it involves breaking away from past beliefs and experiences. Also,
he/she learns radically different norms and values. This is a significant part of any
individual’s life.
6. Organizational socialization: Human beings learn the knowledge and skills necessary
to assume his or her organizational role. This is known as Organizational socialization.
They learn about the organization and its history, values, jargon, culture, and
procedures. They also learn about
Their work groups
 The specific people they work with on a daily basis
 Their own role in the organization
 The skills needed to do their job
 Formal procedures and informal norms.
Functions of Socialization:
Socialization can be seen as a control system in society. Individuals learn to internalize and
obey social and cultural values and practices. Human infants are born without any culture. The
job to transform them rests on their parents, teachers, and others. Through constant processes
they are transformed into cultural and socially adept animals. The main functions of
socialization are:
 Socialization teaches us the language of the culture we are born into as well as the roles we
are to play in life
 Socialization teaches us the occupational roles we are meant to do in our lives.
 We also learn and usually adopt our culture’s norms through the socialization process.
KEY CONCEPTS OF SOCIALIZATION
The patterns of behaviors of a society have to pass on to its members. In a primitive society,
the transmission of the culture was major part of education. It was focused on how the children
are given what we call primary education in the family without ever entering a school. At the
age of five or six children starts to go to school. By the time the family has already a great deal
of educational care and nurture. Much of the culture has by this age been transmitted. The
schools have come occupy a major role as they care for their pupils. Schools provide good

4. moral upbringing and compliment the role of the family. But the values that the school tries to
inculcate may be contrary to those that the family teaches. For example, in schools stealing
may be taught very wrong by the teacher. But no one may prevent a child from taking apples
or mangoes from an orchard.
The key concepts and ideas in socialization are as follows.
Ideal and Real Culture
-Ideal culture consists of officially approved behavior patterns. Real culture consists of
what people actually do in their day-to-day practices without due consideration to their
official status.
Sub-Culture
A sub-culture is a group smaller than a society. It is related to the larger culture in the sense
that it accepts many of its norms. But the sub culture is also distinguishable because it has
some norms of its own.
Cultural Relativity
It is impossible to understand behavior patterns of other groups if we analyze them only in
terms of our motives and values. A trait which may be disruptive in one society may be vital to
the stability of another.
Cultural Shock
When an individual is exposed to an alien cultural environment and among people who do not
share his fundamental belief it is called a cultural shock.
Cultural Change
Cultural change occurs whenever new traits and trait complexes like traditions, values and
customs emerge. They replace the old ones in content and structure. Although, resistance to
change is most evident when changes occur but it is inevitable.
Cultural Lag
When the non-material element of culture like norms, values and beliefs attempt to keep pace
with changes in the material element of culture like technology, then cultural lag has occurred.
Acculturation
The context between one culture and another to change the existing traits is referred to as
acculturation.
Enculturation
This is a process by which people become part of the native culture. This is done through the
internalization of the morals, laws and folkways of such culture to become part and parcel of it.
AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION
The survival of a society depends on how to maintain the degree of homogeneity amongst its
members. Socialization perpetuates and reinforces this homogeneity by fixing in the child the
essential similarities that collective life demands. These essential life ingredients are transmitted
through the family, school, mosque/church/temple, peer group, market, mass media and so

5. forth. There are five main agents of socialization.
1. Family
2. School
3. Mosque/church/temple
4. Peer group, market
5. Mass media
The Family
The family is a small social group with the responsibility of giving the offspring a qualitative and
decent pattern of living. The family is expected to satisfy reproduction needs, economic needs,
feeding, clothing, shelter, medical provision, and so on. Family transmits the cultural values and
norms to the young generation and helps them to be fully integrated into the society. The
family is the foundation of socialization because family is the first contact of the child. Children
learn basic social values, desirable character traits and norms from the family. The home assists
in laying the foundation for personality and character development of a child. The success or
failure of an individual depends on the type of social take-off given by the family. Through
family the child is trained in
 Language
 Positive character traits
 Fundamental intellectual knowledge
 Vocational skills and
These skills are acquired through the initiation of the adult members of the family like father,
mother and other siblings at home. These people are expected to be role models and the
younger generation look up to them as examples for moral standard. The child’s mind is very
flexible and susceptible to any influence. The parents love for the child makes a deep
impression on him. The cordial relationship between both parents has significant influence on
the personality development of the child. Parent need to ensure that they display high level of
moral maturity so that they become examples to their off spring.
The school
The school is another important agent of socialization. After the home, the child is exposed to
the school which also influences him. It socializes the child, gives him the opportunity to
manifest his qualities, potentialities and capabilities, instincts. The school helps and motivates
the child to develop his personality. For the child, the teacher’s personality and character
provide model to copy. Every little action, every movement, speech made by the teacher
impresses itself on the child’s mind. Apart from the teacher, the child is also influenced by his
school mates or groups. These mates or groups play a significant role in determining the role
the child will occupy in the society later in life. During the process of education, the child’s
personality develops under the impact of the other personalities with whom he comes in
contact. The cultural programmers of the school also help to refine his attitudes. The school is
also expected to transmit knowledge and skills into the learners to be able to face life
challenges.
The Peer Group
The peer group 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, values and acceptable forms of

6. behavior. Many of these the adults cannot understand. Peer groups take shape early in the
child’s life. There are different kinds of peer groups in a child’s life. In the earlier years, these
peer groups are relatively informal and transitory. They are adapted quickly to changing
circumstances in the child’s situation.
 Examples of peer groups are play groups (siblings, neighbors children, school-mates) in the
early years.
 In later years, however they become more formally organized groups like clubs, societies,
character-building agencies like Boys Scouts, Girls Guides and so on.
In short, peer groups are social groups that influence the behavior of their members. Brothers,
sisters and people in the community are sources of an informal education of the child.
Religious Houses:
People who share the same religious beliefs will also hold the same attitudes and opinions, and
will behave in the same way. Thus, religious institutions help in the socialization process of its
members. The religious leaders are expected to demonstrate a high level of morality to serve as
role models to their followers. Religious institutions like churches, temples, mosques play an
important role in education and socialization. Children meet people of same religious values and
world views. They help the child to mentally and emotionally grow.
Mass Media:
The mass media as an agent of socialization have their own technical characteristics. There are
two major types namely of mass media.
 Print media
Electronic media
The print is in the group of newspapers, magazines, periodicals, texts, bill boards and so on.
The electronics media are the Radio, Television, video, projectors and so forth. These form
avenues for socialization. Different types of messages are passed through mass media. Children
need to be guided in the usage of their leisure hours to discourage cultivation and learning of
negative ideas.
The nuclear family, extended family and school help the child in order to become acceptable
member of the society. The socialization of the child is done through the family, school, peer
group, religious houses and mass media to intimate the child with the happenings in his
environment.