Questions to think about…  Is the socialization experience the same for everyone? What can make it different?

Males and Females  What are females supposed to be like?  What are males supposed to be like?

Agents of Socialization Schools and Peer Groups

Questions to consider…  Where did you learn the national anthem?  Who taught you about the heroes of the American Revolution?  Where were you first tested on your knowledge of your culture?  Like the family, schools have an explicit mandate to socialize people in the United States-into the norms and values of our culture.

Socialization in Schools  In school, children are under the care and supervision of adults who are not relatives.  For the first time, many children’s relationships with other people are impersonal.  Rewards and punishments are based on performance rather than affection

School and socialization  Schools also teach children the reality of how we experience time in the real world.  Bell schedule  Time limit on activities/deadlines  Rules and regulations for almost all activities  Because young people are separate from the adult world for so many years, young people must depend of one another for social life.

Hidden Curriculum  The socialization process in school involves more than reading, writing, and math.  Underlying the formal goals of school is the hidden curriculum.  Hidden curriculum: the informal and unofficial aspects of culture that children are taught in preparation for life.  Does L-S have a hidden curriculum?

Various cultures and school  Until the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003, the sixth-grade textbooks used in Iraqi schools concentrated almost entirely on the military and its values of loyalty, honor, and sacrifice.  Children were taught that their enemies were Iran, United States, Israel, and its supporters, and NATO, the European military alliance.

Conflict theorists and schools  Schools in this country foster competition through built-in systems of rewards and punishment, such as grades and evaluations by teachers.  A child who is experiencing difficulty trying to learn a new skill can feel unsuccessful and stupid.  As the self matures, children become capable of increasingly realistic assessments of their intellectual, physical, and social abilities.

Functionalists and school  Schools are agents of socialization, that fulfill the function of teaching children the values and customs of the larger society.  Conflict theorists agree, but add that schools can reinforce the divisive aspects of society, especially those of social class.  For example, higher education in the United States is costly despite the existence of financial aid programs.

Peer Group  A child’s peer group is composed of individuals of roughly the same age and interest.  The only agency not controlled primarily by adults.  Some examples: play group in the neighborhood, a clique at school, an after-school club or sports team.

Peer Groups  Independence from adults is also promoted by the peer group, because norms of the peer group conflict with norms of adults.  Children learn to be different from their parents in ways that help to develop self-sufficiency.  Relationships with the opposite sex is also an opportunity in peer groups.

Peer Groups  Develop social flexibility needed in a mobile, rapidly changing society.  Peer groups have a growing effect of social development

How do peer groups contribute to socialization?  In the peer group, young people have opportunity to engage in give and take relationships.  Conflict, competition, and cooperation in groups is seen.  Children also begin to make their own decisions: new ways of thinking, behaving, feeling, activities that involve self expression.