Socialisation turns a
child into a useful member of
society and gives him
social maturity. Therefore, it is
of paramount
importance to know as to who socialises
with the child. There
are two sources of child’s
socialisation. The
first includes those who have
authority over her,
the second are those who are
similar to the child.
The first category may include
parents, teachers,
elderly persons and the state. The
second one includes
peer groups, friends and fellows
in the club. Briefly
the main agencies of socialization
are the following.
Primary Agencies
i) The Family
The parents or family
constitute the first agency for
the socialisation of
the child. They are not only closely
related to the child
but physically also they are nearer
to him than others.
From the parents children learn
language. They are
taught societal morality. They
start respecting
persons in authority. In the family a
child learns a number
of civic virtues. The family
therefore, is rightly
called “the cradle of social
virtues”. A child gets her first lesson in cooperation,
tolerance, self
sacrifice, love and affection in the
family. The
environment of a family influences almost
all aspects of growth
of a child.
ii) Neighbourhood
The neighbourhood is
the second important agency of
socialisation. Good
neighbourhood can make a child to
grow as a positive
person and responsible citizen.
iii) Peer Group or the Play Mates
The peer group and
friends also constitute an important
agency of
socialisation. The relationship between the
child and her
playmates is one of equality. As stated
above, the child
acquires co-operative morality and
some of the informal
aspects of culture like fashion,
fads, crazes, modes of
gratification and forbidden
knowledge. The
knowledge of these things is necessary
from the social point
of view.
118 Introduction to Social Work
iv) The School
The school is also a
very important agency of
socialisation. In the
school the child gets education
which moulds the ideas
and attitudes. Proper or
adequate education can
make the child a good citizen,
while a bad education
can turn him into a criminal.
Education is of great
importance for the process of
socialisation. A well
planned system of education can
produce competent
people.
Secondary Agencies of
Socialization
All the above
mentioned agencies are known as primary
agencies of
socialisation. There are few other agencies
of socialisation which
are known as secondary agencies
of socialisation, They
include
i) Religion
Religion has been an
important factor in society. In
the early history of
societies religion provided a bond
of unity. Though in
modern society the importance of
religion has
diminished, yet it continues to mould our
beliefs and ways of
life. The child sees his parents
going to the temple
and performing religious
ceremonies, and
listens to religious sermons which
may determine the
course of life and shaped his
ideas.
ii) The State
The state is an
authoritarian agency of socialisation.
It makes law for the
people and lays down the modes
of conduct expected of
them. The people have
compulsorily to obey
these laws. If they fail to adjust
their behaviour in
accordance with the law of the
state, they may be
punished for such failures. Thus
the state also moulds
a person’s behaviour and
personality.
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