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DEFINITION OF SOCIALIZATION


DEFINITION OF SOCIALIZATION

Socialization is the process of learning of any society.  It is the process of training new members or infant of the society to acquire, absorb and imbibe the norms, value, expectation, skills, knowledge of the society in order to fit into the system.
Socialization is the continuous act; hence it is being aptly described as a process. It starts at birth of an infant and ends at the grave when the infant- transformed adult goes to the “The Kingdom Come”. It is a life- long process. And by implication, death is the only end to human learning, adaptation and experience. Life itself is an eternal school and we do learn and experience newer trends almost every second.

At birth an infant is a tabula rasa “(i.e. a clean state)”. He is naïve, unconscious (of his environment), empty –headed and blank minded. In a word, he is “un-socialized”. Afterwards, he undergoes a gradual learning process from parents, older siblings, relatives, neighbors, and tutors etc to become an acceptable member of the society. It is a process of becoming an acceptable social being. It is also a process of adapting to the social, physical economic, political environments.

GOALS / SIGNIFICANCE/ FUNCTION OF SOCIALIZATION

1.      To transmit societal values, cultural knowledge or element from the older generation to the younger ones. The older generations are the custodians of the society’s knowledge and they can give up the ghost at any time.

2.      To perpetuate the existence of the society. When societal/ cultural knowledge is transferred from the elderly people to the youngsters, the latter subsequently carry on with the activities of the society on the demise of the former.


3.      To make new members (i.e. infant) of the society to conform to the prevailing acceptable norms and values. This in turn is aimed at facilitating the much – needed solidarity in the society.

4.      To prepare an individual for societal roles and challenges

5.      To enlighten an individual about his immediate and distance environment

6.      To facilitate the growth and development of the society

7.      To mould an infant into acceptable personality.

STAGES OF SOCIALIZATION

There are two stages of socialization:

1.      Primary Socialization: This is the first stage of socialization. It prepares the ground for adult socialization. It is a way of initiating infants / children into acceptable values/ expectations of the society.

2.       Adult Socialization: It involves training the adults to acquire the acceptable norms, values, expectation of the society. 

KINDS OF SOCIALIZATION

There are two kinds of socialization:

1.      Status Socialization:  It is a ways of making the child to learn the ways of life of the family and the society.

2.      Role Socialization: It prepares the child / infant to fit into a particular vocation or position in the society.
 
PROCESSES OF SOCIALIZATION

Infants/ children are socializes in four main processes:
1.      Direct learning:  this takes place through direct teaching received from parents, teachers, religious leaders and mass media.

2.      Incidental learning:  this is otherwise known as “casual learning”. It is a process of learning in social places which are quite different from classroom situation. E.g. learning through observation of the environment, learning through interaction with the playmates.

3.      Learning from models: It involves learning through imitation. We learn from certain heroes and heroines in the society. We admire them and aspire to be like them. E.g. bill Gate, Barack Obama, Late Martin Luther King, Late Michael Jackson etc.

4.      Learning Social Roles: it entails learning through certain responsibilities expected of us when holding some positions. E.g. we learn to become more responsible as a father, religious leaders, engineers, accountant etc. 

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