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Agents of Socialization

The family ranks as a crucial agent of socialization in shaping the social development of

a child. An agent of socialization is a group, individual, or institutions that provide the platform

through which socialization takes place. Apart from the family, other agents of socialization

include school, peers, religion, media, books and the government. In this context, socialization

refers to the process in life where we learn how to interact with people and gain more knowledge

concerning social expectations. Notably, the human nature is a product of our interaction through

socialization. Although socialization is a lifelong process, the essential socialization takes place

during our childhood (Guattari n.p). Briefly, agents of socialization are significant elements in

our life because they provide us with opportunities to develop critical social skills for an efficient

functioning of life.

The Family

The family is essential because it receives the child first, thus initiating the socialization process

that nurtures him to serve and meet the societal expectations. Guattari (n.p) cites that it is through

the family that we are taught the accepted forms of behaviors within the society, and most

traditional societies considered the family as a social institution with the most influential impact

on society. Accordingly, the culture shapes the innate genetically transmitted capacities and

abilities in our childhood. At the initial stages, the mother plays a vital role in molding our

behaviors and abilities because she relates to a child more intimately at childhood than the father
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and older siblings. Additional knowledge, values, and skill we are expected to acquire in the

society are transmitted to us by the father and elder siblings.

The School

The school is the second influential agent of socialization we meet in our lifetime. Significantly,

our formal indoctrination into the societal culture ensues when we report to school. Learning

institutions exposes us to a broader background where we are introduced to the customs and

taboos of the society, beliefs, and values, as well as sciences and arts from a more

comprehensive angle (Guattari n.p). During the impressionable learning period, we learn to

respect, admire and love some of our teachers and the impression they make may last throughout

our life. We owe our stable adult life to the school, which through the hidden functions and

curriculum assisted us to adapt to social order. However, school socialization may erode the

values acquired at home.

Peers

Our contemporaries influence us as we grow towards adulthood. During this time, we spend our

idle time with our peers in places away from home and in the playground, an attraction that we

can never resist. Significantly, the peer influence supersedes that of our parents as time

progresses resulting in parent-child misunderstanding observed at the teenage level. Guattari

(n.p) states that a child tends to acquire the elements of co-operation, based on mutual

understanding and trust from the equalitarian relationship between him and his peers. Precisely,

the equalitarian relationship teaches the child to behave contrarily to biological propensity

thereby being resentful to expectations.

The Media
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The radio, newspapers, and television tend to subject an enormous influence in the process of

socialization. The media communicates directly with us, and the information they are passing

contains the inclinations of our culture including its ideologies and attitudes in capsule form

(Guattari n.p). Concisely, the television leaves a strong impression on us since it communicates

directly to our eyes and ears.

The Books

The printed word in magazines and books is yet another significant agent of socialization in

literate societies. Words express our values and beliefs, knowledge and experience, and the

prejudices in our cultural world in cascade and torrent (Guattari n.p). The authors and editors of

the newspapers, textbook, and magazines join the peers, teachers and the parents in the process

of socialization.

In retrospect, the family is the most influential agent of socialization as discussed.

Nevertheless, the other four agents are equally essential in our lifetime process of socialization.

The innate characteristics of human nature are vital while analyzing the impact and nature of the

socialization process.
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Works Cited

Guattari, Sonal. "5 Important Agencies of Socialization." Sociology Discussion - Discuss

Anything About Sociology, 18 June 2016,

www.sociologydiscussion.com/socialization/5-important-agencies-of-

socialization/2780. Accessed 19 Apr. 2018.