What are the agents of Socialization?

The various places where child – adult – elder passes through and helps him/her socialise are called the agents of socialisation. Socialization is a spontaneous process which can’t be pre-planned
for that following are the factors or agents of Socialization:

1. Family and Relatives

Family is one of the important agent of Socialization. After birth child comes into contact with his/her mother and her role is very important that child starts imitating and identifying his mother. Therefore, role of a mother in socialization is primarily very important. Then he observes his father, his behavior, his treatment his living which influence him. The other relatives in the family and their behaviour with and treatment to child makes him develop the socialization. Accordingly his social, emotional, intellectual developments are taken a start.

2. Neighborhood

Neighbourhood also is to great extent important medium of socialization. After the own home child goes to the neighbours where he interacts with them. If the neighbours are co-operative, helpful, share worries and happiness, renders opportunities that forms his attitude towards society and the people living in vicinity to him.

3. Peer Group

Peer group is the most influential factor of socialization. It includes his/her classmates, playmates, friends, workmates, room mates, team mates etc. For an adult individual people of his own standards and status at work places whose emotions, age, values, wishes, thoughts, aspirations are similar to him is an important milestone in the process of socialization.

4. Schools, Colleges and Universities

The school is positively very important medium of socialization as like college and university. Actually school is more effective agent of socialisation from any other medium. The schools colleges and universities helps the child and person in following ways:

  1. The school develops skills, attitude, aspirations etc.
  2. The schools, colleges, universities are established with certain goals, aims and objectives. These are many times culminated in the child’s all round development.
  3. The values of patriotism, cooperation, tolerance, participate in economic activities and defense activities, respect for national ideals and conserve them, all is the training received in schools, colleges and universities.
  4. The Schools teaches students respect for teachers and all elders and behave with obedience.
  5. Students can learn sportliness and discipline on the ground activities and able to tolerate defeat and not to get excited after winning.
  6. School helps the child to develop his/her self-identity and overall personality.
  7. The regular parent-teacher meetings also resonalise about adult education and social work programmes.

5. Mass Media

The various news papers, magazines, books, Radio, Television, Films, etc are important agents of socialization. Visual aids introduce new thoughts, concepts, ideas, goals, spheres of influence, new information etc. and enhance the knowledge. We can get current knowledge about the World and our own country and locality through the media like newspapers and T.V., Radio etc. The Internet helps us to search any library of the world and have access to any book. Media can help us getting and making cooperation, financial help, emotional support in case of natural calamity, war, bomb blast, communal riots etc.

6. Culture

The culture gives the person identity as a human being, regulates life and gives lessons how to live in a group. Culture teaches us what food to consume, how to behave with others, how to be influential, cooperative, healthy competition and harmonious relationships. Culture trains us how to behave in a state of confusion how to make right decisions in right time how to show presence of mind etc. e.g. We follow to stand in queue for tickets or to walk from left side while in a traffic etc.

Culture can transform the person and mould him to follow certain unwanted and outdated customs and traditions. Some of the group of people think scientifically and reveals the uselessness from old traditions, practices and customs-which fastens the process of socialization.

Many times, culture reminds the individual of his caste, creed, religion, clan, and at the same time it also enlightens the people that casteism, religious biasness is wrong and let them to follow the good things that shapes the process of socialization.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *