ASSIGNMENT MARK FORM

SECTION 1

PROGRAMME: CHILD SAFEGUARDING PROTECTION AND CARE

NAME: BABINGTON FORICHI

TITLE OF ASSIGNMENT:
DISCUSS THE IMPACT OF ANY 3 SOCIALIZATION AGENTS OF CHILDREN
BEHAVIOR

SUBJECT: FUNDAMENTALS OF SOCIOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY

ASSIGNMENT NO: 2
DUE DATE: 20/12/19
LECTURER: MR. O. MAGARABA
SECTION II
COMMENTS

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MARKED…………./………………/SIGNATURE………………………………………

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WITH ASSIGNMENT .THE TOP COPY WILL BE RETURNED TO YOU WITH THE
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TO LECTURER: PLEASE USE INK OR TYPE WHEN COMPLETING SECTION II TO
ENSURE GOOD CARBON COPIES.

Bell and Harper (1977), defines socialization as a lifelong process of inheriting and
disseminating norms, customs, ideologies and providing an individual with the skills and habits
necessary for participating within his or her society. From the above definition it is worthwhile to
note that, since childhood is a unique phase of accelerated development, different social groups
and institutions play a significant role in exposing children to stimulating environments that
instill positive behavior. Behavior is how one acts or conducts oneself, especially towards others
(Smart and Smart, 1980). To ensure that children become responsible citizens that know how to
interact well with others they should be taught acceptable and unacceptable behaviors through
the socialization process. In it salient to note that, there is a surfeit of socialization agents and the
thrust of this academic essay is to look at how family both nuclear and extended, peer groups and
school shapes the behavior of a child.

Social groups such as families provide the first experiences of socialization. Biological family
members that are mothers and fathers, siblings and members of an extended family all teach a
child what they need to know from the society in so far as social norms are concerned. The
process of socializing a child includes teaching and learning about an unending array of objects
and ideas. In this view, it is paramount important to note that families do not socialize children in
a vacuum. Many social factors affect the way a family raises its children. For example, we can
use sociological imagination to recognize that individual behaviors are affected by the historical
period in which they take place. This is in tandem with Bandura (1977), who notes that children
learn to imitate both bad and good behaviors through the process of observation behavior of
another person's character. If a parent uses violent means of reinforcing a positive behavior into
the child, this may manifest as the child graduates into adulthood. Henceforth it is vital to take
into cognizance the fact that, good socialization process produces good results and bad
socialization strategies have negative effects on child development.

Sociologists recognize that race, social class, religion, and other societal factors play an
important role in socializing a child. For example, poor families usually emphasize obedience
and conformity when raising their children, while affluent families emphasize judgment and
creativity (National Opinion Research Center, 2008). This may occur because working-class

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parents have less education and more repetitive task jobs for which it is helpful to be able to
follow rules and conform. More so, affluent parents tend to have better education and often work
in managerial positions or careers that require creative problem solving, so they teach their
children behaviors that are beneficial in these positions. This means children are effectively
socialized and raised to take the types of jobs their parents already have, thus reproducing the
class system (Kohn 1977). Likewise, children are socialized to abide by gender norms,
perceptions of race, and class-related behaviors.

The presence of family members when children need them affects in terms of influencing child
behavior. For instance, children that are raised by a single parent tend to be extremists in
interpreting gender roles because they may have lacked such teachings as they grow up. In
Sweden, for example, stay at home fathers are accepted as part of the social landscape.
Government policy provides subsidized time off work of 480 days for families with newborn
babies (Associated Press, 2011). As mothers enjoy a good time with their newborn babies and
organizational benefits and so are the fathers, they do enjoy the same benefits packaged under
paternity leave. This arrangement is vital in raising children because they will receive
socialization teachings from both parents. The writer feels the need of adopting the Swedish
child-rearing policy by other countries as it proves to be a good instrument of shaping children's
behavior starting at a tender age.

The peer group is also another agent of socialization that molds children's behavior. This group
is made up of children that share the same social interest such as age, favorite games among
others. As peers interact they begin to initiate age appreciate activities and asserting control over
their world through social interactions and play, (Erickson, 1959). As children grow into
teenagers, this process continues. Peer groups are important to adolescents because they help
them to develop an identity separate from their parents and exert independence. In this view,
parents need to monitor the type of friends their children associate with. A child who associates
with bad peers may end up in conflict with the law. Hence there is a need for parents and
caregivers to closely monitor as peers interact.

Additionally, peer groups provide their opportunities for socialization since children usually
engage in different types of activities with their peers than they do with their families. Peer

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groups provide adolescents first major socialization experience outside the realm of their
families. Interestingly, socialization studies have shown that friendships rank high in adolescents'
priorities because there is a lot of interaction through free play. In addition to the above-
mentioned view, Piaget and Inhelder (1973) posited that children learn actively through play.
They further suggested that the adult's role in helping a child's learning process is to provide
appropriate materials for the child to interact in educational activities. In this light, it is important
for communities through local leadership to establish child-friendly spaces to promote the
interaction of peers. As children interact they get to learn different behaviors and consequences
of bad habits such as smoking. As children interrelate at the above-mentioned centers, there
should be an adult facilitator who monitors them for safeguarding and protection reasons.

Social institutions also inform socialization. Formal institutions such as schools teach people
how to behave in and navigate the systems. Most children in the United States of America spend
about 7 hours a day, 180 days a year, in school, which makes it hard to deny the importance
school has on their socialization (United States of America Department of Education, 2004).
This shows that schools serve a latent function in society by socializing children into behaviors
like practicing teamwork, following a schedule, and using textbooks. For children to comprehend
all the above-mentioned life skills, Skinner (1990), denotes that, a positive behavior can be
inculcated to children through reward and punishment. The aforementioned Behaviorist went on
to say that, by forming an association between a certain behavior and the consequences of that
behavior, children learn to become responsible citizens.

More so, schools socialize children by teaching them about citizenship and national pride.
Bringing the case close home, in Zimbabwe children that are attending formal education are
taught the national pledge which seeks to instill patriotism and commitment to the national
interest. As academic understanding evolves through a new curriculum, new textbooks in
Zimbabwe have been introduced that appreciate other cultures, as well as perspectives on
historical events. in this regard, children are socialized to appreciate world history than earlier
textbooks may have done. Henceforth, it is pertinent to note that schools as agents of
socialization play an important role in strengthening and educating children about our value
system and heritage hence their behavior is molded to become true patriots.

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In conclusion, educators and sociologists seem to agree that socialization plays an imperative
role in shaping the behavior of the child. From this essay, it emerged that socialization is a
shared responsibility that is critical in ensuring that children become responsible citizens.

REFERENCE

Associated Press. (2011). Swedish Dads Swap Work for Child Care. The Gainesville Sun
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20111023/wire/111029834?template=printpicart[Accessed 30
November 2019].

Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Bell R. Q, and Harper, L. V. (1977). The effects of children on parents, Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Erikson, E. H. (1959). Psychological issues. New York, NY: International University Press.

Kohn, M. L. (1977). Class and Conformity: A Study in Values. Homewood, IL: Dorsey Press.

National Opinion Research Center. (2007). General Social Surveys, 1972–2006: Cumulative
Codebook. Chicago: National Opinion Research Center.ppleton-Century.

Piaget, J, and Inhelder, B. (1973). Memory and intelligence. London: Routledgel.

Skinner, B. F. (1938). The Behavior of organisms: An experimental analysis. New York:

Prentice Hall.

Smart, L. S, and Smart, M.S. (1980). Families, 2nd Ed. New York: Macmillan.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2004). Average Length
of School Year and Average Length of School Day, by Selected Characteristics: United States,
2003-04. http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pss/tables/table_2004_06.asp). [Accessed 30 November
2019].

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