Socialisation

Lifelong process through which individuals learn the norms, values, customs and ideologies of their culture

• Primary socialisation- Takes place in early childhood within the family. Teaches basic norms and values (manners, language, gender roles)

• Secondary socialisation- Continues throughout life in wider society- through institutions like school, media, religion and peers

Agents of socialisation-

1. Family (Primary agent)

• Teaches norms, values, language, gender roles

• Functionalists- Essential for value consensus and stability (Parsons)

• Marxists- Reproduce class inequalities (Althusser)

• Feminists- Reinforce patriarchy and gender roles (Oakley- manipulation and canalisation

2. Education

• Teaches discipline, hierarchy and achievement

• Hidden curriculum- Unspoken norms (punctuality and obedience)

• Functionalists- Prepares for adult roles (Durkheim and Parsons)

• Marxists- Promotes ruling class ideology (Bowles and Gintis- Correspondence theory)

3. Peer groups

• Influence behaviour through acceptance or rejection

• Crucial in teenage years- Peer pressure and identity formation

4. Media

• Shapes ideas about gender, ethnicity and success

• Functionalist- Source of shared values

• Marxists- Tool for ideological control (false consciousness)

• Feminists- Reinforce gender stereotypes

5. Religion

• Teaches morality, right/wrong and identity

• Less influential today (secularisation)

• Functionalists- Creates social cohesion

• Marxists- ‘opium of the people’ (Marx)

6. Workplace

• Teaches adult roles, responsibility, discipline

• Key for resocialisation- Learning new norms in new environments

Key theories-

Functionalism- Socialisation creates value consensus and order (Parsons)

Marxism- Socialisation benefits the ruling class (Bowles and Gintis)

Feminism- Socialisation reinforces gender inequality (Oakley)

Postmodernism- Socialisation is fluid, individuals choose identities