Socialization as Disseminating and Inheriting Norms, and Customs - Essay Example

Socialization is an important component of personality formation. In as much of the human personality is dependent on the human genes, the socialization process plays an integral role in modeling a person towards a particular direction by encouraging specific attitudes, beliefs as well as provision of a selective process. Successful socialization results in uniformity in society. When all children receive the same standards of socialization, there is a high likelihood that they will share the same expectations and beliefs.

Importance of Socialization
It is crucial for children to learn socialization skills at home or in schools; children are naturally egocentric, implying that they think of themselves as the center of the world at birth. The process of socialization is an important aspect of a child’s life as it enables the child to think of others as well as themselves to be significant and appreciate different roles played by different people in the world. The tendency of egocentrism among newborn children is not negative and is inborn in all human beings; however, for the successful operation of children into society, they must learn to interact with other members in a positive, healthy, and productive manner. The preparation of children to become successful adults thus calls upon adults and childhood educators to impart socialization skills, not only in schools but also at homes (Praxis, pp. 1–7).

Poor socialization skills among children would most likely result in an unhealthy intimate relationship in adulthood. This can result in unfortunate incidences like peer rejection and involvement in delinquent childhood behaviors. Socialization is thus important since social skills learned in society help to keep a child safe as well as enable the maintenance of a healthy interpersonal relationship. Sociologists indicate that students with poor social skills are more likely to demonstrate violent and aggressive behavior. Additionally, these children are less likely to demonstrate self-regulatory behavior and would have trouble in asking or accepting help from others, making violence a more likely response to conflict.

New understanding in early childhood education
The first few years of a child’s development are a significant time for growth and development. During early childhood education, molding the personality of a child is easily achieved, as the child has not been socialized into a particular culture. However, children are competent beings who can understand and react to their surroundings; thus, children at this stage are vulnerable to the equation of unhealthy culture. Due to the competency of children in early childhood education, a new understanding is that a teacher is not able to give a child “wonderful ideas”; hence, children should be exposed to an environment that facilitates discovery and construction of their ideas in regards to cultural and societal roles thus promoting the process of socialization among children (Brown et al., pp. 385-406). Read More