Schooling

When formal schooling begins, unfamiliar people and experiences introduce several new elements into the socialization process. In school, children learn to interact with other people who are not (at least initially) part of their primary group, and who may have social backgrounds that differ from their own. As children encounter greater social diversity, they are likely, to become more aware of their own social categories. For example, one study of children in kindergarten showed that white and black children tended to form play groups on race (Finkelstein & Haskins, 1983). Similarly, boys and girls tend to form distinct play groups, reinforcing the importance that our culture attaches to sex (Lever, 1978).

The most widely recognized contribution of schooling to the socialization process is teaching children a wide range of knowledge and skills such as reading, writing, and arithmetic. Later, secondary schools and colleges teach highly specialized productive roles.

What children learn in school is not limited to the recognized curriculum, however. What is often called the hidden curriculum teaches them important cultural values. For example, school activities such as spelling bees and sports teach children competitiveness and the value of success. Children are also taught in countless subtle ways that their society’s way of life-including its political and economic systems-is both practically and morally good. In addition, schools further socialize children into their culturally approved sex roles. As Raphaela Best (1983) points out, instructional activities for boys and girls often differ, encouraging boys to engage in more physical activities and to spend more time outdoors, and inducing girls to engage in more sedentary activities, including helping the teacher with various housekeeping chores. Such differences related to sex continue throughout the process of formal education. For example, college women may be urged to select majors in the arts or humanities, while college men may be encouraged to study the physical sciences.

Another important part of early schooling is the experience of being evaluated in tasks such as reading and athletic performance on the basis of universal standards rather than on the basis of particular personal relationships, as is often the case in families. Such impersonal evaluation is a continual experience within American schools and has a strong impact on how children come to view themselves. At the same time, the confidence or anxiety that children develop at home can have a significant effect on how well they perform in school (Belsky, Lerner, & Spanier, 1984). Furthermore, the school is probably the first bureaucracy that children encounter. The school day is based on a strict time schedule, so children experience impersonal regimentation for the first time and learn what it is like to be part of a large organization.

Peer Groups

By the time children start school, they have discovered another new setting for social activity in the peer group, people with common interests and social position who are usually of the same age. A young child’s per group is generally drawn from neighborhood playmates; later, peer groups are composed of friends from school and recreational activities.

The peer group differs from the family and the school in that it allows children to engage in many activities without the direct supervision of adults. In fact, young people often form peer groups because they afford an escape from some of the obligations imposed on them by considerable independence, and this gives them valuable experience in forging social relationships on their own and developing a sense of themselves apart from their families. Peer groups also provide the opportunity for members to discuss interests that may not be shared by parents (such as styles of dress and popular music as well as topics young people may wish to avoid in the presence of parents and teachers (such as drugs and sex).

The greater autonomy of the peer group makes possible activity and learning that would not be condoned by adults. No doubt this is why parents have long expressed concern about who their children associate only with others of the same social background, in the hope that the peer group will reinforce, rather than undermine, what children learn at home. In a society that is changing rapidly however, peer groups often rival the influence of parents. This is simply because when social patterns change quickly, the interests and attitudes of parents and children may differ considerably-as suggested by the familiar phrase ‘the generation gap’’. The importance of the peer group is typically greatest during adolescence, when young people are beginning to break away from their families and think of themselves as responsible adults. It is especially during this period of life that peer groups exert strong pressure on members toward conformity. Conforming to the peer group eases some of the anxiety provoked by breaking away from the breaking away from the family.

The conflict between parents and peer in the socialization process may be more apparent than real, however for even during adolescence children remain strongly influenced by their parents. While peer-group influences may be strong with regard to such short-term concerns as style of dress and musical taste, parents continue to shape the long-term aspirations of their children. For example, one study found that parents had more influence than even best friends on young people’s educational aspirations. (Davies & Kandel, 1981).

Finally, a neighborhood or school typically contains numerous peer groups that form a complex social mosaic. People often perceive their own peer group in positive terms while viewing others negatively. Therefore, many peer groups may have importance in the socialization process. Individuals may seek to conform to their own groups while forming an identity in opposition to various other groups. In some cases, too, people may be strongly influenced by peer groups that they would like to join. For example, upon entering a new school, a young man with a desire to excel at basketball may wish to become part of the basketball players’ social crowd. He may therefore attempt to conform to what he sees as social patterns of this group in the hope of eventual acceptance. This represents what sociologists call anticipatory socialization, the process of social learning directed toward assuming a desired status and role in the future. Another example of anticipatory socialization might involve a young lawyer who hopes to eventually become a partner in her law firm. By adopting the attitudes and behavior of other partners, she hopes to encourage her acceptance into this exclusive social group.