Meaning of Socialisation:
Socialisation is the process of interaction among members of the society through which the young learn the values of the society and also in ways of doing and thinking that are considered to be right and proper.
The main objective of socialisation is to assist an individual conform to the norms of the group or the society to which he belongs. Man becomes a human being only as a member of the society.
By nature he cannot live alone in isolation. He is compelled by his biological and social requirements to live in a society or a group. Each of us is largely a social product.
Image Source: hedni.org
Socialisation as a Process of Acculturation:
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Many cultural anthropologists regard socialisation as a process of acculturation or the culture of a group. In the words of Martin and Stendlar, “Culture refers to the total way of life of a people that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, customs and any other capabilities and habits, acquired by man as a member of society.”
This means that for the adoption of a culture one must participate in the activities of the society.
One must mix up with others to learn the habits etc., of the society to which he belongs. In other words, to socialise oneself must learn the culture of the society.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
J. S. Brubacher has observed, “We cannot teach the coming generation to be good simply by teaching them to be wise. They must have plenty of opportunity to habituate themselves to moral ideals. Instead of learning lessons in school apart from life, school must incorporate into itself a social context of shops, laboratories, and playground.
Not only that but moral learning in school and college must be continuous with moral training outside through fields trips, community activities and the like.
If school fulfils this larger function, we may be assured that anything learned in an enterprise having an aim and in cooperation with others will be inescapable moral.
Complex Process of Socialisation of the Education of the Child:
In the traditional societies, the process was very simple as there were only a few well-established roles and an individual was usually required to learn and play one or more of them about which he knew at least something in course of his upbringing in the family and the community. He did not face many stresses and strains as the socio-psychological demands made upon him were not many.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
The situation has become very complex and difficult in the modern industrial society wherein an individual is expected to learn diverse roles. The family cannot help him much. The schools, colleges and other educational institutions have the responsibility of socializing the child by inculcating in him appropriate values, behaviour patterns and the knowledge so that he adopts himself to a democratic, secular and egalitarian society.