Students who are less academically inclined are put into classes that better match their abilities and interests, like vocational training. Education serves as an agent of socialization because it engages students in competition in academic success which helps create a social environment for students to interact in. Instead of occurring in the public sphere, girls resistance was contained to private spaces to avoid the risk of being criticized. The findings of research on the impact of school uniforms on school safety has, in general, not supported the premise of reduced behavioural problems in students (Han 2010) or school achievement (Yeung 2009). The first zone is called the core. The school, like Won Ska, has a high retention rate. 2010). Asked about the inappropriateness of their behaviour, one student was quoted as saying, Theyre not setting a good example if theyre going to be doing that. Beattie (2004) also did research on an alternative school in Toronto called the Corktown Community High School. They were also more likely to be married. Canadian researchers have examined the meanness of girls in relation to their popularity (Currie and Kelly 2006; Currie, Kelly, and Pomerantz 2007). 5.3 Agents of Socialization - Introduction to Sociology 3e - OpenStax A possible reason for this is that teachers may talk in staff meetings about students whom they perceive as problematic, which may influence future teachers interactions with those students. Box 6.2 What Do Academic and Applied Streams Look Like? Socialization In addition to teaching student subject matter, teachers are often regarded as being responsible for managing the emotional lives of their students (Jennings and Greenberg 2009). They were more likely to be found in social service, health, and creative occupations, and were more likely to report participating in cultural and group activities than those who were not home schooled. Such factors include parental influence, lack of role models, and the lowered expectations of teachers. Many researchers have called the reaction to perceived underachievement by boys a global moral panic (see, for example, Griffin 2000; Smith 2003; Weaver-Hightower 2003). Creating and enforcing codes of conduct can therefore be viewed as a form of socialization whose objective it is to create the desirable student. Families and schools are major contributors to socialization, but there are other systems of socialization within ecological systems theory. Brint (1998) identifies three major dimensions of socialization as it pertains to schooling, which are illustrated in Figure 6.1. The girls argued that they were honouring a school tradition by wearing duct tape clothing to the game and that their attire was modest. Students who wish to attend university need to take a certain set of academic courses, for example. She notes that personal style is very much at the heart of social identities and how a girl presents her body is akin to her social skin. While Pomerantz was collecting her data between 2002 and 2003, there were two particular uniforms for girls at East Side Highthe Britney look and the JLo look, named after pop music icons Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez, respectively. Socialization: Social institutions provide the structure within which individuals learn the norms and values of society. In an overview of studies (Sussman et al. Favourable school climates are characterized by non-arbitrary rule enforcement, rewarding of appropriate behaviour, and positive interactions between students and teachers (Reinke and Herman 2002). Outside of the core are two rings of moral instruction. In terms of outreach, students must participate weekly (Wednesdays between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m.) in a community volunteer activity for which they receive no payment. Developmental socialization This type of socialization involves a learning process wherein the focus in on developing our social skills. Unless a child attended preschool or nursery, the structure and routines of the school day and the social relationships within the school setting must be entirely learned. The expected behaviours at school are much different from within the family, and the structural features of day-to-day life at school are in stark contrast to what was experienced in the family home. All three dimensions refer to a type of conformity that identifies an ideal that students are expected to emulate. Peer rejection refers to the failure of children to be socially accepted by their peers. Schools socialize children by teaching them their formal curricula but also a hidden curriculum that imparts the cultural values of the society in which the schools are found. One of these values is the need to respect authority, as evidenced by these children standing in line. Schools with the most severe discipline problems usually have the worst social climates as well. Instead of passive citizens who are expected to follow rules handed down from positions of authority, students in these alternative schools are active citizens who participate in the democracy of the school structure. Sokal (2010) found no evidence that computer-assisted literacy programs had any influence on Canadian males from low socioeconomic backgrounds who struggled with reading. However, Brendgen, Wanner, and Vitaro (2006) found that teacher verbal abuse actually contributed to future adolescent delinquent behaviour in their 17-year cohort study in Quebec, which tracked children from kindergarten to age 23. Many schools across North America have official codes of conduct to be followed by teachers and students. Of course, popularity is a factor in social identity. Adults who were homeschool as kids are civically engaged and well adjusted. Religion. 2007). Girls are bullied for being unattractive, not being dressed fashionably, and being physically overdeveloped (Shakeshaft and Barber 1995). Critics (see Apple 2000) also object to the presentation of the public schooling system as a failure and argue that the home schooling movement, particularly the neo-conservative home schooling movement in the United States, serves to segment and divide the population, essentially creating more problems than it actually solves. 2. The others category was a catchall for various other peer groups, such as nerds, band club, normals, loners, and the unpopular. It is implied, however, that more male role models in the classroom would improve boys improvementbut critics again argue that this view relies on a single vision of masculinity that is assumed to be the same among all male teachers (Greig 2003). When a student enters high school, the courses that he or she takes greatly influence the post-secondary options available to him or her upon graduation. As noted by Reinke and Herman (2002), schools tend to have personalities of their own. What solutions are being offered? Characteristics of the school, teachers, and the peer group all influence the socialization of children within school settings. These preferred styles reflect normative cultural values about what is valued cultural knowledge. The names given to peer groups usually correspond greatly to their style of dress (particularly in the case of girls) and tastes in leisure activities. Alberta Education explains that this. Summarize how streaming contributes to socialization in schools. In school, the peer group is typically a childs classmates in younger years and then becomes more specific to particular adolescent subgroups in the teenage years. Home schooling advocates have argued that one reason might be that the school-based peer group is unnatural and that home schooling exposes young people to a wider variety of age groups, which makes them more socially mature (Smedley 1992). Within the school setting, social competence is achieved when students embrace and achieve socially sanctioned goals. Krahn and Taylor (2007) found that a major influence on course selection was parental education and family income; students from families with lower incomes and in which neither parent had post-secondary qualifications were more likely to take lower-streamed courses. Learning the expected appropriate behaviours and values of the schools system is a complex ongoing process of socialization. Teachers who hold negative stereotypes about low-achieving or minority students may also expect such students to consistently perform poorly. What kinds of peer groups existed in your high school? 5. Social control: Social institutions help to maintain stability and order within society. Streaming not only influences the course choices of students, but also contributes to the overall socialization of children and adolescents in schools. WebInterests. Popular girls and boys also tended to be part of high-status school-sponsored school activities, namely cheerleading (for girls) and team sports (for boys). Customer Service Environment Group Dynamics Institutions Looking The child interacts with many features of his or her environment which all contribute to the childs social development. Moral education extends into areas beyond the display of particular virtues. Such embedded practices are lining up, doing homework, taking tests, and being evaluated. Children who withdraw from peer interactions also limit their ability to fit into their peer group (Coie and Kupersmidt 1983; Dodge 1983). The school rules, which must be followed by students, exist at the core. If theyre breaking what theyre saying it means nothing to us then.1 A student at the competition shot a video of the dance which quickly became an internet sensation accompanied by much public moral outrage. The media, in particular, have been quick to endorse a position that suggests that the main problem can be found in the ongoing feminization of schooling. In this chapter, however, the main focus is on how schools contribute to the socialization of children. One reaction has been an outcry that educational standards are failing boys. There are many new behaviours and experiences that children must adapt to when starting school for the first time. In other words, they felt that they were more likely to receive disciplinary action for a rule infraction than White students. While the initial appeal of zero tolerance policies is that they theoretically apply the same punishment for rule infractions uniformly to everyone, the actual application of the policy does not appear to be so equitable. Identify how the role of the family differs from the role of the school in the socialization process. Failure to be accepted by peers can be devastating for children, especially when it is manifested in acts of peer victimization and peer rejection. As noted earlier, at the core of these zones are school rules, to which we now turn. In Canada, children from elementary to high school levels spend about seven hours a day at school for about 200 days of the year. Explain how relationships with teachers and the social climate of the school impact upon socialization. Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices. Describe how school rules, codes of conduct, and dress codes impact on the socialization of students. The deviants category encapsulated a very diverse collection of peer groups including burnouts, stoners, skaters, rebels, punks, partiers, and various alternative groups (including those defined by sexual orientation). Moral socialization was the first work of every school. One final agent of socialization is religion, discussed further in Some explanations of this biological destiny are based on evolutionary theory (Geary 1996), hormonal differences (Kimura and Hampson 1994), and brain physiology (Baron-Cohen 2003), all suggesting that the basis of differential performance by sex was based on some feature of the brain that was unchangeable. Streaming, as a way of dividing students into ability groupings, was described as creating internalized roles for students which may force them into social categories that are difficult to move out of. Peer groups can also be thought of as a form of social capital (see Chapter 2). Our peer group is also important because typically our peers share the same interest which lays foundation for support and socialization amongst the group. The structure of school and the structure of the family are obviously very different. The failure of children to be socially accepted by their peers. Canadian research has produced similar results to its American counterpart. Raby (2006) identifies several ways that youth express resistance to what they perceive as dominant forces of socialization. How do the Curricula of Different Provinces Compare on Controversial Subjects? WebFor example, a child whose parents value hard work may see a friends father sitting around watching television all day and begin to question the importance of work. Obviously, students in schools are expected to follow the school codes or face some type of reprimand. Dunstable School in Alberta, for example, has instituted policies that promote socially desirable behaviour. He or she may have to raise a hand to ask questions. Sociology of Education in Canada by Dr. Karen L. Robson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. the expected responsibilities, rights, and behaviours of teachers, school staff, and parents (in addition to students) and are worded in a manner that emphasizes co-operation and tolerance rather than solely focusing on punishments for rule infractions; recourses for students who wish to appeal rules (Lewis 1999; Raby 2008; Schimmel 2003). The second part discusses gender socialization with a close look and discussion on feminist theory. The home schooled comprise about one percent of student population in Canada (Hepburn 2001). These 1400 hours in the school setting per year do not include extracurricular activities and school preparatory work, like homework. His teacher This type of aggression is often simply referred to as meanness. 50 Examples of Socializing - Simplicable The Safe Schools Act changed the policy to one of mandatory suspensions and expulsions and police involvement for particular rule infractions, provided that mitigating factors were taken into account. Wentzel and Looneys (2006) overview of previous research on school climate in the United States has shown that schools that are perceived to be caring communities by their students are associated with lower rates of delinquency and drug use. Previous explanations of males outperformance of females in science and mathematics suggested that biological factors predisposed males to be better at more technical subjects than females. Currie and Kelly (2006) found that the popular girls in their study tended to be slim, dress in a sexy manner, and wear lots of makeup, according to non-popular girls. In general, students who plan to attend a post-secondary institution, regardless of their specific career aspirations, need to familiarize themselves with the entry requirements of the institution and program the plan to enter. What problems are being identified? But why would home schooled children be better socialized, as many American proponents have indicated? Home schooled children typically follow the curriculum of their province of residence. In Chapter 4, for example, research by Willms (2008) was considered which argued that French immersion programs act as an informal streaming mechanism as French immersion students tend to be from significantly higher socio-economic backgrounds and less likely to have a learning disability. For example, the government funds public schools, which play a key role in children's socialization. Not all school violence is overt. These labels are not easily shed and can have spillover effects into other areas of social interaction, such as peer relations and future teacher expectations (Jones 1972). Changes in specific school dress codes shift according to trends in popular fashion. If your child is stressed by harmful actions of a school bully or experiences frequent conflicts, his socialization experience can deteriorate quickly. The overall socialization of children, as theorized by Bronfenbrenner (see Chapter 2), is dispersed into various realms which focus on the different sites of social context that children experience in their lives. As noted in an official Alberta Education document: Whether they are conscious of it or not, schools are involved in teaching cultural and societal mores and values and in shaping students ideas about what constitutes good behaviour (Alberta Education 2005:1). 6. Currie and Kelly (2006) observed that a common yet particularly severe form of name-calling that resulted in the most reputational damage was being called a slut, which results from perceived inappropriate interactions with or seeking attention from boys. There is one teacher for a large group of children and the relationship with the teacher is less personal than a childparent relationship. Below are the topics covered by both streams at grades 10, 11, & 12. How a teacher approaches the issue of gender can have a lasting impact on how children understand the perceived socially acceptable roles for males and females. As well, in such discussions, the impact that this would have on female students is rarely considered (Greig 2003). Adapted from Dreeben, Robert, 1968, On What is Learned in School, Percheron Press, A Division of Eliot Werner Publications, Inc., Used with permission. 2010). Opponents to uniforms argue that they impinge on students self-expression, create a disciplinarian environment, and do little to equalize social class differences among students. This curriculum is intended as preparation for calculus at the university level.. Students academic abilities are identified early in their academic career through the grades they receive. How will they learn to work in groups and socialize with other students in a learning environment and form co-operative relationships with their peers? Especially in early grades, the relationship that a child has with his or her teacher has a very important impact on emotional, social, behavioural, and academic adjustment (Pianta 1999). These goals (e.g., learning to share, participating in lessons, working in groups), when embraced, also serve to integrate the child into social groups at school. Recognizing that such negative peer interactions can have a profound impact on childhood socialization and later-life well-being (Canadian Council on Learning 2008), many schools have adopted strict anti-bullying policies that are incorporated into their school rules. What is the relationship between school rules and the socialization of students? Gender stereotypes, however, do exist in perceived competence and ability in subjects, with girls consistently indicating less confidence in their ability in science and math (see Simpkins, Davis-Deane, and Eccles 2006 for an overview). More participatory models of school rule enforcement and creation do exist, however, such as in alternative schools (see Box 6.4). In addition to the two dominant uniforms, Pomerantz (2008) noted that girls also described their styles as comfortable, sporty, goth, punk, alternative, dressy, classy, preppy, regular, casual, weird, skater, random, hip hop (p. 10) and various combinations. The delinquent behaviours are thought to merge a complex interaction of individual personal characteristics with properties of their environment and situations. Jussim and Harber (2005) found that the expectations that teachers have about their students influenced how they behaved toward them. Schools become a significant social world for children to navigate. Socialization Examples Internationally, girls have also been achieving higher standardized reading scores than males since the 1990s (see Box 6.5 for discussion). There are many agents of socialization within the school environment, as indicated by Brints (1998) zones of socialization.