Socialisation is the process by which a person learns the values, skills and behaviour of a society. The family starts it. Other agents continue it.
The idea
Primary socialisation happens first, usually in the family. A child learns language, what is polite, and what is punished. Secondary socialisation comes later, through school, peer groups, religious bodies, the media and work. Each agent teaches something the others do not. School teaches punctuality and a formal curriculum. Peers teach what the age group rewards. The media teaches, and sometimes misleads, at a distance. An answer that lists five agents with no difference between them is a list, not an explanation.
Socialisation can be deliberate, as in a lesson on honesty, or silent, as when a child copies how adults speak to a stranger. It is never finished in childhood. A new school, a new job or a new town asks for new behaviour. When socialisation fails, the syllabus language is deviance: behaviour the society's norms do not accept. Causes discussed in class include a broken home, peer pressure and a failure of the school. Remedies include counselling, parental care and fair enforcement of rules. Do not write as if one cause explains every case.
What earns the marks
Primary and secondary are a standard split. The family is the usual primary agent. Do not call the media a primary agent for a young child who has not yet learned language at home. "Explain" wants the agent and what it passes on. Two agents that "both teach morals" without a difference may be marked as one point repeated.
Practice questions
These are practice questions in the style of the paper, with a model answer and a mark scheme. They are not a promise of what your paper will ask.
1Question 1
4 marks
(a) What is socialisation? (2 marks)
(b) Distinguish between primary and secondary socialisation. (2 marks)
Model answer
(a) Socialisation is the process of learning the values, norms and skills of a society.
(b) Primary socialisation is the first learning, usually in the family. Secondary socialisation comes later, through school, peers, religion, the media and work.
Mark scheme
Learning the ways, values or norms of a society2 marks
Primary: earliest stage, family named or clearly implied1 mark
Secondary: later agents, with at least one example1 mark
2Question 2
4 marks
Explain two ways the school socialises a child, apart from teaching subjects. (4 marks)
Model answer
The school teaches punctuality, because lessons start at a set time and lateness has a consequence. It also teaches cooperation, because pupils have to work in groups and follow rules they did not each invent.
Mark scheme
One way, such as punctuality, obedience to rules, or cooperation, with how the school does it2 marks
A second way, different from the first, also explained2 marks
3Question 3
2 marks
State two agents of socialisation other than the family and the school. (2 marks)
Model answer
The peer group and the mass media. Religious bodies are also accepted.
Mark scheme
One of: peers, religious bodies, the media, the workplace1 mark
A second, different from the first1 mark
Practise Social Studies with Anna
More questions on this topic are inside GLearn, marked as you answer, with the reason written out. The first ones need no account.
It is how a person learns the values, language and behaviour a society expects. Another spelling is socialization. The family usually does the first teaching. School, friends, religious groups and the media continue it.
What is the difference between primary and secondary socialisation?+
Primary socialisation is the earliest learning, in the family. Secondary socialisation is what comes after, from school, peer groups, religious bodies and the media. Both shape behaviour. They are not the same stage. All WASSCE Social Studies past questions