Socialization Literature Review

Chapter 1: Literature Review

As seen by many theories the role of the family as primary agents of socialization has always been indispensable. Many theories have been anticipated to explain how parents carry out socialization. Researchers made an in depth study on the family and the primary socialization process. Many sociologists have argued that, the process of socialization is sine qua non to turn people into acceptable or recognizable human being. There are several factors which assist in the primary socialization process. This review will focus on five major themes.

• Basic behavior patterns

• Norms and Values

• Gender Identity

• Social Class Identity

• Ethnic Identity

There will be an overall trend about what has been published by different

1.1 Basic Behavior Patterns Undoubtedly, at birth, children cannot walk, talk, do not know how to eat and drink and they have no knowledge on religion, social class, ethnicity, gender, politics or sports. Moreover, the child does not know skills such as: How to write, calculate or use a computer. Therefore, since the child does not have any knowledge and skills; he/she is viewed as an ‘empty vessel’. Hence the process of primary socialization stands out to be the process of teaching by parents and process of learning by the child. The socialization is in fact a two way process as well as a lifelong process.

Further to that, in her work ‘Social learning begins at home’ Elizabeth H.Brady portrayed that, Social behavior mostly consist of everything that children do by watching other people. They are in a constant attempt of learning their social behavior, and each child being socialized differently. Hence, when children join the educational system they have already

As seen in Anika Doggett work on “Juvenile Delinquency and family structure” she clearly pointed that, a child will definitely engage in delinquent activities if the family does not succeed in maintaining an excellent communication. According to Wright and Wright (1994) “the family is the foundation of human society”. Thus, Anika Doggett confirmed that those children who are prone to adopt a delinquent behavior are those children who are rejected and neglected by their parents. She also demonstrates that, delinquency also affect those children who live in homes and who experience constant conflict or who are inefficiently controlled. “Families are one of the strongest socializing forces in life. They teach children to control unacceptable behavior, to delay gratification, and to respect the rights of others. Conversely, families can teach children aggressive, antisocial, and violent behavior (Wright & Wright 1994)”. Moreover, “according to Statistics Mauritius, from 2011 to 2012, juvenile offenders (excluding contraveners) involved in crime and misdemeanours increased by 14% from 701 to 799, of whom 252 in assaults and 76 in sexual