Essay On Primary Socialisation

In this essay I shall be addressing the concept of socialisation where I will be describing and explaining the process of primary and secondary socialisation. I will then identify the main agents and give examples then finally explain differential socialisation using gender and ethnicity as prime examples.

Socialisation is where we learn the ability to think and act a certain way whether it is from our home life as we are growing up or through our environment from going to school and meeting other people. It is extremely important for our social development to learn certain skills in our early years as a child so we can gain knowledge and experience for later life and be part of a society. There are many types of societies in the world, which

It can however also be carer or guardian that would take the role of a primary source of socialisation if parents are absent. No matter who out of these categories is present in a child’s early stage of development, this is where they are to form their foundation in life such as learning to follow rules or guidelines that defy how they are to behave in society. Eventually as we grow into adults, we choose to extend our primary source of socialisation if and when we choose to settle down with a partner. This is where secondary socialisation merges with our primary to continue the cycle of socialisation throughout

When children are younger, it is not unusual to see boys wearing blue and girls wearing pink. We have been brought up in seeing that these colours represent masculinity and femininity so therefore must dress accordingly. It is also the same as toys. Boys would be encouraged to play with engineering based toys such as trains and planes and also building and mechanical tools. On the other hand, girls would play with dolls and have toy kitchens where they would cook and clean. Furthermore, even as children grow into adults there are still jobs classified as masculine such as an electrician and umber whereas feminine jobs could be a nurse and also a beautician. It is only in the last few decades that men and women have integrated and chosen job roles that are not usually typical for their genders. Even the current world today, this can be frowned upon as older generations still live by their traditions and this is passed down through generations of primary socialisation. It would take secondary socialisation to make people aware of the different pathways you could take in life, although it could depend on a person’s ethnicity whether their beliefs and traditions would allow this to