The Importance Of Socialization In Society

Are we limited by the social structures or hierarchy that we are born into? Perhaps we make our own choices in life and thus are not limited to the social class or structure that would prohibit us from becoming something other than what society dictates. Or, possibly it’s a combination of the two. Referring to sociologist view on the subject, the text The Sociology Project, states “While most accept a certain level of free will and choice, they tend to consider how we act in the world as being limited by structures. The debate revolves around a question of how much and to what degree. Another way to pose the question is as follows: How much do individuals impact the world, and how much does the world impact individuals?” (Manza, n.d.,

Socialization “is the process through which we are taught and trained to behave in society or in particular social settings. It is how we come to understand the expectations and norms of our group” (Manza, n.d., p. 100). Most of the work that I do with preschool children is based upon socialization. I am teaching these children who often come to school without ever being around other children, how to socialize or work together with others in the group. I teach them what the norms are in the classroom and what expected behavior (or what it not expected) is within the group, classroom and school setting. It’s the same within societal environments. We learn social norms through the on-going process of socialization. According to the text The Sociology Project, “Some of the most exiting ideas about socialization were developed by the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu (1930-2002). Bourdieu argued that socialization works most powerfully through the development of a set of specific habits, or what he called our habitus” (Manza, n.d, p.102). Our “habitus” becomes important in this discussion when we consider that everyone has a different upbringing and different experiences that can shape their “habitus”. (Manza, 102) Therefore “Children born into poor families, with parents who have little education, will grow up with one kind of habitus. Middle-class children, and very rich and privileged children, will grow up with yet different kinds of habituses. In this way, Bourdieu enlarged the meaning of class differences to include more than just how much money people have. In other words, the differences between the m idle and upper classes also include all those things contained in the habitus, including tastes, dispositions, and ways of carrying yourself” (Manza, n.d., p.102). Hence, money or lack thereof is not the only determining factor in differentiating classes of people. How people act as