Schools can be protective factors in childrens socialization if the right conditions are met. 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. What happens if teachers behave in ways that violate norms of morality? A significant part of a teachers job is to evaluate students and, often, to decide if a student is best suited for a particular ability track. Teacher education suggests that tailoring into ability groups allows for teachers to best match the learning needs of students. Below are the topics covered by both streams at grades 10, 11, & 12. Their role in guiding the moral development of children, however, is often not simply limited to setting a good example. Fraternities and sororities are elite student clubs at North Sources: Manitoba Education www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/parents/senior/math.html Reproduced with permission from Manitoba Education. He or she may have to raise a hand to ask questions. And they appear to be functioning effectively as members of adult society (p. 119). The narrowing of standardized test scores between males and femalesand across countrieshowever, strongly points to the differences as being cultural constructions that are shifting as the result of changing norms of socialization (Penner 2008). Students are active in decisions surrounding the administration of the school, content of learning, and social events. In this chapter, however, the main focus is on how schools contribute to the socialization of children. Cooperating, taking turns, and practicing self-control are examples of social rules. What is the Value of a Liberal Arts Degree? Peer victimizationrefers to physical and emotional abuse experienced by children from other childrenotherwise known as bullying. In other words, they felt that they were more likely to receive disciplinary action for a rule infraction than White students. These agents include the family, education, religion, peer groups, and the media, and they all play a significant role in shaping an individual's beliefs, values, and behaviors. Senior High English Language Arts; Program of Study. Victims also tend to experience irritability (Sharp 1995), anxiety (Olweus 1978; Salmon and James 1998; Sharp 1995; Slee 1994), and anger and self-pity (Borg 1998). Wotherspoon and Schissel (2001) give an account of an alternative education program in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan called the Won Ska Cultural School. What solutions are being offered? No scientific evidence has been found that supports the idea that males perform better when taught by male teachers, either in Canada (Coulter and McNay 1993; Sokal et al. In other words, inherent to such arguments are notions that only men can teach to male students and that the loss of males from the profession and the subsequent lowering of boys scores relative to girls is evidence of how feminization of the school is harming boys (Froese-Germain 2006). In many ways, the teacher serves as a parental replacement during school hours, although this figure must be shared with many other children and the relationship is more emotionally distant. More participatory models of school rule enforcement and creation do exist, however, such as in alternative schools (see Box 6.4). Children who withdraw from peer interactions also limit their ability to fit into their peer group (Coie and Kupersmidt 1983; Dodge 1983). Summarize how streaming contributes to socialization in schools. As noted by Sweet et al. Outside of the core are two rings of moral instruction. Such reading materials functioned as a type of social or cultural capital within their groups of friends. How do children decide what courses they will take in secondary school? In Canada, research using data from the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth has found that the social climate within schools and classrooms has important effects on children who display early signs of behavioural problems. Variation and Formulas Completing a Portfolio, English Language Arts Streaming in Alberta, Mathematics is not the only subject that is streamed. What kinds of lessons do they plan around the topic of morality? The Manitoba Ministry of Education describes Consumer Mathematics in the following way: The Consumer Mathematics curriculum emphasizes number sense, consumer problem solving, and decision making. Describe how school rules, codes of conduct, and dress codes impact on the socialization of students. 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. Kelly, Pomerantz, and Currie (2005), for example, found that self-described skater girls (i.e., girls who associate with skateboard culture) were expressing their rejection of contemporary ideals of femininity. They may be more socially mature and have better leadership skills than other children as well. Students will be required to sit still during lessons. How do relationships with teachers influence the socialization of students? What is streaming? Concept in social psychology in which preconceived ideas about how someone will act cause that person to act in such a way, even if the belief about that person was initially 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. They also found significant differences by province: students from Saskatchewan were much more likely to have university options than those in British Columbia, Alberta, or Ontario. A commitment to ones school and education; associated with protecting children from the influence of delinquent peers and reducing early aggression in young students. Being presented with that curriculum is one way that children are socialized into becoming desirable members of the public. Moral education is a subject taught at all cycles of school in Quebec. In this chapter, the complex role of socialization within schools was introduced. Like the deviants (below) they had a higher likelihood of alcohol use and sexual behaviour. (2007) found that across numerous studies from the English-speaking world, peer groups generally fell into five very broad categories: elites, athletes, deviants, academics, and others. Of course, the socialization that results from primary socialization rests heavily upon the social class, ethnic, religious, and cultural backgrounds and attitudes of the family. As well, previous research has shown that, like bully victims, rejected children report being lonely (Asher, Hymel, and Renshaw 1984) and are more likely to be depressed (Vosk, Forehand, Parker, and Rickard 1982) than integrated peers. 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). Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices. 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). The ongoing process of learning the expected behaviours, values, norms, and social skills of individuals who occupy particular roles in society. This difference may be due to ethnic group membership, disability, physical attractiveness, or being a newcomer to the classroom (Asher et al. 2004). Socialization is a twofold process occurring at both the social and individual levels that accomplish two main goals. Did you interact with people in other groups? The sense of belonging to a school community; can influence behavioural outcomes in students. In 2004, the Ontario Human Rights Commission provided evidence that since the adoption of the Safe Schools Act, a disproportionate number of students with various disabilities had been suspended or expelled (Bhattacharje 2003). Being the member of a peer group that engages in deviant or rebellious behaviour, for example, may increase the bond of students within those groups but also serve to reinforce related attitudes and behaviours that result in poor school performance. Respondents did, however, report some negative aspects of home schooling, which included the social stigma attached to being home schooled, social challenges of not being around other children regularly, the limits of the curriculum covered in their schooling, and the challenges of integrating into classroom settings later in life.12, 6.3 Major Forces of Socialization within Schools. Similarly, students who attend private schools can be conceptualized as having been streamed into elite classes that tend to reproduce social stratification in society. 1982). Zero tolerance policies refer to specific code infractions that result in immediate punishment, usually in the form of suspension or expulsion, and sometimes involving the police. The socialization of students through the use of school rules, including dress codes and uniforms, was also addressed. Because each province in Canada handles its own curriculum, how streaming occurs in school varies greatly by jurisdiction. The OHRC also found that racial minority students were also disproportionately represented among those who had been disciplined with suspensions and expulsions under the act. 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). As he works through arguments on the playground or resolves disagreements at his lunch table, his negotiation skills, problem-solving abilities and self-control develop, reports the Scholastic website. There is one teacher for a large group of children and the relationship with the teacher is less personal than a childparent relationship. Such factors include parental influence, lack of role models, and the lowered expectations of teachers. 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. WebHowever, there are some ways in which school can be considered primary socialization. Peer aggression can also take the form of relational aggression, which has been identified as behaviour specific to girls (Artz 1998; Simmons 2002). Conflicts within relationships are dealt with in ways such that the relationship itself becomes the weapon. The peer group becomes more important in adolescence as a source of emotional security and identity. WebSome kids need extra help learning and following social rules. No Way! First, it teaches members the skills necessary to satisfy basic human needs and to defend themselves against danger, thus ensuring that society itself will continue to exist. In Canada, children from elementary to high school levels spend about seven hours a day at school for about 200 days of the year. If she shows too much of her body, males will become distracted (which is her fault). Blair and Sanford (2004) found in their study of boys in an elementary school in Alberta that boys strongly preferred reading materials that they could talk about with their friends. Schools were not equipped to deal with students with social and emotional disabilities, and it was these very students who were disproportionately punished through the Safe Schools Act. At-risk children who display early aggression and signs of early offending can have these risks reduced if the school environment is a supportive one. The home schooled also tended to attach a great deal more importance to religious beliefs than the comparable population. Canadian studies of the outcomes associated with home schooling are much less plentiful than in the United States, where the home schooling movement has been growing rapidly. The delinquent behaviours are thought to merge a complex interaction of individual personal characteristics with properties of their environment and situations. Arai (2000) found in a study of Canadian parents who home schooled their children that most indicated that they objected to specific parts of public education rather than the institution as a whole. There is a certain body of knowledge that it is assumed children must know in order to be productive citizens and function in society. Figure 6.3 summarizes the major forces of socialization within schools that were discussed. 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. These ideals are normatively approved and accepted models of what a student should be like to fit into schooling contexts, not only in North America but in virtually all places where formal schooling occurs. 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. Pomerantz (2008) studied the school identities of girls at a high school on Vancouvers east side. The third dimension of socialization is cultural conformity. As noted by Reinke and Herman (2002), schools tend to have personalities of their own. 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). Placing students in special education, for example, requires that students be labelled as formally needing specialized assistance in order to succeed with curricular expectations (Hibel, Farkas, and Morgan 2010). Primary socializationoccurs within the family and is where children first learn their own individual identity, acquire language, and develop cognitive skills. The second part discusses gender socialization with a close look and discussion on feminist theory. Abuse of students by teachers is a rare occurrence, but when it does happen there are children who are at a greater risk of being victimized.10 In terms of victims of verbal abuse by teachers, these children are more likely to be boys and to display at risk characteristics early on (i.e., from kindergarten), such as antisocial behaviours, and have attention problems (particularly boys). Peer-rejected children, however, are not only aggressive children. Table 6.1 Structural Differences between School and Family Settings. However, as Greig (2003) points out, this approach assumes that all boys like a particular type of book and that there is a standardized masculine identity that should be cultivated. The second dimension of socialization is moral conformity, which refers to the process of a student internalizing the preferred understanding of what is right and wrong. Tom Lee. The staff keep track of who is earning the bears, and perhaps more importantly, who is not. Teachers are more than just a new person from whom the child must take direction; they influence the socialization of children in several ways. 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. Moral education and character education are even found in some provinces curricula (Box 6.1). In an overview of studies (Sussman et al. Such negative relationships can put students at risk for social maladjustment as well as emotional and behavioural problems. Other research has found that individuals belonging to the popular and jock crowds were more likely to engage in relational aggression (discussed below), while those in high-risk peer groups (the deviants) were more prone to greater physical and relational aggression in the future (Pokhrel et al. How are schools teaching morality? What reasons have parents given for home schooling their children? WebFor example, in the United States, schools have built a sense of competition into the way grades are awarded and the way teachers evaluate students (Bowles and Gintis 1976). While gender roles are learned in primary socialization in the family, they can become further enforced or challenged in the school environment (Leaper and Friedman 2007). And the grand outcome of socialization is also theorized to be the result of how all the systems interact with one another. The exceptions, of course, are private schools and many Catholic schools, where uniforms are traditional. If your child is stressed by harmful actions of a school bully or experiences frequent conflicts, his socialization experience can deteriorate quickly. As well, bully victims are often targeted for being too smart (Fried 1997) or below average intelligence (Olweus 1978) and being of a lower socioeconomic background (Bernstein and Watson 1997). Until the 1990s, males had been outperforming females on standardized testing in most countries around the world. All three dimensions refer to a type of conformity that identifies an ideal that students are expected to emulate. 2010). Explicit moral instruction occurs in the elementary grades, when children are socialized to aspire to virtues such as kindness, generosity, courage, and hard work. The outer ring consists of implicit moral instruction, where students are provided with moral exemplars in more sophisticated ways, such as through the curriculum of history and literature. The term zero tolerance first gained popularity in the area of law enforcement in the United States. Children must learn the work ethic that goes along with school and understand the goals of learning as well as adjusting their efforts according to teacher feedback. Meanness also includes such behaviours as name-calling, ridicule, sarcasm, and giving other girls the silent treatment. Research on girls meanness has found that middle-class girls more frequently participate in this type of aggression because it is within this social class that the rules of femininity are the least flexible. 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). The argument that because school teachers are almost exclusively female, schools are a place where male interests are not cultivated. Typically, socialization is thought of as something that happens to young people, but socialization occurs throughout ones lifetime. 2007; Sokal 2010) or other English-speaking nations (see Allan 1993; Butler and Christensen 2003; Carrington and Skelton 2003; Carrington, Tymms, and Merrell 2008; Martin 2003). School climate refers to the sense of belonging to a school community. Deviants, elites, and to some extent jocks were more likely to drink, while deviants were the group most likely to use marijuana. The previous chapter discussed curriculum and how the content of schooling is closely associated with the social construction of what various groups (teachers, school administrators, parents) think children should be taught. 4. Therefore, social features of the school can serve to reverse delinquent behaviours. As discussed in Chapter 2, while policymakers have made recent attempts to mix the vocational and academic trajectories together in high school in order to make them more comparable, students expressed that, based upon the feedback they received from teachers, academic trajectories were preferred and that vocational paths were stigmatized (Taylor 2010). Explain how relationships with teachers and the social climate of the school impact upon socialization. Social approval is obtained when children accept the sanctioned goals of the school setting and they are rewarded and reinforced on a consistent basis through social acceptance by teachers and other students (Wentzel and Looney 2006). It is not surprising that some teachers interactions with disruptive students can be hostile and critical. One resigned and the other did not have his contract renewed.2. If they do not go to school, how do they learn many of the basic skills that are engrained in the early years of the school experience? Research in Canada suggests that non-White students perceive that school rules are unequally enforced (MacDonell and Martin 1986; Ruck and Wortley 2002). Their inability to behave in ways that are socially acceptable can have many causes, such as parenting styles and disciplinary techniques in the home (Putallaz and Heflin 1990). Apple (2000) argues that home schoolers not only remove children from school, but also have gone so far as to isolate themselves into separate factions. In Alberta, applied English language arts are designated the course abbreviation of ELA 10-2 (Grade 10), 20-2 (Grade 11), and 30-2 (Grade 12). Peer groups can also be thought of as a form of social capital (see Chapter 2). Individual subjects in school also have a tendency to be sex-stereotyped. How do students learn gender at school? The latter is oriented for someone who wishes to achieve university or post-secondary prerequisites (see Box 6.2 for some comparisons of applied and academic trajectories in Canada). A major objective of socialization in the school setting is to make a child socially competent. 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). Schools are directly responsible for making people worthwhile in their respective societies. Define peer victimization, peer rejection, and relational aggression. WebSocialization is the cultural process of learning to participate in a social group. Because computer use is seen as a masculine activity by both boys and girls (Sokal 2002, 2010), the use of computers in literacy teaching may neutralize the idea that reading is a feminine task. Young people tend to build their social identities around specific peer groups, particularly in adolescence. The school as a site of secondary socialization was presented, with the differences between the family (primary socialization) environment and the school environment being highlighted. Not all schools in Canada have top-down rule making, as described above and criticized by Raby (2005). What are the rationales given for dress codes and school uniforms? In this instruction, children are taught desirable and undesirable virtues. Brint (1998) identifies three major dimensions of socialization as it pertains to schooling, which are illustrated in Figure 6.1. Victim characteristics also differ by gender, as male victims are often not tough (Shakeshaft and Barber 1995). In what major ways is the organization of the family different from the organization of the school? In April of 2007, zero tolerance policies were removed from Ontario schools.6. Gender Socialization. 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. 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). Students may have to stand in orderly lines in order to have a drink of water. They were also more likely to be married. In early 2011, eight female students at a Catholic high school in Windsor, Ontario were suspended for one day and faced not being able to go to their prom because they wore yellow and blue duct tape tops to a school hockey game in December. The others category was a catchall for various other peer groups, such as nerds, band club, normals, loners, and the unpopular. Many critics of home schooling have argued that because school is such an important basis for socialization, this can only mean that children who are home schooled are going to be missing out on some very key aspects of socialization. Because reading is highly associated with overall academic achievement and later-life occupational attainment, this is a problem that has tremendous sociological implications. Not all school violence is overt. What are peer groups and what does social identity mean? There are many agents of socialization within the school environment, as indicated by Brints (1998) zones of socialization. Table 6.1 highlights some major structural differences between the school and family setting.