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INTRODUCTION

Socialisation is the process by means of which a human infant learns to become a functioning and participating member of the society or in other words it is the process in which an individual comes into contact with people and things that allow them to be socially acceptable. It is a lifelong process which extends from cradle to grave during which one becomes a self-aware, knowledgeable and skilled person with respect to his or her culture and environment. It is society that defines norms, values, morals, culture and mode of interpretation of events to which an individual normally subscribes in order to be socially accepted and during the process of socialization those norms, values, perceptions and roles that people formulate are significantly defined by society through various agents and as well as different stages of socialization. There are four main agents of socialization who can factor a persons perception of the world as they see it and how they behave in it. The first and the most strongest agent is family in which parents play a major role in guiding children into those gender roles deemed appropriate in a society. As in every society schools the next agent have an explicit mandate to socialize people and especially children into the norms and values of their own culture. The peer groups and workplace in which socialization begins with part time employment and goes still the end of working career is the other two agent of socialization. Also socialization can be divided into four different stages as primary, anticipatory, development and re socialization. Among all of them the most important stage which provides the base for socialization of a person is primary socialization within which one will interact with the most important agent, the family. In the socialization process, the family tends to have the greatest influence or impact on individuals. A family is an exclusive group of people who share a close relationship and it is unique to human culture. This is the group into which a child is born and obviously there is a direct effect from family on molding out a newly born child as a social being. The structure and the functions of a family changes as the social, political and as well as the economic situations in the society change and therefore the behavior of a person in the society basically depends on his family structure. So, family plays a major role in socializing a person and therefore the role family in socialization is very much important.
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ANALYSIS
THE FAMILY

The family is an intimate domestic group made up of people related to one another by bonds of blood, sexual mating, or legal ties. Families create generations, each of which gain in maturity and self sufficiency such as to create and provide for subsequent generations. One of the primary functions of the family is to produce and reproduce persons, biologically and socially. The family serves to locate children socially and plays a major role in their enculturation and socialization. However, producing children is not the only function of the family, in societies with a sexual division of labour, marriage, and the resulting relationship between two people, it is necessary for the formation of an economically productive household. There are many types of families according to different definitions in the todays world and among them nuclear family is the most common type of family which gives a great contribution in socialization a person. A conjugal family which is usually referred to in sociology as a nuclear family includes only the husband, the wife, and unmarried children who are not of age. Consanguineal family which consists of a parent and his or her children, and other people and Matrilocal family which consists of a mother and her children are some of the other types of families. The familys importance in socialization is obvious, since the experience of the infant and young child is shaped more or less exclusively within the family. Family socialization begins a process through which humans learn and develop to be the adult persons they become. In modem societies, most early socialization occurs within a small-scale family context and mother is almost always the most important individual in the childs early life.

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ROLE OF FAMILY IN SOCIALIZATION

The family is the first group with which the child has physical and social contact. It is the group into which the child is born. Being the first group which has influence over the individual, the child learns his first lessons in socialisation from the family. In the case of a new born child, its parents are the first one who shoulders the responsibility of training their child in the best possible way till the child attains the age of joining school. From his parents he learns his speech and language. He learns respect for persons in authority. The atmosphere which the parents provide the child at home that means within the family has a lot to do with
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the child's overall progress because the child gets his first lessons in co-operation, tolerance, love and affection in the family. It has been often observed that children, who have a good environment which is conducive for learning at home, end up being the winners in the fields which they choose in their later life. So, the family has tremendous influence on the character and morality of the person. Also the family has a great impact on ones psychological behaviour throughout his life time. Understanding the child by parents is very much important so that they can fulfil the needs and wants in order to bring out the best to them. This emotional role within the family starts when a mother receives her baby for the first time for her hands and the love and affection between the mother and the child is the strongest bond in this world. Through this emotional role the family should make sure that the child feels wanted and accepted so that he can feel welcome in to the world. This is the first step of socialization a person. The family acts as a mediator between the individual and the other agencies of socialisation. Even though there are other agencies like school, work place, media etc, it is the family that determines how the individual comes to be influenced by these agencies. Basically we all are influenced by our parents during our early childhood about our future destination. For example to which school the child goes to, with which friends he or she has contacts with are decided by the parents, specially the mother willingly or unwillingly. In that way also the family has a great effect on socialization a person. The self concept of an individual depends to a large extend on ones family. The self concept is a detailed and pervasive set of ideas about oneself that develops early in childhood and persists throughout life. The development of the self concept takes place through the childs interaction with the social world and it begins from the family. The child develops his sense of self through observing the reactions of his parents. He learns to define himself as his parents define him. Since self concept is the heart of socialization the role of family in socialization is again important. The benefits a child or a person will get becoming a member of a family wont be limited to formulation of a good character. During the years of childhood a person may be influenced through emotional experiences, gender roles of the family, political views, culture and religion as well. Most probably children will behave and think in the same manner as his or her family did once they become children.

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As discussed above there are several areas in which the relationship between the socialization and the family can be discussed. In general the role of the family in socializing a person should be based on the following factors. The development of trust The development of independence The tendency to take initiative The sense of competence and ambition Decisions about who one is Relationships with others Decisions about future generations Reflections on one's life

However, as every coin has two sides the role of family in socialization can be either positive or negative. If a family is not functioning well it will have a negative impact on socializing a person. Things like violent environment can greatly impact how they think, act and emotionally feel. The responsibility is in the hands of parents to teach their children right from wrong according to their socially acceptable attitudes while being a good example to their children. Parents should behave wisely to make a peaceful environment for their children because otherwise they may be the main reason for the misbehaviours of their children once they grow up and start to interact with the society. So, family as the earliest agent of socialization a person should play a responsible role in creating a social being out of a newly born infant.

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CONCLUSION

Unlike other species whose behaviour is biologically set, human beings rely on social experiences to learn how to behave in the society order to survive. So, social experiences are the foundation of personality, a persons fairly consistent patterns of thinking, feeling and acting in the society and in fact to be a socially accepted human being. In the case of nonexistence of social experiences, personality does not emerge at all. Therefore, one should interact with the society from birth to death to gather social experiences in order to formulating his or her life as a social being. The family is the first place where a person for the first time will get a social experience. In the process of socialization, the family acts a huge role and from the infant age to adult, a person involves with his family in every stage while gathering much more social experiences. So, family which lays the foundation of socialization of each and every human being will be there in every occasion giving social training and developing the personality of a person. However, socialization brings positive and as well as negative results depending on the way a person gets social experiences when stepping towards socialization. If consider about the family, the primary agent of socialization the way an individual deals with the family will determine how he or she successfully completes the process of socialization. It is necessary to realize that we cannot decides whether the socialization process is successful or not merely considering about only the involvement of family and there are many other factors that will affect the process of socialization a person. But the influence of family in this process is significant and important. So, we should use the role of family in the socialization process for the improvement of socialization of human kind to have a better future and as well as a good human nature.

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4 REFERENCES
Socialization: The Role of Family, School & Political Inst ... www.forums.joeuser.com

Socialization- Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/socialization

Family - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family

Socialization www.ets.org

Family Socialization www.education.com

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