1 Socialisation: meaning and stages

Socialisation is the process by which a person learns the norms, values and skills of a society and comes to be able to act within it. It begins in the family, continues in school and among peers, and does not stop at adulthood — professional training is socialisation into a new set of norms, which is what legal education does when it teaches a student to argue in a particular way. StageMain agentWhat is learned Primary (infancy, childhood)FamilyLanguage, basic trust, gender roles, obedience Secondary (school, adolescence)School, peers, mediaRules of institutions, competition, group identity Adult and professionalWorkplace, professionRole-specific norms, ethics, dress and speech codes Re-socialisationInstitutions, migrationNew norms replacing earlier ones