Agents of Socialization Assignment, Essay Example

America’s economic system could not thrive without the cultural support of school and family.  These two agents of socialization perpetuate and strengthen an overarching system of class hierarchy, which determines the life choices available to those from the middle and lower classes.  Schools and family are “delivery systems” through which class distinctions are reinforced in authoritative environments that reflect the rest of society.

Talcott Parsons, who developed the theory of voluntaristic action, assserted that those who work the hardest in school achieve the best results, putting them in line for the best jobs.  However, even Parsons’ essentially optimistic view was tempered by an acknowledgement that the life choices individuals make are shaped by existing social values and conventions.

The educational system is a cornerstone of those conventions.  Schools nurture and encourage skills and abilities, but this does not happen in a neutral environment or academic vacuum.  It takes place within a structure that furthers the values of a widely accepted social hierarchy.  In other words, freedom of choice, enabled by academic achievement, exists and may even transcend social class but if so it is the exception, not the rule.  There’s no escaping the fact that schools do indoctrinate students in the notion of social hierarchy (civics and “principles of democracy” classes still extoll conventional mores and the benefits of conformity).  This is a process which begins at a very young age.

The external rewards that come from 12 years of education include passing exams, getting good grades and graduating; the natural extension of this is success in the workforce, which holds the promise of steady employment, raises, recognition and promotion.

This progression cannot take place unless the individual complies with the system: here is the first step in creating the functionalists’ ready-made workforce.

Functionalists see schools as a meritocratic system, but conflict theorists would argue that the educational system itself is controlled by those in power and that the true meritocracy exists in the expensive private schools that act as a pipeline to the best careers for the children of privilege.  Thus the expectation of being a “have” or a “have not” comes into play quite early and becomes a determining factor in setting expectations that guide life choices.

Family acts in a tacit partnership with teachers and school administrators, a powerful alliance that is rarely challenged and helps maintain class continuity. Within this paradigm, “opportunity” and “advancement” are social constructs, fixed notions that are defined by our individual understanding of what is attainable.  The acculturated expectations – set by family and school – of individuals from lower social strata become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Robert Merton theorized that in such a complex social dynamic, strain can often occur among the lower classes because society is not structured in a way that gives equal access to the means necessary for success.  The upper classes, too, respond to periods of strain by labeling minorities and others of the underclasses.  Negative responses are also behaviors learned through socialization.

If inequalities in the class system do maintain a ready supply of lower-income workers, and if the upper classes exploit the lower classes to maintain wealth and power, it is largely because schools and family socialize individuals through cultural experiences that bind them to an accepted social reality.  This provides the filter through which life choices are made.