Function of Education: Socialization

Formal education plays a large role in the socialization of students. Starting with the preschool years, children are taught to behave in certain ways, many are gender-specific, and long-lasting effects such as a negative self-image and the development of eating disorders are discussed here. Gender socialization is often reinforced by teachers and within the school environment as a whole, which can create an environment of inconsistency if the home culture suggests a different view. Students learning second languages also experience a period of socialization to the culture and behaviors (environment) of the second language in which they are immersed. In addition, research is presented showing that the inclusion of students with special needs in mainstream classes experience a process of socialization as well.

Keywords Anorexia; Assimilation; Bulimia; Cultural Immersion; Gender Socialization; Integration; L2 Language; The School Gender Socialization Scale (SGSS)

The Function of Education: Socialization

Overview

Most parents don't send their children to school thinking about the socialization process. However, some do, choosing private or public education over home schooling for the socialization aspects of formal education. By definition, socialization is to equip someone with the required skills for functioning successfully within the world around them—or in a different world, possibly, like studying the Chinese culture before a trip to China. As a function of growing up within an education system, children are exposed to various cues—attitudes, behaviors, and verbal and non-verbal communications—that act as a means of socializing them. For example, young children used to bouncing through their days have to sit still for lengths of time in kindergarten, while older children learn that a bell ringing has different meanings; one ring means move to another class, while several rings means exit the building for a fire drill. Many children learn to deal with stress when faced with high-stakes standardized testing situations. In each of these examples, children are taught to behave in certain ways: sit still, move here or there, and find a way to adapt because it is required.

Applications

Gender Socialization

Responding to Students

What is not required of all children is the experience of preschool. However, for those who do attend, the socialization process experienced provides a foundation for behavior in kindergarten. Behaving appropriately within a specific environment takes practice and encouragement. A teacher's role is especially important in the process, as how they respond to each behavior can reinforce or squash it, depending on the situation. Serbin, O'Leary, Kent & Tonick (1973) conducted a study analyzing the responses preschool teachers gave their students. Fifteen preschool classes in four different schools participated in the study, with each class being taught by a New York State certified teacher; the teachers were unaware of what the observers were researching (p. 798).

Serbin et al. (1973) studied how teachers responded to two distinctive child behaviors: disruptive behaviors and dependency (teacher interaction) behaviors. The "[d]isruptive behaviors selected were ignoring teacher directions, destruction of materials, and aggression toward others (physical and/or verbal). Dependent behaviors selected were crying, proximity to the teacher (within arm's reach), and solicitation of teacher attention" (p. 799). The research team presumed that there would be a gender difference with regard to the teachers' responses, and they were right. In fact,

[T]he average rate of teacher response to disruptive behaviors was generally higher for boys. This difference was clearest in respect to aggression, for which 100% of the teachers included in the analysis (six out of six) responded at higher rates to boys. In fact, the average rate of teacher response to aggression was over three times higher for boys than for girls (Serbin et al., 1973, p. 801).

Part of this data may seem like a relief. It is a good thing that boys are paid attention to when they act aggressively. Yet, if female aggression yields fewer responses, inconsistent messages are sent within the classroom, and aggression in girls may continue. Furthermore, a teacher's job is to teach, and teaching cannot occur when instruction is stopped for reprimands. If a boy misbehaving causes a lesson to stop but a girl misbehaving—acting the same way as the boy—does not stop a lesson, it could be interpreted that the boy is more worthy of the teacher's attention than the girl.

In the same study, the types of responses were also noted and shown to be gender-specific in nature as well.

Teacher reactions to solicitation by boys included more directional and instructional responses, thereby encouraging them directly to become involved in various activities in the classroom … [In summary] it does appear that all activities of boys, appropriate or inappropriate, are more likely to attract teacher attention … Girls are more likely to be ignored, except when directly beside the teacher" (Serbin et al., 1973, p. 802).

It should be noted that on a questionnaire completed after the observations, teachers did identify giving more reprimands to boys but did not identify responding differently (positively or more instructively) to either gender (Serbin et al., 1973, p. 802). It could be that teachers as a group have become socialized to interpret the behaviors of girls and boys differently, noting that boys frequently behave in distracting ways, while girls do not. This could explain why boys get more attention: when girls are behaving—which is most of the time in this study—there is no reason to give them attention, whereas it is necessary to speak to boys often as they commonly misbehave. As this is occurring in preschool, it is fair to note that gender socialization takes place from a child's entrance into the education system.

High School & the Superwoman

A school's environment can change the way a young woman feels about herself. For example, if every time she turns around she sees signs for cheerleader try-outs, she will learn that cheerleading is a big deal at her school and she should participate, regardless of what she knows about the activity. At some point, the same young woman will probably be involved in a fundraiser for the cheerleading team to purchase better uniforms. In the discussion to come up with a better idea than a bake sale, the suggestion of sponsoring a Sadie Hawkins dance may come up. She will note that this event is outside of the norm because everyone will be talking about it, and it will be promoted with the utmost effort: handmade signs will cover bulletin boards, and doors at the school's entrance will be plastered with notices advertising the dance. In addition, the event will be a notable addition to the social world of the school as its purpose is for the genders of the school to change places as young women will be encouraged to ask young men for dates.

The trouble with this scenario is that stereotypical images (i.e., that it is unusual for girls to ask boys to a dance) presented at school leave a permanent impression on the self-concept of young women. Girls growing up idealizing a stereotypical image of women are severely let down when they don't personally live up to that image. Instead of recognizing society's misrepresentation of female imagery, they blame themselves for being inadequate. Many develop eating disorders in the process. Mensinger (2005) identifies this particular image as the Superwoman who is autonomous, has high standards for achievement, and has an “ideal” body; furthermore she notes that "[i]n accordance with feminist theory, adolescents idealizing the Superwoman tend to report more eating disturbances" (p. 30).

Gender Socialization & Eating Disorders

Mensinger (2005) conducted a study to determine if the environmental climate of schools could increase a young woman's idealization of the Superwoman. Second, she tried to determine if that idealization caused an increase in the incidence of eating disorders for the participants in the study (p. 30). 866 young women from eleven schools took part in the study, and 16 was the average age of the participants. The School Gender Socialization Scale (SGSS) survey was distributed during various classes, and students were given 40 minutes to complete them, answering questions like the following:

• At this school, girls are taught that competitiveness is a good thing.

• Girls here are taught to be sensitive to the needs of others.

• Getting the highest grades is respected among girls at this school.

• Girls at this school compare their bodies to one another.

• Being popular with guys is important to girls at this school.

• Teachers here sometimes seem to have less rigorous expectations of girls because of their gender (SGSS, 1994, as cited in Mensinger, 2005, p. 35).

After analyzing the data, the researcher identified that schools do make a difference when it comes to an environment positive to gender socialization. In addition, when conflicting gender norms are presented by schools (i.e., girls take part in cheerleading and don't normally ask boys to dances), an above average incidence of eating problems is likely for the female students. Finally, schools perpetuating the Superwoman image pass that image along to their students; the students who accept that image as truth are more likely to develop eating disorders than those who do not (Mensinger, 2005, p. 37–38). This should not be a surprise as schools are part of society as a whole, and Superwoman is presented on everything from magazine covers to advertisements moving through town on the sides of buses.

Mensinger (2005) summarizes her study:

The most important conclusion from the present research is that school cultures do indeed reinforce and in turn magnify the parameters established by larger social institutions regarding female gender roles and beauty in particular. It is not really surprising that environments where girls feel unusually high pressures to achieve in multiple areas are more likely to evidence young women struggling with disordered eating (p. 38).

Expectations of Academic Achievement

High pressure is also prevalent in the realm of academic achievement. Erkut (1983) conducted two studies to identify how women and men interpreted their propensity toward academic success. In the first study, almost 300 college students from an introductory psychology class voluntarily completed questionnaires explaining their academic performance in the class based on their ability, the effort they put into academics, luck, and the difficulty of the college program (p. 221). Male respondents noted that their ability caused their achievement, while women stated that the effort they put toward learning was the contributing factor: ability versus effort (Erkut, 1983, p. 221). Erkut (1983) points out that this difference in perspective may not change as "ability, a stable factor, leads men to expect continued success while … effort, an unstable factor, leads women to expect less success" (p. 221).

The second study Erkut (1983) conducted was more specific in nature. Again, questionnaires were used to collect data; they were completed pre and post test to determine how the respondents expected to perform and then actually did perform on a midterm exam. Over a hundred freshmen in a social science class took part in the study, and the results are listed below (p. 223). As predicted,

[M]ale subjects' estimate of the grade they expected to receive was significantly higher than the grade expected by females … Men were also more likely to think that the test would be easy. . . . Fewer women than men display confidence that they will succeed or believe that they have the ability to succeed (Erkut, 1983, p. 224).

It remains to be seen whether or not Hypothetical Female Student #1 was ignored in preschool and that without reinforcement from her teacher she grew to lack confidence in her academic ability. It is a possible scenario, nonetheless. It is also possible that having less interaction with her teacher (in preschool) caused her to depend on herself—her own effort—to complete tasks successfully. Likewise, Hypothetical Male Student #1 possibly interpreted positive reinforcement from his preschool teacher to mean that he had a natural ability to be successful, regardless of any effort he puts forth.

Second Language Learning

If that same student knows English as a second language, though, his natural ability might not be enough. As Vickers (2007) notes, "According to a language socialization perspective, becoming a member of a speech community is a process by which the social constructs the cognitive, and the cognitive constrains the possibilities for social interaction" (p. 622). In other words, in order to learn a second language, it is essential to be social—to speak to other people—yet, it is difficult to speak to other people when they are speaking a different language. Similarly, we know what we know based on our interaction with the environment around us; without knowledge of that environment, it is difficult to interact with it. "As such, learning language goes hand in hand with learning to operate within a particular society" (Vickers, 2007, p. 623).

Perhaps L2 (second language) instruction, which is often concerned with accuracy and correctness, encourages an adoption of L2 norms, whereas learning outside the classroom context constitutes a situation of survival in which L2 learners must operate within an L2 persona, perhaps more successfully than the classroom learner (Vickers, 2007, p. 625). As such, what they learn—in addition to the language itself—is how the language differs in certain circumstances, how urgent news is reported quickly and loudly, how questions carry a higher pitch near the ending, and how idiomatic expressions often require explanations before they can be fully understood. For example, native English speakers know that the phrase, "put out the fire" means to extinguish the flames. However, it is possible that when hearing that phrase, an L2 English learner might momentarily contemplate how to remove the fire from its physical location.

Language Socialization in Education

Vickers (2007) studied an electrical and computer engineering course to understand how teams of senior-level students interact while designing an engineering device (p. 625). One-third of the class knew English as a second language at the time of the study. The researcher notes:

Efficiency, clarity, and engagement are highly valued in the ECE [electrical and computer engineering] speech community … The ability to display technical competence linguistically is crucial to constructing an identity of a competent engineer. Displaying technical competence involves providing technical explanations (Vickers, 2007, p. 629).

In many instances, competence means assimilation, and language is learned because of the need to know it rather than the desire for a good grade. At the beginning of the ECE course, one specific L2 English student behaved inappropriately when meeting with his team; he fidgeted and used language inappropriately, demonstrating a weakness for technical terms. By the middle of the semester, however, he had observed the behaviors of his teammates and was using technical language and behaving appropriately, like he was an engineer working on his first job—the team project (Vickers, 2007, pp. 630-631).

The student's teammates helped him socially integrate into both the program and the work required within it. It wasn't until the student started voicing solutions and taking a stronger role within his team that his confidence grew and his language improved. Vickers (2007) states that the student's "changed language behavior is a product of learning to think, design, and talk like a competent engineer" (p. 637). This competence would not have been acquired had this student learned English (or the technical jargon of engineering) without the social integration required for the project.

The Socialization of Immigrants

For immigrant children in the early to mid 1800s, assimilation into American culture was not an option, since,

[A] literate citizenry was crucial to the preservation and growth of democratic institutions. To this was now added the pressing concern of immigrant assimilation. Only if immigrants could be socialized into the American cultural mainstream … would they become building blocks of a developing nation rather than causes of its ruin (Perko, 2003, p. 104).

The melting pot was not about to boil over because of half a million intruders who knew as little about the English language as they did about American culture. As such, immigrant children were Americanized through the school systems. First, they were taught academics as well as the English language. Second, they also learned by observation how their American peers talked, played, and behaved at school. Perko (2003) notes that Americanization was also presented within the textbooks students had to read. "These were designed not only to teach children how to read English but also to inculcate a variety of virtues seen as important for the republic's citizens" (Perko, 2003, p. 105).

While learning how Americans behaved, immigrant children also learned that their native cultures were not part of the process. In many cases, those cultures were "devalued both in the wider society and within the schools themselves" (Perko, 2003, p. 107). Many immigrants were forced to keep their old lives behind the walls of their homes. Most people would view this negatively. However, Antin (1912) notes that, surprisingly, "the vast majority of immigrants saw complete assimilation as a highly desirable goal, even if it was done at some personal cost" (p. 272, as cited in Perko, 2003). Thus, ultimately, socialization is usually achieved at the cost of the native culture.

Viewpoints

Homeschooling

In 1976, John McMahon and his former wife created Mothering magazine, a grass-roots parenting journal that focused on issues like home birthing, breast-feeding, co-sleeping, and home schooling. It gained popularity following its creation and garnered numerous subscribers between its launch and the publication of its last print issue in the spring of 2011. McMahon and his former wife chose to home school their four children, and McMahon states that the decision to do so was based on a combination of experiences. As a former elementary teacher, he did not consider his local school district in New Mexico to be that academically rigorous. In addition, he and his wife were publishing Mothering from home, and keeping their children home with them just made sense (personal communication, April 9, 2008).

Each of McMahon's children attended public or private school once they moved through the elementary curriculum. By that point, they had been socialized within their home regarding what standard they should admire (Superwoman was not one of them) and what knowledge they should value. Later, McMahon was involved in a statistical analysis of within the Santa Fe school system. He noted what many researchers have known for decades—that only a specific group of children is affected socially by the lack of early education (personal communication, April 9, 2008).

Children from poor families performed lower than the average, as did children who knew English as a second language and those who came from one-parent households. Children from any of these groups who had pre-school or early start intervention performed better than children within the same groups who started school at five or six (personal communication, April 9, 2008).

For McMahon, the socialization of children who are not poor, who speak English at home, and who have a solid two-parent family need not rely on the formal education system (personal communication, April 9, 2008). Realistically, though, there are two things to consider here. First, not many parents home school their children. Second, even in a two-parent household, chances are good that both parents are working; as such, it is likely that children spend more waking hours at school than in the presence of their parents.

Conclusion

Fast food restaurants frequently offer toys that are promoted as "girl" or "boy" toys with their kids’ meals. The girl toy may be a pink doll, and the toy for boys may be a dark-colored toy truck. It is unlikely that a child would refuse to play with a toy specified for the opposite gender; after all, a free new toy is a free new toy. There is little harm inflicted when a two-year-old boy plays with a pink doll. On the other hand, being ignored by a preschool teacher—probably a child's first exposure to a role model other than parents—has to have a negative effect. Moreover, while it is ideal that a young woman would believe her parents when told that she is beautiful just the way she is, it is unlikely that those words would save her from an eating disorder when she idolizes an image of herself that can never exist.

Terms & Concepts

Anorexia: Eating disorder/medical condition characterized by a person's avoidance of food and negative self-image; can be fatal, as those with the disorder (usually adolescent women) stop eating.

Assimilation: Becoming part of a new culture, environment, or system of government by adopting the values/rules of the new culture.

Bulimia: Eating disorder/medical condition in which a negative self-image (that cannot be controlled) is countered by sessions of binging on food and vomiting in an attempt to control food intake.

Cultural Immersion: Being taken in completely by a society other than one's own.

Gender Socialization: Learning behaviors that are presented as specific to males or females.

Integration: Being added to a community, culture, or society.

L2 Language: A second language being learned.

The School Gender Socialization Scale (SGSS): A survey created to assess the gendered social environment of a school.

Bibliography

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Suggested Reading

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