Week topic

Political socialization is the process by which individuals acquire the norms, values, attitudes and behaviour accepted and practiced in the political system. Through this process, individuals learn to support the nation and the government in power. It involves the passing down of these norms, values etc. from generation to generation. Political socialization is a continuous learning process through which a child acquires the culture of his own society.

1. 
   Family: There is no better way to start than to talk about the role of family in our social development, as family is usually considered to be the most important agent of socialization. As infants, we are completely dependent on others to survive. Our parents, or those who play the parent role, are responsible for teaching us to function and care for ourselves. They, along with the rest of our family, also teach us about close relationships, group life, and how to share resources. Additionally, they provide us with our first system of values, norms, and beliefs – a system that is usually a reflection of their own social status, religion, ethnic group, and more.
   
2. 
   Schools: The next important agent of childhood socialization is the school. Of course, the official purpose of school is to transfer subject knowledge and teach life skills, such as following directions and meeting deadlines. But students don’t just learn from the academic curriculum prepared by teachers and school administrators. In school, we also learn social skills through our interactions with teachers, staff, and other students. For example, we learn the importance of obeying authority and that to be successful, we must learn to be quiet, to wait, and sometimes to act interested even when we’re not.
   
3. 
   Peer Group: Another agent of socialization that relates to school is our peer group. Unlike the agents we’ve already discussed – family and school – peer groups give us an opportunity as children to form relationships with others on our own terms, plus learn things without the direction of an adult. Our peers have an incredible amount of influence on us when we’re young, so it’s understandable that parents worry about the type of friends we choose. Often, we discuss topics and learn behavioral norms from our peers that our parents do not or would not approve of.
   
4. 
   The Mass Media: This made up of the newspapers, radio, televisions, magazines, cinemas and books. Through the mass media, the child learns about various information or events that occur in every part of the world. This invariably helps in the socialization process and influence the political beliefs of the people.
   
5. 
   Voluntary groups: The voluntary groups comprise Boy Scouts, The Red Cross society, and all other non-governmental organizations that ensure and train their members in line with their own philosophy, beliefs, values and attitudes.
   
6. 
   Political parties and Pressure Group: These are also agents of socialization that have through their political beliefs or ideologies and values, Influence their members and the populace. Specifically, these groups through various seminars, workshops and conferences do educate their members and the entire citizenry on their political rights and obligations of the state.
   
7. 
   Religious Institutions. The church, the mosque and the shrine are religious institutions which are part and parcel of secondary agent of socialization of the child. These institutions lay emphasis on spiritual and moral development of the child. Through them, the child is taught to be obedient and how to live a good and useful life. They also teach their followers to the hard working, honest, kind and faithful in whatever they do. Thus, they can influence the political belief of an individual.
   

1. Define Democracy.

2. What conditions are necessary for the successful operation of democracy?

3. What are the features of democracy?

4. Highlight the different features of democracy.

5. State five (5) merits and demerits of democracy?

6. What is political cultures

7. Explain four agents of political socialization