The Socialization of the Child as a Process of Identity Formation Cover Image

Socjalizacja dziecka jako proces kształtowania tożsamości
The Socialization of the Child as a Process of Identity Formation

Author(s): Joanna Juszczyk-Rygałlo
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Education
Published by: Uniwersytet Ignatianum w Krakowie
Keywords: socialization; identity; education; child; society

Summary/Abstract: Social factors have an influence on people throughout their whole life. An individual develops their own rules of functioning in the social environment by means of these factors when he or she takes a role that are not always totally consistent with social requirements. Therefore intentional actions are undertaken that attempt to transmit cultural norms, so that the individual can accept them as conditions of social functioning. These actions are called socialization. Nowadays a frequently occurring problem concerns the outdatedness of defining oneself and hence the process of individual socialization is perceived as something that is individually created. There is a need for setting a new space for social interactions which seems to be precisely the process of young person’s identity formation. This article is an analytical attempt to define the conditions of socialization and related process of identity formation. It tries to answer the question of whether it is possible to socialize children on the basis of identity education. The article presents an analysis of the contemporary interpretation of the notions socialization and identity and indicates their relevance to personal structures. It also mentions two periods of socialization (primary and secondary) and the relevant aspects of identity that are characteristic for each period: central – stable as a closed construct related to primary socialization and peripheral – changing as the identity that is opened to changes and related to secondary socialization. The confrontation of these two views on relations between socialization and identity shows the importance of theoretical settlements in the analyzed field. They may form the basis for defining socialization as identity education.

  • Issue Year: 11/2016
  • Issue No: 4 (42)
  • Page Range: 13-25
  • Page Count: 13
  • Language: Polish