The meaning of "socialization" remains unclear. On the one hand, it refers to an inner process through which people become "social." On the other, to external processes in people's environments through which they are "made social." Included among these external processes is education. Finally, the word can additionally refer to the whole constellation of internal and external processes leading to the emergence (coming into existence) of the "social" or "socialized" personality, or the personality "capable of social action." (Mackie, M., 1987)
The early years of life are, in all societies, a period of preparation for later activities. They are forward-looking years during which the child is told, more or less explicitly, that what he experiences is mostly preparation for adequate adulthood. Socialization is a necessary part of life in all societies. There are several ways in which the organization of this process in our society differs from that found in other societies, however, and some of these differences clearly affect the ways in which persons find their place in the American stratification system. Without attempting to provide a comparative analysis of socialization systems.
Perhaps the most noteworthy feature of our socialization process is the length of time it takes. If we define the transition from childhood to adulthood in terms of participation in the labor force and getting married, it is apparent that persons in our society become adult rather late in life. This is true for men and women, and it is true whether maturity is defined in terms of marriage, working, or both. Neither marriage nor full-fledged participation in the labor force occurs for most people until after their schooling is completed. For most people, therefore, adulthood, defined in this way, is achieved only after eighteen or twenty or more years of life. Not only is this later........
