Question

1. Define the socialisation process and what the process entails.

2. State various interactive elements of human ecology and explain their roles in socialisation processes.

3. Examine the influence of chronosystem on the meaning of childhood and its impacts on the process of child development.

4. Specify the measures that reflect the well-being of children in general.

5. Describe the challenges adults have to face in socialising children in the modern world and identify the ways to solve them.

6. Define socialisation.

7. Explain how socialisation is a unique human process.

8. Explain the reciprocal and dynamic process of socialisation.

9. State the difference between intentional socialisation and unintentional socialisation.

10. Explain child development through the Bronfenbrenner biological model.

11. Identify the four constructs in Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory of human development.

12. Explain the impacts of changes in human ecology on the process of socialisation.

13. Illustrate the changes in the definition of childhood from the Renaissance era up until the present day.

14. Describe how socialisation can help children adapt to changes in the modern era.

15. Define the chronosystem.

16. Describe how the change in chronosystem impacts the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem and macrosystem.

17. Identify measures that reflect the welfare of children in general.

18. Identify and discuss current societal trends that influence the socialization process of children.

Answer 1

Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily. You may elaborate the answer based on personal views or your classwork if necessary. Also, I did not answer 11 because 10 and 11 are seemingly the same. Several questions are repeated and just worded differently, I have written “SAME AS #” to reflect a repeat answer.

(Answer)

1. Define the socialisation process and what the process entails.

The socialisation process occurs when a populace incorporates the norms and ideologies from the society. It is through socialisation that cultural and social continuity is attained. Socialisation entails a ‘learning’ and ‘teaching process’. In other words, it is a give and take of ideas and influences that help society retain and evolve as a conglomerate.

1. State various interactive elements of human ecology and explain their roles in socialisation processes.

Human ecology is the study of the relationship between humans and their ecosystem. The interactive elements in human ecology are the social elements, the natural elements and the man-made elements.

Since culture, human traditions, ethnic and religious rituals are a big part of socialisation; we see the immediate environment or the ecosystem having a huge influence on socialisation.

For instance, the relationship with the man-made environment and socialisation can be observed in the building of churches and temples. The relationship between man’s diverse culinary needs can be observed in activities like farming and animal husbandry. Also, man’s need for love and intimacy can be observed through social relationships and traditions.

1. Examine the influence of chronosystem on the meaning of childhood and its impacts on the process of child development.

The events and transitions that occur throughout a child’s life, which may include any sociohistoric event is known as the chronosystem. Elements of the chronosystem define one’s childhood through events like, the first day of school, first time to ride a bicycle etc. A transition event can also occur at any time in life, for instance, a divorce would transition one from a previous stage to a different stage of life.

The events within a chronosystem help a child absorb social norms and ways of life. Through their understanding of such ordinary events, they are able to develop into social beings.

1. Specify the measures that reflect the well-being of children in general.

The well-being of children is observed through their health, education and child-rights. It is measured through reports of their happiness, mental health, contentment and fulfilment in their daily lives.

1. Describe the challenges adults have to face in socialising children in the modern world and identify the ways to solve them.

The anti-social elements within the human ecology that prevent a child from participating in the socialisation process are distraction through technology, unhealthy environments, high crime rates in neighbourhoods and elements that have a psychological impact like bullying etc.

These problems can be solved through community level or even national and international level remedies like fixing the environment. Other elements like technology can be solved by disciplining a child to practice restraint with the time they spend with gadgets and creating interesting and fun interactive programs that occur outdoors with friends.

The basic solution is to get the child interested in being a part of the social culture.

1. Define socialisation.

Socialisation is a process where an individual learns the way of society and beings to conform in their own personal capacity so as to be good civic citizens that form a positive and thriving community.

1. Explain how socialisation is a unique human process.

Man is a social animal. For the purpose of survival, man depends on others of his kind for basic needs like food, clothing and shelter. However, a man also thrives within social relationships and communities in order to fulfil needs of security, intimacy and ultimately self-actualisation. These needs are unique to human beings and hence socialisation is a process that is unique to human beings.

1. Explain the reciprocal and dynamic process of socialisation.

Socialisation is a reciprocal process simply because elements are able to influence each other. In other words, socialisation is not a one-sided process but rather a give and take or a learning and teaching process. Socialisation is also dynamic because it is constantly evolving and since the birth of an individual and the birth of a society. Socialisation is never static or stagnating.

1. State the difference between intentional socialisation and unintentional socialisation.

Intentional socialisation is also known as anticipatory socialisation. It is when values or social norms are deliberately taught to children, it is then followed by their acceptance or rejection.

Unintentional socialisation is also known as accidental socialisation, wherein values are inadvertently taught to children which they will then pick up and emulate.

1. Explain child development through the Bronfenbrenner biological model.

Bronfenbrenner explained that everything in a child’s environment is likely to affect how they grow and develop. He went on to explain that a child’s inherent qualities affect the social environment and vice-versa.

Bronfenbrenner’s biological model is in the form of concentric circles or levels that influence a child.

The first level – The Microsystem which is the child itself.

The second level – The Mesosystem which comprise of the family, school, playground, peers, religious institutions and healthcare systems.

The third level – The Ecosystem which contains the extended family, neighbours, friends of family, legal services, social welfare services and the mass media.

The fourth level – The Macrosystem is formed by the attitudes and ideologies of the society.

The fifth level – The Chronosystem is formed by all of the events and transitions that occur within a child’s life.

1. Identify the four constructs in Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory of human development.

SAME AS 10

1. Explain the impacts of changes in human ecology on the process of socialisation.

The human ecology of natural, social and man-made factors are the elements or instruments through which socialisation is influenced.

An impact on even a single element of the human ecosystem can have a huge impact on the process of socialisation. For instance, little children might not go out to play and socialise with others their own age if the crime rate or kidnapping statistics of a particular area are high. Furthermore, recent environmental impacts like air pollution or particulates might affect the health of the child and affect the process of socialisation.

Elements like human ecology, socialisation and human beings are closely interrelated and hence a change in one element might have an impact on another element.

1. Illustrate the changes in the definition of childhood from the Renaissance era up until the present day.

During the Renaissance, “childhood” was more about the time period within the life of a child. Today, “childhood” is viewed as a stage of the child’s life.

At the time of the Renaissance, “childhood” was a time of dependency in a child’s life which they would eventually grow out of through training and upbringing.

These days, a "childhood" is more like an operational and preoperational stage where socialisation and mental development occurs through inherent personalities and external factors in the environment that contribute towards the development of the child’s personality and social personality.

1. Describe how socialisation can help children adapt to changes in the modern era.

Socialisation is a reciprocal process simply because elements are able to influence each other. In other words, socialisation is not a one-sided process but rather a give and take or a learning and teaching process. Socialisation is also dynamic because it is constantly evolving and since the birth of an individual and the birth of a society. Socialisation is never static or stagnating.

Since this process is constant and ever-changing based on individual and societal contributions, socialisation also teaches a child to cope and adapt to changes in the modern era through constant learning and teaching.

1. Define the chronosystem.

The events and transitions that occur throughout a child’s life, which may include any sociohistoric event is known as the chronosystem. Elements of the chronosystem define one’s childhood through events like, the first day of school, first time to ride a bicycle etc. A transition event can also occur at any time throughout life, for instance, a divorce would transition one from a previous stage to a different stage of life. A chronosystem might be viewed as a “sphere” that consists of the microsystem, the macrosystem, the mesosystem and the ecosystem which are categories of the different social elements that surround a child’s life.

1. Describe how the change in chronosystem impacts the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem and macrosystem.

The chronosystem is defined by what it contains. What the chronosystem contains is the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem and macrosystem. A change in a single element would result in a change in the outer shell of the chronosystem. For instance, the mesosystem consists of the element of healthcare systems. This means that if a child has a chronic disease from the time of birth, it would affect the healthcare of the child, this, in turn, would have a huge impact on all the levels and will end up affecting the all-encompassing chronosystem itself.

1. Identify measures that reflect the welfare of children in general.

The well-being of children is observed through their health, education and child-rights. It is measured through reports of their happiness, mental health, contentment and fulfilment in their daily lives. (SAME AS 4)

1. Identify and discuss current societal trends that influence the socialization process of children.

SAME AS 12