How School Impacts a Child's Socialization

Entering school is an important stage for a child, as she separates from her parents for the first time. At the same time, however, she will enter into a new community of peers, which will give her a new view of the world. Her interactions within this new community will help shape her social skills moving forward, according to Education.com, as she will learn about how people co-exist within a society.

  1. Self-Concept

    • School provides a transitional phase for a child, as he learns about being part of a community. While at school, he will learn that not everything focuses on his needs, as he will have to share learning materials, toys and the teacher's attention with others. This shows him that the needs of the class as a whole are greater than his individual needs. At the same time, he will learn how to listen to the viewpoints of others and how to relate them to his own feelings, which is vital when living in a society, reports Education.com. This helps him to hold onto his individuality while functioning as part of a group.

    Making Friends

    • A large part of school centers on making friends, which largely comes from interactions with other children. Learning how to cooperate with other children can help your child to learn about forming relationships with other people. Since relationships and friendships are an important part of life, school provides the building blocks for this life stage. Making friends is based on acceptance, so your child will learn about what is acceptable within the group when making friends.

    Negative Influences

    • A large part of socialization involves fitting in, which can bring negative consequences for some children. When fitting in becomes the most important aspect of school, it can lead to peer pressure having a major influence on the child's behavior, notes KidsHealth. It is human nature for peers to influence a child's decision-making process, which can affect the way a child acts. Peer pressure can lead to risky behavior, such as smoking or shoplifting, as the child gets older.

    Home-Schooling

    • Home-schooling a child does not necessarily mean that the child will not develop proper social skills, reports PBS Parents, as home-schooled children tend to learn these skills in different ways. Since a home-schooled child will spend more time with adults, there is a good chance that she will learn these social skills from them. As a result, she is more likely to be mature beyond her age and will not lack in social development, as long as she gets out in the community and interacts with people.

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