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Popular Participation: Exercise 3 - Political socialization
Instructions:
Read the passage and click on the correct answer. If wrong, try
again. Scroll down if you do not see the Answer box. Click
here to review the key terms for this exercise.
People become politically aware in different
ways. One way is through close personal contact with the members of
certain groups. These groups are called primary agents (sources)
of socialization and include the family, school and peers.
The family is the most important agent
of political socialization. Children are not born with any values
or opinions, but instead they learn their family's values, including
their political beliefs. Because initially children spend most of
their time with their families and have very little contact with people
outside their families, they absorb (take in) the values of their
families without being aware and without questioning them. By the
time they discover other political views, they have adopted their
families' political values and are loyal to them.
After their pre-school years, children
spend a lot of their time at school. Because of this, school also
has a major influence on children's political development. For
example, in elementary school, children are taught such things as
the fundamental values of liberty and equality. Then in high school,
they learn to look at politics a little more critically. In college
they learn their obligations as citizens and are encouraged to vote,
to go to demonstrations, to write to senators, etc. In short, schools
make children politically aware.
Peers, such as friends, classmates,
and co-workers, also influence a person's political views. Peer
group relationships tend to be very personal, and members of peer
groups have frequent contact, so they tend to influence each other
over time.
Instructions:
Read the passage and click on the correct answer. If wrong, try
again. Scroll down if you do not see the Answer box. 
