THE ROLE OF SOCIALIZATION IN SHAPING MY EDUCATIONAL PATH (Essay Sample)

Hamisi Karisa Instructor's Name Course Name 04/05/2025 The Role of Socialization in Shaping My Educational Path Throughout our lives, socialization teaches us how to develop our beliefs and behaviors while forming our identity through connections with others and our surroundings. Our lives begin with immediate social influences that stem from family, friends, and schools, along with media institutions. Our identity emerges through these external factors, which influence our choices in our developmental years. An analysis of my experiences reveals that my family and community members determined my enrollment at Georgia Military College (GMC) while influencing my selected major. I experienced dramatically different life events from those of my parents and grandparents during school and early work. This paper implements sociological perspectives like agents of socialization, together with social norms and the looking-glass self theory, to analyze these ideas. The largest force shaping my life has come from my family members. Sociology defines agents of socialization as the people and associations which form our beliefs about self-concept and emotions also shaping attitudes and behaviors (Griffiths and Keirns ch. 1). Family stands as the primary socialization agent which defines our world's perspective according to Griffiths and Keirns (ch. 5). From an early age my parents insisted about education's value and their support for my pursuit of advanced studies during my high school years. The support they provided pushed me to study at GMC as an early student before finishing high school. They delayed their college pursuits until later life because they were focused on providing me with earlier college start and better opportunities when compared to their circumstances. The educational journey I pursued received strong support from my local community. Most residents in my small town recognize each other while many adolescent students choose between attending local technical colleges and staying out of higher education completely. Growing up in a community featuring restricted professional choices made me long for expanded opportunities. My decision to seek education away from my hometown occurred because of my desired to attend an institution that would push me through challenging experiences and personal development. From Griffiths and Keirns, (ch. 3), sociology students understand social norms refer to shared societal standards regarding conduct (Griffiths and Keirns, ch. 3). My town follows two main pathways - students either acquire immediate employment following graduation or pursue technical education at local institutions. The experiences at GMC together with my study of criminal justice and psychology stand out against the educational paths followed by my peers. Through my media consumption and educational experiences, I started doubting societal expectations until I began searching for potential new directions. Through Charles Cooley's looking-glass self-theory another explanation exists about my decision making process. According to this theory, our self-perception emerges from our assumptions about how others perceive us (Griffiths and Keirns, ch. 5). I believed myself ready for college-level classes after my teachers identified my abilities and supported my academic achievements. Repeated positive feedback from others evolved into a core part of who I became as a serious student. The Charles Cooley’s looking-glass self-theory offers another explanation about my decision making in that; as per this theory, our self-perception emerges from our assumptions about how other people perceive us (Griffiths and Keirns, ch. 5). I believed in myself ready for college-level classes after my teachers identified my abilities and supported my academic achievements. My parents’ support for my dual enrollment decision let me believe I could thrive at the college level. Our school experiences show a complete transformation. Educational institutions nowadays focus more on mental healthcare along with students’ involvement while teaching them skills that are needed for worldwide economies (Griffiths and Keirns, ch.2). My focus now centers on selecting a career path that solves social challenges as well as providing any necessary social changes. The selection approach for careers has also evolved dramatically since my parents’...