Written by Various institutions or groups of people contribute to the political education and socialization of a new members.
These are called agents of political socialization.
More appropriately, agents of political socialization are institutions or groups of people that aid in the political socialization of members of the state.
They are mostly institutions, individuals, and organizations that contribute to political socialization.
Agents of political socialization can be divided into primary and secondary agents of political socialization.
Primary agents of Political Socialization
Primary agents of political socialization are groups and institutions that directly contribute to members of society’s political socialization.
Examples are family, educational institutions, and peer groups.
1. Family: As the first institution a child will interact with, the family is the most important agent of political socialization.
The family serves as the first source of political knowledge for new members of society.
Through it, children are taught political knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors that are relevant to them.
A child’s social and material needs, as well as their political needs, are met by his or her family.
It serves as a child’s initial source of information about respecting their nation, opinions on the government, and the country’s political system.
For children, their parents serve as an ideal source of political behavior and information. Children naturally mimic their parents’ political behaviors and beliefs
For example, children usually follow their parents’ political parties. So, the family is one of the most essential agents of political socialization.
2. Peer groups: As children grow older, they begin to spend less time with their families and more time with their friends.
Peer groups can be defined as a group of people of roughly the same age who share similar interests.
Peer groups are crucial for introducing people to politics.
We usually see people of similar ages participating in political discussions and activities.
Also, people’s choices of candidates during elections are mostly influenced by the choices of their peer groups.
A person’s political discussions with his peers help him raise his level of political consciousness and socialization.
3. Educational institutions: People are socialized into politics in many ways by schools and other educational institutions.
First and foremost, educational institutions influence how students think about politics by what they teach in their courses.
Fields of study such as Civic education, government education, and political education are all intended to educate citizens about the state’s political values, beliefs, and ideologies.
Schools teach students important political values such as discipline, patriotism, and respect for the rule of law.
Also, by going to school, citizens get to know the significance of government in their lives and the level of power that they possess to remove an underperforming government.
Additionally, through attending school, citizens learn about the importance of the government in their lives as well as the degree of power they have to vote out an under-performing government.
Secondly, schools politically socialize students by allowing them to form and conduct student unions.
Students get the opportunity to run for elective office, participate in campaigns, and cast ballots for the candidates of their choice in student unions.
This helps them gain more knowledge about contesting political positions in the future.
Lastly, schools also politically socialize people by engaging them in intellectual processes. For instance, when they participate in debate, students gain public speaking skills.
Secondary agents of Socialization
Secondary agents of socialization are secondary groups or institutions that have an indirect influence on politically socializing members of a state.
Examples are Political parties, mass media, government
1. Political parties: The existence of political parties is also an important means of socializing people for political participation.
Although the impact of political parties on the socialization of members of a society varies from one society to another, the impact of political parties on politically socializing citizens cannot be downplayed.
Political parties usually hold rallies and campaigns aimed at disseminating political information and educating citizens about the manifestos of the political parties.
They sometimes hold various programs aimed at raising awareness about the importance of certain policies adopted by the government.
Public attention can also be brought to the detrimental effects of certain government policies by these same political parties.
2. Mass media: This is now becoming a prominent agent of political socialization as a result of an unprecedented growth in information and technology.
Today, mass media outlets like television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and even the internet play crucial roles in disseminating information and political values.
Since the vast majority of people in the globe obtain the most of their knowledge from these mass media, political information and propaganda disseminated in the media make up the vast majority of everyday political socialization.
Mass media links the media and the contents, which are essential for the spreading and development of political values in the minds of the citizens.
It serves as a means of sharing political opinions, values, and ideas to a large number of people.
Although mass media is often misused in spreading fake news, it can also be used to create political awareness.
Famous Nigerians, for instance, used the internet to spread information about collecting Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) for the general elections in 2023.
3. Religious organizations: Churches and mosques are important agents of political socialization.
Whether you believe it or not, the religious organization to which you belong affects your perception of certain political values, and ideologies.
For instance, Most Christians detest corruption because they believe that stealing is against the law.
Additionally, religious organizations also serve as important means of reinforcing political values. For example, clerics in mosques and churches emphasize the importance of patriotism when they ask members to pray for the country.
Conclusion
To recap, we said:
- Agents of political socialization are groups and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the political socialization of members of a state.
- There are two types of agents of political socialization, namely; Primary and Secondary agents of political socialization.
- Primary agents of political socialization are institutions like family, mass media and schools that directly contribute to the socialization of members of a society into politics.
- Secondary agents of political socialization are institutions like political parties, mass media, and religious organization that plays a less impersonal role in politically socializing new members of the society.
