OxfordAQA IGCSE Sociology: Socialisation (9292)

This guide covers 3.2.2.2 Socialisation, part of the Socialisation and Social Control topic in Paper 2 of OxfordAQA International GCSE Sociology (9292), Version 1.0. This is a new qualification, first examined May/June 2028.

Scope of this guide

3.2.2 Socialisation and Social Control has three parts: 3.2.2.1 Individuals and Society, 3.2.2.2 Socialisation, and 3.2.2.3 Social Identities and Social Change. This resource focuses on 3.2.2.2, the socialisation content itself — types of socialisation, its agencies, and the sociological perspectives applied to it — since this alone covers enough distinct content for a full resource. The concepts of culture and the sociological imagination (3.2.2.1) and social control/social identity (3.2.2.3) are left for separate resources.

Syllabus coverage

OXFORDAQA INTERNATIONAL GCSE SOCIOLOGY (9292) — 3.2.2.2 SOCIALISATION

• Primary and secondary socialisation; re-socialisation; inadequate socialisation
• The social construction of identities through socialisation
• Agencies of socialisation: families; schools; peers; media; religions; workplace
• Processes/methods used by these agencies
• Sociological perspectives on socialisation: functionalist; Marxist; feminist; social action/interactionist

How to approach it

Start by fixing the vocabulary of socialisation types precisely, since these terms are easy to blur together: primary socialisation is the early learning of norms and values, mainly within the family; secondary socialisation happens later, through wider agencies such as schools, peers, media and the workplace; re-socialisation is the process of learning new norms and values that replace previously learned ones, often following a major life change; and inadequate socialisation refers to socialisation that has failed to properly instil a society’s shared norms and values, which some sociological perspectives link to deviant or antisocial behaviour later in life.

For the agencies of socialisation, prepare each one (family, school, peers, media, religion, workplace) with a specific process or method it uses — for example, families through direct instruction and role modelling, schools through the formal curriculum and the “hidden curriculum” of implicit rules, media through the modelling of behaviours and norms in the content it presents — since simply listing agency names without explaining how each one socialises individuals is a common source of lost marks.

The four perspectives (functionalist, Marxist, feminist, social action/interactionist) each explain socialisation differently: the functionalist view sees socialisation as necessary for social order and value consensus; the Marxist view sees it as a means by which the ruling class reproduces its dominance and controls the workforce; the feminist view focuses on how socialisation reproduces gender roles and inequality; and the social action/interactionist view focuses on how individuals actively interpret and negotiate the norms they are socialised into, rather than simply absorbing them passively.

The feminist and social action/interactionist perspectives deserve the same specific treatment. A feminist answer should point to a concrete mechanism, such as how family and media agencies model different behavioural expectations for boys and girls, reinforcing gendered divisions of labour and identity. A social action/interactionist answer should emphasise that individuals are not simply passive recipients of socialisation — they actively interpret, negotiate and sometimes resist the norms and values presented to them by different agencies, which is the key point of difference from the more structural functionalist and Marxist views.

Worked example: comparing two perspectives on socialisation

A question asks candidates to compare the functionalist and Marxist views of socialisation.

Functionalist:  Socialisation instils shared norms and values that
                create value consensus, allowing society to function
                smoothly and cohesively; agencies like the family and
                school are seen as performing a positive, necessary
                function.

Marxist:        Socialisation is used by the ruling class (the
                bourgeoisie) to instil values that benefit capitalism,
                such as obedience and acceptance of inequality,
                preparing individuals to accept their position in the
                workforce; agencies like schools are seen as
                reproducing class inequality rather than serving
                everyone equally.

Contrast:       Functionalism presents socialisation as broadly
                beneficial and consensual, while Marxism presents it as
                serving the interests of one social class over another.

This side-by-side structure — what each perspective claims, followed by an explicit point of contrast — is what “compare” questions on perspectives are looking for.

Key terms to define precisely

Socialisation — the lifelong process by which individuals learn the norms, values and behaviours expected within their culture or society. Agency of socialisation — any group or institution, such as the family, school or media, through which socialisation takes place. Norms — the specific, unwritten rules of behaviour expected in a given situation. Values — the broader beliefs a society or group holds about what is important, right or desirable. Social construction of identity — the idea that a person’s sense of who they are is not fixed or natural, but built up over time through their interactions with socialising agencies. Sociology mark schemes frequently distinguish between candidates who use these terms accurately and candidates who use them as loose synonyms for each other, so keeping norms and values clearly distinct — and being precise about what counts as an “agency” versus a “process” of socialisation — is worth the extra revision time.

Common mistakes

Confusing primary and secondary socialisation, or omitting re-socialisation and inadequate socialisation as distinct concepts in their own right. Listing agencies of socialisation without explaining the specific process or method by which each one socialises individuals. Describing a perspective’s view of socialisation in vague terms (“Marxists think it’s about class”) rather than explaining the specific mechanism the perspective identifies. Treating the four perspectives as interchangeable rather than being able to state how each one differs from the others.

Quick revision checklist

• Define primary, secondary, re- and inadequate socialisation precisely and be able to distinguish all four.
• Prepare each agency of socialisation with a specific process it uses.
• Learn one clear claim from each of the four sociological perspectives on socialisation.
• Practise structuring a “compare two perspectives” answer with an explicit point of contrast.

Related resources

• Socialisation revision notes
• Socialisation practice questions

Official syllabus

OxfordAQA International GCSE Sociology (9292) specification, Version 1.0 — oxfordaqa.com/9292.