CHAPTER 15 

Socialization in School Settings
KATHRYN R. WENTZEL and LISA LOONEY
Most American children over the age of 6 spend a minimum of ] 08 day~ each
year in formal educational settings. Many younger children also spend significant portions
of their lives in day care or preschool settings. Although the objectives of schooling
are primarily academic in nature, preschools as well as later school settings also represent
social worlds of major importance and significance to children. In many respects, schools
provide social experiences that are highly similar to and overlap with those provided by
families, the broader community, and the peer group. However, children are required to
use specific skills on a routine basis if they are to be successful at school. For instance,
schoolchildren spend significant amounts of time in large groups, engaged in activities
that require the coordination of personal goals and abilities with those of others. The
abilities to engage in prosocial interactions, regulate behavior to complement that of others,
and delay personal gratification are essential for this task. In addition, children'5 relationships
with teachers are less personal and intimate than their relationships with
parents. Therefore, children at school must be more independent and self-reliant and
more dependent on other children for social support than would be required in most family
settings. Finally, evaluations of children's academic and hehavioral competencies are
ongoing, necessitating goal-directed, planful, and self-monitoring skills in response to
feedback.
In essence, the value systems of schools focus on a relatively small set of characteristics
and abilities central to children's future roles as citizens and workers, including those
related to being sociaJly responsible and responsive to group goals, and to behaving in
prosocial, cooperative ways '""ith peers. While accomplishing these socially integrative
tasks, children also are expected to assert themselves academically by competing successfully
with others or by developing mastery in specific areas of interest. If these olltcomes
382
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ch
19
1t
Is
y
D
Socialization in School Settings
the primary objectives of educators and nonfamilial caregivers, how might their
be accomplished? Rarely have scholars attempted to align school-based obwith
specific socialization processes to identify what might promote the developand
achievement of such outcomes. The goal of this chapter, therefore, is to describe
is known about the process of socialization within school contexts and to offer sugfor
future theory development and research in this area.
In this chapter, socialization is defined with reference to contextual affordances, that
supports and opportunities (e.g., staff and characteristics such as teacher:child
and class the nature and quality of relationships with teachers and peers) that
the development of children's school-based competencies. We consider schools
be complex systems that can provide students with multiple affordances, as a function
the school itself as well as through social interactions and interpersonal relationships
are embedded in the educational process. Based on a competence perspective, our
,-U0."H)'U of outcomes of socialization in schools is focused primarily on social outcomes
than academic achievements (see Eccles, Chapter 26, this volume), Toward this
we begin with a consideration of how to define competence within the social context
schools. We then review the literature on the processes of socialization, including those
. ted with structural characteristics of schools as well as more proximal social and
processes that might support competence development. We consider chilexperiences
in preschool and child care as well as in K-12 schools. Finally, we end
a discussion of remaining issues and challenges to the field.
DEFINING SOCIAL COMPETENCE AT SCHOOL
the social developmental literature, social competence has been described from a variety
of perspectives ranging from the development of individual skills, such as effective behavioral
repertoires, social problem-solving skills, positive beliefs about the self, and
achievement of social goals, to more general adaptation within a particular setting as
reflected in social approval and acceptance. In addition, central to many definitions of
social competence is notion that contextual affordances and constraints contribute to
and mold the development of these outcomes in ways that enable them to support the social
good (Bronfenbrenner, 1989). In other words, social contexts are believed to play an
integral role in competence development by providing opportunities for the development
of intrapersonal outcomes (e.g., the achievement of social goals to make friends), but also
in defining the appropriate parameters of social accomplishments such that individual
skills and attributes can contribute to the social cohesion and smooth functioning of the
group (e.g., establishing friendship groups that are socially inclusive rather than exclusive).
In this chapter, therefore, social competence at school is defined as a balance between
students' achievement of positive outcomes for themselves and adherence to
school-specific expectations for behavior.
Support for this definition can be found in the work of Bronfenbrenner (1989), who
argues that competence can only be understood in terms of context-specific effectiveness,
being a product of personal attributes such as goals, values, self-regulatory skills, and
cognitive abilities, and of ways in which these attributes contribute to meeting situational
requirements and demands. Bronfenbrenner further suggests that competence is facilitated
by contextual supports that provide opportunities for the growth and development
384
~"o*
• 
SOCIALIZATION OUTSIDE THE FAMILY
of the~e personal attributes as well as for learning what is expected by the social group.
Ford (1992) expand~ on this notion of person-environment fit by specifying dimensions
of competence that reflect personal as well as context-specific cnteria: the achievement of
personal goals and those that result in positive developmental outcomes for the individ_
ual, and the achievement of goals that are situationally relevant, using appropriate means
to achieve these goals.
The application of this definition to the realm of schooling results in a multifaceted
description of children who are sonally competent. First, competent students achieve
goals that are personally va lued as well as those that are sanctioned by others. Second,
the goals they pursue result in social integration as well as in positive developmental outcomes
for the student. Socially integrative outcomes are those that promote the smooth
functioning of social groups at school (e.g., cooperative behavior) and are reflected in levels
of social approval and social acceptance. Student-related outcomes reflect healthy development
of the self (e.g., pen.:eived competence and feelings of self-determination) and
feelings of emotional well-being (Bronfenbrenner, 1989; Ford, 1992). Therefore, social
competence is achieved to the extent that students accomplish goals that result in personal
satisfaction and psychological well-being as well as social approval and acceptance.
Achieving these positive personal and social outcomes is accomplished not just by one
student's efforts but often as the result of compromise or conflict resolution with classmates
and teachers.
A consideration of self-enhancing as well as socially integrative outcomes as dual
components of social competence is important because the achievement of personal goals
and social acceptance are not always compatible. For example, gaining teacher and peer
approval might be a personal goal. In this case, a student would be competent if his or
her social approval goal is mer. A competent student might also view demonstrations of
personally valued behavior (e.g., sharing) and social acceptance as multiple and interrelated
goals and might use goal coordination skills to achieve both (e.g., sharing in acceptable
ways). However, a student might have goals to engage in behavior without concerns
about social approval. For this student, social competence would be achieved only if personal
goals and social expectations happen to be similar, with social incompetence being
a negative consequence if they are incompatible. For example, a child who achieves personal
goals by engaging in potentially harmful acts such as bullying or breaking classroom
rules would not be considered to be socially competent if others disapprove of such
behaviors. Alternatively, a student might try to gain social approval for ulterior motives
such as to enhance feelings of self-worth or to decrease anxiety associated with fear of
punishment or social retribution. This student would not be socially competent if
maladaptive outcomes for the self such as social anxieties or fears remain despite social
approval from others.
Finally, an ecological perspective reminds us that the ability to be socially competent
at school is contingent upon opportunities and affordances that allow students to achieve
a balance between socially integrative and self-assertive outcomes. In this chapter we review
work on several aspects of school contexts that have the potential to provide such
supports: structural characteristics, social interactions with teachers and classmates, and
interpersonal relationships with teachers and classmates. First, however, we describe the
goals that teachers, peers, and students themselves value within school contexts. This section
is followed by a discussion of processes by which school contexts might support the
achievement of these goals.
385
r 
'{ Socialization in School Settings
t
,cial group.! GOALS FOR STUDENTS AT SCHOOL
JimensionsJ!¢.,
~vement o1it The notion that schools provide children with unique socialization experiences has been
le indiVid•.~t.· acknowledged since the beginning of public schooling in the United States. Indeed, public
ate means~ schools were initially developed with an explicit function of educating children to become
«j'f healthy, moral, and economically productive citizens. Since then, social behavior in the
t1tifaceted~ form of moral character, conformity to social rules and norms, cooperation, and positive
s achieveJ styles of social interaction has been promoted consistently as a goal for students to
. Second,.~
f
achieve (see Wentzel, 1991c, for a review). Given these overarching social goals for edu~ntal
0 Ut_:f cation, are there specific goals that are valued more than others in school settings? Do
~ smooth,f teachers and peers have goals for students concerning what they value and believe should
~d in lev-,J be accomplished within the classroom? In the following sections, research on teachers',
Ilthy de- Jf peers', and students' goals for themselves is reviewed.
on) and]
~'. social;1 Teachers' Goals for Students
m per- J
ptance·f Researchers rarely have asked teachers about their specific goals for students. In preby
one J school and child-care settings, researchers typically identify desirable outcomes of care,
1 class- * often with an implicit assumption that such arrangements might in fact be detrimental to
;• children's social development in comparison to parental care (e.g., Belsky, 2001). As a res
dual I sult, the focus of empirical investigations has been on outcomes that reflect developmenI
goals ~ tally appropriate milestones for young children, such as secure attachments to mothers
d peer f...· and cooperative interactions with peers (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000), rather than on spehis
or i cific outcomes that teachers would like children to achieve. In contrast, K-12 teachers
lUs of 11 have been asked what they think well-adjusted and successful students are like. Elementerre-
! tary school teachers (typically first through fifth grades) report preferences for students
:cept- J who are cooperative, conforming, cautious, and responsible rather than independent,
:::erns • assertive, argumentative or disruptive (e.g., Brophy & Good, 1974). Similarly, in the middle
school grades (sixth through eighth graders ranging in age from 11 to 14) teachers describe
their "ideal" students as sharing, helpful, and responsive to rules, as persistent, and
,;~~~ .I! intrinsically interested, and as earning high grades (Wentzel, 2003). 

lass­
 Researchers also have documented social values and expectations that teachers com:uch
~ municate to their students, including appropriate ways to respond to requests, appropriIves
ate contexts for different types of behavior, and expectations for impulse control, mature
. of t problem solving, and involvement in class activities (e.g., Shultz & Florio, 1979;
if I Trenholm & Rose, 1981). Teachers also communicate expectations for students' interac;ial
re tions with each other. Preschool teachers tend to focus on the development of prosocial
f" behavior by modeling and encouraging prosocial interactions, discouraging social exclu~nt
i sion, and creating cooperative activities (e.g., Doescher & Sugawara, 1989; Hagens,
ve 1997). Elementary and secondary teachers focus on establishing norms for sharing,
'e- working well with others, and adherence to rules concerning aggression, manners, steal­t:h ing, and loyalty (Hargreaves, Hester, & Mellor, 1975; Sieber, 1979). 

.d I, 

f
1Ie
f Students' Goals for Each Other- I
e ! The classroom goals that students would like each other to achieve are not well docu•~
mented. However, it is reasonable to assume that students also communicate to eachr
.
f
1
I 

i 

r
l
386 SOCIALIZATION OUTSIDE THE FAMILY
other expectations concerning valued forms of hehavior. for mstance, approximately
70'><, of adolescents from three predominantly middle-class middle schools reported th;t
theif peers expected them to be cooperative and helpful Il1 class either sometimes Of always,
and approximately 8(J'X, reported similar leveh of peer expectations for academic
learning (WentzeL Looney, & Battle, 2006). Moreover, these perceptions did not appear
to differ as a function of middle school grade level. Therefore, at least in some schools,
peers activeh· promote the pursuit of positive social and academic outcomes.
Insights concerning peer expectations and value:. also can be gleaned from research
on social characteristics and outcomes related to peer approval and acceptance at school.
Researchers rypically have defined children's involvement in peer relationships in three
ways: degree of peer acceptance or rejection hy the larger peer group, peer group membership,
and dyadic friendships. Correlates of each of these tvpes of relationships, however,
are similar with respect to school-related outcomes. For example, socially accepted
studenb tend to he highly cooperative, helpful, sociable, and self-assertive, whereas
socially rejected students are less compliant, less self-assured, and les~ sociable, and more
aggressive, disruptive, and withdrawn than many of their classmates (Rubin, Bukowski,
& Parker, 1998). Similarly, children with friends at school tend to be more sociable, cooperative,
prosocial, and emotionally supportive when compared to their classmates
without friends (Newcomb & Bagwell, 1995; Wentzel, Barry, & Caldwell, 2004l.
Of additional interest are findings that being socially accepted and enjoying popular
sociometric status is related to successful academic performance and rejected status and
rejection to academic difficulties. Results are most consistent with respect to classroom
grades (e.g., Buhs & Ladd, 2001; Wentzel, 1991a), although peer acceptance has been related
positively to standardized test scores (Austin & Draper, 1984) as well as to IQ
(\XTentzel, 1991 a). These findings are robust for elementary school-age children as well as
adolescents, and longitudinal studies document the stability of relations between peer acceptance
and academic accomplishments over time (e.g., Ladd & Burgess, 2001; Wentzel
& Caldwell, 1997). Other indices of social acceptance such as the ability to establish
close friendships also have been related positively to grades and test scores in elementary
school and middle school (Berndt & Keefe, 1995; Wentzel et aI., 2004).
Students' Goals for Themselves
Research on students' social goals also has not been frequent (see Eccles, Chapter 26, this
volume for work on students' achievement-related goals). However, students consistently
express interest in forming positive relationships with their classmates (Allen, 1986;
Wentzel, 1989, 1991 b). Although children are interested in and even emotionally attached
to their peers at all ages, establishing rewarding relationships with peers becomes
increasingly important for students in middle school and high school. One reason for this
growing interest in peers is that many young adolescents enter new middle school structures
that necessitate interacting with larger numbers of peers on a daily basis. In contrast
to dementary school classrooms, the relative uncertainty and ambigUIty of having multiple
teachers and different sets of classmates for each class, new instructional styles, and
more complex class schedules often result in middle school students turning to each other
for information, social support, and ways to cope.
Establishing positive relationships with teachers is also of concern to most students.
However, clear developmental trends are evident. Whereas elementary school-age chil+


387Socialization in School Settings
often describe teachers as being important sources of support (Reid, Landesman,
& Jaccard, 1989), adolescents rarely mention relationships with teachers as havimportance
in their lives (Lempers & Clark-Lempers, 1992). Finally, when given a list
possible social and academic goals to pursue at school, high .school students indicate
.L_~,,,'nr attempts to achieve a range of social goals, with having fun, making friends,
being dependable and responsible, and being helpful ranking as the most frequently pursued
goals (Wentzel, 1989).
Although teachers' and students' goals for education have not been studied extensively, it
is clear that a core set of competencies are valued by teachers as well as students. In addi·tion
to academic accomplishments, positive forms of behavior that are reflected in compliance
to classroom rules and norms and that demonstrate cooperation and caring for
classmates also are related to social approval and acceptance by others. Students themselves
also mention trying to achieve these same outcomes although they also mention
more personal goals such as to have fun. Given these multiple goals, how might a consensus
among the various constituents (i.e., teachers, classmates, and individual students)
concerning which goals should be pursued at school be achieved? It is clear that schools
can playa powerful role in defining socially valued outcomes for students to achieve and
that teachers and students actively promote these outcomes in their day-to-day interactions
with each other. In the following section, we discuss processes by which schools as
well as teachers and students might influence individuals to pursue these outcomes.
PROCESSES OF SOCIALIZATION WITHIN SCHOOL SETTINGS 

Although children try to achieve multiple goals for many reasons, the question of what
leads them to willingly engage in the pursuit of goals that are valued by others lies at the
heart of research on socialization (e.g., Grusec & Goodnow, 1994). If schools promote
the adoption and pursuit of socially valued goals, how then does this influence occur?
Models of socialization at school are not well developed. However, models of family socialization
suggest at least three general mechanisms whereby social resources and experiences
might influence competent functioning. First, the structure and general features of
social contexts afford opportunities and resources that can directly support or hinder
competence development. Second, ongoing social interactions teach children about themselves
and what they need to do to become accepted and competent members of their social
worlds. Within the context of these interactions, children develop a set of values and
standards for behavior and goals they strive to achieve (Grusec & Goodnow, 1994).
Third, the qualities of children's social relationships are likely to have motivational significance.
When their interpersonal relationships are responsive and nurturant, children are
more likely to adopt and internalize the expectations and goals that are valued by others
than if their relationships are harsh and critical (Grusec & Goodnow, 1994; Ryan, 1993).
When considered with respect to educational settings, these mechanisms reflect the
nested quality of children's experiences at school. Structural features of schools, such as
school and class size, teacher:student ratios, and funding, can influence the amount and
quality of resources and opportunities available to students. Social interactions and
388 SOCIALIZATION OUTSIDE THE FAMILY
dyadic relationships with teachers and peers descri be the more proximal contexts that
can influence student adjustment. In the following ,ections, we review research on each
of these mechanisms.
Structural Characteristics of Schooling
Processes of social influence are rarely discussed with regard to structural features of
schools. However, numerous studies have documented significant differences in student
outcomes as a function of the structural features of the schools they attend, at the preschool
level as well as in elementary and secondary school settings.
Preschool and Child Care
Out-of-family care of preschool children takes place in a diversity of arrangements and
settings. However, there is general agreement that structural aspects of quality care are reflected
in specific characteristics of staff and settings (e.g., Brooks-Gunn, Fuligni, &
Berlin, 2003; Fitzgerald, Mann, Cabrera, & Wong, 2003). Staff characteristics include
staff:child ratios, amount and type of staff education and training, years of experience,
turnover, and wages. Setting features include type and availability of developmentally appropriate
curricular materials, cleanliness, safety, and group size. Researchers also have
examined the amount of time children spend in child-care settings in relation to child out­
comes.
In general, research has documented significant relations of staff characteristics to a
range of social and cognitive outcomes in children across a variety of child-care settings
(see Lamb, 1998; Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000, for reviews). Few studies have examined
these features while taking into account other important predictors of child outcomes
such as family characteristics or the quality of caregiver-child relationships (Fitzgerald et
aI., 2003). However, results of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
(NICHD) Early Child Care Study in which a range of child care, home and
family (structural, quality, and parent characteristics), and child characteristics have been
assessed (see Brooks-Gunn et aI., 2003) are beginning to shed light on the combined impact
of these multiple factors on child outcomes over time.
A sampling of these findings indicates that child-care factors by themselves do not
predict young children's adjustment (as indexed by attachment classifications) unless
mothers' characteristics also are taken into account; time spent in child care is related to
young children's increased risk for insecure attachment at 12 and 36 months only if maternal
sensitivity also is low (NICHD, 1997, 200] ). The more time young children spend
in nonmaternal care also predicts externalizing problems and conflict with adults at 54
months and in kindergarten, but not in first grade (NICHD, 2003a, 2003b). In general,
these findings are robust, even when quality of caregiver-child interactions, type of setting
(e.g., center and home-based), instahility of child-care arrangements, and maternal
sensitivity, level of education, and depression are taken into account. However, levels of
problem hehavior (e.g., disobedience and aggression) exhihited hy children who spend
the most time in child care are not at clinical levels and the effect sizes are relatively small.
In addition, significant effects often differ depending on who is rating child behavior
(mothers or caregivers), making it difficult to draw definitive conclusions (see, e.g.,
NICHD, 2003a).
389Socialization in School Settings
More systematic intervention studies have documented the effects of preschool programs
such as Head Start on young children. These studies have documented that in the
short term, participation in high-quality preschool programs can have significant, positive
effects on cognitive and school readiness outcomes (e.g., Love et aI., 2003), especially
for children living in poverty (e.g., Farran, 2000). These programs also appear to have
short-term and long-term effects on social outcomes such as aggression. These latter effects
have been found, however, only when interventions also focus on changing parent
behavior (Schweinhart, Barne, Weikart, Barnett, & Epstein, 1993). Therefore, the direct
effects of participation in preschool programs on young children's social behavior independent
of parental influence have not yet been established. Conclusions concerning preschool
effects also must be tempered given that researchers typically cannot randomly
assign children ro control and intervention groups; comparison groups that are comparable
with respect to subject and program characteristics are rare.
Formal Schooling
In contrast to research on day care and preschool settings, research on structural effects
of elementary and secondary schooling has been guided by specific goals for enhancing
the academic and social skills that form the basis of public education policy. For example,
policy-driven work in the 1960s (e.g., Coleman et a!., 1966) led to conclusions that physical
features and administrative structures of schools such as school size, funding, space,
class size, teacher:child ratio, and curricular resources explained minimal variance in student
outcomes relative to nonschool variables such as family and demographic factors.
Subsequent research has confirmed these findings in that the strength of school effects relative
to nonschool factors is typically small, except when comparing schools at the two
extremes of quality continua (Scheerens & Bosker, 1997). However, other research has
documented the positive effects of small school size on academic outcomes and staying in
school, even when teacher characteristics and teacher-student relationships are taken into
account (Lee & Burkam, 2003; Lee & Loeb, 2000).
School climate, as defined by students' sense of school community and school belonging,
also has been related positively (albeit modestly) to social behavioral (Anderman,
2002; Battistich, Solomon, Kim, Watson, & Schaps, 1995; Brand, Feiner, Shim,
Seitsinger, & Dumas, 2003) and academic (Anderman, 2002) outcomes, with effects
often being moderated by students' sex, race (e.g., Kuperminc, Leadbetter, Emmons, &
Blatt, 1997), school size (Anderman, 2002) and poverty levels of the schools' community
(Battistich et aI., 1995). To illustrate, beliefs that their schools are cohesive, responsive,
and caring communities predicts young adolescents' decreased drug use and delinquency,
even when accounting for within-school differences and the poverty level of the schools'
communities (Battistich & Hom, 1997). Similarly, significant negative relations of school
climate to young adolescents' externalizing behavior have been documented, even when
controlling for race, socioeconomic status, stress levels, and self-concept, with the greatest
effects of positive climate shown for African American and single-parent students
(Kuperminc et aI., 1997). Intervention studies designed to enhance the quality of school
climate also have demonstrated that when students begin to experience a greater sense of
school community they also display more positive social skills (e.g., Watson, Solomon,
Battistich, Schaps, & Solomon, 1989).
The effects of school structures on student outcomes also can be gleaned from school
390 SOCIALIZATION OUTSIDE THE FAMILY
transition studie~ in which students move from one school level to another, each level bemarked
by somewhat unique characteristics. Research on transition" of preschool
children entering into kindergarten and then into elementary school is rare. However, in
contrast to elementarY schoob, middle schools tend to be larger, require students to interact
with larger numbers of peers on a daily basis, and to adjust to new instructional styles
(Brophy & Evenson, ] 978; Eccles & Midgley, ] 9S9). The transition into high school is
associated with similar changes, as the focus on academic accomplishments becomes even
more demanding, peer groups are once again disrupted, and the school environment becomes
even more impersonal. Predictable changes associated with transitiom to middle
school are student perceptions that teachers are less caring (Feldlaufer, Midgley, & Eccies,
19SH; Midgley, Feldlaufer, & Eccles, J989) and that they become more focused on Students
earning high grades, promoting competition between students, and maintaining
control (Harter, 1996) than in elementary school. The transition to high school is associated
with predictable declines in academic performance, attendance, participation in
extracurricular activities (e.g., Alspaugh, 1995; Feiner, Abel', Primavera, & Cauce, ] 985),
and in a perceived loss of teacher and school social support Seidman, Allen, Aber,
Mitchell, & Feinman, 1994) for many adolescents. Students who do not display these declines
often report higher levels of self-esteem and perceived support from teachers and
peers than those who do not.
In summary, a number of features that characterize school settings at the preschool
and K-12 level appear to be related to children's overall social and academic adjustment
to school. For the most part, however, the effects are small, especially when family characteristics
are taken into account. Moreover, specific processes that might explain these
relations are rarely examined. However, several researchers have demonstrated that classroom-level
processes can explain associations between school-level features and student
outcomes (e.g., Finn, Pannozzo, & Achilles, 2003). These processes entail teacher and
peer communications of goals and expectations for specific behavioral outcomes and creation
of interpersonal contexts that motivate students to achieve them (Grusec &
Goodnow, 1994).
Social Interactions: Transmitting Values and Providing Help, Advice,
and Instruction
How might students learn what is valued by their teachers and peers? Here we review research
on ways in which teachers and peers communicate specific values concerning what
it means to be competent, and on interactions with teachers and peers that provide help,
advice, and instruction with respect to socially valued outcomes.
Social Interactions with Teachers
In the classroom, teachers play the central pedagogical function of transmitting knowledge
and training students in academic subject areas. However, during the course of instruction,
teachers also promote the development of behavioral competencies by way of
classroom management practices (see Doyle, 1986), and by structuring learning environments
in ways that make social goals more salient to students (Cohen, 19R6; Solomon,
Schaps, Watson, & Battistich, 1992). For example, cooperative learning activities can be
• 

391Socialization in School Settings
to promote the pursuit of social goals to cooperate and help each other, to be reto
the group, and to achieve common objectives (Cohen, 1986; Solomon et aL,
Indeed, students report stronger levels of social satisfaction when given the opporto
learn within cooperative learning settings (Slavin, Hurley, & Chamberlain,
Direct instruction of social skills also has been related to decreases in students' agand
victimizing behavior toward each other (e.g., Aber, Brown, & Jones, 2003 j.
Teachers also can convey expectations about ability and performance differentially
SLU.....' ..~. In this regard, researchers have documented that many teachers hold negative
_",,,1"1Jnt~S of minority and low-achieving students, expecting less competent behavior
lower levels of academic performance from them than from other students (Wein­
2002). Of particular importance is that teachers' false expectations can become
U1'HH"6 prophecies, with student performance changing to conform to teacher ex'K;<••a".~ns
(Weinstein, 2002). Although the effects of these expectations tend to be fairly
(e.g., Jussim, 1991), self-fulfilling prophecies tend to have stronger effects on AfriAmerican
students, students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, and low achiev(Smith,
Jussim, & Eccles, 1999). Moreover, teachers who communicate high expectacan
bring about positive changes in performance: Teachers' overestimations of
seem to have a somewhat stronger effect in raising levels of achievement than
, underestimations have on lowering achievement, especially for low-performing
students (Madan, Jussim, & Eccles, 1997).
Social Interactions with Peers
Interactions with peers also can lead directly to resources and information that help students
to be socially competent. Even in preschool settings, peers can create beneficial (as
well as risky) contexts for the development of self-regulatory skills (Fabes, Hanish, &
Martin, 2003). At older ages, peers provide information and advice, modeled behavior, or
specific experiences that facilitate learning social expectations for behavior (Sieber, 1979).
Students frequently clarify and interpret their teacher's instructions concerning what they
should be doing and how they should do it and provide mutual assistance in the form of
volunteering substantive information and answering questions (Cooper, Akers-Lopez, &
Marquis, 1982). Classmates also provide each other with important information about
themselves; information concerning social self-efficacy and skills can be gleaned by observing
social competencies and skills demonstrated by peers (Bandura, 1986; Price &
Dodge, 1989).
Other evidence suggests that peer expectations have the potential to provide the
most proximal input concerning whether doing something might be important or fun.
For instance, middle school students who perceive relatively high expectations for
prosocial behavior from their peers also pursue goals to behave prosocially for internalized
reasons, or because they think it is important; in contrast, perceived expectations
from teachers are associated with prosocial goal pursuit in order to stay out of trouble or
to gain social approval (Wentzel, Filisitti, & Looney, 2006). Therefore, peers who communicate
a sense of importance or enjoyment with regard to specific types of behavior are
likely to lead others to form similar attitudes (Bandura, 1986). This is especially true if
students are friends; strong emotional bonds associated with friendships tend to increase
the likelihood that friends will imitate each other's behavior (Berndt & Perry, 1986). This
latter point highlights the quality of students' interpersonal relationships as an additional,
392 SOCIALIZATION OUTSIDE THE FAMILY
potential mfluence on their social and academic functioning. This aspect of ~ocialization
in school settings is discussed next.
Interpersonal Relationships: Providing Responsive and Emotionally
Supportive Contexts
Systems concepts, such as attachment and models of person-environment fit (Ecdes &
Midgley, 1989; Pianta, Hamre, & Sruhlman, 2003) are used most often to discuss the
motivational effects of children's interpersonal relationships at school, especially those
with teachers. Similar to parent-<.:hild relationships, interpersonal relationships at school
are believed to provide children with responsive and nurturing environments that promote
personal growth as well as adaptive social functioning. In particulaf, feelings of
relatedness and be10ngingness at school are expected to contribute directly to positive feelings
of self-worth and self-esteem (Pianta et aI., 2(03). In turn, levels of emotional
well-bemg are believed to contribute to social as well as academic competence (e.g.,
Harter, 1996).
Perspectives on children's interpersonal relationships at school tend to differ according
to the age of the child. Using a developmental systems approach, Pianta and his colleagues
(e.g., Pianta et al., 2003) argue for the centrality of teacher-student attachments
in the lives of preschool and elementary students. They describe qualities of the teacherchild
relationship in terms of three features: closeness (e.g., warmth and open communication),
conflict, and dependency. Research on middle childhood and adolescence has
focused more often on specific qualities of teacher-student interactions. These qualities
correspond closely to parenting styles reflecting consistent enforcement of rules, expectations
for self-reliance and self-control, solicitation of children's opinions and feelings, and
expressions of warmth and approval (see Wentzel, 2002). In general, these qualities of
teacher-student attachments and interactions reflect broad-level relationship provisions
of responsiveness (e.g., safety, structure, and autonomy-support) and warmth (e.g., emotional
and social support).
Although these aspects of teacher-student relationships have been the focus of most
research in this area, relationships with peers also appear to play an important role in
creating responsive and emotionally supportive contexts at school. Next we describe research
on provisions of responsiveness and warmth from teachers and peers.
Responsive and Warm Relationships with Teachers
During the preschool years, changes in the quality of child-teacher attachments as children
move to new child-care settings are related to changes in various aspects of their
social functioning (Howes & Hamilton, 1993). Secure attachments to teachers appear to
have some positive compensatory effects on the prosocial hehavior of preschool children
who are insecurely attached to their mothers (Mitchell-Copeland, Denham, & DeMulder,
1997). Findings from the NICHD Early Child Care Study have demonstrated that close
relationships with teachers (as perceived by teachers) are related positively to children's
social behavior concurrently in kindergarten and 2 years later, with stronger effects for
children with less-well-educated mothers (Peisner-Feinberg et al., 200]). However, in observational
studies of quality of caregiver-child relationships, emotionally supportive in­
393Socialization in School Settings
teractions with caregivers are not related significantly to child outcomes when family and
child characteristics child sex and maternal sensitivity) are taken into account
(NICHD, 2003b, 2003c).
Over time, preschool children who enjoy emotionally secure relationships with their
teachers also are more likely to demonstrate prosocial, gregarious, and complex play and
less likely to show hostile aggression and withdrawn behavior toward their peers (e.g.,
Howes & Hamilton, 1993). Young children's reports of caring teachers also have been related
to positive attitudes about school (Valeski & Stipek, 2001). Following children
from kindergarten through eighth grade, Hamre and Pianta (2001) found that kindergartners'
relationships with teachers marked by conflict and dependency predicted not
only lower grades and standardized test scores but fewer positive work habits and increased
numbers of disciplinary infractions through eighth grade, especially for boys
(Hamre & Pianta, 2001). Similarly, Birch and Ladd (1998) found teacher-child closeness
to be associated positively with children's academic performance, school liking, and selfdirectedness,
whereas relationships marked by conflict and dependency were associated
with less than positive outcomes, including declines in children's prosocial behavior over
time.
In the elementary school years, student reports of close and supportive teacherstudent
relationships predict low levels of aggression, especially for African American
and Hispanic students (Meehan, Hughes, & Cavell, 2003). This latter finding is especially
important in that African American students at this age tend to enjoy less positive
relationships with teachers than do white children (e.g., Hamre & Pianta, 2001; Meehan
et aI., 2003). In late elementary school, students' reports of negative relationships with
teachers also are related ro externalizing behavior problems, anxiety, and depression
(Murray & Greenberg, 2000) and positive relationships to identification with teachers'
values and positive social self-concept (Davis, 2001 J.
In older students, much research has documented significant, positive relations
between teacher provisions of structure, guidance, and autonomy and various aspects of
academic motivation, engagement, and performance outcomes (e.g., Skinner & Belmont,
1993; Wentzel 2002). Studies relating responsive teaching to social outcomes have been
far less frequent. However, Wentzel (2002) documented significant relations of perceived
high expectations and low levels of criticism on the part of teachers to students' pursuit
of goals to be prosocial and socially responsible. Schoolwide interventions in which
teachers are taught to provide students with clear expectations for behavior, developmentally
appropriate autonomy, and warmth and support result in increased levels of students'
sense of community and displays of socially competent behavior (Watson et aI.,
1989).
Adolescents' perceptions that teachers are emotionally supportive and caring have
been related most often to positive motivational outcomes, including the pursuit of goals
to learn and to behave prosocially and responsibly; academic interest; educational aspirations
and values; and positive self-concept (e.g., Harter, 1996; Roeser, Midgley, & Urdan,
1996; Wentzel, 1994, 1997). Having supportive relationships with teachers also appears
to predict in parr, whether students at this age drop out of school (Rumberger, 1995). In a
study of perceived support from teachers, parents, and peers (Wentzel, 1998), perceived
support from teachers was unique in its relation to students' interest in class and pursuit
of goals to adhere to classroom rules and norms.
394 SOCIALIZATION OUTSIDE THE FAMILY
Responsive and Warm Relationships with Peers
Researchers have not adapted parentmg models to the study of peer relationships (cf.
Wentzel, 2004). However, it i~ rea~onable ro assume that when peer~ create responsive
and emotionally supportive interpersonal contexts, students wiil benefit in pomin Ways.
In young children, high levels of peer acceptance and positive friendships have been
linked to academIc and socioemotional adjustmenr in school, including positive affect
academic and social engagement, and positive attitudes toward school (e.g., Huhs &.
Ladd, 2001; Ladd, Kochenderfer, & Coleman, 1996). Older students (in mIddle child.
hood and adolescence) who are accepted by their peers and who have established friend_
ships with classmates are more likely to enjoy a relatively safe school environment and
less likely to be the targets of peer-directed VIolence and harassment than theif peers who
do not have friends (Hodges, Bovin, Vitaro, & Bukowski, 1999). In contrast, children
who are rejected by theif peers tend to be bullied and victimized more frequently than
others (Olweus, 1993). Even among young children, rejected children are treated more
negatively by their peers than are their more so...:ially ac...:epted classmates (Buhs & Ladd,
2001 ).
During adolescence, students also report that their peer groups and crowds provide
them with a sense of emotional security and a sense of belonging (Brown, Eicher, &
Petrie, 1986). In contrast, adolescents without friends or who are socially rejected are often
lonely, emotionally distressed, and depressed and suffer from poor self-concepts
(Guay, Boivin, & Hodges, 1999; Wentzel & Caldwell, 1997). Perceived social and emotional
support from peers has been associated positively with prosocial outcomes such as
helping, sharing, and cooperating and negatively to antisocial forms of behavior (e.g.,
Wentzel, 1994). Perceived suppOrt from peers also has been related to pursuit of academic
goals and interests; in contrast, students who perceive little peer support tend to be
at risk for academic problems (see Wentzel, 2(03).
Summary
The extant literature supports the notion that structural features, social interactions with
teachers and peers, and the provisions of responsiveness and warmth have the potential
to provide tangible resources, opportunities, and experiences that support competence
development at school. In this regard, children's experiences at school, whether in preschool
or K-12 settings, appear to support the pursuit and achievement of goals that are
espoused by teachers and peers, as well as the development of positive outcomes for students
themselves. In the following section, we offer remaining questions and challenges
for continued work in this area.
CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS
In this chapter, we have described social competence at school as the achievement of personal
goals that include healthy developmental oLltcomes, such as emotional well-being,
in balance with the achievement of socially valued goals, such as displays of prosocial
forms of behavior. Further, we have argued that the socialization of these competencies
within school settings can be understood as a function of the amount Hnd qualitv of
395Socialization in School Settings
-level resources of schools as well as interpersonal contacts with teachers and
that support students' efforts to achieve personal as well as socially valued goals.
interactions are likely to teach students what they are expected to accomplish and
to achieve it. In turn, the transmission of values and knowledge is more likely to ocif
students enjoy supportive and caring relationships at school. In conclusion, we
like to raise several general issues that require additional consideration and empiriinvestigation
if the field is to make progress in understanding the socialization funcof
schools. These issues concern the nature of social competence at school and how
is socialized, the unique role of schools in promoting the development of competent
'OUl",V.lll'-", and the need for more sophisticated research methods and designs that can test
theoretical models relevant for school settings.
Social Competence at School
Although we are beginning to understand the basic social outcomes that most teachers
and students value at school, we know little about how and why students come to learn
about and to adopt these goals as their own. For instance, it is clear that teachers communicate
their expectations and goals to students on a daily basis. However, less is known
about factors that predispose students to accept or reject these communications. The family
socialization literature suggests that parental messages are more likely to be perceived
accurately by children if they are clear and consistent, are framed in ways that are relevant
and meaningful to the child, require decoding and processing by the child, and are
perceived by the child to be of clear importance to the parent and as being conveyed with
positive intentions (Grusec & Goodnow, 1994). Adapting this work to the realm of the
classroom might provide important insights into effective forms of teacher and peer communication
that lead to the adoption of socially valued goals.
Similarly, a greater focus on understanding student characteristics that facilitate their
acceptance of teachers' communications is needed. Factors such as students' beliefs regarding
the fairness, relevance, and developmental appropriateness of teachers' goals and
expectations (e.g., Smetana & Bitz, 1996) and aspects of social-cognitive processing,
such as selective attention, attributions, and social biases and stereotypes (Price & Dodge,
1989) are likely to influence students' interpretations and acceptance of social communications.
Other individual characteristics such as attachment security and family functioning
(e.g., Fuligni, Eccles, Barber, & Clements, 2001), racial identity (Graham, Taylor, &
Hudley, 1998), and the extent that students are oriented toward gaining social approval
also are likely to influence the degree to which they are influenced by teacher and peer
expectations.
Consideration of student characteristics also must take into account age-related
capabilities. For example, primary developmental tasks of young children under age 6
involve basic self-regulatory skills (managing physiological arousal, emotions, and attention),
executive functions such as the ability to monitor and plan behavior, language and
communication skills, and peer interaction skills (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000). As they
make their way through school, children are challenged with school transitions requiring
skills related to social integration, flexible coping, and adaptation to new environments.
In part, these successful adaptations require the development of positive self-perceptions
of autonomy, competence, and personal identity (Grolnick, Kurowski, & Gurland,
1999).
"396
:'~~
':'
SOCIALIZATION OUTSIDE THE FAMILY
Ti
I
I
i
In general, mastery of these developmental tasks a~ they relate to children \, under.
standing and adoption of ~ocially valued goals and objectives of teachers and peers needs
to be incorporated into models uf school success. A developmental focus also is necessary
for understanding the demands of teachers on students of different ages. A few researchers
(e.g., Brophy & Good, 1974; Eccles & Midgley, 1989) have observed that teachers
treat students differently and focus on different tasks and goals depending on th.e age of
their students. For example, teachers of early elementary (i.e., first grade) and junior high
school students tend to spend more of their time on issues related to social conduct than
do teachers at other grade levels. However, little else is known about these differences.
Therefore, a critical look at the normative requirements for competent classroom functioning
also is necessary for knowledge of school socialization processes to advance.
An additional issue concerns what it is that develops or is changed on the part of students
as a result of exposure to supportive teacher and peer contexts. In part, responsive
and warm relationships are likely to promote a sense of emotional well-being and corresponding
desires to contribute to the smooth functioning of classroom activities. Continued
research that focuses on additional psychological mediators might be particularly
fruitful in determining specific ways in which students' social interactions and interpersonal
relationships at school ultimately influence their social competence at school. For
example, an additional area for consideration is the influence of social relationships on
self-regulatory processes that promote goal pursuit, such as positive beliefs about ability,
personal values, and attributions for success and failure (see Wentzel, 2004). The role of
these intrapersonal processes in mediating relations between aspects of socialization and
competent functioning has not been studied extensively. The differential impact of teachers
and peers in contributing to these outcomes also deserves further study (see e.g.,
Wentzel, 1997).
Schools as Unique Socializing Contexts
One of the enduring issues with respect to school-related influence concerns the possibility
that school experiences mainly afford the practice, refinement, and reinforcement of
skills and values learned at home. If so, continuity across home and school settings might
explain children's competence at school more so than experiences unique to schools. This
notion is supported by findings that family socialization models are useful for describing
socialization processes at school (Wentzel, 2002). In addition, family factors are typically
strong predictors of school outcomes (e.g., Rumberger, 1995) and often completely explain
variance predicted by school variables when they are taken into account (e.g.,
Jimerson, Egeland, Sroufe, & Carlson, 2000). Research that examines core socialization
processes that are common across multiple settings and domains of functioning is a natural
extension of this work. An additional question, however, concerns the extent to which
exposure to socialization processes at school might influence cbildren for whom experiences
at home and at school are not highly similar. It is likely that school effects mighr be
most noticeable for these children, with degrees of home-school continuity moderating
the effects of schooling on child outcomes.
Another intriguing issue concerns the role of peers in the school socialization process.
As noted at the beginning of this chapter, a fairly unique aspect of schooling is the
requirement that students Jearn to cooperate and get along with each other. Although thi,
implies that socializing children to function well in formalized peer groups might be a
397Socialization in School Settings
central function of schools, the development of cooperative, prosocial behavior is often
attributed to interactions with peers rather than with adults (Younnis, 1994). Few researchers
have documented ways in which teachers and school settings might influence
the development and quality of peer interactions independently of the influence that students
exert on each other. However, teachers' verbal and nonverbal behavior toward certain
children has been related to how these children are treated by their peers (Harper &
McCluskey, 2003; White & Kistner, 1992). Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that the
development of positive forms of behavior might be due in large part to systematic regulation
of peer interactions in formal school settings. We suggest that this is an important
area of inquiry for developmental as well as educational psychologists to pursue.
Theory, Methods, and DeSigns
Most of our conclusions concerning socialization in school settings are based on findings
from nonexperimental correlational studies. These correlational strategies have resulted
in a wealth of data that can serve as a strong foundation for further theory building and
research. Descriptive designs also are useful for developing profiles of behavior that
characterize competent students. However, more extensive research that can identify variations
in these characterizations across classrooms and schools requires in-depth conversations
with and extensive observations of students and teachers as they carry out their
day-to-day lives at school. In addition, correlational designs typically have focused on a
limited number of variables at one point in time. As a result, it is rare that processoriented
variables such as teacher-student interactions are included in studies of structural
effects, or familial and nonschool predictors in studies of classroom processes. It
also is likely that schools can have effects on children by way of their positive impact on
the economic (Sederberg, 1987) and political (Reynolds, 1995) life of communities;
school-to-work and service learning programs are good examples of school-based resources
that have the potential to provide positive benefits to communities and families.
The notion that community and family effects might mediate the impact of schools on
children is intriguing but rarely studied in systematic fashion. Therefore, a necessary next
step is the development of conceptual models that consider ways in which children and
the various social systems in which they develop, including home, peer groups, communities,
and schools, interact to support the development of school-related competence.
In addition, correlational research cannot advance understanding of causal influence
or direction of effects. Indeed, is it that responsive and supportive teachers and peers have
the potential to influence the development of competencies and skills they value, or is it
that competent students influence teachers and peers to interact with them in specific
ways? Although the answer is likely that both are true, identifying ways in which teachers
and peers actively promote the development of social competencies at school requires systematic
longitudinal and experimental research. Large-scale longitudinal studies have
begun to document school-based predictors of young children's competence over time
(e.g., NICHD Child Care Study). Others have begun to document correlates of change related
to qualities of older students' relationships with teacher and peer relationships (e.g.,
Hamre & Pianta, 2001; Ladd & Burgess, 2001; Wentzel & Caldwell, 1997).
Experimental studies designed to examine processes that support social competence
development in schools are rare (d. Solomon et al., 1992). Unfortunately, most school reform
efforts focus on improving achievement test scores and other academic outcomes
398 SOCIALIZATION OUTSIDE THE FAMILY
ie.g., No Child Left Behind Act of 2(01), without consideration of the social and psycho_
logical consequences of these efforts. However, given the strong mterrelations among
qualities of relationship~ with teachers and peers, forms of classroom hehavior and academic
outcomes (see Wentzel, 2003), it seems essential that reform initiatives involving
experimentation in schools and evaluation of student progres" incorporate assessments of
outcomes across multiple social and academic domains.
Our current understanding of school socialization also is based primarily on studies
of white middle-class children. Therefore, more diverse samples with respect to race and
socioeconomic statu, also are needed in this area of research. For instance, in response to
findings reponed by the NICHD Child Care Study, researchers have argued that when
child-care variahles are assessed in more diverse samples that include a broader range of
socioeconomic status (SES) and ethnicity, different results are obtained (e.g., Sagi, KorenKarie,
Gini, Ziv, & Joels, 2(02). Researchers of older children also have found that race
moderates relations between dropping out of school and features of schools and families,
such that the SES of families and schools predicts dropping out for white and Hispanic
adolescents but not for African American students (Rumberger, 1995). Some studies also
have demonstrated dIfferential teacher treatment of students as a function of student gender,
race, (Irvine, 1986), and behavioral styles (Chang, 20(3), with these differences
sometimes attributed in part, to teachers' own race and gender (San & Pianta, 2001).
Although it is likely that the underlying psychological processes that contribute to
school adjustment are similar for all students regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, or other
contextual and demographic variables, the degree to which these latter factors interact
with psychological processes to influence adjustment outcomes is not known. Achieving a
better understanding of such interactions deserves our full attention. To illustrate, goal
coordination skills, such as planning, monitoring, and regulation of hehavior, that support
the achievement of multiple objectives might be more important for the adjustment
of children from minority hackgrounds than for children who come from families and
communities whose goals and expectations are similar to those of the educational establishment
(e.g., Fordham & Ogbu, 1986). Peer relationship skills might be especially important
for adjustment in schools in which peer cultures are particularly strong or in
which collaborative and cooperative learning is emphasized. Similarly, beliefs about how
to characterize a competent student are likely to vary as a function of race, gender, neighborhood,
or family background. The fact that many results concerning child outcomes
and schooling differ as a function of who provides the assessments of behavior (e.g., parents,
teachers, or students themselves) attests to this possibility (e.g., NICHD, 2003a;
Toro et ai., 1985). Expanding our database to include the voices of underrepresenteed
populations both as research participants and as researchers can only enrich our understanding
of how and why children make successful adaptations to school.
In conclusion, we have argued that being a competent student requires children to
achieve positive developmental ourcomes and personal goals while meetmg socIa] ohJectives
that are imposed externally by teachers and peers. Identiiying the precise socialization
experiences that lead to a healthy balance between personal growth and social integration
remains a significant challenge to the field. However, we have gained some initial
insights into students' experiences within schoo] settings as they relate to social approval
and acceptance as well as the development of personal competencies and interests. SOCIalization
of these outcomes ""ithin schoo] settings can be understood in part, as a function
of the amount and quality of structural-level resources of schools as well as interpersonal
399Socialization in School Settings
with teachers and peers. Ideally, these insights can serve as a foundation for conresearch
on the social antecedents of children's competent functioning at school.
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HANDBOOK OF

SOCIALIZATION 

Theory and Research 

Edited by
JOAN E. GRUSEC 

PAUL D. HASTINGS 

~ 

THE GUILFORD PRESS 

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