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QN. WITH SPECIFIC REFERENCE TO REAL LIFE CONTEXT IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN UGANDA TODAY, ASSESS THE ROLE OF MASS MEDIA IN THE PROCESS OF FORMAL SOCIOLISATION.

Socialisation is the process by which a person acquires the knowledge, skills, and depositions that make him/her more less integrated member of society that is according to Ezewu (1983). According to Qura, socialisation is the process across the life span through which individuals acquire and interact with values and social standards of specific society and culture. According to my own observation from the already given definitions, socialisation is a lifelong process by which members of a given society take some time to learn and become competitive members of a given society and live fully as responsible adults. There are two types of formal socialisation that is formal socialisation through schools in class room teaching by acquiring knowledge, values and attitudes. On the other hand, informal socialisation gives individuals skills, norms, values and ideas through interaction with other people. Other instrumental agents of socialisation include family, religion, schools, community, and peer groups. It plays a major role in identity formal formation and social functioning of a given group people in society depending on the preferred media. Mass media is a diversified collection of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication and broadcast transmission. Mass media is considered as a powerful agent of socialisation responsible for shaping an individual’s socialisation process. It does not promote socialisation process but promotes socialisation interact. It provides a wide range of platform for people to interact and acquire social skills. The mass media as a socialising agent includes televisions, magazines, newspapers, radios, movies, films, internet, tapes, disks and videos. As for the case in Uganda today, examples of mass media are NTV, New vision, NBS, Bukedde TV and newspaper, radios like capital FM Uganda, UBC and others. The media is a powerful agent of socialisation for teenagers around Uganda as this appeals to teenage mind. Secondary schools in Uganda include Mbarara high school (mbarara), Ntare school (mbarara), kampala high school, St. mary’s kitende, and others. The media brings exposure to the students to the entire world therefore enlightening and enlarging their socialisation aspects.

Just as everything has got advantageous and disadvantageous roles, it is right to assert that mass media has also got negative and positive roles to formal socialisation of students in secondary schools however much the vital part of it out ways the negative one.

To begin with, the mass media has enhanced the formal socialisation through making it possible for students to do thorough research by way of strengthening their academic part of holistic education. Through programmes and information passed on media like televisions, printing press like newspapers, poems, textbooks, novels, hand outs, plays and others, students have been exposed to them. A case in point is “pass UCE” and “do it yourself” in new vision, students are able to get questions and marked helping them to know how far they have gone. Further more, most of the schools especially first and second world schools in Uganda have got libraries embedded with different forms of literature like poems, novels like oliver twist, heart of the matter, plays like Romeo and Juliet which help students to adjust accordingly and know how to deal and socialise with every society. Not only that, academic debates have been carried out on televisions like NTV, urban TV, and NBS television every Sunday at 3pm. This develops their confidence as in socialising with each other and gives them other topics to discuss about and interact with each other. Through the above, mass media plays an effective role to the formal socialisation of the students as they interact with one another and share what they discovered from different aspects of mass media.

The mass media also plays a big role in promoting awareness and doing the informative role to the students. They are exposed to the world and this helps them to know information dissemination, the ever airing, circulating and propagating news can reach the students through the mass media. This keeps them updated about what is happening in the world and there country Uganda in particular. As for the case in Uganda, students get information from TVs, newspapers, magazines, and social media like facebook about what is happening the country such political sagas like togikwako in the parliament, Rwenzururu secessionist attempt, natural calamities like Bududa land slides. In addition, they are exposed to the current situation of a corruptible country Uganda and how they can best live in it. More still, they are exposed to the best universities to join after their high school level which gives them a big zeal for them to work hard. In agreement to this, through the media like TVs, radios, and newspapers , students are able to know how schools have performed after the release of UCE and UACE exams by UNEB. Basing on this point, it should be noted that the media through informing the students about all disastrous and catastrophic aspects in the country, they are able to learn norms and values which promote behaviours hence bringing advancement in the interaction and socialisation with each other.

Mass media has done a great job to secondary school students by providing interaction and entertainment to them. Through internet like facebook, whatsapp, they are able to interact with each other for different views. Through these interactions, they copy each others actions and behaviours that finally leads to adjustment in their attitudes. More further, through advertisements, mass media provides a platform and a stepping stone for students to begin formal educative discussion groups from different schools, hold debates, participate and compete in music dance and drama, games and sports like soccer galas which happen annually up to national level. Through these activities, friendship is promoted through interactions and socialising with different schools. Therefore it is right to note that formal socialisation is promoted via the mass media.

Mass media has also been responsible and has spearheaded the provision of sex education to the students in secondary schools in Uganda today. Through magazines newspapers and other sex programs, students are able to know their roles according to sex, they learn how to interact with people of the opposite sex and live in harmony with others, skills are also imported on them on how to look and care about themselves and how to avoid sexual immorality and all its negative consequences. This education makes students interact with one another hence promoting formal socialisation.

However much the mass media has turned to be a learning aid for secondary school students in Uganda today, It has also got negative effects towards their formal socialisation though to a lesser extent.

Mass media has promoted immorality like sexual immorality, nudity, violence permissiveness, alcoholism among others in  secondary students in Uganda, students end up getting adopted to newspapers like red paper, onion, senga programs in Bukedde and shwenkazi in Orumuri. They are also exposed to pornographic literature like blue movies romantic love stories like titanic, Romeo and Juliet, its love, who loves me among others. Sexual immorality like prostitution, fornication, homosexuality and lesbianism as the case in most Ugandan simple schools which result from the pornographic literature they are exposed to. Furthermore they watch videos, films and fiction which show use of physical force, great fighters, warriors, among others. These students end up developing high levels of violent acts like fighting and aggressiveness and disobedience to the law at its apex while socialising with others. Therefore with the above, mass media turn out to be immorality instructor than giving effective information to the students thus limiting formal socialisation.

To sum it all in my conclusion, mass media has done a great positive role in secondary schools as far as formal socialisation is concerned by strengthening and tightening their relations and interactions with other students, creates awareness and entertainment as well thus promoting the process of formal socialisation, however to a lesser extent it has also brought about negative consequences like sexual immorality violence, nudity, disobedience to the law among others hence limiting the process of formal socialisation in the secondary schools of Uganda today.

 REFERENCES

1.      Ezewu, E (1986) Sociology of education, Longman, London and Lagos

2.      https//:www.quora.com

3.      J. Matovu article 1990

4.      Musgrave, P.W 1976 Sociology of education, London and New-york

5.      New vision, do it yourself and pass UCE