SOCIALIZATION IN THE SCHOOLING PROCESS VIA COOPERATIVE LEARNING

Abstract

The article discusses the importance of understanding how the built environment of schools relates to the socialization process of students. School can be affective systems that promote social, emotional and academic skills of children and can foster motivation. The school has become a primary agency of socialization. It is the first large-scale organization of which the child becomes a member and which reflects what is going on in the wider society. The modern school is facing a challenge of creating the educational environment in a modern form which develops both academic and necessary learning skills, allowing looking for what is needed in future work cases. These skills include the ability to recognize and manage emotions, develop feelings of respect and care for others, build positive relationships, make responsible decisions and cope with various challenges. The school’s potential for socialization lies in the amount of times students spend in school and in activities related to the school. During this time the students acquires a lot from teachers and fellow students.
 To enhance achievement and socialization among students cooperative learning can be used as an effective teaching strategy. It is a social construction where knowledge is negotiated and acquired through social interaction rather than being transmitted by the teacher. Cooperative learning is suitable to promote a social construction of knowledge, mutual learning, personal and social development. It requires students to work in small groups in order to make possible face-to-face interactions between members. Effectiveness of cooperative learning is that every member of the group is involved in the learning process obtaining the experience of interaction. It represents situations in which teachers structure group work with the aim to maximize both social and cognitive outcomes. Consequently, cooperative learning methods can notably improve the process of socialization of students in school.