The setting : The bases of stratification -- Social mobility -- The organization of the socialization process -- The nuclear family -- Schematic overview -- Some basic processes : The significant others -- The influence process -- Development of the self -- Dependency and motivation -- Values, the self, and the pattern of social relations -- Changes in significant socialization outcomes -- Summary and forecast -- The early years : Child rearing practices -- Parental values and the parent-child relationship -- Language and conceptual development -- The social development of the child -- Elementary education : The classroom and equality of opportunity -- The child and the school -- The family and the school -- The role of the peer group -- Levels of academic performance -- Multiple socialization agencies and the opportunity structure -- Adolescence and secondary education : The school -- The structure of peer relations -- The adolescent and his family -- Differentiation and commitment -- Levels of academic performance -- Variations by sex -- Looking ahead -- Entering adulthood : Leaving school -- Becoming a worker -- Marriage and parenthood -- The end of a cycle and the beginning of another -- An overview of the socialization process : Evidence for a class-based model of socialization -- The role of social class in socialization -- A class-based model of socialization -- Sources of variation -- Conclusion -- Appendix on being black : The association of race and class -- Family structure -- Family socialization -- Elementary school -- Secondary school -- Reaching adulthood -- Overview

1. Class distinction
2. Social conditions
3. Sociology
4. Socialization
5. Social mobility
6. Social classes