Abstract

As a social institution for upbringing and education, contemporary school performs various social roles or functions: humanistic education and upbringing, enculturation and socialization, selection, allocation etc. The aim of this article is to raise awareness of the relevance of the school dimension of upbringing as a significant factor in the students’ socialization to desirable values. Upbringing is a social necessity and an activity by which a particular human being as the being of upbringing is formed, therefore the emphasis is put on humanistic upbringing that nurtures the person’s integral being. School is a carrier and a conveyor of personal and social values. Successful socialization of students to desirable values can only be expected if all agents of socialization are acting in the same direction. This article discusses different social roles of school, the axiological dimension of humanistic upbringing, conditions of student’s socialization to desirable values and practical implications of these theoretical hypotheses in order to form a democratic and supportive school climate.