Culture and Culture Learning Process Chapter Three (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity

Culture and Culture Learning Process

Chapter Three

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity in Education, 5/e

Defining Culture

Culture is socially constructed Culture is shared by its members Culture is both objective and subjective Culture may be defined by geography,

ethnicity, language, religion, history, or other important social characteristics

Culture is socially transmitted


Culture in Everyday Use

Terms commonly used to describe social groups that share important cultural elements are:

SubcultureMicrocultureEthnic groupMinority groupPeople of color


Subculture

Subcultures share characteristics that distinguish them from the larger society in which they are embedded: these characteristics may be a set of ideas and practices or some demographic similarity

Some examples of subcultures are: Corporate culture Adolescent culture Drug culture Culture of poverty Academic culture


Microculture

Microcultures also share distinguishing characteristics, but tend to be more closely linked to the larger society, often serving in mediating roles

Some examples of microcultures are:

The familyThe workplaceThe classroomThe school


Ethnic Group

Members of ethnic groups share a common heritage, a common history, and often a common language; loyalty to one’s ethnic identity can be very powerful

Some examples of ethnic groups are:

Irish American Native American Lebanese

American African American


Minority Group

Members of minority groups occupy a subordinate position in a society; they may be separated from the dominant society by disapproval and discrimination

Some examples of minority groups in the United States are:

Racial minoritiesWomenPeople with

disabilitiesLanguage

minorities


People of Color

This term refers to members of non-white minority groups; it is often preferred to the term minority group, but does not clearly identify specific loyalties

For example, native Spanish-speakers may identify themselves as Hispanic people of color, but their cultural identity may be Puerto Rican, Mexican, or Salvadoran


Culture Solves Common Human Problems

Means of communication—language Determination of power—status

Regulation of reproduction—family Systems of rules—government

Relationship to nature—magic, myth, religion, science

Conception of time—temporality Significant lessons—history

Cultural representations—music, story, dance, art


The Contributions of Cross-Cultural Psychology

While sociology and anthropology study groups, and psychology studies individuals, cross-cultural psychology studies the interactions that occur when individuals from different groups meet

Cross-cultural psychologists may approach this problem from one or both of two perspectives:


Culture Is Both Objective and Subjective

Objective culture Physical artifacts Language Clothing Food Decorative objects

Subjective culture Attitudes Values Norms of behavior Social roles Meaning of objective

cultural elements


Two Ways to Understand Culture

Culture-Specific Approaches

Help to understand a particular cultural group, for example, Native Americans

Does not account for in-group differences

Culture-General Approaches

Help to understand how culture “works” in people’s lives; a universal perspective

Suggests questions to ask of any culture


The Culture-Learning Process

Sources of Cultural Knowledge and Identity Individuals in complex societies like the

United States tend to identify themselves as belonging to various cultural and social groups, depending on their personal biographies

There are twelve major sources of cultural identity that influence teaching and learning


Cultural Knowledge Is Transmitted by People and Experiences

We gain the knowledge that contributes to our cultural identities through interaction with various socializing agents

These agents mediate our cultural knowledge in particular ways


How We Learn Culture: Socialization

Three stages of socialization Primary socialization—of infants and young

children by the family and early caregivers Secondary socialization—in childhood and

adolescence, by the school, the religious affiliation, the peer group, the neighborhood, and the media

Adult socialization—the workplace, travel, and assuming new roles in life


Some Results of Socialization

Because the process of socialization is intended to cause individuals to internalize knowledge, attitudes, values, and beliefs, it has several results which should not be surprising:


Ethnocentrism

The tendency people have to evaluate others according to their own standards and experience

While this tendency can help bind people together, it can also present serious obstacles to cross-cultural interactions


Perception

Stimuli received by our senses would overwhelm us if it weren’t somehow reduced; thus,

What we perceive—what we see, hear, feel, taste, and smell—is shaped in part by our culture


Categorization

Categorization is the cognitive process by which all human beings simplify their world by grouping similar stimuli

Our categories give meaning to our perceptions

A prototype image best characterizes the meaning of a category

Example: for the category “bird,” we usually think of robins, not chickens


Stereotypes

Stereotypes are socially constructed categories of people

They usually obscure differences within groups They are frequently negative and play to

ethnocentric ideas of “the other”


Some Limits on Socialization

While socialization is a powerful process, it does have limits. It is limited by a child’s physical limits It is limited because it is never finished, and thus

never absolute; it can be changed It is limited because human beings are not

passive recipients, but also actors in their environments


Understanding Cultural Differences

In a complex, pluralistic society like the United States, all people are in some ways multicultural

While we all draw on common sources of knowledge, we are socialized by different agents, with different perspectives on that knowledge


Variations in Cultural Environments

Although the sources of cultural identity are the same in all societies, the content in those sources may be different

Moreover, each community varies considerably in the number and character of its socializing agents

con’t.


Given this complexity, it is wise to consider the possible cultural elements in our own lives and in the lives of others

Despite this potential for variation among individuals and within groups, there are similarities or generalizations that can be made about individuals who identify with particular groups con’t.



What is needed is a more sophisticated way of looking at diversity



Such an approach to diversity involves several elements:

Questioning the “dominant model,” or the prototype image

Looking for commonalities among our differences

Questioning stereotypes

Thinking of differences as resources to learn from


Something to Think About

“By ignoring the cultural and social forms that are authorized by youth and simultaneously empower and disempower them, educators risk complicity in silencing and negating their students.

This is unwittingly accomplished by refusing to recognize the importance of those sites and social practices outside of schools that actively shape student experiences and through which students often define and construct their sense of identity, politics, and culture.”

—Giroux and Simon


Documents

Culture and Culture Learning Process Chapter Three (c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Cushner/McClelland/Safford, Human Diversity