Understanding Culture in Education by Kristin Van Etten

What Even IS Culture? 🤔

kristinv38 — 2025-03-12 00:33:00 UTC

Some of the factors that contribute to culture identity is ethnicity, geographical region, national origin, social class, level of education, types of contact with other cultural groups, religion, gender, and age. (Ovando, 162).

Culture is Learned

kristinv38 — 2025-03-12 00:57:03 UTC

The premise that culture is learned, not inherited, is so basic to all considerations of the concept that it has often been used as a definition of culture by itself (Ovando, 164).

Culture is shared

kristinv38 — 2025-03-12 01:03:33 UTC

Culture exists only in relation to specific social grouping. Humans are in the process of becoming "a part of" and "apart" from a given cultural context (Ovando, 165).

the set of traits view: breaking stereotypes

kristinv38 — 2025-03-12 01:18:40 UTC

it's the tendency to view culture as a series of historical events and heroes, typical traditions or culturally coded concepts or terms.

This concept is extremely limited because it easily promotes the belief that culture is highly static rather than being complex, interrelated and varying construct.

This approach can lead to stereotypes and can lead to distant place between students in the classroom.

High Civilization view: Our Culture is the best!

kristinv38 — 2025-03-12 01:28:21 UTC

Some educators use culture as a meaning to express the best knowledge, works of art, technological accomplishments. The United States have implicitly and explicitly stressed the importance of Western culture and its ideals as the hallmark of culture.

This can have significant negative effects for the lack of acknowledgment of multiple cultural traditions from around the world. Minority students can feel alienated and excluded which can lead to drop out rates and low academic achievement.

This is also known as Ethnocentrism. This is the belief that superiority of one's own ethnic culture is better.

Cultural Transmission in three categories: post figure, configurative, Prefigurative

kristinv38 — 2025-03-12 17:36:20 UTC

"All there is to know" from family members

Postfigurative

kristinv38 — 2025-03-12 17:41:55 UTC

Adult communities pass on values, beliefs, behaviors to the upcoming generation with little alteration.

Configurative

kristinv38 — 2025-03-12 17:44:33 UTC

Families can disengage from the past traditions and learn from their children what is happening now. It helps elders know and understand what is social and culturally accepted now in society

Prefigurative

kristinv38 — 2025-03-12 17:47:13 UTC

Everything is filtered through children. Children are the sources through many answers in daily life. Children can be translators for their parents.

Biculturalism: positive and negative responses

kristinv38 — 2025-03-12 17:56:43 UTC

This is when a person who has the capacity to negotiate effectively within two different cultural systems. This is also known as situational ethnicity. A person can have two cultures that they have learned from but can be socially aware when it is safe or comfortable to perform traditions from those cultures. Some believe Biculturalism is a negative trait while others perceive it as a gift to be able to use both cultures in their everyday lives.

Acculturation

kristinv38 — 2025-03-12 18:01:30 UTC

Acculturation is the process by which one group takes on the concepts and incorporates one or more cultural traits of another group, resulting in new or blended cultural patterns

Assimilation

kristinv38 — 2025-03-12 18:04:51 UTC

This is the process of which an individual or group completely takes on the traits of another culture. Leaving behind their culture identity. An example would be the Native Americans being assimilated to White U.S education system so they can be more "white" and adopt American culture fully

Melting pot vs. Salad bowl

kristinv38 — 2025-03-12 18:12:26 UTC

A melting pot has been a strong theme in history and in the United States. Introduced by President Theadore Roosevelt, "Any man who says he's an American, but something else also isn't an American at all". Melting pots are places that infuse cultures together in one big soup and we all come out the same culture.

If you treat cultures like salad bowl, each culture identity is different and beautiful and it creates and appreciation and validation for making the salad bowl colorful, vibrant and super yummy.

Prejudice and Discrimination

kristinv38 — 2025-03-12 18:18:00 UTC

The fact still remains today: discrimination is still frequently present within schools across the nation.

ESL and bilingual educators have both firsthand and secondhand knowledge of discrimination as they work with children from a broad range of backgrounds. It imperative for educators how to teach students to be anti-racist. This video is perfect example of how people learn prejudices from other people.