Culture

1. Culture • difficult to define; having many definitions • the whole way of life of a group, including the group’s literature, language, music, art, philosophy and technology

2. Culture • a totality of values, beliefs, and behaviors common to a large group of people • bits of knowledge stored as a large pool of information within a bounded social group

3. Visible Aspects of Culture • dress • language • food habits • religion

4. Invisible Aspects of Culture • acceptable and unacceptable behaviors • conversation • promptness • manners • verbal and nonverbal behaviors

5. Cultural Boundaries • groups defined with a shared culture among their members, such as • ethnic groups • racial groups • gender • Cultural diversity is also present within these groups.

6. Cultural Boundaries and Borders • A culture boundary is the objective presence of some kind of cultural difference. • A cultural border is a social construct that is developed from a political situation. • Conflict may occur when a cultural boundary is treated as a cultural border.

7. Cultural Boundaries and Borders • Examples • Language • Religion • Results are manifested in cultural resistance.

8. Visible and Invisible Cultures in the Curriculum • Emphasize the variability of culture within social groups. Not all cultural experiences are the same. • Emphasize the presence of cultural change. • Incorporate the everyday experience and cultural practices of the students in the classroom.

9. Teaching Strategies • autobiographies • oral histories of families • local community histories • similarities • differences • making connections between the classroom and those of the students outside of the classroom.

10. Teaching Strategies • constructivism • higher order thinking • realizing and teaching about cultural as a social construct that is ever changing • respecting students second culture, without moralizing • teaching second culture skills without moralizing

11. Teaching Strategies • presenting a more balanced curriculum that challenges the established point of view

12. References • Erickson, Frederick. (2001). Culture and society and in educational practices. In Banks, James A. & Cherry A. McGee Banks, (Eds.) Multicultural education: Issues and perspectives. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. • Grant, Carl A. and Sleeter, Christine E. (1998). Turning on learning. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc. • Tiedt, Pamela L. & Tiedt, Iris M. (1995). Multicultural teaching. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

13. Teaching The Culturally Diverse Student • Return to SPE 550.