Culture, identity and education

Culture

Culture

The way of life of a society

Beliefs

Statements/convictions that people held to be true

Values

Standards shared by members of a culture and used to judge whether behavior is right or wrong

Norms

The behavior that societies expect of their members in particular situations

Social interaction

Any situation in which two or more people have social contact with each other

Customs

Norms in a particular society that are widely accepted and carry on over time

Laws

Rules that are given force by being formalized by governments

Status

A position that someone has in a society; status can be ascribed or achieved

A status is defined by:

• Wealth

• Possession of materials

• Manners

• Personal behaviour

Role

The patterns of behaviour expected of someone because of their status in society

Social institutions

Parts of society that have their own set of norms and values such as the family and school system

Social identity

Individuals’ perception of themselves based partly on ideas about how others see them

Stereotype

The attributes that people think (often wrongly) characterizes a group

Social control

Ways in which members of society are made to conform to norms and values

Rewards

A positive sanction so that someone is praised or is better off

Sanctions

Ways of rewarding or punishing acceptable or unacceptable behavior usually used in sense of punishment (negative sanctions)

Sub-culture

A group within a larger culture that has its own distinctive norms and values

Youth sub-culture

A sub-culture of adolescents or young adults that is usually distinguishable by their style, dress and musical preference

Value consensus

General agreement across a society on a set of values

Social conformity

Acting in accordance with norms and social expectations

Informal social control

Ways of controlling behavior imposed by people without a formal role to do so (such as peers)

Peer groups

People of the same status (for example they are the same age)

Ostracism

Excluding someone from the community or group

Formal social control

Social control imposed by a person or organization (such as a teacher or a police officer) who has the authority to implement rules or laws

Agencies of socialization

Institutions in which people are socialized

Primary socialization

The first and most important period of socialization in which the individual learns the basic norms of behavior

Hidden curriculum

Attitudes and behaviors informally taught that suggests learning to obey rules is equally important/ crucial as knowledge and skills and if not conformed to there are following consequences

Peer pressure

The influence that a peer group has to force or persuade its members to conform

Coercion

The use or threat of force of violence

Social order

The ways in which societies and their institutions remain stable over time

Anomie

Occurs when individuals lack the guidance of norms and values thus are unable to regulate their behavior so the bond between individual and society breaks down

Childhood

The period before adulthood in which individuals are not granted full adult rights

Adulthood

When an individual is accepted by their culture as a full member

Masculinity

The expected behavior associated with being male

Ethnic minority

An ethnic group that is relatively small in number compared with the majority in a society and is seen as different

Globalization

The complex process by which different cultures around the world are increasingly aware of, interact with and influence each other

Global culture

The idea that as a result of globalization there is or will be a single culture shared by people all around the world

Lifestyle

The way of life of an individual, group or culture

Cultural relativism

Considering all cultures on their own terms rather than from a western point of view

Multicultural society

A society in which many different cultures or sub-cultures exist alongside each other

Ethnicity / race

Ethnicity refers to cultural differences such as language and religion as well as place of origin; race refers to supposed biological differences between different groups of people

Social construction

The idea that social situations and events are constructed - made - by societies; they do not exist in nature as independent things

Age groups

Ways in which people of the same a similar age share a status and associated roles

Elderly

Belonging to the age group of those advanced in life

Child-centred

A society in which children are highly valued and a lot of time and effort are devoted to their well-being

Secondary socialization

Later socialization, that usually involves learning more specific norms for particular statuses and roles

Imitation

Young children learning by copying the behaviour of others

Role modeling

Acting as an example so that this behaviour is copied by others

Sex

Being male or female based on biological indicators such as XX and XY chromosomes

Manipulation

How parents and others encourage some behaviour and discourage other behaviour

Canalisation

Channeling children towards activities that are considered appropriate for them (for example because of their gender)

Social class

A form of social stratification in which people are grouped at different levels in the social heirarchy, most common of which are the upper, middle and lower classes

Inadequate socialization

When socialization is incomplete or ineffective

Feral children

‘Wild’ children who have been inadequately socialized

Nature

The influence of society and culture on human behaviour in the nature/nurture debate

Nurture

The influence of society and culture on human behaviour in the nature/nurture debate

Role conflict

When someone finds that the demands of two or more of their roles clash with each other

Adolescence

The period of growing up between childhood and adulthood

Femininity

The expected behaviour associated with being female

Assimilation and integration

Takes place when immigrant cultures or others over time gradually lose their separate identity and become part of the dominant culture

Criticisms against multiculturalism

• Too many rights given to Minority groups

• Minority communities may stay too separate from the host community, so there will be insufficient integration

• Too idealistic for different cultures to coexist in equality, peace and harmony

• Host cultures becomes one of the many cultures when it’s supposed to be providing a value system that society must conform to

• It may lead to conflict between groups

Methods for assimilation

• Citizenship tests - ensures people know about the country’s history, culture and language

• Community cohesion - integrating minority groups by involving them in community programmes

• Acting against expressing some aspects of minority culture

• Increasing nationalism

  • Asserting a single culture

  • Happens when a region wants to break away from a country and the people are ethnically, linguistically or religiously distinct from the national culture

  • Opposing immigration

  • Expelling minorities

  • Ethnic cleansing - persecution and violence (worst case scenario, genecides)

Cultural imperialism

More economically or politically dominant countries impose the world through their cultural influence. Involving exploiting and bringing local cultures to an end.

Hybrid culture

When two cultures meet and blend to create a new culture that has features of both