Cultural ideas and theories behind education

Sawyer Smith

Global Issues

Word Count: 657

Cultural ideas and theories behind education

                What do you think of when someone mentions education? Do you think of school, classes, grades, college, and your stepping stone to a career? Why do you think this is what your mind jumps to? The reason that your mind jumps to this conclusion is because those are the end goals of the education system and process of education. Education itself is a formulation of ideas that are taught to children and adolescents to give them ideas on life. Education in its general sense is a form of learning in which the knowledge, skills, and habits of a group of people are transferred from one generation to the next through teaching, training, or research. Education frequently takes place under the guidance of others, but may also be autodidactic (or self-education). Any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts may be considered educational.

Education and culture often affect each other, because education can change your cultural views and give you decanting opinions on the world, and culture can affect your choice of education. For example people who are Bible believers can choose to not accept the theory of evolution and instead study about their religiously accepted theory on how humans became what we are. There are many opinions on this topic and it is hard to really give a clear view on how culture and education are intermingled. There is; however, a thing that people agree on and that is the way culture affects children’s participation in class, and the expectations that they are held to. There are people known as Individualists who think that: students are supposed to work independently; and helping others with their homework by working together on it is cheating, students, who engage in discussion and argument, learn to think more critically, property belongs to individuals, and others must ask to borrow it, and the teacher is supposed to manage the school environment indirectly and encourages student self-control and self-dependence, parents are integral to child's academic progress and participate actively(LeeS.356).

                There are other people who are known as Collectivists who have decanting opinions then some people. The Collectivist perspectives are: students work with peers and provide assistance when needed, students are quiet and respectful in class in order to learn more efficiently, property is communal, teacher is the primary authority, but peers guide each other's behavior, and parents yield to teacher's expertise to provide academic instruction and guidance (McGee, Karen). Both these groups do present valid opinions on why child participation and expectations of children are affected by culture, but these opinions also vary with different ethnic groups. Many Asian students, for example, tend to be quiet in class, and making eye contact with teachers is considered inappropriate for many of these children (Rosenberg, M. S.). In contrast, most European American children are taught to value active classroom discussion and to look teachers directly in the eye to show respect, while their teachers view students' participation as a sign of engagement and competence (Rosenberg, M. S.).

Thus, educators need to understand individual histories and ideologies regarding education and learning as well as the cultural patterns and beliefs of groups Let's look at a couple of cases to examine in more detail how culture impacts educational interactions. The influence of culture on beliefs about education, the value of education, and participation styles cannot be overestimated. Consider the question from the beginning of this post; what will you think of when someone mentions education now?

Works Cited

LeeS.356. "LeeS.356: How Culture Affects Education!" LeeS.356: How Culture Affects Education! University of Michigan, 2007. Web. 11 Oct. 2013.

McGee, Karen. "How Cultural Differences May Affect Student Performance." GreatSchools. GreatSchools Inc., 15 May 2008. Web. 11 Oct. 2013.

Rosenberg, M. S. "The Impact of Culture on Education." Education.com. Pearson Allyn Bacon Prentice Hall, 20 July 2010. Web. 11 Oct. 2013.