Embedded Files
What is culture?
What is culture?
Culture is the “characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, encompassing language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts." (www.Livescience.com )
The Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition goes a step further, defining culture as "shared patterns of behaviors and interactions, cognitive constructs and understanding "that are learned by socialization. Therefore, "culture is the growth of a group identity fostered by social patterns unique to the group.”
Because culture encompasses the values, beliefs, and behavior that are learned and shared among a group of people, it gives an identity to a group, ensures survival, and enhances the feeling of belonging. (Communication Theory)
What is cultural identity?
What is cultural identity?
Identity is how one defines oneself and a frame of reference by which a person perceives him/her/themselves.
Cultural Identity is the “self-identification, a sense of belonging to a group that reaffirms itself. It is the extent to which one is a representative of a given culture behaviorally, communicatively, psychologically and sociologically." Our cultural identity reflects the "common historical experiences and shared cultural codes" which provide us a frame of reference to understand our world. Cultural identity continually evolves over a person's lifetime as he/she/they interact in various social contexts.
People’s judgments about whether they or others belong to a cultural group can be influenced by physical appearance, ancestral origin or personal behavior (dressing, speech, holidays, and celebrations). A historical event, political conditions, who is present, situation/site of interaction and public discourse, also affects cultural identity. (Communication Theory)
Understanding Student Identity: Diving into Race, Ethnicity and Culture: A quick but great read about differences among race, ethnicity, and culture.
Cultural identity is made up of the multiple pieces that influence an individual's personal identity. "We form a cultural identity when we subconsciously interpret and incorporate signals from the world around us into our own identity so we can belong. Therefore: Your cultural identity is a critical piece of your personal identity (and worldview) that develops as you absorb, interpret, and adopt (or reject) the beliefs, values, behaviors, and norms of the communities in your life." (What is Cultural Identity and Why is it Important? by Victoria Wilson)
See also - Culture: What is it and How Does it Influence Us?
Zaretta Hammond has created a visual called the Culture Tree as a way for us to understand culture. There are three parts or levels of the tree.
Surface Culture: This level is made up of observable and concrete elements of culture such as food, dress, and music.
Shallow Culture: This level is made up of the unspoken rules around everyday social interactions and norms such as attitudes towards elders, concepts of time, nonverbal communication, and rules about eye contact, or appropriate touching.
Deep Culture: This level is made up of tacit knowledge and unconscious assumptions that govern our worldview. It also contains the cosmology that guides ethics, spirituality, health, and theories of group harmony.
It is helpful to understand universal patterns across cultures. Individualism and collectivism are 2 cultural archetypes that are helpful in seeing patterns that unite cultures. (See also Collectivism vs. Individualism)
The information in the page below is not intended to understand individuals. Rather, it may be used to explore topics where a culturally responsive approach is necessary based on how expectations differ. This is important in ensuring that assumptions are not made about students since culture is complex and ever evolving. The best way to know your students is to:
Talk to students and families
Invite culture into the classroom - Design classroom activities that empower students to share about their culture
Page updated
Report abuse