CULTURE, SOCIETY

AND EDUCATION
Dr CM Kwenda
CULTURE: PROBLEM OF DEFINITION

 Culture does not equate with ‘race’.

 Anthropological/sociological, psychological,

philosophical definitions
How culture is sociologically defined:
1. The way of life of a people;

2. Everything that is socially learned and shared by

members of a group;
3. The social heritage which the individual receives

from the group;

4. The norms, values, beliefs and material goods

characterising a group.
CULTURE: ASSOCIATED
IDEAS
 Culture is what makes a group and
individuals within it unique and different
from other groups and individuals.
 Culture also makes institutions,
organizations and societies different from
other institutions, organizations and
societies.
 Culture makes humans different from other
species.
 All human groups have cultures.
CULTURE AND SOCIETY: CONCEPTUAL
ISSUES

 Is globalization creating a post-modern, post-local, post-

national society with a common culture?
 No- what it is creating are similar sub-cultures (e.g. hip-hop
sub-cultures, celebrity sub-cultures, teen sub-cultures, gay
sub-cultures, etc.).
 Capitalist society cannot develop a common modern culture
because its social classes result in different sub-cultures and
unequal distribution of power.
 Values, norms and beliefs of dominant groups over-shadow
those of dominated groups.
 When cultures override other cultures that gives rise to
ideologies (which are characterised by struggle and conflict,
e.g. feminism, socialism, capitalism, Africanism, the ‘ISMS’).
CULTURE AND SOCIETY: CONCEPTUAL
ISSUES

 So society is characterised by struggles for

hegemony (dominance) between cultures which
hold different ideologies.
 Cultures are therefore not permanent and fixed,
but flexible and fluid ( changing as they take
turns to dominate).
 Dominant cultures become hegemonic and
diffuse into weaker cultures, diluting the latter.
 Hence culture is a political concept tied to
power, hegemony, privilege and
marginalization.
CULTURAL UNIVERSALS
 All people have a culture or cultures;
 Some aspects of culture are found in all cultures and are
called ‘universals’;
 Language, clothing, shelter, food production, food
preparation and consumption, marriage, grooming,
naming, taboos, myths and folklore, etc. exist in every
culture;
 Cultural universals are human adaptations to meet basic
human needs;
 The expression of cultural universals varies from culture to
culture;
 The way cultural universals are expressed changes over
time due to innovation, adaptation and diffusion.
CULTURAL UNIVERSALS
 Cultural universals are divided into a) material culture and
b) non-material culture.
 Education is part of the non-material cultural universals.
 Education is cultural because it is tied to language,
values, beliefs, innovation, diffusion, cultural change, etc.
 Education is also linked to hegemony, power, privilege
and marginalization.
 Education is political because it influences how all cultural
universals are expressed and whose universals gain
hegemony.
 Discussion: ‘The struggle for democracy in SA was a
struggle for cultural hegemony and against cultural
hegemony’.
REAL AND IDEAL CULTURE
 Ideal Culture- What is expected and accepted as
correct behaviour by a given cultural group (cultural
norms);
 Real Culture- What people actually practice (how they
actually behave, the statistical norms);
 There is usually a gap between the two;
 Practices which are condemned are still largely
practiced by people because of several reasons (What
could these be? Think of some practical examples);
 People have a tendency to say and do one thing in
public and the opposite in private.
REAL AND IDEAL CULTURE
 The ideal cultures of schools are not always
reflected in the real cultures of these schools:
Think of specific examples of this claim.
 Liberalism and capitalism are ideal cultural

expressions which are often not in line with the

lived experiences of people in these contexts:
Let us discuss the statement above. Think of ‘The
American Dream’. Is it fact or fiction?
 Cultures are therefore often compromises

between the ideal and the real cultural practices.

CULTURAL RELATIVISM
 To understand other people’s cultures we need to
understand their own value systems, beliefs,
needs and motives.
 We cannot understand other cultures by making

ours the point of reference.

 Cultures develop in particular contexts to meet

and save particular needs. We therefore cannot

judge other cultures on the basis of our own.
Can you think of particular examples of when
people are sometimes quick to judge other
cultures unfairly?
CULTURAL RELATIVISM
 Cultural relativism means that ‘the
function and meaning of a trait/practice
are relative to its cultural setting’.
 A cultural practice is neither good nor

bad in itself, it only assumes goodness

or badness with reference to the culture
within which it functions.
Think of cultural practices which save very
useful purposes in the context of their
setting but can be considered
unacceptable in another context.
CULTURAL RELATIVISM
 We are not saying all cultural practices should
be condoned, even if they are harmful, but that
we need to understand cultures in context.
 Right and wrong are social constructions or

conventions which should be seen as being

relative (e.g. morality, justice, fairness, etc.).
 What is fruitful and functional in one cultural

setting might be very damaging in a different

context.
Should schools accept all cultural practices in the
name of relativism?
CULTURAL CHALLENGES
 Ethnocentrism- the opposite of cultural
relativism.
 Xenophobia- irrational fear of and hatred
for foreigners.
 Sexism- unfair stereotyping of and
prejudice against people of the opposite
sex.
 Racism- Unfair stereotyping of and
prejudice against people of a different
race.
 Homophobia- Unfair stereotyping of and
CULTURAL CHALLENGES
 “Ethnocentrism is a universal human
reaction, found in all known societies, in
all groups, and in practically all
individuals” (Schaffer, R. and Lamm, R.
1992. Sociology. 4th Ed. London: McGraw
Hill).
Let us discuss the implications of this
quote for teaching and learning.