ANTHROPOLOGICAL

BASES OF EDUCATION
ANTHROPOLOGY
It is derived from the Greek word anthropos which means man and logos meaning
the study of. It is the study of human differences, cultural and biological against the
background of the nature all humans share. Anthropologists study human social life
and culture including the origin of the human race.
CULTURE
It is defined by Edward B. Taylor as that complex whole which includes knowledge,
belief, art, law, morals, customs, and other capabilities and habits acquired by man
as a member of a society.
KINDS OF CULTURE
1. Non-material culture (intangible) includes beliefs, morals, laws, customs,
traditions, folk ways, mores, etc.
KINDS OF CULTURE
2. Material culture (tangible) includes man’s technologies, etc.
CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE
1. Culture is learned – man is not born with culture, but he is born with the
capacity to acquire and learn the culture of his group.
2. All people have varied culture – every society has its cultural values that are
entirely different from the others.
3. Culture is a group product – man cannot develop a culture of his own if he is
alone.
4. Culture is transmitted – the learned culture of the past generation are
transmitted to posterity (all future generations of people) through education.
What we are today is the product of what they were before.
IMPORTANCE OF CULTURE
1. Through the development of culture man can set aside certain laws of nature to
conform to his needs.
2. Through the development of culture man can overcome his physical handicaps.
FOLK WAYS
Customary ways of behaving which have become habitual and repetitive to an
individual or group.
Ex. caring for the elders and saying po and opo
MORES
Occurs when folkways become compulsive for the welfare of the society and it has
acquired moral significance. Failure to observe or conform to this will result to
ostracism or condemnation.
CULTURE CHANGE
May occur either by accident or direction. It is brought about by the passage of
time, migration and other factors.
SUB-CULTURE
Refers to the attitude of a certain group to deviate from the habitual practices of the
majority. This is apparent in the new styles of dressing, language and other practices
of a group of people which are different from the majority.
CULTURAL RELATIVISM
Refers to the practices considered immoral or taboo to a certain group of people,
yet moral to other societies.
Ex. Polygamy, Pre-marital sex, etc.
CULTURE SHOCK
It is the term used to denote the feeling of depression, often expressed as
homesickness, caused by living in a foreign environment. Faced with an unknown or
poorly understood foreign language and confused by different codes of conduct,
unfamiliar food, and even unfamiliar physical surroundings, the traveller or new
resident may look upon the people and the unaccustomed behavior with distaste
and sometimes with fear.
CULTURAL VALUES
Refer to the collective ethical, aesthetics (a set of principles concerned with the
nature and appreciation of beauty, especially in art) and religious values of the
community including artistic inclination, poetry, music, painting, literature and such
other practices which the entire society considers as vital elements of their
existence.
Tests of Robin Williams to determine which practices are included in one’s
culture
1. Extensiveness – number of percentage of the population practicing the value.
2. Duration – time element. How long has the value been practiced.
3. Intensity – the total impact of the value upon the populace (the people living in
a particular country or area).
4. Prestige of the value carrier – refers to the people practicing such value.
FILIPINO CULTURAL VALUES
The Filipino people are known for their various cultural values. Whether beneficial or
not, these cultural values make the Filipinos unique and distinct from other peoples
of the world. Some of the important Filipino cultural values are in the next slide.
Non-rationalism is the tendency to perceive thoughts, objects, events and persons
as sacred. This includes:
Animism – the belief in supernatural spirits who are presumably interfering with a
man’s daily affairs.
Fatalism – belief in luck, fortune telling, “bahala na”, “suwerte” or malas,
horoscope, etc.
Social Acceptance – the desire to be always accepted by the group
Pakikisama – yielding to the decision of the majority
Euphemism – stating an unpleasant truth, opinion, or request as pleasantly as
possible.
Go-between – the use of a third party to exact favor or request as pleasantly as
possible.
Non-rationalism is the tendency to perceive thoughts, objects, events and persons
as sacred. This includes:
Animism – the belief in supernatural spirits who are presumably interfering with a
man’s daily affairs.
Fatalism – belief in luck, fortune telling, “bahala na”, “suwerte” or malas,
horoscope, etc.
Social Acceptance – the desire to be always accepted by the group
Pakikisama – yielding to the decision of the majority
Euphemism – stating an unpleasant truth, opinion, or request as pleasantly as
possible.
Go-between – the use of a third party to exact favor or request from another
person. This includes hiya and amor propio.
Emotional closeness and security of the family means the mutual dependence
among relatives. This could also mean granting special favors or privileges among
the immediate or even distant relatives.
Authority refers to the emphasis on the power and importance of authority figure.
Economic and social improvement is the desire to improve the standard of living of
his family and his hometown.
Utang na loob means sense of gratitude
Personalism emphasizes the importance of the person with whom one has
immediate face to face contact and connection. This includes pakiusap, lagay,
areglo and palakasan
Indolence – laziness; Ningas kugon means great enthusiasm at the beginning of a
task yet after a certain perios of time the enthusiasm is fading gradually.
Mañana habit refers to procrastination or putting for tomorrow what can be done
today.