EDUP3073i Culture and Learning Notes

Topic 1
Culture is defined as:
 The way of life
 Complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any
other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society
 A set of human-made objective and subjective elements which formed in the past
that helped to increase the probability of survival and resulted in satisfaction of the
participants in an ecological niche(生态位置). [By: Triandis, 1994]
1. Objective: something that has a tangible ( 有 形 ) form, such as agricultural
tools, art works, houses, means of transportation, communication
tools
2. Subjective: something abstracts such as norms, morals and values

 Culture is a way of life in any society which includes belief systems, values,
beliefs, art, tradition and civilization.

7 Elements of Culture
1. Language
2. Knowledge System
3. Social Organization
4. Technology systems and equipment
5. Livelihood and economic system
6. Religious system
7. Art
Characteristics of Culture
1. Learned (Culture is not inherited but can be learned)
 E.g. parents should teach their children manners and dress code, table manners
and communication with the elderly.

2. Shared (There are certain elements in a culture that is not confined to any one of the
ethnic group, but also practiced by other ethnic groups)
 E.g. can be seen in terms of clothing (Baju Kurung) and traditional food (Roti Canai)

3. Has been universal (Universal features exist in all human groups)

 E.g. animal loving culture and the environment (These cultural practices might be
different
due to the system of beliefs, local customs and values of a society)

4. Inherited (Culture can be passed down from one generation to another generation)
 E.g. marriage customs practiced today is a legacy of the previous generation. Similarly,
there are certain cultural practises adopted by other races in Malaysia.

5. Dynamic (Culture is something that can be changed over time, context and place)
 E.g. ancient times practices can be changed due to the time and modernization.
(Male Sikh community wear turban in ancient times but now no longer wearing turban)
6. Have symbolic elements (The elements exist in all society based on the level of
importance of the tool selected as the image or symbol)
 E.g. symbols such as flags, logos and symbols have specific meanings to the members of
the community.

7. The existence of worldview (Culture can be categorized into 2 types)

 E.g. (i) Material Culture – equipment and supplies life and economic systems
(ii) Non-material Culture – religion and belief systems, knowledge and
language

Ethnic is defined as:

 A group of people who practice the culture that almost uniformly cover the
customs, dress language and economic activities.
 Ethnicity is a concept which categorizes groups of people based on their living
system (Marzudi Md Yunus, 2009).

5 Main Concepts about Ethnicity

1. Ethnicity refers to the sense of belonging of an ethnic group.

2. Ethnocentrism is the feeling that arises in an ethnic group where elements such as
culture, values, attitudes and practice are better than the elements found in other
ethnic groups.
(The people use their own culture and practices as benchmark assessment)

3. Stereotype is the general statements purporting negative impression of

extravagance of the pros and cons of the nature of a particular ethnic group by
another ethnic group.
(Has negative implications and can lead to undesirable impact on unity in a plural
society in Malaysia)

4. Prejudice is an implicit feeling in the hearts of the members of a particular ethnic

group against another ethnic group.
(NOT based on any accurate of clear information or evidence. These feelings give
rise
to unreasonable dislike of an ethnic group towards another ethnic group)
5. Discrimination is the views, thoughts and negative beliefs by one ethnic group
against the other ethnic groups that influence the behaviour of the negative view.
(It is prejudice that exists in the ethnic group; occur when there is prejudice)

Importance of Understanding the Ethnic relations

o To avoid ethnic conflict
o Closely related to the whole social structure of society
o Describes the historical development and socio-economic capacity of our country
o Reflects the degree of ethnicity and source of social tensions
o Understand the impact of industrialization and social change
o Influence social policy and social planning of the country
Levels of Ethnic Relation

Demographic group is defined as

 The statistical analysis of the number and composition of the population of a certain
location (Syed Ismail et al, 2010)

Types and Demographic Groups

 Structure of the population
 Total population
 Composition (age, religion, race, gender)
 Process of population
 Death
 Migration
 Marriage
 Changes in social status

Roles of teacher
1. To build the country’s image to create character and identity
2. To foster national consciousness and nationhood based on characteristics of
spirituality, humanity and mentality
3. Understand the importance of ethnic relations (to avoid ethnic conflict)
4. Bridging the gap between various ethnic groups
5. Implement teaching and learning strategies which are appropriate to the students
comprising of carious cultures and ethnic groups in the class.
6. As a mediator to realize of the national agenda (unity and social integration through
the creation of culture-friendly teaching and learning environment)