Thursday, April 2, 2015

A to Z: Cultural Perspectives in Education

Vaughan M. Blaney
Director
BSc(UNB,Canada), BEd(UNB,Canada), TEFLA(University of Cambridge), MEd(HKU, Hong Kong)

Book: "A to Z: Cultural Perspectives in Education"

The Letter 'H'...

Humanity in all of its glory
Holds heroes near to its heart
Gandhi, Terry Fox, Yang Liwei
Are a few with whom we'll never part


How can it be that we are so different, yet all can agree that we:

  • laugh when we hear humour
  • know hydrogen is an element
  • hush when the teacher is speaking
  • belong to the human race
  • have a place we call home
  • know what is hot and what is cold
  • have hormones
  • admire a beautiful sunset on the horizon
  • help those in need
  • know how to print the letter H

Culture programming starts in the environment in which a young child grows up, usually a family of some kind. It continues at school, and what happens in schools can only be understood if one knows what happens before and after school. It continues at work. Workers' behavior is an extension of behavior acquired at school and in the family. Managers' behavior is an extension of the managers' school and family experiences, as well as a mirror image of the behavior of the managed. Politics and the relationships between citizens and authorities are extensions of relationships in the family, at school, and at work, and in their turn they affect these other spheres of life. Religious beliefs, secular ideologies, and scientific theories are extensions of the mental software demonstrated in the family, the school, at work, and in government relations, and they reinforce the dominant patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting in the other spheres.

Hofstede, Geert

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