Curriculum Development



Curriculum Development

Role of Culture in Education

Culture plays an integral role in communication, but in order to correctly comprehend culture, we must begin with understanding the essential aspects of culture. Culture was defined by anthropologists as a complex thing which comprises of knowledge, art, belief, law, custom, moral, and other habits and capabilities which are acquired by human beings as members of society. Culture exerts influence on education as education is about learning and individuals learn and adapt to their culture of behaviors and values through the stages of their infancy, childhood, adulthood and adolescence. Children adapt to the cultural norms and values they see at schools in terms of verbal and non-verbal communication, and formulate different believes and rules which they hold on to for the rest of their lives, and also pass on to the next generation (Joseph, 2011).

The complex patterns and designs of interaction and knowledge are learned through informal and formal means of cultural transmission such as parenting, forming role models, stories and myths, religion, media, art and schooling, of course. Culture can also been known as a continuing dialogue that centers on critical areas of concern in a given society (Joseph, 2011). The dialogue in the dominant European American cultures focuses on the theme of individuality, which is a motif in arts, history, in the selection of cultural heroines and heroes, in political and everyday conversations and ultimately in the way schools evaluate the work and behavior of students. Sometimes, continuing dialogue can also revolve around a particular problem.

Culture has great significance when it comes to education since it is the lens through which we see and reason on the basis of logic. We tend to apply the categories of thought to our education, which we had learned from the culture we belong to, and from the culture we currently live in. This is the reason why schools are pertinent in promoting different aspects of culture and are therefore very selective in the way they use the minds of the children they teach (Joseph, 2011). It is important to keep in mind the requirement of the individual and those of the society while forming a curriculum that abides by the cultural school of thought in the particular region.

Definition of Context in the Educational Setting

In the educational setting, the context refers to the environment of the classroom and the school. It also involves studying how the instruction is organized. Curriculum reflects the cultural beliefs, traditions, values and organization to a great extent and that is why instruction should be designed in manner that allows the teachers to pay attention to the various belief systems, behaviors, values, languages and expressions portrayed by different students and mould them into individuals that can contribute to the betterment of society (Egan, 2001).

Classroom environment in Canada schools

Most of the children in Canada go to public schools, whereas few of them go to private schools for education. There is no fee at public schools for children whereas the ...