Culture and the Individual
Child Development II
Education: The Transmission of Knowledge and Skills
Two general kinds of education:
Informal Education (AKA traditional or parallel)
Formal Education (AKA schooling)
Informal Vs Formal EducationEmbedded in daily life activities vs Set apart from daily life context
Learner is responsible for vs Teacher is responsible for imparting
obtaining knowledge and skill knowledge and skill
Personal: relatives are okay vs Impersonal: teachers should not be
teachers relatives
Little or no explicit pedagogy vs Explicit pedagogy and curriculum
or curriculum
Maintenance of continuity and vs Change and discontinuity are valued
traditional are valued
Learning by observation and vs Learning by verbal exchange,
imitation questioning
Teaching by demonstration vs Teaching by verbal presentation of
general principles
Motivated by social contribution vs Less strong motivation
and social participation
The French Marsh Sweepers
Salt processing, shell fishing, coastal fishing
Children accompany the mother to the shore while she works
Children begin to do small tasks that are age appropriate
As the children age, they take on more tasks
By about 10 years of age, boys are working alongside their mothers
No one speaks of teaching: eg. fathers give orders, prohibit certain activities and swear!?!
If you don’t get scolded, everything is all right
Children never do exactly the same things that adults are doing at that time, so mimicking is not applicable
Learning requires observation and deferred imitation without verbal instruction or demonstration
Quranic Schooling
Quranic schools are an example of non-Western, traditional formal education that is religion-based
Organized to pursue religious and other values of the society
Memorization and mastery of sacred texts (sometimes in languages not spoken)
At early ages, memorization without understanding is acceptable
Teaching often occurs in a one-on-one session with a single student and teacher
Teacher’s role includes instruction and role modeling and advising about life in general
Pupils are not grouped by age, but by what they already know.
There is no concept of failure
Transition Rites
Rituals that move an individual from one social status to another
Three stages (Van Gennep 1960):
Separation – individuals are removed from their old status and therefore from participation in the community in the old ways
Liminality/Marginality – a period of suspension from participation in the community in any role
Incorporation – the assumption of the new role and reentry into the community
Kinds of Transition Rites
Birthing Rites Gender differences in rites
Naming Rituals Sacred vs secular rites
First Hair Cut Physical vs social rites
Religious Confirmation Secret vs public rites
Initiation or Puberty Rites
Engagement
Wedding
Retirement
Funeral
Functions of Initiation Rites
Status change to adulthood
Recognition of sexual maturity
Creating ethnic identity and/or social solidarity
Creating peer group solidarity
Identifying with proper gender & preparing for gender roles
Channeling aggressive/sexual tendencies into acceptable adult roles
Inculcating basic cultural values of the society
Teaching new skills, information and attitudes for adult roles
Cross Cultural OverviewIncidence of Initiation in 180 Societies
30 Initiation only for girls
17 Initiation only for boys
46 Initiation for both sexes
Individual vs Group Initiation
87% of girls’ initiations are individual
47% of boys initiations are individual
Triggers for Initiation
Age
First menstruation
Periodically initiating an age set
Development of secondary sex characteristics
Extremes in Initiation RitesFather absent much of the time
PatrilinealPolygynousMother-son co-sleeping Lack of food that can be prepared for an infant Prolonged nursing of infant due to Mother as primary caregiver for childExtremes in painful initiation rites
CircumcisionScarification
Poy Sang Long AKA "Festival [of the] Crystal Sons" Among the Shan peoples, in Burma
(Myanmar) and now in Northern ThailandUndergone by boys between seven and
fourteen years of age. Consists of taking novice monastic vows
and participating in monastery life for a period of time that can vary from a week to many months or more.
Usually, a large group of boys are ordained as novice monks at the same time.
Vision Quest among Native Americans
Done before puberty to find oneself and the intended spiritual and life direction.
A personal, spiritual quest alone in the wilderness. usually lasting for a number of days.
Characterized by sensory deprivation, sleep deprivation and/or fasting and in some cases use of hallucinogenic substances.
Usually, a guardian animal will come in a vision or dream, and the child's life direction will appear at some point.
Return to the tribe to apprentice him/herself to an adult who has a similar life direction.
If a child has not vision quested by puberty, the child is thought to be lazy.
Examples of cultures : Inuit, Lakota, Ojibwa, Tlingit
RumbspringaA traditional initiation rite in the Amish
religious denomination, A period lasting months or years during
which adolescents are released from the church and its rules.
Part of the Amish belief that only informed adults can "accept Christ" and be baptized, along with the belief that the unbaptized cannot enter heaven.
The SambiaNew Guinea Tribal GroupWomen are considered dangerousMen stay away from their wives except for sexual
relationsBoys spend all their time with mothers’ until 7Initiation in six stages Stages 1-3 (7-10, 10-12, 14-16) involve oral
homosexual relations with unrelated adult male Stages 4 & 5 (16-18, 18-20) involve bisexual
relations Stage 6 (20-30 years) heterosexual relations
onlyWomen become adults naturally; men must be
turned into adult males through initiation