Cultural Analysis

583 Words3 Pages
Any approach to educational development is a multi-faceted affair with many dimensions on which decisions must be made, and numerous alternatives from which to choose on each dimension, culture included. This short thesis looks at the notion of cultural analysis in curriculum design. Cultural analysis has been accentuated by Lawton (1975), who sees it as a systematic process of examining a particular society in its social and historical context. Such an analysis, in a nutshell, would involve a scrutiny of a society's culture, language, technology, knowledge, beliefs and values, in order to make better judgments about what ought to be transmitted to the next generation, that is, what is worthwhile to teach and learn. Cultural analysis involves culture weighing and assimilation in the curriculum. In the curriculum design context, cultural analysis is defined as a process of choosing from available options of culture. It involves weighing of the options which are of value to include in the curriculum for desirable outcomes in individuals in a society. Culture comprises material and non-material aspects. Material culture includes craft, art, dress, technology and sculpture. Non-material culture involves language, beliefs, morals and laws. Culture analysis can take the side of examining culture of majority and minority groups in society. Analysts may choose to ignore minority group interests of culture in curriculum (cultural assimilation). Particularistic orientations of minorities are ignored in favor of universalistic orientations. Even where accommodations are made to include ethnic studies or bilingual education in the curriculum content, structure, method and process through which the content is organized and transmitted, they are usually reflective of mainstream patterns and exert a dominant influence in the student. However, a cultural pluralism approach
Open Document