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 Rites

Father absent much of the time

Patrilineal

Polygynous

Mother-son co-sleeping

Lack of food that can be prepared for an infant

Prolonged nursing of infant due to

Mother as primary caregiver for child

Extremes in painful initiation rites

Circumcision

Scarification

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

Rumbspringa

A 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