Dr. V.K.Maheshwari, M.A. (Socio, Phil) B.Sc. M. Ed, Ph.D. Former Principal, K.L.D.A.V.(P.G) College, Roorkee, India
Mrs Sudha Rani Maheshwari, M.Sc (Zoology), B.Ed. Former Principal,A.K.P.I.College, Roorkee, India
There are a great many different definitions of the word culture. The word culture in its broadest sense should not be confused with culture defined as those special trappings which set apart one social class from another.For the anthropologist or sociologist culture consists of material and non-material products of human endeavor It is our total man made environment.
Culture is the fruit of human civilization, in both material and non-material aspects. It includes technology and its related sciences, as well as arts, literature and heritage, including religion
Culture is a system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviours and artefacts that the members of society use to cope with their world and with one another, and which are transmitted from generation to generation through learning.
As commonly used in the social science, culture refers to a social heritage. It is the distinctive way of life of a group of people and their complete design for living. Culture consists in the instruments constituted by man to assist him in satisfying his wants.
Culture not only includes the ‘things’ of life, but the ‘ways’ of life as well. It includes our laws, our values which determine so many of our laws, our books, our eating habits our foods, our art works, our furniture, and to a great degree, our likes and dislikes. Members of a culture are bound by it to a degree for greater than they imagine. They behave in culturally sanctioned or approved ways because they are unable to imagine any others-. They behave as they do because a culture is a complex intertwining of groups and subgroups which determines patterns of action for members of the group.
In view of the above, we find that culture has a hard-hitting, wide-ranging effect and influence on social development. There is no doubt that traditional culture some time play a negative role in the progress of society, and led to a situation of backwardness. But the idea of culture has a rich intellectual background as it refers manly to ideas of enlightens and refinement. This humanistic view of culture emphasizes creativity and excellence.
Meaning of the term “CULTURE”
Every society has its own culture or social heritage. It has been used with various meanings. The concept of the culture was discovered recently as its significance has been realize more than ever. The concept originated with anthropologists but has been later on developed further in many other ways.
Etymologically speaking the term “culture” has been derived from a Latin word “cultura” which means ‘to till’ or ‘to cultivate’. Thus the term culture means something to be cultivated among the people. It means culture is a process of cultivating high social, moral and spiritual values, manners and etiquette, good habits, beliefs and practices among the people with the view to modify or improve their behavior. Culture is complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, customs and any other capabilities, and habits acquired by man as member of society. The body thoughts and knowledge both theoretical and practical, which only man can possess.
B. Malinowski has defined culture as the “cumulative creation of man”. He also regarded culture as the handwork of man and the medium through which he achieves his ends.
Similarly according to Graham Wallas, “culture is an accumulation of thoughts, values and objects, it is the social heritage acquired by us from preceding generations through learning as distinguished from the biological heritage which is passed on to us automatically through the genes”.
Consequently, we can say that culture is a board term that includes in itself all our walks of life, our modes of behavior, our philosophies and ethics, our morals and manners, our customs and traditions, our religious, political, economic and other types of activities. Culture includes all that man has acquired in his individual and social life.
Key components of Culture
Culture, in this sense, has key components, as follows:
1. Culture, in its essence, is immaterial. It is a way of life and a system of conduct. Even though, it includes material objects related to human activity.
2. Culture is not an entity isolated from societal progress and history. It is an ongoing and cumulative process.
3. Culture is not confined to a certain generation in terms of its effects and influence. In fact, these effects and influence seep through generations and they are handed down from one generation to another.
Culture and Education
The relationship between culture and education can be traced back to the origin of human life on the earth There is very close rather intimate relationship between culture and education. Both are so interdependent as neither can developed nor implemented without the help of the other.
Both culture and education are so closely related to each other that they both have a common goal to achieve i.e. the improvement or modification of the behavior of an individual. Both culture and education aim at making the life of an individual worth living.
Both culture and education are sometimes considered as synonyms terms. Culture serves as an informal type of education whereas education serves as a formal type of culture therefore, it is rightly said that an educated person is he who is a cultured person and a cultured person is he who is an educated person. Both culture and education play equally important role in helping the individual in making his proper adjustment in the society.
Culture gives high social, moral and spiritual values and education inculcates these high social, moral and spiritual values among the students.
Functions of Education towards Culture
Education through all its formal, informal and non-formal agencies contributes a lot to the development of the culture. Some of the important functions of education are as under :–
(i) Preservation of the culture : Education through its formal and informal agencies plays a significance role in preserving all those values, customs, traditions, beliefs, usages, practices, knowledge and experiences achievements and non-materialistic spheres which are worthwhile in the present age.
(ii) Transmission of culture : All the agencies of education play an important role in transmitting the culture from one generation to another. It is due to the role of education that the thousands of years old culture could be transmitted to the present age to a great extent.
(iii) Promotion or enrichment of the culture : Education not only preserves and transmits the old culture to the coming generation in the same form but it also plays an important role in the enrichment or promotion of the culture by adding the new experiences, knowledge, inventions and discoveries in the field of science and technology and other achievements made by the society to the culture before transmitting it to the next generation.
(iv) Refinement of the culture : Education also brings refinement in the centuries old culture by deleting or excluding those customs, traditions and practices which have either lost their utility or scientifically discarded.
(v) Diffusion of culture : Education plays a significant role in bringing a diffusion among the culture not of different sections of society within the country but also of different countries of the world. Mass media as an informal agency of education is playing an important role in bringing the diffusion of the culture of different countries of the world.
Functions of Culture towards Education
(i) Fixing the aims of education : Culture of the community plays a significant role in determining the aims of education for that community. It is rightly said that “as is the culture of the community so will be the aims of education” for example if there is a diversified culture the aim of education will be to bring unity in diversity. But if there is a single type of culture the aim of education will be to preserve and transmit the culture in the same form to the next generation.
(ii) Framing the curriculum : Culture plays a significant role in framing the curriculum for a particular system of education. Curriculum is drawn from the culture of the community in the form of sum total of experiences, knowledge and achievements made by the human race in different spheres of life which is divided into different components called subjects like language, literature, art and craft, social sciences, natural sciences etc.
(iii) Cultural and instructional techniques: Culture also plays an important role in selecting and applying the various methods and techniques for teaching e.g. traditional methods of teaching are applied in the country where there is a traditional culture whereas scientific tools and techniques are applied in the country where there is sciences based culture.
(iv) Teacher – taught Relations : Culture playas significant role in determining the teacher taught relations in the system of education. For example, in an idealistic culture like that of India teacher serves as a spiritual and intellectual father of the students who serves as a source of inspiration for the students whereas in the western culture teacher serves as a friend and guide for the students.
In the light of above discussion we may conclude that both culture and education are so closely related that one cannot be thought in the absence of the other.
Preservation of one’s own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for other cultures.
Cesar Chavez