Creating Culturally Consistent and Inclusive Early Childhood Programs for All Children and Families

Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/creating-culturally-consistent-and-inclusive-early-childhood-programs-for-all-children-and-families/5010760/

Culture As Process

Culture is often thought of in terms of art, artifacts, foods, music. However, these are material products of culture, they do not define it. Culture is much more - encompassing how a specific group views and interacts with the world and including explicit and implicit rules for behavior. Participation in their family's culture gives growing children the power to influence their environment and to have an impact on the world. Cultural identity also creates a shared sense of belonging and connection. As Carol Brunson Phillips once put it, "Remember what happened to ET when he got too far from home? He lost his ability to thrive and, ultimately, even survive."

Cultural identity is often confused with ethnic origin. Although the two aspects are linked, they are not synonymous. Ethnic origin tells us the general group background of a person; cultural identity comes from the specific ways that a family daily practices the beliefs, values, rules, traditions of its ethnic group. Although ethnic groups share cultural patterns, its members do not all act exactly alike. Some people also have the mistaken understanding that culture is related to skin color, but individuals ...