In this chapter, you are introduced to children’s cultural ecologies in a range of contexts including home, community, preschools, kindergarten, and school. This chapter explores children’s positioning in each of these settings and how they influence and are influenced by the cultural and social worlds of which they are part.
Some of the key ideas in this chapter include:
Culture is interconnected with child’s learning and development. The idea that culture is a pattern (a stable way of acting and being) and children are socialized into a particular cultural context is reflected in two ecological frameworks: the Pediatric vs. Pedagogical Model of Early Child Care and the Developmental Niche Theory. The first considers two patterns of socialization: pediatric which emphasizes health and physical survival, and pedagogical which emphasizes preparation for schooling. The second ecological framework focuses on three subsystems surrounding the child:physical/social settings of the child’s life, care practices and customs, and the caregiver’s psychology.
Culture is often related to individualism (emphasis on the individual) and collectivism (emphasis on the group). Another view of culture is culture as a pattern (a stable way of being and acting) which views children as objects of socialization. This view assumes children are passive recipients of culture rather than active agents involved in creating culture. Funds of knowledge is an approach that examines the cultural resources of the family.
Culture as boundary considers the relationship between cultures—one culture exists only in relation to another. This view is reflected in the Acculturation Development Model which examines how immigrant and refugee children are socialized in two cultural contexts.
When children participate in communities, it shapes their identities. The experience of the self is related to the individual/subjective experience and cultural experience; this multiple identity may be formed through interactions with others in social contexts. Identity is related to one’s worldview and whether we see ourselves as separate from others/independent or connected to others/interdependent. Cultural identity can also be seen as oneness (one shared culture) and becoming (role of past and present). Funds of identity consider the historically developed resources of the family and how these shape identities.
There are several dominant approaches to providing continuity of care across children’s different communities. One view emphasizes parents’ and teachers’ separate and sequential responsibilities regarding children’s development and learning, while another considers how spheres such as home, community, and school work together to support children.
Multicultural education approaches suggest that culture is a pattern and a boundary (it only exists when in contact with another culture), but these approaches both ignore how culture changes and exclude deeper aspects of culture (beliefs, values, etc.). Intercultural education approaches see culture as being authored through open, respectful dialogue between individuals.Critical race theory attends to other markers of difference beyond culture, positioning culture as critical dialogue where nothing is taken for granted.
