The influence of culture on Education

  

Date Posted: 11/5/2012 2:52:44 AM

Posted By: jullieflavia  Membership Level: Gold  Total Points: 2188

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Education is the process by which cultural heritage is transmitted from one generation to another. In fact, it is the society's culture that forms the content of its educational programmes.

Culture is the content of education. Thus education has to draw its content from culture. Education transmits culture through formal and informal curriculum. Formal curriculum comprises of the various subjects taught such as languages, mathematics, physical sciences, biological sciences, social sciences, technical subjects and Religious studies.

For culture to be transmitted, it must have content. The values that the school transmits can be seen as the culture of the society. It is culture that forms the content of education.
In promoting culture therefore, the school curriculum through the various subjects promotes and enhances the learning of culture. The subjects taught transmit certain values:

- Society must provide its members with the tools of communication language become crucial for education. Kenyan schools teach English and Kiswahili as the major languages of communication.
- Society must teach its members skills and knowledge related to material culture. Disciplines like agricultural science, natural sciences, vocational education are taught in schools.
- Aesthetic values are taught through arts, music among others.
Spiritual or moral education is taught through religion and by precept.
Members of the society learn about their environment by studying geography and natural sciences.
- Individual learn how to live in society through study of history, sociology, anthropology, government procedures and laws, political science and others.

Schools therefore transmit the culture of the day. For example in Kenya today through the 8-4-4 system of education, emphasis is on technical and agricultural subjects for the purposes of enhancing self-employment.

Society, culture and education are strictly interrelated and each one is necessary for the continued existence of the others. Society has the responsibility of producing

and preparing its members well to keep the society going. To do this, it expresses its culture and teaches it. In this way, transmitting culture becomes education itself, as education is not possible without a living culture and society
Education transmits culture in a number of ways, for example;

1. Teaching languages for education that is, tools for communication e.g. Kiswahili, English and others.
2. Knowledge and skills in material culture are taught in agriculture, natural sciences, vocational and technological courses.
3. Aesthetic values are taught through Art courses for example, Music, Fine art and others.
4. Spiritual and moral education is taught through religious studies, social studies among others.
5. Mastery of the physical environment is taught through Geography.
6. Learning how to co-exist in society is taught through social studies, history, sociology and anthropology.
7. Improvement on the physical environment through courses in building and surveying
8. Regulations, maintenance and continued survival of society through good government and study of procedures for social control.
9. Defense against external and internal forces through the study of military science.

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