Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Topic 1
Culture is defined as:
The way of life
Complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any
other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society
A set of human-made objective and subjective elements which formed in the past
that helped to increase the probability of survival and resulted in satisfaction of the
participants in an ecological niche(生态位置). [By: Triandis, 1994]
1. Objective: something that has a tangible ( 有 形 ) form, such as agricultural
tools, art works, houses, means of transportation, communication
tools
2. Subjective: something abstracts such as norms, morals and values
Culture is a way of life in any society which includes belief systems, values,
beliefs, art, tradition and civilization.
7 Elements of Culture
1. Language
2. Knowledge System
3. Social Organization
4. Technology systems and equipment
5. Livelihood and economic system
6. Religious system
7. Art
Characteristics of Culture
1. Learned (Culture is not inherited but can be learned)
E.g. parents should teach their children manners and dress code, table manners
and communication with the elderly.
2. Shared (There are certain elements in a culture that is not confined to any one of the
ethnic group, but also practiced by other ethnic groups)
E.g. can be seen in terms of clothing (Baju Kurung) and traditional food (Roti Canai)
4. Inherited (Culture can be passed down from one generation to another generation)
E.g. marriage customs practiced today is a legacy of the previous generation. Similarly,
there are certain cultural practises adopted by other races in Malaysia.
5. Dynamic (Culture is something that can be changed over time, context and place)
E.g. ancient times practices can be changed due to the time and modernization.
(Male Sikh community wear turban in ancient times but now no longer wearing turban)
6. Have symbolic elements (The elements exist in all society based on the level of
importance of the tool selected as the image or symbol)
E.g. symbols such as flags, logos and symbols have specific meanings to the members of
the community.
A group of people who practice the culture that almost uniformly cover the
customs, dress language and economic activities.
Ethnicity is a concept which categorizes groups of people based on their living
system (Marzudi Md Yunus, 2009).
2. Ethnocentrism is the feeling that arises in an ethnic group where elements such as
culture, values, attitudes and practice are better than the elements found in other
ethnic groups.
(The people use their own culture and practices as benchmark assessment)
Roles of teacher
1. To build the country’s image to create character and identity
2. To foster national consciousness and nationhood based on characteristics of
spirituality, humanity and mentality
3. Understand the importance of ethnic relations (to avoid ethnic conflict)
4. Bridging the gap between various ethnic groups
5. Implement teaching and learning strategies which are appropriate to the students
comprising of carious cultures and ethnic groups in the class.
6. As a mediator to realize of the national agenda (unity and social integration through
the creation of culture-friendly teaching and learning environment)