PERSPECTIVES ON DIVERSITY AND CULTURE

56 year old Jamaican female – Culture is the way of life of the people.  Diversity is the different type of people whether black, white, Chinese or Indian.

25 year old Jamaican male – Culture speaks to the ways and traditions and values of a person.  And diversity includes the different points of view of people and the different ways that people do things.

43 year old Jamaican female – Culture is the way in which people operate and what is within them that dictates their response to a situation and their outlook on life.  Diversity speaks to all the varying races and ethnicities which are represented.  In Jamaica, the national motto is “Out of Many One People” and this expresses the Jamaican diversity.

All three definitions above capture what is culture and diversity.   In my course so far, these 2 words have been broad in nature and included the following:

• Everything we do is related to culture.  Gestures we make, how we make eye contact, how we perceive the world – all these things are cultural. 
• In its basic form, culture refers to how particular groups of people live.  It speaks of the way these people eat, sleep, talk, care for their sick, relate to one another and live their lives.
• Different characteristics available to us in terms of race, ethnicity, economic, language abilities.

However, the definitions have not included the following details:

• Family culture is the beliefs, behaviours and values of the family.   However, this family culture must be considered in relation to the dominant culture of the society which would be the culture of the group that has economic and political power.  
• The dominant culture can superimpose its beliefs and values on individual family cultures by telling them that they should be a certain way. 
• Surface culture refers to things that are easy to see, taste and define, for example, holidays, foods, costumes and artefacts.   These are things that are used in everyday life frequently.
• Deep culture refers to the intangible aspects of culture which include feelings, attitudes, emotions and rules for interaction which are reflected in our language, values, gender roles, ideas about education, religion and health care.

My readings over the weeks have revealed that there is not one definition of culture and diversity but it changes with time and circumstances.

References:

Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves.  Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Family Cultures: Dynamic Interactions [DVD]. Perspectives on Diversity and Equity.  Baltimore, MD: Author.