The Need for Cultural Awareness, Respect and Competency
THE NEED FOR CULTURAL AWARENESS, RESPECT AND COMPETENCY
What is culture? It is difficult to define culture. A characteristic usually included in definitions of culture is that it is "shared by people." Culture is also said to distinguish insiders from outsiders, those who are members of one cultural group from those who are not. This idea of culture leads to the following useful suppositions:
1. Culture is learned. It is transmitted from one generation to another through observation and discourse. Thus, culture is shared with those from whom it is learned and with those to whom it is taught. Older adults have had a great deal of time to learn cultural values and beliefs from those groups with which they have had contact.
2. Culture is localized. Culture is created through specific interactions with specific individuals. Each person draws meaningful elements from these interactions and shares them with some but not all individuals within society.
3. Culture is patterned. Patterns emerge from the repetition of specific samples of behaviour and talk. Repeated patterns establish the normal and customary expectations that structure social interactions. Habit and ritual may be central to their lives.
4. Culture is evaluative. Values are a central component of culture and are reflected in individual behaviours. Values reflect shared beliefs that facilitate the social interaction without which society would not be possible. However, individuals continuously evaluate societal values in terms of personal relevance. The value systems of elders reflect the interactions they have had over a lifetime.
5. Culture has continuity, with change. In general, cultural identity is stable, but one's cultural knowledge changes over the life course as one encounters new objects, situations, and ideas in the personal environment. These experiences shape a unique person. Across society, many individuals may experience the forces for change almost simultaneously and
What is culture? It is difficult to define culture. A characteristic usually included in definitions of culture is that it is "shared by people." Culture is also said to distinguish insiders from outsiders, those who are members of one cultural group from those who are not. This idea of culture leads to the following useful suppositions:
1. Culture is learned. It is transmitted from one generation to another through observation and discourse. Thus, culture is shared with those from whom it is learned and with those to whom it is taught. Older adults have had a great deal of time to learn cultural values and beliefs from those groups with which they have had contact.
2. Culture is localized. Culture is created through specific interactions with specific individuals. Each person draws meaningful elements from these interactions and shares them with some but not all individuals within society.
3. Culture is patterned. Patterns emerge from the repetition of specific samples of behaviour and talk. Repeated patterns establish the normal and customary expectations that structure social interactions. Habit and ritual may be central to their lives.
4. Culture is evaluative. Values are a central component of culture and are reflected in individual behaviours. Values reflect shared beliefs that facilitate the social interaction without which society would not be possible. However, individuals continuously evaluate societal values in terms of personal relevance. The value systems of elders reflect the interactions they have had over a lifetime.
5. Culture has continuity, with change. In general, cultural identity is stable, but one's cultural knowledge changes over the life course as one encounters new objects, situations, and ideas in the personal environment. These experiences shape a unique person. Across society, many individuals may experience the forces for change almost simultaneously and
Bibliography: http://yourlifemanual.com/ubuntu.htm http://www.culturediversity.org Hall, Georgia G. (PhD, MPH): Culturally Competent Patient Care: A Guide for Providers and their Staff. PDF document: Cultural Competence in Health Care by Georgetown University. Bentley, Dr Kristin A: Understanding Culture and Rights in South Africa Today: Moving Beyond Racial Hegemony in National Identity.