Culture and Human Development

Culture shapes our development.  In order to explore the relationship between culture and development, Rogoff (2003) recommends that it is important to first understand some basic ideas about cultural processes.  The following list provides a guiding framework that helps us understand the dynamic influence of culture on human development:

·         Culture isn’t just what other people do.

·         Understanding one’s own cultural heritage, as well as other cultural communities, requires taking the perspective of people of contrasting backgrounds.

·         Cultural processes fit together and are connected.

·         Cultural communities do change, as do individuals.

·         There is not likely One Best Way.  (The Cultural Nature of Human Development, p. 11-12)

Rogoff’s work highlights the importance of moving beyond an examination of surface behaviors to better understand how cultural processes shape development.  I have used this framework many times in class. To paraphrase, we all live within our rich cultural contexts.  If we want to understand culture, we have to be willing to examine those things we just accept as “truths”.  We do things for a reason and those reasons change.  Most importantly, our way is not the only or necessarily the best way.

One way that I have explored this concept in classes is to ask students if they have ever gone back to visit a town that where they used to live.  Most students instantly connect with the idea that the town that they once lived in had some impact on who they are, but that town has changed as much as they have. 

Last year, I completed data collection for a research project related to first year college students.  The students participated in three interviews over their first year of college.  All of the participants were asked to complete the second interview in or near their home town.  Engaging the students in their community was a powerful way to explore their local context.  The student’s past experiences shaped their first year at college.  Furthermore, their college experiences were shaping the person that they were when they re-entered their community.