Implications of the Historical Evolution of the Anthropology of Education - Literature review Example

Education Anthropological notion of culture Culture has various meanings and definitions (Levinson and Pollock, . In other words, it is difficult to assign one particular social or anthropological aspect to the broader concept of culture. More clearly, it can also be deduced that the term culture cannot be codified or framed any single definition or meaning as it has a variety of social and anthropological applications. In order to explain extensively, various authors and anthropologists have described the inner world of culture by taking examples from the real world. For example, Pollock (2008: 369) has defined culture as “the organization of people’s everyday interactions in concrete contexts.” Here, it is worth mentioning that this definition is composed of three broad concepts: organization, interactions and contexts. Here, organization reflects a set of activities which are harmoniously carried out in a systemic pattern by those who are involved in the process. At the same time, interactions refer to those social and other types of dealings which reflect exchange of ideas that take place between and among people whereas context refers to that kind of situation in which interaction and organization of activities take place. In other words, these three concepts when occur simultaneously they represent a specific type of culture. As far as learning is concerned, there are two divergent opinions among anthropologists. For example, it has been highlighted that customary patterns of action are shared with coming generations through learning rather than through biological transmission (Levinson and Pollock, 2011). Based on this explanation, it can be extracted that the patters in action are not related to biological transmission instead they are learned. In other words, this definition insists that surrounding culture and activities taking place inside that culture are not biological in their entirety instead they are more related to the act of learning. Additionally, this anthological aspect insists that each human activity is not always totally generated by the biological transmission in which parents biological share their inbuilt personality traits with their offspring. However, it is worth noting that there are certain traits in human nature which are inbuilt biologically and become part of human nature and personality as well. Consequently, they are depicted through personal and social actions which lead to the cultural aspect. Based on this discussion, it can be concluded that culture has not only received trends from the learning process of humans but also increased the span of social and cultural milieu from the biological transmission. However, it is still pertinent to highlight that different anthropologists have divergent opinions and theories about this process. As a result, it would be very difficult to term one perspective better than rest of other perspective provided and substantiated by the other anthropologists. Implications of the historical evolution of the anthropology of education The sixteenth century experienced growing interaction of Europeans with people representing different lifestyles throughout the world (Levinson and Pollock, 2011). This interaction did not create any single understanding about culture and its different meanings and applications. Interestingly, this experience enabled the Europeans to explore different aspects, meanings and definitions of culture in the world. Additionally, some ethnographers used schools as ethnographic objects representing an organized culture inside schools (Levinson and Pollock, 2011). In addition, it has been described that schools have all those activities and actions that represent a full context of culture (Levinson and Pollock, 2011). A deeper analysis of this perspective highlights that, in schools, students wear same color dress, show same or identical behavior and attitude and learn same kind of academic literature. In other words, the school is a specific type of social institution where students, teachers, and other non-academic staff members have specific type of relationship and interaction as well. In this regard, it is vital to mention that this interaction is based on relationship and that is solidified by the organization (i.e. school) through providing context and environment in which all coming to the school and making interaction with each other become part of the culture that has defined academic and social boundaries. For example, students are required to sit on chairs and listen to lectures whereas teachers are required to come on time and play their part by performing their academic role within the boundary of this social institution. In 1871, English anthropologist E.B. Tylor has differently defined the concept of culture by terming it as complex whole encompassing art, knowledge, belief, morals, custom and all those other factors or qualities which have been obtained by social being (Tylor, 1871, p.1). This definition looks comprehensive as it highlights and encompasses all those factors which are directly or indirectly related to the concept of culture. At the same time, this definition takes into account legal, psychological, ethical, customary and art-related manifestations which are inbuilt to culture and its attachment with the social actions of humans. At the same time, it has also been suggested that various assumptions are used in the structure of culture: for instance, it is assumed that humans develop and organize themselves into all types of groups as these groups attach themselves with specific ways of carrying out certain actions (Levinson and Pollock, 2011: 103). This remains the most significant evolutionary part of anthropology for various reasons. First, at the start of this process, the main focus was given to definitions and meanings of culture prevalent in different parts of Europe and communities living in these areas. In this phase, the attempt was to find as many definitions and meanings as possible so as to understand and reach the final boundary of culture. Later on, the anthropologists used the subsequent method in which assumptions were used to increase understanding relating to the application and extent of culture. Synthesis of the core elements of the ethnographic approach Anthropologist approach necessitates the use of proper appraisal for uncovering whether there exist any problem instead of retaining an approach that the problem is already existing (Levinson and Pollock, 2011; 104). This element is central to the ethnographic approach as it gives a primary step before going to embark upon any appraisal. For example, if an anthropologist has been assigned to determine the state of interaction between teachers and students in a particular school, in this situation, the anthropologist is required to develop the appraisal strategy. And that appraisal strategy, it is highly essential that the anthropologist should develop a mindset which must have a clear understanding about the problem. For example, if the mindset reflects that there exists an interaction problem between students and teachers. Under this situation, the anthropologist would fail to satisfy the requirements of inquisition which suggest that the anthropologist should have inquisitive frame of mind searching or ascertaining the presence of any problem. On the other hand, if the anthropologist goes with the mindset that the problem exists, there would be chances that the research would not generate the expected level of results and subsequently the entire effort would result in vein. In order to avoid this, it is highly essential that the anthropologist should use this important element of ethnographic approach. Ethnographers are assigned to carry out study in which certain research objectives are entertained by the ethnographers. Research is an important aspect and activity for ethnographers as it enables them to understand and uncover the new areas for increasing understanding about subjects and other aspects. In this regard, it is important to highlight that the research is mainly consisted of two types: primary research and secondary research. In the primary research, a researcher is required to obtain first hand information from potential respondents. The firsthand information refers to that kind of fresh or new information that has not been shared or provided by anyone else. For this purpose, different methods, such as interview, questionnaire, field study and observation method are some of the methods used for collecting raw data from the potential respondents. In each method, different research method along with different ethical considerations is provided for attaining the research objectives. Within this context, another important feature of ethnographic approach is that they always want to “search out” (Levinson and Pollock, 2011, p.104). In other words, the research activity either through primary or secondary, always endeavor to highlight or bring new information by entering into new unexplored areas of study. And for them, different research instruments, such as interviewing and observation, are used for increasing understanding about something new. And more importantly, each method requires unique set of activities. For example, for interviewing students about the teacher’s behaviors and their interaction in classroom, it is highly essential that the ethnographer must obtain permission from the school management; without this permission, it would be unethical to conduct this study. At the same time, it is also vital that the researcher must ensure that the obtained information or data from students (as respondents) would not be shared with any third party. In other words, the researcher is required to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of the collected data and information. References Levinson, B. A.U., Pollock, M. (2011). Companion to the Anthropology of Education. New Jersey, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell. Pollock, M. (2008). From Shallow to Deep: Toward a Thorough Analysis of School Achievement Patterns. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 39 (4): 369-380 Tylor, E.B. (1871). Primitive Culture. New York: J.P. Putnam. Read More