5/27/21; Week 6: Individualism vs. Collectivism

 Individualism vs Collectivism

The term culture is comprehensive. One of its definitions published by NCSER (National Center on Secondary Education and Transition) states that "Culture refers to the patterns of values ​​and learned behaviors that are shared and transmitted from generation to generation by the members of a social group." Values ​​"as used here include beliefs, assumptions, and attitudes. (05 Individualism vs Collectivism, 2015). Every culture has its values ​​that determine what is acceptable in a group and define how people live their lives. 

Observing different cultures and their values, we can see that they can be individualistic or collectivist oriented. In an individualistic culture orientation, a person is considered a single and independent individual, who has his or her responsibilities and rights. Praise and individual achievement are not only acceptable but also encouraged in this culture.  Notably, individual mistakes are also better tolerated, even when they may harm the group.

On the other hand, in a collectivist culture orientation, the individual makes part of the group building a relation of interdependence. They develop group-oriented values and skills to work together and help each other. There is a great sense of commitment towards family and society.

Although these two cultural values are very distinct, it is possible to find some aspects of culture oriented to individualism in the collectivist one and vice versa. For example, in an individualistic culture society, an individual can join a group of team supporters and build a connection with them, sharing the same feelings when their team wins or loses a match, having a sense of collectivism.

How Does it Work in a Classroom?

According to John J. Ivers. Professor of Languages and International Studies at BYU-Idaho (05 Individualism vs Collectivism, 2015) while children and young people in America are encouraged to think and speak for themselves and be independent, in other countries, some parts of Asia for example, they are taught differently, not to express their opinions or not disagree with older people. It means that we as ESL/EFF teachers may come across to learners who can and feel comfortable expressing themselves and giving their opinions openly to us, adults because they had been taught to in their culture. But, we also may find students who are not used to say what they are thinking or disagree with any adult or even their classmates, for example. 

Identifying what kind of group orientation students belong to, individualistic or collectivist culture orientation is essential for teachers to avoid misinterpretation and conflicts in the group and between students and the teacher.

We may face challenges when working in groups because this activity can have a different meaning to students, depending on their cultural values. A student from an individualistic culture may look for individual success, while another student from collectivist culture may be less tolerant with a group member's mistake and seek for the group's achievement.

Both cultures have positive and negative aspects. There isn't any perfect place at all. However, recognizing the negative aspects of each culture orientation allows us to repair what is not good and make it better, to improve our society.

But it still remains important questions for us to ponder: Are we all, teachers and students, open-minded enough to embrace our differences and learn from them, from each other? Will students be willing to practice tolerance and patience with each other? How to bring this issue to the classroom avoiding stereotypes that can harm the students' relationship even more?

References

05 Individualism vs Collectivism. (2015, March 12). BYU-Idaho - Ivers Video; TESOL 378. https://video.byui.edu/media/05+Individualism+vs+Collectivism/0_ojon0rjc

Part III: Continuum of “Individualistic” and “Collectivistic” Values. (2005). National Center on Secondary Education and Transition. http://www.ncset.org/publications/essentialtools/diversity/partIII.asp

Ravitch, D. (2020, July 23). The Myth of Chinese Super Schools | by Diane Ravitch. The New York Review of Books. https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2014/11/20/myth-chinese-super-schools/