Understanding Families’
Goals, Values, and Culture
CD 11
Fall 2013
Prof. Gallegos
Cultural Differences in Goals &Values
• Our culture affects everything we do.
• Culture rules how we position our bodies, how
we touch each other, how we look at the
world, how we think, how we see art, what we
think is important, how we set our goals, etc.
• Culture determines our values.
• Values are behind everything we do and every
decision we make.
Cultural Differences in Goals
&Values
• Parents are either pro independence or pro
interdependent.
• Cultural rules are behind their behaviorwhether they keep them or break them.
– Can be influenced by the part of town or area of
the country where you grew up.
– Many people don’t grow up in one place
Independence vs. Interdependent
Independence- Pattern 1
• Baby is able to go to sleep in
their own crib
• Raise child’s self-esteem
• Pro self-help skills
• Self-expression is important
Interdependent-Pattern 2
• Might sleep with child or
child sleeps in the same
room
• Praise group
accomplishments
• Help others
• Good manners
When Conflicts Arise
• Stereotypes are still with us and affect how we see people
from cultures, income levels, & family structures.
• WE all tend to look at any situation from our own point of
view
• Ethnocentric-we look out of our own cultural eyes and
measure others with our own cultural yardstick.
• Dialoguing- is an approach to solving a conflict that is
effective at helping the disagreeing parties see each others’
point of view.
– People engaged in dialogue try to understand the other perspective.
Argument vs. Dialogue
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Argument
The object is to win
The arguer tells
The arguer tries to persuade
The arguer tries to convince
The arguer sees 2 opposing
views & considers theirs the
valid or best one
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Dialogue
The object of a dialogue is
to gather information
The dialoguer asks
The dialoguer seeks to learn
The dialoguer wants to
discover
The dialoguer is willing to
understand multiple
viewpoints
Cont. Argument vs. Dialogue
• Most people are better at arguing than they are
at having a dialogue.
• Gestures reflect their attitudes
– Assuming a defensive position
• To truly listen, one must suspend judgment &
focus on what’s being said rather than getting
ready for the attack.
• One procedure for problem solving is called
RERUN
RERUN
• Reflect-this is the action of acknowledge what you perceive
the other person is thinking or feeling. Reflect also includes
self-reflection.
• Explain-we listen twice as much b/c we have 2 ears and
one mouth. You listen first then you can explain your point
of view.
• Reason-part of your explanation should include a reason
you have tour perspective. Disclose that the issue is an
emotional button for you.
• Understand-Tune is to both thoughts and feelings and try
to understand the situation from both points od view.
• Negotiate-try brainstorming together until you can find
mutually satisfying solution
• http://youtu.be/gjGL6YY6oMs
More Components
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Build Relationships
Know Yourself
Work to bring difference out in the open
Discuss differences
Become an effective cross-cultural
communicator
• Problem Solve
• Commit yourself to education
Understand & Value Cultural
Pluralism
• We need to work on ourselves so we can be
models for children about how to do what we
hope they will learn.
• Children have the ability to compartmentalizethat is, to understand that one set of
behaviors is appropriate at one place and
another but not another.
Supporting Home Language
• Social interactions-not just with adults but
also with other children.
• Using preschool practice, teachers put
children in environments that let them be
active and focus on their interests and
communication comes naturally in those
environments.
Activity
• Let’s practice
–What are some of the factors in
children’s lives what work against their
prosocial development?