The Ambiguity of the Concept of “Culture” in a School Institution Cover Image

Wieloznaczność pojęcia „kultura” w placówce szkolnej
The Ambiguity of the Concept of “Culture” in a School Institution

Author(s): Krzysztof Zajdel
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Education, School education
Published by: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Marii Curie-Sklodowskiej
Keywords: culture; culture perception; countercultural activities

Summary/Abstract: This article describes the ambiguity of the concept of “culture” and its understanding in a broad and narrow sense in the area of school activities. Teachers in a school institution should educate students also in relation to themselves, to others, to teachers, parents, but they face many problems in this area, because quite often students define and understand the concept of culture, personal culture and behavior towards others diffrently. In response to the demands of the school and the pressure expressed in the school law, it is quite common for counter-cultural actions to be taken by the wards, which are usually not accepted by both the school authorities and some parents. The institution should be a place of freedom to the extent that all the actors in it respect certain established norms, but at the same time give a certain amount of freedom to the pupils to be different, individualistic (e.g. in dress, behaviour, preaching, artistic activity), as long as they do not harm their relatives or impose their views. In my research, it can be seen that this is not the case. The message from the organization is: “you can be different, but we will show you who we would like you to be”, which effectively inhibits mutual communication in this respect.

  • Issue Year: 5/2021
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 149-161
  • Page Count: 13
  • Language: English