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Transcript of Kimball 1956
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SOLON
T
KIMBA
Anthropology and Education
The
anthropologist
is aware that his real contribution can come
only
s he works
alongside
educators,
learning their problems
and
point of
view.
\A/HEN SOME
anthropologists
turned
heir
attention
to
American life
about a quarter century ago it
was
in
evitable that
the
institutions
and
proc
esses
of
education would eventually be
studied. Much
more
attention has
been
given
to
the general aspects
of commu
nity life and to industrial
organization
however
than
to education. Only re
cently
and
primarily on the initiation
of
educators has there
begun
to be
a
seri
ous
concern
with this latter area.
It
is
still too early to assess the quality of an
thropological influence
or even
to
pre
dict what the future may hold. It
oes
seem appropriate
however to attempt
an
analysis
of some significant
areas
in
which
educators
and
anthropologists
might
work
together. This
will be more
meaningful
if we summarize first the
basic
areas of
study method
and
point
of view
Anthropology is traditionally defined
as the study
of
man. Theoretically at
least no aspect
of
human behavior
or
of the
environmental
conditions
which
have
contributed
to the physical
or
cul
tural development of man
is denied
consideration. In practice the central
concern has been with man's
exploita
tion of his environment through
tech
nology
his adjustment
to
other
men
through
social
groupings and his
rela
tionship
to the
supernatural.
From
study
of
man's
technical equipme
customs activities
institutions
val
and symbols the anthropologist lea
the
culture
of a
people. Cultural
scriptions
however are
always
wit
the
context
of
a
larger
purpose. Thi
the search for generalizations
wh
express the
universalities
of
human
havior in
time and space In
order
achieve this latter
goal
the anth
pologist
works cross-culturally a
through
the comparative
examinat
of
cultures
seeks
for
the
dynam
which
explain the
origin diffusi
persistence
and
change
of social a
cultural behavior. Inevitably the
thropologist
comes
to appreciate
orderliness of the
cultural universe
a
is expressed in
pattern
and system.
Method
of
nthropology
The research methods utilized
anthropologists
offer another approa
to problems
of
education. Up
to
present most
educational
research
been dominated by the tradition of
perimental psychology. This last
proach
is
one
that
creates
a contriv
situation
which may or may not h
any
relation
to reality in which
res
are dependent upon
the manipulat
of
variables.
Anthropological
meth
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is
quite dif
ferent. The
anthr
opologist
uses
the real
l
ife se
tting as his labora
tory.
It
is h
is
objective
to
avo
id dire
ct
influence on
the
activi
ties
he
r
ecords
b
ut rather to
deter
mine {h
e character
istics
of on-going
systems
as
they
op-
crate wi
thin set
of
condition
s.
Thus,
he
observes
e
ducative
proces
ses
through
the
activities
of
person
s am
ong
t
hem
selves. He can th
en
d
escribe
thechar
a
cteristic
patte
rns
and
offer certain
conclusion
s a
bout thei
r
func
tions.
Fr
om su h
knowled
ge
i
tis th
en
po
s
s
ible to
makepr
edictions abo
ut the
probableresults
of given cour
se of
action.
A
word
of
caution
should be
introd
uced
a
t this
point
to
counter the
impression that
anthropo
logists hold
all
the answers.
They don
't.
B
ut far mo
re
is know
n about
the dynamics
of hu
man
behavior
than pract
itioners, in
wha
tever field
,
have
been able or will
ing to accept.
The
fa
ult must also
be
shared by a
nthropologist
s
who h
ave
failed
to
present
their
findings
in
u
sable form
o
r
who have
not,
until re
cently,
shown much
interes
t
in
modern
education
al problems
.
The
con
cern with
the
wh
ole
in
which
each cul
tural aspec
t is vie
wed
in
th
e
cont
ext
of
its
meaning and
re
lation to
the othe
r
parts pro
vides
an
ess
ential p
erspective t
o the un
derstand
in
g
of the educational
process.
The
non-
judgmental,
comparati
ve method
of
anthropo
logy provides
an intellec
tual
devic
e
through
which
the
edu
ca
tion
ist canescape from
the
sup
erficial
irrc
levancics
of the mom
ent. Fairwarn
ingshould be
g
iven that
the nece
ssary
rcoricnta
tion
of
one
's think
ing
is
ac
comp
lished
often with diff
iculty and
some
times with
pain.
There is
n
o rea
son,
however,
wh
y
subject
matt
er ex -
So
lon
T.
Kim
ball s
professor of educa
tio
n
Te
achers College
Columbia
Univer
sit
y
Nei
v
York
New
Yo
rk.
pre
ssing this
point
of view
shou
ld n
ot
b
e i
ntroduced
in
to th
e
el
ementary and
high school
curriculum
with
beneficial
res
ults.
Th
e
i
nclusion
of anthropolo
gical
materi
als in classr
oom subject
matter,
par
ticularly those de
scribing
the
cu
s
toms
of primit
ive
peoples,
has
made
some head
way in
r
ecent yea
rs.
Such
b
orrowings,
however, can
lead to
nega
tive
resu
lts
if
the
y acce
ntuate
the
ethnocentric
tendency to
establish
the
superi
ority
of
on
e's own wa
y o f life in
con
trast to the benighted people
s
of
oth
er
cult
ures. This r
esult would c
on
tradict
the
very spiri
t
of
anthrop
ologi
cal
method which
avoid
s invidious
c
omparisons
but
in
stead accords
to a
ll
people
s res
pect for th
eir ways. T
his
does not mean
th
at
o
ne
n
eeds
to ap
prove or a
ttempt
to adopt new
be
havior.
On the
contrary,
the
objective
should be
to-derive
greater awareness
of
the mean
ing of one's ow
n culture
through
the examinat
ion
o
f others.
The product
ive use of cross-cultura
l
ma
terials mus
tbe within
the
frame
work
of understand
ing
basic aspects
of
hum
an
life. A s
an examp
le, the
family
is an
institutional
arrangement
present
among
all
peoples. Its basic
functions
o
f
regulating
the
sexual beh
avior of
adults,
providing
protection
for
the
im
mature,
transmitting
large
sh
are
of
the
c
ultural herit
age to oncom
ing gen
erat
ions, and
alloca
ting tasks to
old
and young,
male a
nd
fema
le, for
the
welfare
o
f
th
e corporate who
le is
univ
ersal
phenomen
on. These
are
uni
versal
ba
sic function
s
although
the
de
tail
s
of
fam
ily
activities m
ay va
ry
en
or-
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xample,
the
institutio
nalized,
depend
, non-producti
ve,
asex
ual id
eal of
he
physical
ly ma
ture high school
stu
ent
provide
s sharp
contra
st
w
ith
the
xpected
behavio
r ofthe
young
ad
ult.
If
one
considered
the
period
of
tran
ition alone
there are many
probl
ems
wh
ich little
is
kno
wn. But
the
most serious
question
involves
the
gen
l transm
issionof
the cultu
ral
al
ues.
The
seem
ingly
greater
emphasis
pon peer
group culture
is evid
ence
that di
rectional influences
fro
m
elders
ia
s dim
inished in
magni
tude
if
not
in
quality.
If
youth
n
o lo
nger
d
erives
i
ts
im
ages o
f maturity
from
the
adult
orld
the shift
represents
radical
od
ification of
the traditional ed
uca
tional p
rocess
wi
th pos
sible serious
con
sequences.
Another
of
theprob
lems
w
ith which
hav
e struggle
d
ha
s been
the
al
ues
wh
ich
educa
tion
sh
ould foster.
his
is
one
of t
he
m
ost
difficult
of
all
d
the heat
engendered
by
contro
ersy is
te
stimony to
the
depth of feel
ing and diver
gence of view. If
anth
ro
ology can
offer
assi
stance in
this area
hen
it
wil
l
hav
e
madea ma
jor
co
ntri-
n
nounc
ing
tuition. But
there
arcma
ny difficultie
s
which
must be overco
me. Ant
hropol
ogy is
a non-ju
dgmental and
operation
al
discipline
. Its too
ls p
ermit the disse
tion of
va
lue syste
ms, but
other th
an
its
own
commitment
to
objectivity and
the
scienti
fic m
ethod it
remains
alo
of
from value
formulati
ons. There
is
some
evidence,
however, of
brea
k in
strict
ad
herence
to
this positi
onand
a
r
ecog
nition
t
hat som
e con
ditions contrib
ute
mo
re
to individual and
group ^we
lfare
than do oth
ers. Under such cir
cum
stances
it
is possib
le that
anthropolo
gists
may begin to
accept some
respon
sibil
ity in
the area of value
form
ula
tio
n.
Recent co
operative
undertaking
s
b
e
t
ween edu
cators and
anthropo
logists
promise
well for
thef
uture.
The an
thropologi
st
's aw
are
t
hat his
real
con
tributioncan
come only as he wo
rks
alongside
educator
s learning
their
problems and
point of view. The
trans
lation
of
anthropological
concepts
and
their
incorp
oration into
the education
a
l proces
s will be
slowat
best,
.b
utthe
resu
lts
should be
mutually
rewarding
,
for b
oth
groups.
Three
New ASCD
ooklets
Reporti
ng Is Communica
ting:
An Approac
h to
E
valuation
and
Ma
rking. Written
by the
Texas ASCD. (64
p.
Si.00
Selected Biblio
graphy
for Curr
iculum Workers
1956
Edition
Edited
by
Wanda
Robertson
. 64 p.
1.00
Curriculum'M
aterials for
Creativ
e Thinkin
g,
Living
Teaching.
A
catalogue of
the
Curricu
lum Ma
terials Exhibit
a
t
t
he
1956
ASCD
C
onference. (40
p.
75
Ord
er Irnm Association
for
Supervision and C
urriculum Develop
ment,
NEA, 201 16t
h Street. N.W.,
Washington. D.
C
.
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Copyright 1956 by the Association for Supervision and CurriculumDevelopment. All rights reserved.