Culture, education and sport
(7 halaman)
Ferliansyah
Introduction
The
purpose of this chapter is to place sport in a social, cultural and
educationalcontext. This implies definitions of culture, education and sport,
and theacademic juxtaposition of each to the others. However, it will be seen
thatculture, education and sport have commonly-held meanings which, in
somecases, eradicate the need for further clarification. So, apart from
defining these
important
concepts, this chapter will also deal with the pervading nature ofsport in
society, sport as a system of sub-cultures and the degree to which sporthas
become an important symbol for individuals and societies worldwide. Sporthas a
variety of functions for different segments of society and therefore
differentmeanings to those different populations.
Everyone knows what a culture is. Everyone knows
what education is. And everyone knows what sport is. But everyone has slightly
different definitions ofculture, education and sport. What we require are
commonly understood definitions of terms for the purpose of this chapter. The
mere fact that we need to define these terms for the purposes of this analysis
highlights the problem that definitions and meanings are context specific and
will vary as the contexts of their usage changes. The potential differences in
the meanings of sport have already been touched upon, but culture as a term can
evoke different interpretations.
There is an inevitable and symbiotic relationship
between culture, education and sport. Education and sport are two of the major
institutions of our society. As such, they interact with each other, and of
course other institutions, to contribute to what we commonly regard as culture
and society. In this way, neither education nor sport are ideologically neutral because
they have implicit values which we incorporate into recognition of both culture
and society. This incorporation of sport and education into the meaning of
society and culture legitimates them and gives them both a value and a place.
Although we have only referred to sport and education here, it can be seen how
the various societal and cultural components(such as religion, work and the
family) are constructed through systems of meaning that are legitimated through
practice and adoption and perpetuate the commonly-held view of culture and
society.
The above argument indicates the real value of sport
and education; that is, they have importance in many of our everyday lives, and
they are a part of the fabric of our society. The emotions, particularly those
of parents, raised by education and the number of newspaper pages devoted to
sport are a testament to this importance.
Culture
There is a commonly-held view that culture is art;
paintings, sculptures, drama and the like, but that is mistaken. The artistic
view of culture is limited by its narrowness of application—it is only one
aspect of culture, and is sometimes referred to as ‘high’ culture. The converse
is that a ‘low’ culture also exists and refers to football, pop music, and TV.
This élitist view has little appeal in academic debate and, as theboundaries
between these two opposing cultural dichotomies becomes ever more blurred, the
currency of this framework is devalued.
A culture is a system of shared values, meanings and
symbols that enables societies and individuals to operate effectively without
continually redefining these values, meanings, symbols and points of reference.
Imagine the impossibility of having to say what we meant by religion, for
example, every time we used the term; or what morality meant to us; or what we
understood by the word sport. Take thesymbol of the cross. In one context it
indicates religion, spirituality, and the religious claim that Jesus died on a
cross to grant us salvation. In another context, as a traffic sign, a cross
means two roads intersecting, and we must therefore drive with care. A cross on
its side, in yet another context, indicates that something is wrong, incorrect
and possibly needs to be done again. The meaning of the symbol clearly depends
upon the context in which the symbol is placed
As well as being things and items, symbols can be
found in actions and language. Hand gestures, facial expressions, body language
and head movements sometimes have specific meanings in different cultural
contexts. In western society, we commonly throw paper and small pieces of
household rubbish on afire. However in Nepal, the Hindu and Buddhist household
gods live in the hearth and it is an insult to throw rubbish at them. Giving or
receiving items with one’s left hand is poorly regarded in some Asian and
eastern cultures because of the sanitary
function for which the left hand is used. It is far better to offer and receive
with both hands. Nearer to our own western experience, Churchill’s V for
victory hand gesture has come to be interpreted as a peace symbol. Although
connections can be made between victory and peace, these are different concepts
located in different times but represented by the same symbol.
These differences within shared meanings are what
make separate cultures unique. People within the culture do not have to define
their symbols at every social interaction. The commonly-held perception of
meaning lubricates the social process. Within cultures there are sub-cultures.
These smaller groupings of individuals also share systems of values and
meanings and this develops their clear and separate identities. Some of the
most obvious examples are surfers and bikers. Each of these groups has very
distinctive ways of dressing, talking and behaving that are clearly identified
as being peculiar to the group. The distinctnature of language, appearance and
actions is what binds the fabric of sub-culturestogether and makes them strong
in their separateness and individuality. A subculturemust have at least one
unifying characteristic. For the surfing sub-culture,one of the unique
characteristics of that community is that they go into the sea andride waves,
they surf. There is also an exclusionary nature to sub-cultures whichmeans that
without possessing the unique characteristic one could never join
thesub-culture. So one could never be included in the surfing sub-culture if
one didnot surf. There are undoubtedly privileged groups who enjoy limited
access to thesub-culture. In the case of surfing, board and wetsuit
manufacturers, journalists,photographers and the like will be allowed this
access, but they will not be part ofthe core group, the essential sub-culture.
Education
We all have a view of what education means. In one
role or another, we have all experienced education. We have been children at
school so we know what it is like to be a pupil. We know what goes on in
schools, even if only superficially, so we know what schools are like to work
in. And many of us have seen school through our own children’s eyes, so we
think we know a lot about school, and thereforeabout education. This
interpretation is similar to other people’s interpretation because they have
also been through the same process and experiences. Therefore, this
interpretation gets reinforced and every time we use the word education, we do
not have to explain what we mean. The meaning of education is a commonly-held
meaning that is the culturally acceptable one.
Mention education to most people and they will
get a mental image of a school; a lesser number will also think of higher
education, perhaps in a university.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar