What Is The Meaning of Cultural Background?

What is the meaning of cultural
background?
A:
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Cultural background constitutes the ethnic, religious, racial, gender, linguistic or other
socioeconomic factors and values that shape an individual’s upbringing. A cultural
background can be shaped at the family, societal or organizational level. Examples of
different cultural groups include Vietnamese, English, African American and Irish
Catholic. Cultural background is an important way to define an individual’s identity.
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
What is cultural awareness, and why is it important?

What is a cultural perspective?

What are cultural factors?
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People of different cultural backgrounds often have to interact with each other. These
interactions may lead to strong relationships that help build diverse communities
capable of achieving substantial goals. For instance, it may be necessary to work
effectively with people from divergent races or with those who speak a different
language to promote economic development and health care within a community or
secure a good education for children.
While it is important to learn about the cultures of other people to succeed in working
together, one must first understand his own culture before he can appreciate any other.
This understanding starts with recognition of the values, customs and world views
passed down from grandparents or parents or those acquired from personal
experiences while growing up in a given society. One can learn about culture by
meeting people of other cultures, evaluating any biases towards other cultures, asking
questions and reading.
What is a cultural background?

A:
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The term "cultural background" is a reference to any culture or subculture that an
individual identifies as his or her heritage or background. Culture describes the beliefs,
behaviors and traits of an ethnic, social or age demographic. Cultural background can
also simply indicate a person’s nationality, even if they have no social ties or physical
traits that identify with that group.
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What is the difference between subculture and counterculture?

What is the difference between subculture and microculture?

What is Israelite heritage?
Credit: Ivan Bandura CC-BY 2.0
FULL ANSWER
The term "culture" was first coined by English Anthropologist Edward B. Tylor. In his
book, "Primitive Culture," published in 1871, he describes culture as a "complex whole"
that includes everything that a social collective learns and passes along to its young.
This "complex whole" includes language, food, customs, religion, art and government.
Culture is also flexible and it adapts and changes as collective groups of people
change.
There are also "subcultures,” which are cultures that exist within cultures. In the United
States, many subcultures are ethnic. Irish-Americans, Chinese-Americans and Mexican-
Americans are examples of ethnic subcultures with which some Americans identify.
Individuals within these subcultures share the language, customs, food and identity of
their subcultures while also sharing the language, customs and foods as Americans in
an American culture. Many people identify with more than one culture in their cultural
background, especially in a country that is as diverse as America.
Cultural Awareness
An essential skill in the provision of culturally appropriate services, cultural awareness entails an
understanding of how a person's culture may inform their values, behaviour, beliefs and basic
assumptions.
Cultural awareness recognises that we are all shaped by our cultural background, which influences how
we interpret the world around us, perceive ourselves and relate to other people. You don't need to be an
expert in every culture or have all the answers to be culturally aware; rather, cultural awareness helps you
to explore cultural issues with your care recipients more sensitively.
Information about specific cultural practices will help to increase your cultural knowledge by providing an
overview of cultural characteristics and issues. However, it is always important to identify individual needs
and preferences and remember that no individual can be reduced to a set of cultural norms.
Within any culture, peoples' values, behaviour and beliefs can vary enormously. Differences may occur
due to time of arrival in Australia, length of settlement, socio-economic background, level of education,
rural or urban residence, identification with cultural and religious background, and different life
experiences - including the experience of migration.
Cultural awareness entails an understanding of the migration process itself. Migration is a key influence
on a person's life, with differing effects due to the different experiences of pre-migration, migration and
resettlement.
While some migrants undergo a relatively easy transition, most migrants will undergo some - if not many -
challenges in adjusting to life in a new country.
Some of the many post-migration stressors include: the stress of separation from homeland, family
members, friends and support networks; racial discrimination; changes in lifestyle and socio-economic
status; culture shock; language barriers; and the ongoing trauma of pre-migration experiences, which
may have included war and political instability, physical and psychological abuse, and travelling as a
refugee or living in a refugee camp.

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