Introduction
Many scholars in the contemporary world concur with the fact that education affects cultural practices in many ways. Others agree that modernity, which comes in form of technological advances, has eliminated cultural practices in society. The modern world is perceived to be rational where people apply logic in doing things. Furthermore, modern society is highly differentiated meaning that secularization is favored as opposed to spiritualism. This research, therefore, aims at testing the hypothesis suggesting that education affects the cultural practices of parents. The researcher interviewed college students. The findings were analyzed to conclude.
Method
The data used in the investigation was obtained from a sample of students on Campus whereby each category represents a particular social class. A student undertaking social research unit in the university performed the study. The instrument used in collecting data was a standardized questionnaire, which captured information concerning the respondents. It captured their biographic data and socio-cultural records.
The researcher preferred to administer the questionnaire personally that is, delivering it to students selected. This was chosen because students were available and the distance between the researcher and the respondents was less. In case parents were to be interviewed, the researcher would have mailed the questionnaires to them because of the distance and the issue of resources.
The researcher employed sampling techniques referred to as the quota system. Furthermore, it was also relevant for the researcher to utilize convenient sampling as one way of establishing the population to be involved in the research. Upon realization that various categories of students exist, the researcher employed quota sampling. The sampling technique ensured that an equal number of respondents were represented in the study.
The college has several categories including fresher men, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Convenient sampling was vital due to the realization that students are usually busy hence selecting those available would be suitable for the research. The response rate was high given that all sampled students gave their views. The questionnaire had four Parts. The first part sought to capture the biodata information of parents. The second part dealt with the demography and gender of parents.
This was to ascertain the prevalence of views in various categories to ensure that if any differences came about, then they would be captured in their demographic space. The third part dealt with the academic credentials of parents (Wolfer 67). The motivation for this section came from the understanding that different sections of the population respond differently to motivators based on age and academic credentials. The fourth part delved into the specific issues relating to cultural differences, starting from the understanding of the concept to the possible effects it would have on students.
Findings
Table One
In the figure, the dependent variable is an ordinal variable whereby number 1 represents never. On the other hand, number 5 represents very often, meaning that parents participate in cultural activities regularly. From the table, the rate at which parents participate in cultural activities is very low. The collected data shows that only 39% of parents participate in cultural activities. The level of participation is influenced by other factors. Therefore, participation in cultural practices is a dependent variable since it is affected by other independent variables such as the level of education, gender, occupation, and age.
On the side of independent variables, four factors affect the level of cultural participation among parents. From table 1, the parents are not much educated because their average educational qualification is 32%. Out of one hundred parents, only nine had a doctoral degree. However, many parents have an education that exceeds high school. Parents might not have acquired the highest educational qualifications because of factors such as economic constraints, lack of time due to job requirements, and family commitments. Since the average age of participants is 21.35, their parents have tight family obligations, which might affect their economic statuses.
This would automatically impede their chances of furthering their education. In American society, parents are required to facilitate their children as they proceed with their education. Parents are further required to take care of their children economically, physically, and socio-culturally. This burdening task affects the socialization of parents in society. In case parents do not rise to the occasion to fulfill the mentioned tasks, the state of anomy would be witnessed in society. The family would have failed to fulfill its key role, which is socialization in form of caregiving.
Table 2
Bivariate Relationships
The parallel matrix in table two shows that there is indeed a positive relationship between dependent and independent variables. The table shows that student classification is 0.663. However, it should be mentioned that this relationship is not strong.
Discussion
In this research, the researcher evaluated the relationship between the level of education and cultural activities. It was found out that education influences to a certain extent the cultural activities in society. The relationship between education and the level of participation in cultural activities among parents was supported after testing the hypothesis. Education was found to be one of the strongest variables that shape people’s behavior in society.
People interact in society while considering their social standing, which is mainly based on education. In this case, an individual’s face, which refers to esteem, pleasure, and self-respect, determines his or her social achievement. An individual would try as much as possible to delink him or herself from certain societal activities to maintain face, which is related to the educational level in this case. Earlier researches confirm that people try to either gain or maintain face. However, it should be noted that the face is not only acquired through recognition from others. Huang (451) conducted a study to determine how education affects an individual’s behavior.
In his study, he noted that people would behave the way they do to either gain or maintain face. He conducted a study by sampling 159 students undertaking an MBA course. In the study, it was established that people try to save face even though it has a negative correlation with knowledge sharing. Furthermore, a positive relationship exists between saving face and sharing knowledge. In this case, an individual intends to save face and keep his or her reputation. An individual would have to keep away from participating in cultural activities, such as sharing knowledge. This is common especially when an individual is educated in society (Jung-Sok 201).
Concerning the results of this study, it can be deduced that parents in society care about their face mainly because of the levels of education attained. Since their levels of education are low, they care much about gaining face as opposed to maintaining the already existing faces. Many parents try to gain face mainly because of the existing social structure. By gaining face, they would interact with people who might influence their promotion or success in places of work.
From the findings, few parents are in self-business. This means they are mostly employees of organizations. This forces them to open up to coexist in society (Keane 13). Parents do not attempt to keep away from major cultural activities because it can affect their lives negatively. Each parent tries as much as possible to be involved in a communal activity such as a dance group or community-based organization.
Conclusion
From the study, it can be concluded that education affects cultural practices in society. Individuals with higher educational levels tend to shy away from cultural practices that would associate them with traditionalism. Educated individuals tend to oppose or disregard values and set of guidelines. However, as much as individuals try to keep off from traditional beliefs, culture plays an important role in their lives. For instance, the face is maintained mainly because of economic benefits. The relationship between education and culture is intricate. More studies should be undertaken to unearth issues surrounding the relationship between the two variables.
Works Cited
Huang, Davison. “Impact of Personal and Cultural factors on Knowledge Sharing in China”. Asia Pacific J Manage 25.3 (2008): 451-471. Print.
Jung-Sook, Lee, and N. Bowen. “Parent involvement, cultural capital, and the achievement gap among elementary school children”. American Educational Research Journal 43.2 (2003): 193 – 218. Print.
Keane, Theresa. Improving Parent Involvement in Schools: A Cultural Perspective, Upper Saddle River: Peason, 2007. Print.
Wolfer, Loreen. Real research: Conducting and evaluating research in the social sciences, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2007. Print.