Културни идентитет у образовању: Неизбежност разлика

Abstract

School is the institution of culture. Educational institutions simultaneously preserve, shape and disseminate society’s »cultural capital«. The terms »society’s cultural capital« and »cultural identity« do not have identical meaning. While the former directs us to general and original cultural heritage in all spheres of society (comprehension of reality, space, time, man, labor, attitude to the other, the accomplished influence of foreign cultures), the latter summarizes the basic meanings of culture, whereby Self and affiliation to a single community is determined. At the same time, cultural identity involves diversity from the other. The problem is discussed on a number of levels: (1) European program demands for »Europeanization of education«, (2) cultural identities within the Republic of Serbia – Serbian culture and culture of minority groups, (3) cultural differences brought into school – teachers, students, parents, (4) cultural identities in curricula and textbooks. Basically, the function of education is to preserve differences in cultural identities but also to develop tolerance to differences. In other words, educational system and all its components must be linked to positive and negative experiences of multicultural state, so as to assume responsibility in encouraging tolerance among different cultural communities and to discourage potential focuses of conflicts.