Running head: REFLECTION ON CULTURE 1

Reflection on Culture

Shelly Treleaven

ECC 515: Leadership and Counselling Diverse Cultures in Education

M. Ed. in Leadership

City University of Seattle in Canada

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Reflection is a large part of how one improves their practice as looking back on

experiences offers insight on areas for growth. For the latest project in ECC 515 we were asked

to choose two subcultures and do some research on them. I found the act of choosing two

subcultures to be extremely challenging as there were so many and I wanted to ensure I would

have some background understanding of the ones I choose.

This project had me focus on the behaviours or aspects of their way of life that made

these sub-cultures different. Initially this was challenging as people are people, but as I explored

further I came to realize that it is not the people that are different, but rather how they react to

events and situations differently. I began to read a number of different websites and articles and

kept following the information trail. The struggle I had was my lack of ability to remain focused

on the questions we had been given and ensuring I kept track of what I was reading.

I started my research with children from a one-parent home. I struggled to find

information that would give me a clear vision of how to describe this group in a positive manner.

My experience as a child of a single-parent was extremely positive - it meant my dad was gone -

so I wanted to see if this was typical. After reading a number of articles, I realized that this is not

uncommon, but not typical. I was curious about how their family situation impacted their

experience of school. I was initially startled that there had been as much research on this topic as

there has been, and how most researchers focus on the negative outcomes. I did finally find a

site that shared positive outcomes for these children which I hoped would set my portrayal of this

cultural subgroup apart.

My second sub-culture was that of children of abuse. This is an area that I continue to

struggle personally and by doing this research have come to understand that I have fared very
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well compared to the typical child. What I struggled with the most was identifying how they

were different, and how to support them.

This class has had me take a look at some very sensitive issues and look at how they have

shaped the way I view the world. This has not been an easy task, but one I am grateful to have

had the opportunity to grow in. While difficult, it has illustrated to me the need to step away

from judgement and remain curious as one cannot know the experience of another, but we are

able to learn from them.