Meenakshi Dahal

Socio-cultural Environment and Children's Learning and Development: an Ethnographic Study in Nepal Meenakshi Dahal

The prevailing teaching and learning processes have ignored cultural diversity and encouraged in constructing hierarchy and power relationships among children during the course of their learning and development. In addition, understanding language and culture codes is a challenge to the children from the minority cultural groups, and thus they face difficulty in the classroom. Education and schooling of parents and their concerns towards their children?s schooling also influenced children?s learning and development. There is a need for developing culture specific learning environment in school as well as providing appropriate home and neighborhood environment for children?s learning and development. School, parents and communities need a support in this regard. Teachers and the school management in turn, can support to parents and community. It is also important to bridge the gap between the home culture and the school culture. All interventions, be that from the government or from the school, teacher, community and the concerned agencies, should consider the context of the parents, family and of the society.