UCSP

Lesson 1: SOCIAL AND CULTURAL BACKGROUND 2. Ensure that you attitude and responses to students
ETHNICITY with special needs may require extended periods of
• a person’s ethnicity is their ethnic traits, time to master a concept of learn a specific skill.
classification or association
You may need to repeat information several times
• usually a collective noun
and reinforce it in many ways.

• but in the singular, an ethnicity is a particular ethnic 3. It is quite easy to fall into the trap of focusing on the
group
weaknesses of students with special needs.Yet it is
• the adjective ethnic relates to large groups of vitally important that you be aware of and seeks to
people who have certain racial, cultural, religious, or identify the individual strengths of each and every
other traits in common
student in your classroom

➡ if your ethnicity is Bicolano, you might speak Bicol • Reinforcement

at home and eat Bicol foods or you might simply 4. Help students understand that grading, evaluation,
refer to yourself as Bicolano and identify with your and assessment is based on identifiable objectives
ethnicity no other way
in accordance with the individual potential.
Evaluation should not be coupled with the
EXCEPTIONALITY limitations of students but rather to their
• people with non-average capacity
expectations.

• special needs students are those with 5. Provide significant opportunities for students of all
exceptionalities
abilities to learn from each other. Structure variety of
learning activities in which the social climate of the
6 Broad Categories classroom is both promoted and enhanced. It is
A. Intellectual
important that everyone feels like he or she is
• includes students who have superior intelligence as contributing.

well as those who are slow to learn

6. Do not make inappropriate assumptions based on
B. Communicative
the student’s exceptionalities. For example, don’t
• these students have special learning disabilities or assume that a learning disabled student is not
speech language impairments
gifted in the visual arts. Also, do not assume that
C. Sensory children with disabilities are disabled in all areas.

• sensory-grouped students have auditory or visual

disabilities
SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS
D. Behavioral
A. Upper Class

• these students are emotionally disturbed or socially • people in this class have great wealth and sources
maladjusted
of income

E. Physical
• constituted as the elite wealthy group in a society

• this includes students with orthopedic or mobility • have high reputation in terms of power and prestige

disabilities
• live in exclusive residential area

F. Multiple
• belong to exclusive private clubs

• these students have a combination of conditions, • may have strong political influence in the system of
such as orthopedically challenged or visually government

impaired
• own several cars and properties and their children
may study in exclusive schools

Additional Information B. Middle Class

➡ Although statistics are difficult to obtain, it has been • may belong to upper-middle class like businessmen
estimated that between 10-13% of the school-age and professionals or lower-middle class like
population has exceptionalities. Thus, in an teachers, clerks, etc

average-size classroom of 25 students, it is • Upper-Middle Class - generally command high

conceivable that 3 or 4 individuals will exhibit one or income, often have college education, live in
more exceptionalities
comfortable homes, own properties, have some
money savings and active in community activities

Tips for Working with Exceptionalities • Lower-Middle Class - have not achieved the same
• “Fairness isn’t about treating everyone the same; it’s lifestyle of the upper-middle class but somehow
giving everyone what they need.” (Special have modest income and live a simple life

Education Teacher Deb Watkins)

C. Lower Class

• belong to the bottom of the socio-economic ladder

1. Be aware that students with special needs may not • Upper-Lower Class - may be considered as the
want to be singled out for any special treatment. To working class or the laborers. they have acquired
do so may identify their disability for other students little education, little time to involve in civic and
and cause them to receive some form of attention community activities. some of the are
they may not be able to handle.

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underemployed, have many socio-economic • Partisan Affiliation - signifies membership in a
problem, with little or no luxuries at all
group that defines a world view and a core set of
• Lower-Lower Class - unemployed or no source of common values

income except by begging or dependent from

private or government relief. many of them live in Lesson 2: SOCIAL, POLITICAL, AND CULTURAL
squatter areas, under the bridge, in street corridors, BEHAVIOR

or with no house at all. many of them are liabilities of • individuals group themselves because of similarities
society because they may be involved in drug and interest

addiction and criminalities

• individuals usually group themselves according to:
common ancestral relationship, physical proximity,
CLASSIFICATION OF SOCIAL AND CULTURAL body characteristics, common interests

BACKGROUND
A. Race
THREE BEHAVIORS
• a socially constructed category composed of people A. Social Behavior

who share biologically transmitted traits that • a term that describes the general conduct exhibited
members of society consider important
by individuals within a society

• racial distractions become meaningful because we • essentially in response to what is deemed

attach meaning to them, and the consequences acceptable by a person’s peer group

may form prejudice and discrimination to slavery • involves avoiding behavior that is characterized as
and genocide
unacceptable

B. Gender
• primarily determines how individuals interact with
• refers to personal traits and social positions that one another within a group or society

members of a society attach to being female and • negative social behavior - anti-social behavior

male
‣ ex: aggression, scapegoating, group bullying

• a dimension of social organization, shaping how we • Human rights violations have help illustrate the
interact with others and how we think of ourselves extent by which harmful, but socially acceptable
as persons
behaviors have persisted in some societies

C. Religion
‣ examples of widespread acceptance of negative
• one of the society’s important institutions
behavior within a peer of group include historical
• a belief system that emphasizes that supernatural incidents of mass genocide and human
being
enslavement
• universal culture pattern since all people have some B. Political Behavior

kind of religion
• Politics - a special form of human authority

• religious symbols and meanings shape the world • cannot be independent of the social behavior

views, thoughts, beliefs of the adherents

• it’s focus is the individual’s engagement in political
• affects or influences the attitude and behavior of an life such as elections, political partisan, political
individual or society
dynasties, public opinion, political parties, etc

D. Social Change

• modification and alterations of a pattern or behavior, Political Phenomenon

social structure, social organization and social • there are political figures in history, perhaps because
institution
of their outstanding achievements and qualities that
• changes in society cause changes in culture
made them significantly different from their
• when there is social change, industrialization, colleagues

urbanization, improved transportation, mobilization • President Joseph “Erap” Estrada

of population, desire for material goods, prevalent ‣ “Erap para sa mahirap”
compadre systme, etc. occur
‣ has been the mayor of the city of Manila since 2013

• change affects or influences the individual’s attitude ‣ gained popularity as a film action playing the lead
and behavior in society
role in over a hundred films in an acting career
E. Political Identity
spanning some three decades

• almost always associated with group affiliation and • Barack Obama

describes the ways n which being a member of a ‣ 2008

particular group might express specific political ‣ came out of nowhere and got the highest
opinions and attitude
percentage of votes by a presidential candidate in
• various factors can construct an identity, including over 100 years

race, nationality, where a person lives, a person’s ‣ his opponents called him a “celebrity” because of
gender, sexuality, religion, class
his popularity

• refers to a specific political part, affiliation or

partisan identity

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Political Dynasties • called CPAs (counting post around) or are working in
• family in which several members are involved in the PAL (palamunin)

politics, particularly electoral politics

• members may be related by blood or marriage

• often several generations or multiple siblings may be

involved

Two Types
1. Thin Dynasty (inter-generational succession)

• a political clan that only has two member swapping

positions

2. Fat Dynasty (simultaneous monopoly of seats)

• monopolizing power is an undesirable situation

• checks and balances among elected officials in

certain local government are difficult if they are all
from one family

Philippine Elections
• elections in the Philippines have several types

• President, Vice President and the Senators are

elected for a six year term

• members of the House of Representatives,

Governors, Vice Governors, members or the
Sangguniang Panlalawigan (provincial board
members), Mayors, Vice Mayors and etc are elected
to serve for a three year term

• COMELEC (Commission on Elections) - responsible

for running elections

• the Senate (senado) has 24 members

• Congress (kongreso) has two chambers

• House of Representatives has 292 seats as of 2013

of which 80% are contested in single seat electoral
district and 20% are allotted to party-lists

Food Taboo
• can either be social or cultural

• we all hail from a variety of ethnic backgrounds

• we all have personal limitations on what we do and

don’t eat

• Taboos are technically defined as a practice

“prescribed by society as improper or unacceptable
social beahvior”
• Dietary rules and regulations may govern
particular phases of human life cycle and may be
associated with special events such as menstrual
period, pregnancy, childbirth, and in traditional
societies— preparation for the hunt, battle,
wedding, funeral, etc

• Taboos can lead to the protection of a resource

Istambay
• tagalog term of the English version “stand-by”

• a social behavior which carries a negative

connotation

• people who love to hang around or loiter in an area

• old folks call istambay as indolent or lazy people

because instead of looking for a job or help the
family in household chores, these people just hang
around in corner streets, in downtown areas, telling
stories or “do nothing”

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