Culture, identity, values
In the last topic, we explored identity, culture and values and the complicated relationship between them by thinking about how they impact you, and your answer to the question – Who am I?
In this topic, we think about what this means from the perspective of the young people you work with; how your identity, culture and values interact with theirs in your youth work relationships.
We learned it is normal to not always know who we are, especially when we’re young. Youth is a time of major ‘identity crisis’, as young people explore identity through experimentation. It can be a confusing and uncertain time as young people try to find the balance between authenticity and being part of community and society.
As discussed in the previous topic, identity forms in relation to three key components: potential, purpose and the opportunity to express that potential and purpose. As organisations and youth workers we can ask ourselves:
- What are we doing to help lay the foundations that support our young people to achieve or live up to their potential? Both now, and in the future.
- How are we supporting our young people to find meaning and purpose in life? Are we giving them the tools and support they need to understand who they are?
- Are we providing opportunities for our young people to shine, to express themselves, to lead, and to be their best selves?
It’s not always easy for adults to let go and let young people explore, make mistakes, learn from and lead each other, teach us about their world, and have space to find out who they are and who they aspire to be. Often, we want to tell them what to do or who to be; to protect them from failure or pain, or to rush them. However, we need to recognise that while we can support and guide, we cannot do the work for them.
In many ways, we are not that different to the young people we work with. We also have (or had to) resolve conflicts with our personal, social and cultural identities. We can reflect on the knowledge we’ve gained by working through periods of identity crisis in our own lives. This helps us to remember that young people have much to gain by facing and overcoming these challenges, and finding answers that are unique to them, with our support and encouragement along the way.
Cultural community and identity
Cultural identity impacts our sense of self and belonging and how we relate to others. Cultural identity is complex and entangled with ideology and structural distributions of power, resources and social status. It influences how we see the world.
Many rangatahi Māori, first generation migrants, Pacific young people and those from various ethnic backgrounds, often live within more than one cultural system. They have to navigate multiple worldviews, and situations where their cultural identity may not be not recognised, valued or responded to. Young people can be left feeling marginalised, excluded, or even disconnected from their cultural identity as a result of these experiences.
Young people need community for security and belonging. To have a place, a refuge even, especially if mainstream society ignores, mistreats or becomes hostile when they express who they are. Community can also provide social networks of material and emotional support, along with shared values, purpose, aspiration and direction. A cultural community is, ideally, a place to learn more about who they are and their history, which can help reinforce a more positive sense of self.
When young people’s cultural identity is disrespected or repressed by the dominant culture they may feel conflicted, rejected or excluded. They may even feel shame about who they are and where their family is from. In order to fit in and be accepted, they may try to hide key aspects of who they are; especially if they are shamed or mocked for speaking their language or expressing their culture. In some circumstances their needs or perspectives may be dismissed as unimportant, or restrictions may be placed on how they dress, talk, or present themselves.
Culture strongly influences how young people relate to others – authority figures, those older or younger than them, family, strangers, and people in general. As you learned in the previous topic, cultural values influence how we express emotion and communicate with people. At times this can lead to misunderstanding and miscommunication. A common example is what it means to not make eye contact. In some cultures, this is interpreted as a sign of guilt or not being honest, while in others this is done as a sign of respect. As youth workers, we need to become hyper aware of how culture influences communication (both verbal and non-verbal), and how it influences our interactions and relationships. Without this understanding, we are at risk of giving extra attention and praise to young people who behave and communicate in ways that our culture views as positive.
Cultural identity and wellbeing
You’ll remember that in Module 2 we looked at protective factors and risk factors for youth. Cultural identity was one of the protective factors we briefly looked at.
A strong cultural identity contributes to a young person’s overall quality of life. Developing a positive cultural identity helps protect young people from certain risks to their wellbeing. It can help build resilience in the face of difficulty or hardship.
Task: Understanding protective factors
Look again at the report Thriving Rangatahi: A review of protective and risk factors1 that you explored back in Module 2. In this task we’ll review section 2.7 Cultural Identity, on pages 28 to 32.
Protecting individual young people
The report identifies two key protective factors for individuals, especially for young Māori. These factors are having connections to cultural identity, and provision of online spaces to express identity.
Read page 28 of the report. Think about the young people you work with and how your organisation supports cultural identity:
- How do you support your young people’s connections to their cultural identity?
- How is a strong connection with cultural identity a protective factor for your young people?
- How do you help to support the use of online spaces to express identity?
Protecting whānau and community
Protective factors for whānau and community, in relation to rangatahi especially, are a connection to te ao Māori and culture-based practice (the use of cultural frameworks).
Read page 29. Think about these questions:
- What role does your organisation play in supporting these two protective factors?
- How does a culture-based practice impact young people who are Māori, Pacific and/or from ethnic backgrounds who are marginalised by mainstream New Zealand Society?
- What needs to be done to continue to strengthen these protective factors?
Protecting Aotearoa New Zealand
At the socio-political level, two key protective factors are upholding Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and being more culturally inclusive. The two main risks are the impacts of institutional racism and colonisation, and the challenges of measuring cultural wellbeing. It is difficult to resolve an issue if you do not understand it, and how well you understand it depends on the quality of your data.
Read page 29 – 30. Think about what this means in your professional, organisational or institutional context and for Aotearoa New Zealand more generally.
Mai World Child and Youth Voices Report
One of the most important things adults can do is to really listen to young people and learn about who they are from their own perspective – how they see themselves and the world. Showing genuine interest and curiosity about how they interpret their experiences, their culture, and their lives is a great place to start.
In 2017, the Children’s Commissioner2 set the following key priorities:
- improve outcomes for tamariki and rangatahi Māori
- make the care and protection and youth justice systems more child-centred
- encourage all government and non-government agencies to better consider the needs and perspectives of children
- A better understanding of how positive connections to culture can enhance the lives of children and young people was necessary to advance these priorities.
To gain this deeper understanding, the Office of the Children’s Commissioner asked over 1,000 children and young people in New Zealand about their positive connections to culture. The interview responses are summarised in a report, which you can access via this link: Child and youth voices on their positive connections to culture in Aotearoa: Engaging children and young people in matters that affect them. Mai World Child and Youth Voices Report.
In the quote below, the Office of the Children’s Commissioner explains the overall goal of this research project:
Despite knowing cultural identity and belonging is important, we know very little about how young people understand, value and express their culture. So we asked them. We wanted to hear how children and young people feel about their culture when they have positive connections to it.
Task: Young people and positive connections to culture
To complete this task, you’ll need to read the full report. It’s around 11 pages and it contains many interesting quotes taken directly from interviews with children and young people. You can access the report using the link above. Then answer the following questions:
Task: Final reflection
Now that you’ve read the report, think back over all the insights shared by the children and young people who were interviewed, and how these relate to your own practice. On page 10, you’ll see a list of five key implications taken from the interview results. These provide the basis for actions that we can take in the future.
Look at the list of five implications from this report. Can you apply these to your own organisation and your youth work practice?
Which of these are the most relevant to your own work?
Do you know what culture, identity and values mean for you within the context of working with young people in Aotearoa New Zealand?
Have you read all of the Mai World Child and Youth Voices Report2 and feel that you understand the five key insights from the report?
Your first assessment for Module 4 asks you to have a conversation with a young person you know well and who trusts you. Use the insights from the report as the basis for this conversation. This is your opportunity in this module to listen to youth voices. To understand who a young person is, it is important that we listen and let them tell us who they are from their perspective.
While you may help guide the conversation, it is important to give them the opportunity to express who they are in their own words, and for their voice to be heard, recognised and appreciated.
You are now ready for Task 1 of Assessment 3.2.
