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What is Culture?
Ask a group of people, What is culture? and you will probably hear as many answers as there are individuals in the group—values, language, music, food, style of dress, religious beliefs, body language, concepts of time, art, customs —the list of words we associate with culture is endless because culture is indeed all these things and more. Simply put, culture is the shared set of assumptions, behaviors, values, beliefs, roles, worldview, language, norms, and material objects that are common to andshared among a group of people. Culture is learned and passed on through customs and traditions. Culture is dynamic and influences and guides behavior. In turn, individual and group behavior influences culture.
Culture has both visible and invisible aspects. Some cultural attributes are easy to see; others are hidden and not so obvious. When we encounter both the subtle and not-so-subtle attributes of any new culture, we have the opportunity to learn a great deal about it—and about ourselves.
When thinking about culture, people often think first of nations or ethnic groups, but organizations and workplaces have their own cultures, too. Schools in particular have distinct cultures, characterized by specific values, language, rules of behavior and etiquette, and acceptable dress. Upon your initial entry into a school or out-of-school time program as a participant in national service, you may need many of the same strategies used by someone visiting a foreign country for the first time. Familiarizing yourself with these strategies ahead of time will help you move more seamlessly into the culture of your school or program site, work more smoothly with school and site staff, and—most important—support students more effectively.
In this issue of the Tutor, we outline those strategies, provide concrete tips and examples, and highlight some of the subtle differences among different types of education settings. Because so many national service tutors and mentors serve in schools, we have focused this article on the school setting. You will find, however, that all of the strategies are applicable to entering the organizational culture of any education program.
 Steps to Learning a New Culture
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