What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of culture? Many of us picture delicious foods, vibrant celebrations, or distinctive clothing styles. While these visible elements certainly enrich our lives, they represent just the surface of what culture truly is.
To create inclusive and vibrant early learning and childcare programs, it’s essential to go deeper. Being culturally responsive means developing a fuller understanding of culture—beyond what we can easily see or celebrate.
What is ‘culture’?
Culture is the understanding, pattern of behaviour, practices, and values that a group of people share. All people have culture, because it is learned from and shared with others. Culture is like a big puzzle made up of lots of different pieces. These pieces include rules, beliefs, traditions, knowledge, practices and ways of interacting with each other and with society. Different pieces of the puzzle can be visibly expressed and understood, while other elements are more difficult to see.
To better understand the different levels of culture, you can think of culture as an iceberg.
Above the surface of the iceberg represents the elements of culture that are more tangible and easier to see such as food, celebrations, clothing, art, and music. These are often the first things you notice when you encounter a new culture and are the most accessible when trying to incorporate cultural elements into your early learning environment. However, these visible elements only represent a small part of the entire culture. To encourage an inclusive and culturally responsive learning environment you need to explore the invisible elements of culture.
Below the surface of the iceberg are the invisible elements of the culture such as social norms, values, beliefs, and worldviews. These are deeply embedded within a culture and are often unconscious, shaping the way people behave and express themselves. In the case of children, this invisible culture shows up in the ways they play, socialize, eat and sleep. Parents’ expectations and beliefs about child’s behaviour, health, and development are often a product of culture.
For example, a parent’s expectations around bedtime routines or a child’s comfort level with group play can be deeply rooted in cultural beliefs. Recognizing and respecting these invisible elements is key to creating culturally responsive environments.
Resource Highlight: Cultural Atlas
Explore in-depth profiles of cultures and religions from across the world to enhance understanding and foster social cohesion in diverse communities.
How to go deeper with culture
Being culturally responsive goes beyond acknowledging diversity—it’s about actively responding to the unique cultural needs of children and families. It involves addressing inequities and promoting full inclusion for children, families, and educators—especially those from non-dominant cultural and linguistic communities.
The Spark Guide outlines five key strategies to help you take meaningful action:
- Reflective practice: Reflective practice can help you understand your visible and invisible culture and how it influences what you think and do.
- Engaging Families: Build trusting relationships with children and families to understand their unique needs, priorities, worldviews, hopes, circumstances, and so much more.
- Routines: By listening and observing each child as they interact with their families and the early learning community, you can start to notice their cultural ways of being.
- Physical Spaces: Design physical spaces in a way that respects and reflects all children and encourages their unique cultural self-expression.
- Organizational Foundations: Cultural safety requires intentional practices, policies, and approaches that ensure educators, children, and families feel comfortable and supported.
By embracing the full iceberg of culture—both what we can see and what lies beneath—we can build early learning and childcare environments where every child and family feels seen, supported, and celebrated.
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