1.2 Elements and layers of culture

Course Content
1. Culture and Who We Are
Understand culture as a dynamic system that shapes identity, behaviour, learning, and belonging, and reflect on how cultural background influences how we see ourselves and others in VET contexts.
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1.1 What is culture?
1.2 Elements and layers of culture
1.3 Who we are: Identify and belonging
1.4 How do we make sense of others? From Categories to assumptions
2. What is Interculturality?
Understand interculturality as a set of skills, attitudes, and everyday practices that support fair interaction, communication, and cooperation in diverse learning and working environments, while developing awareness of power, norms, and inequality.
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2.1. Living with many cultures
2.2. Embracing differences
2.3. Key Components of Intercultural Competence
2.4. Going one step further: The Anti-racist approach
3. Inclusion, Intersectionality and Discrimination
Recognising how inclusion and exclusion operate at individual, group, and structural levels, and in understanding how overlapping identities and power relations can shape experiences of discrimination in education and society.
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3.1. Inclusion vs. Exclusion
3.2. Intersectionality: When identities overlap
3.3. Discrimination: From everyday acts to structural barriers
3.4. Emotions and Empathy: Feeling, understanding and acting
4. Understanding exclusion to build inclusion
Identify how difference can turn into inequality through stereotypes, bias, discomfort, and social distancing, and to develop practical strategies to move from awareness to everyday actions that promote inclusion and fairness.
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4.1. Difference vs Inequality: No better or worse, just different
4.2. Judging by appearances: From stereotypes to bias
4.3. From discomfort to rejection
4.4. What can be done? From awareness to actions
5. Learning from all cultures
Experience interculturality as a learning resource by recognising what different cultures contribute, what they share, and how peer-to-peer exchange strengthens belonging, empathy, and cooperation in everyday learning environments.
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5.1. Cultural Expression as a Learning Resource
5.2. What we have in common: Shared Human Needs Behind Cultural Forms
5.3. Learning through encounter: Listening to lived experience
6. Use of GenAI in Cultural Adaptation
Objective: Helping VET trainers understand the use and benefits of AI when learning about interculturality.
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6.1. What is Generative AI
6.2. GenAI for Cultural Sensitivity Training
6.3. Multilingual support
6.4. Storytelling and personal narratives
6.5. Enhancing Classroom Activities
6.6. Ethical considerations
Digital Action Plan – English

Culture comes from multiple layers of life, and what we see is only a small part of what shapes behaviour.

WHAT CONCEPTS SHOULD YOU KNOW AS EDUCATOR?

Culture develops through multiple interacting layers, rather than from a single source. These layers influence one another and shape how people think, behave, and make sense of situations:

Figure X. The cultural iceberg illustrating visible and invisible elements of culture (adapted from Hall, 1976; visual adaptation from Janine’s Music Room)

  • Micro level: family and close relationships, where early values, habits, and communication styles are learned
  • Meso level: schools, training centres, religious institutions, and communities, which shape norms, rules, and shared practices
  • Individual level: personal experiences, interests, peer groups, media, and life events, which influence how culture is interpreted and expressed
  • Macro level: wider societal and global influences such as history, laws, economic systems, migration, and globalisation

Across all these layers, culture operates on different dimensions:

  • Visible dimensions (language, behaviour, dress)
  • Invisible dimensions (values, assumptions, expectations)
  • Structural dimensions (rules, assessment practices, institutional norms, power relations)

Because culture includes both visible and invisible elements, what we see on the surface never tells the full story. For educators, this means that behaviour in class or training cannot be understood in isolation. Silence, hesitation, or strict rule-following may reflect invisible cultural meanings or structural conditions rather than motivation or ability. Misunderstandings often occur when behaviour is judged without considering these deeper layers.

 

HOW CAN YOU EXPLAIN IT TO THE STUDENTS?

Use the iceberg metaphor: what we see is only the tip. Explain that behaviour is shaped by invisible factors such as values, past experiences, and rules in schools or workplaces. Misunderstandings often happen when people judge only what is visible.

 

ACTION ITEM Go beyond what is visible: Encourage students to look past visible cultural elements (language, food, behaviour) and consider invisible factors such as values, expectations, and ways of learning instead of making judgments.
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