Worldview

In this essay I hope to explain my understanding of what a worldview is and how specific beliefs that I have, have been shaped in regards to my education and learning. I strongly believe that the majority of the views and beliefs that I have developed, to do with education and learning and even beyond that realm, currently and in the future, have been because of my family and the upbringing I received and will inturn assist me in my education and learning.

Every person has a different way of perceiving and interpreting the world, the people that inhabit it and the events that transpire on it. According to Hobson, (1996, p.32) “a worldview is a set of beliefs that we hold and through which we organise our understanding of ourselves and our understanding of others”. These interpretations and views can be constructed by a number of factors, primarily that of close family and parents as well as the culture that we live in. The way, in which we interpret everything around us with our worldviews is not often thought about and is as natural to us as breathing.

My family has been the primary force in the development of my worldviews because of the massive influence that they have had in my life. According to Futrell (2006), one of the major influences to a person’s worldview are the parents or close relatives. I was given the opportunity to foster the beliefs of an open mind, a questioning nature and the ability to express myself without fear. Quoting Marshall, “what you believe and value directly affects your learning” (2006, p.11). These elements all directly influence my education, how I learn and what I can learn.

I was raised within a family unit that spanned many different cultures, geopolitical boundaries and theological beliefs. Having two foster brothers from Asia, family from Europe and the Middle East and Catholic, Jewish, Islamic and a good dose of atheists from different areas within the family, I was raised to respect and view everything in life with an open and non-judgemental mind. For if I judged someone based on ethnicity, faith or culture I could or would be judging my own family. This allows me to look at units and topics within my studies as not being �wrong’ or �right’ and gather more information due to a lesser amount of bias.

This very upbringing has also allowed me to look at and to an extent identify and understand other peoples’ worldviews. An open mind and understanding of other culture’s and philosophies allows me to, according to Pennington as cited by Samovar and Porter (1991, p.103) be reasonably accurate in predicting peoples’ behaviours and motivations. The ability to see where other people are coming from and why or how they got to a specific idea or viewpoint will be beneficial for discussion and reading critically in my current and future education.

A questioning nature was instilled in me primarily by my Oma and Opa although it was nurtured by excellent teachers during my primary school years and from my mother. I believe that my grandparents thought this so important for they had seen war, depression and awful deeds committed in their fatherland of Germany and that the lack of people questioning the establishment and others’ actions were one of the reasons why some of what they saw was allowed to happen. They both believed that it was vital for a person to ask questions about anything and everything that they could and both of them rewarded me with honest answers into anything that I asked. This questioning nature has and I believe will continue to reward me with the desire to learn and ask why things are as they are.

Being able to express myself freely and without fear has been a belief that has been nurtured by my mother and grandparents.