ABSTRACT
There are two aspects to enculturation. The first is to understand how ‘masters’ of the discipline work, who they key authors are, what methods of portraying knowledge are used and what the key beliefs are (the epistemology and ontology of the discipline). The answers to these questions are one way of revealing what is meant by becoming a member of the discipline (Lave & Wenger, 1991). This chapter covers how to facilitate that movement from legitimate peripheral participation to becoming a full member of a community of practice, if that is what the candidate wants. These are explored particularly in the context of science, maths, chemistry, neuroscience, history, education and English studies. The strengths and weaknesses to enculturation as an approach are reviewed.
The second aspect of enculturation is to look at what is expected in a relationship when working internationally, and how to understand the educational imperatives, values and practices from different cultures. Enabling supportive teamwork and strong groups is an important part of enculturation. This chapter discusses ways of creating a mutually supportive cohort of students.
