Individualism stresses individual goals and the person’s rights, while collectivism focuses on group goals, what is best for the collective group, and personal relationships. According to one of the articles of Future Learn, an individualist is motivated by personal rewards and benefits. They set personal goals and objectives based on their selves. They are very comfortable working with autonomy and not part of a team. In comparison, collectivists are motivated by group goals. For them, long-term relationships are essential. They readily sacrifice individual benefits or praise to recognize and honor the team’s success. Being singled out and marked as an individual from the rest of the group may be embarrassing to collectivistic people.
This may be good in some aspects, but it may be harmful to different issues. Collectivism might be good in dealing with destructive behaviors. An example of this is when an individual commits a mistake in a country that follows collective culture, they will be punished to bring peace and safety to other people. They have a little less tolerance for things that could hurt other members of the group big time. On the other hand, an individualistic-oriented society has tolerance for individual mistakes that may cause tragedy for the group and just hope it doesn’t happen again. For me, in this case. Collectivism is good, but if we look at a different side like education, collectivism is somehow harmful.
Standardized examinations are not new to education. We have been using this to test students’ capability and knowledge for centuries. This will help schools and governments be in highest performing schools since exam score determines one’s rank in society. This may be good in some cases, but this sacrifices the students’ creativity, divergent thinking, originality, and individualism. The students cannot explore their creativity in science or technology since the system of education is based on writing and memorization. This reminds me of the poster above. Different animals are tested with the same examination, and obviously, some are in advantage of it, and some are not. I am trying to say that individualism could also be a great orient because, through this, people could explore things that could make them better.
How about you? What are your thoughts regarding this matter?
References:
https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/develop-cultural-intelligence/0/steps/49772
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I love the image of the animals you shared! I have seen it used a few times in various settings and it really expresses the inadequacies of standardizing approaches when we are not all the same.
I also like your thoughts on how collectivism can reduce destructive behavioural traits.
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Hey Camille! I totally agree with you, I think you did an excellent job explaining the pros and cons. In addition, the picture you added reflects the dangers of collectivism in education perfectly!
Well done 🙂
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Hello Camille you have written. an interesting post.The image you have chosen exemplified perfectly the topic. I think like you that every person is different and they have to be evaluated in a different way because each of us has our strengths and weaknesses and there is no one way to evaluate the abilities we have.
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Hello Camille, great article. I loved that pic and the analogy that you make in relation to the evaluation that is made to a diverse group and the results that can arise from this
Sincerely,
Angélica Conde
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I really liked your opinions regarding the topic, and I agree with you collectivism is great, in some manners, but in education, we need to celebrate our differences and use them. I loved the image you put, it explains how sometimes society expects us to do the same thing in the same way, when we are completely different.
I loved your post, thank you for sharing.
Aranza
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