The Social Action in Cultural Context: A Case Study on Community Education of Tzu Chi Teachers Association

• Main Authors: Shu-Yan Hsu, 許淑燕
• Other Authors: Chin-Ju Mao
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2001
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/83454347229943479254

碩士 === 國立花蓮師範學院 === 多元文化研究所 === 89 === Education is the central part of the Tzu Chi volunteering enterprise. The Tzu Chi Teachers (TCTs), with all expectation, are the ones who can realize Master Cheng Yen’s ideals of the education among other members in the whole organization. While the ‘educational action’ of the TCTs could be inspected from individual as well as group perspectives, yet it is very probable that the dynamic processes of collective cultural formation related to their teaching beliefs and teaching behaviors will be neglected if solely focusing on classroom observation and interviews with individual teachers. In order to understand the dialectical relations between social action and cultural context, therefore, this study chooses to approach a specific local Tzu Chi Teachers Association by conducting participant observation on its educational activities held in the community. This study finds that the process of mutual enforcement between cultural signification of the organization, including encoding and decoding in the sense of collectiveness and cultural scripts within collective action frames, and the symbolic interaction among individual members of various hierarchies in the organization enriches the styles and features of social actions that the TCTs perform. Construction of meanings and exchange of messages constitute the core concept of the collective action. Through interpretation and strategic sharing acts of agents from hierarchies in the organization, Master Cheng Yen’s ideas and the spirit of Tzu Chi culture penetrate through each hierarchical sub-organizations and constitute common referential system of meanings for the members, while ideal imperatives and practical acts are connected dialectically by interpretation and practice of members. Rather than being differentiated and divided into two distinct categories completely, the interwoven complexity of the idea and the praxis becomes inalienable for the TCTs and constructs diverse and dynamic connotation within the effort engaged in shuttling between dichotomies of action and structure, individual mind and collective culture. In addition, due to the manifestation of vigorous group-belongingness and its impressiveness, the identification of TCTs is also an emphasis that this study tries to explore. According to my experiences generated by interactive participation, the identification of the TCTs is rather expansive and multiplied than static, isolated and unidirectional. Members, through various multiple interactive processes, from small groups to large groups, keep crossing boundaries and construct their multiplied group identities. Therefore, the difference between various groups and the overlap and discrepancy between individual acting script and cultural scripts are our emphasis when we are discussing the characteristics of the Tzu Chi organization. Perhaps, this basic respect toward difference could be a starting point and guidance for others to explore self-identifications.