Chapter 8: Inside Culture and Curriculum: Religious and Sex Differences among Arabic Students’ Perceptions of Personal Development, Health, and Physical Education

Sociocultural studies in psychology often investigate differences between cultural groups with respect to psychological variables of interest. However, it is also of interest in sociocultural studies to investigate intracultural psychological differences, especially amongst non-Western cultural groups. An examination of intracultural differences can alert researchers and practitioners to within-culture variables that may influence sociocultural differences and dynamics.

Investigations of intracultural differences are of particular interest where a given cultural group exists within a dominant culture, as is the case with non-Western cultural groups existing in Western societies. The reason for this interest is that a deeper understanding of minority cultural groups, including intracultural differences that may exist within these groups, can enhance our understanding of how minority groups “operate” within a dominant culture. Too often, cultural and ethnic groups are stereotyped as homogeneous, even when intracultural differences may be stronger than intercultural differences. Thus, there is a need to develop an understanding of what types of differences may exist within cultural groups in order to understand how they operate in educational and other relevant settings (Gutiérrez & Rogof, 2003; Tucker & Herman, 2002). This understanding should lead to a greater cross-cultural sensitivity in policy, curriculum, and program development and application within majority cultures characterised by diversity. This is an important objective of sociocultural studies.