Examines contemporary debates in the social sciences and educational interventions where notions of "culture" are particularly consequential. Four paradigmatic and pan-disciplinary orientations to understanding and researching cultural or contextual phenomena are examined - culture as: factor, practice, oppression, and liberation. Cultural psychology, anthropology, history, critical sociology, sociolinguistics, and cross-cultural research examined as challenge to contemporary theories of child development. Implications for educational theory and practice. Prereq: permission.