Asians and Europeans-Similar and yet different. A comparision of students' attitudes towards learning and studying across four countries (original) (raw)
Related papers
Nationality as a Determinant of Learning Styles Preferences: Comparing Students from
Learning is one of the most universal of human activities; however, the ways in which knowledge is gained can be different for different cultures--cultural differences have an effect on the learning process (Hofstede 1997; Joy and Kolb 2009). In the classroom, when a student has a learning style that differs from the instructional style of the teacher, a conflict will occur that will prevent the effective transfer of knowledge. This effect will be even deeper when the teacher does not understand the cultural and personal reasons for this difference. Thus, an understanding of cross-cultural learning styles is crucial to success in teaching and learning in a multi-cultural setting. The learning styles of higher education students differ as a consequence of the constraints different cultures place on human behavior (Katz 1988; Pratt 1992; Abramson, Keating, and Lane, 1996, DeVita 2001, Holtbrügge and Mohr, 2010, Hays and Allinson, 1988). Previous research also recommends the investigation of the effect of culture on learning styles as dictated by globalization and the expansion of the multicultural classroom (e.g., Auyeung and Sands, 1996; Holtbrügge and Mohr, 2010). For example, the number of international students enrolled in colleges and universities in the United States totaled 582,984 in the 2006/07 academic year, according to the Open Doors report, published annually by the Institute of International Education (IIE) with support from the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and
DIVERSITY AND IMPACT OF NATIONAL CULTURE ON UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS' LEARNING STYLES
With the rapid process of globalisation since the beginning of the 21 st century, education and businesses face the challenge of intensifying multiculturalism. Higher education institutions in Europe are expected to play a particularly important role in facilitating this process. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between national culture and the preferred learning styles in the context of Higher Education as well as to find out specific patterns of cultural influence on individual learning preferences. It aims to identify practical implications for teachers and trainers in a culturally diverse environment. The empirical investigation was based on D. Kolb's Experiential learning theory (ELT, Kolb 1984) and G. Hofstede's (1980) work on National and Organisational dimensions of culture.
A cross-cultural comparison of student learning patterns in higher education
2012
DOI to the publisher's website. • The final author version and the galley proof are versions of the publication after peer review. • The final published version features the final layout of the paper including the volume, issue and page numbers. Link to publication General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal. If the publication is distributed under the terms of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act, indicated by the "Taverne" license above, please follow below link for the End User Agreement:
Center For Studies in Higher Education, 2014
University learning objectives and the curriculum have evolved to include more knowledge, skills and aptitudes related to the increasingly international nature of a broad range of professions and occupations. More broadly, graduates are expected to know more about the world outside their home country in order to be informed and responsible citizens and to function personally and professionally in international contexts. There is, however, very little systematic assessment of international learning and programming. A review of the literature indicates that studies of institution level objectives and outcomes are few in number and studies that involve more than a single institution are also relatively rare. There is also a lack of consensus about the goals, nature and importance of the international dimensions of higher education despite a near universal realization that globalization requires institutional changes. As a result, there is no common language or set of concepts that are broadly accepted or shared by academics, institutional leaders or students within and across institutions regarding globalization and international education. Most of the research literature that is applicable to the international programs and curricula of the university appears to be concentrated in two main domains: 1) student mobility/study abroad (including foreign language acquisition and inter-cultural relations) and 2) the international student experience. Some recent research on international students and the larger student body at universities has focused on the campus climate and its effect on the social integration, intercultural contact and learning outcomes of what is often an increasingly ethnically and culturally diverse student and faculty population. The challenges to research related to international curricula and programs at universities are many. To improve research, we need a strong theoretical foundation where the logic and normative assumptions are clearly explicated and the concepts used are coherent and understandable in light of the theoretical approach taken. In addition, researchers and practitioners should strive to develop some degree of common language and common concepts that can serve to develop more opportunities for finding relationships and links between the broad range of disciplines, theories and methods that are present in the field. More research and high quality studies should be pursued at multiple levels of analysis beginning with the individual learner, the course or degree program, the institution, the broader state or regional system, the national level and the international or global level. The capacity to study and assess international curricula at multiple levels across different student populations, institutional forms, and national cultures can only strengthen the quality of the research.
Asian International Students' Preferences for Learning in American Universities
1997
■ This study investigated Asian international students’ selfreported preferences for class performance and class participation and whether these preferences were related to their English ability and personality type. A sample of 121 students from three colleges and universities in Los Angeles was administered a three-part questionnaire that contained demographic, language-use, and English language proficiency items; questions about their preferences for studying; and a personality scale used to classify the students as outgoing or reserved. The researchers found the data consistent with that of earlier studies, in which Asian students were described as passive, respectful of their teachers, and bound by the need to maintain group harmony. As expected, language proficiency was found to affect many of the patterns described. The findings for personality type were not as clear-cut and will need to be investigated further.
What we know about Chinese, Indian and Pakistan students
The debate on learning patterns in higher education has been the focus of many research studies and issues of learning have been extensively looked from perspective of Chinese students. However, the question is to what extent studies exist which can identify the patterns in which other Asian students alongside those with a Confucian Heritage Culture (CHC) feel comfortable with when learning in higher education (HE). The current study examines the learning patterns of Chinese (CHC), Indian and Pakistani (non-CHC) students and the role of teaching they consider for the process of learning. Data was collected through 3 stages of semi-structured interviews (and interpreted with personal narratives) from 10 students from the three sample countries currently studying in HE in the UK. Qualitative-narrative analysis of data using grounded theory (GT) revealed the essence of lingual concern and lack of available support, surrounding patterns of learning in HE. The key to the study was based on students' perceptions in relation to the learning patterns they find significant in HE in order to promote the process of learning.
The global expansion of higher education
Routledge eBooks, 2015
The global expansion of higher education Alternative perspectives The century-long expansion of higher education Higher education is one of the most rapidly growing sectors of the world economy today. Between 1815 and the period shortly after World War I, there was very little growth in the number of young adults attending colleges or universities, but starting in the 1920s, the number of students began to expand at an intensifying rate in the advanced capitalist world. By 1940, there were approximately five million university students worldwide. By 1960, this number had doubled to ten million (Schofer and Meyer, 2005). Fifty years later, in 2010, more than 177 million students were attending colleges and universities in all of the world's regions (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2012: 228). This increase represents a 5.9 percent annual growth rate in enrollments. If this rate of growth continues, the tertiary education population of students will nearly double every 12 years. To highlight the extraordinary nature of the trend, Schofer and Meyer point out that, today, there are approximately as many students attending colleges and universities in Kazakhstan as there were in the entire globe a century ago (Schofer and Meyer, 2005: 3). It is important to stress that nearly all regions of the world have been a part of this process. Western Europe, North America and Japan have the most tertiary students per capita-approximately 350 students per every 10,000 people-but Eastern Europe, after experiencing relatively slow growth in college education during the Communist period, has largely caught up to its Western neighbors. After the major OECD nations, Eastern Europe, the Arab world and Latin America have the highest share of college and university students in the total population. In addition, the student population of the East Asian and Pacific region is growing very rapidly. According to UNESCO, the student body in China has expanded by 19 percent per year during the first decade of this century. There are exceptions to these trends. India, Pakistan and Bangladesh's student bodies have grown more slowly, and sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest proportion of college students in its population, although growth is so rapid that UNESCO estimates that the number of students will double every 8.4 years (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2009). This growth is associated with significant regional changes in the composition of the university student body. There has been a sharp rise in the share of students