Chinese & Western Cultural Diff

8/8/2019 Chinese & Western Cultural Diff.

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International Baccalaureate

Organisation

Asia Pacific Regional ConferencePerth, AUSTRALIA

February 2005


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Getting it right for

international students fromEast Asian countries

studying in western nationaland international secondary

schoolsDave Kilpatrick

Department of Education Tasmania,


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14/03/2005 Dave Kilpatrick 3

Moving beyond the needsassociated with language

acquisition and student

welfare to a focussedapproach to designing

teaching and learning thataccounts for cultural and

institutional difference.


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perspectives that form most of the

present research.



This session will:

Explore the issues that confront Chineselearners as they assimilate to western learning

environments;

Examine the considerable pressure that

secondary school-aged students experience

when attempting to adjust to vastly differentlearning environments;



This session will:

Acknowledge the significant challenges thatsecondary school teachers face in designing

inclusive and productive learning environments;

and

Examine the roles of curriculum coordinators

and school leadership teams in accounting forthe needs of students, teachers and school

organisation in addressing these areas of need.



About my research

My background and how this affects they way Iview this inquiry

Student

Teacher

Principal

Manager, International Education Programs

Post-graduate student



Research question and

leadership challenge

To find ways to assist teachers and curriculum

leaders to adapt learning environments andcurriculum to account for students from

Confucian Heritage Cultures.



4 Major Questions

What are the major perceived differencesbetween Chinese culture and western culture

and how might this impact on design of

education and teaching and learning?

What can we learn from research in this field and

have we been given the right messages?



4 Major Questions

What can we learn from the personal stories ofstudents, teachers and educational leaders in

this field?

What are the major challenges in ensuring that

Chinese heritage culture students can engage

fully in inquiry-based learning?


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Definitions

Confucian Heritage Culture CountriesGeneral term used to describe common features

- distinct from western culture and other cultures -

in countries such as China, Japan, Korea,

Malaysia, Taiwan and Hong Kong.


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Definitions

Confucian Heritage Culture (CHC)Describes the collectivist culture that is said to

predominate in the countries listed above.


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Definitions

Chinese learnersA general term to describe learning style

preference and styles of teaching and learning in

CHC countries.


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Definitions

Inquiry Based LearningA generic term used to emphasise the

importance of an active involvement in any

learning situation. It recognises the importance

of the learner engaging in critical questions

about the area or issue being investigated.Placing the students at the centre of learning.(Ewing and Smith, 2002)


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The Chinese Learner

Term widely used to describe students from avariety of national backgrounds

China,

Taiwan,

Hong Kong,

Malaysia, andSingapore.


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Confucian Heritage Culture

Emphasis on the hierarchy of relationships andcollectivism.

Stability of society is based on unequal

relationships between people.

Each individual has a set of obligations to fulfil in

the hierarchy (kinship, age, experience, gender,geographic region or (Hofstede 1994).


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Confucian Heritage Culture

Chinese perceive themselves not as biologicalindividuals but rather that they are intimately

related to immediate kinship.

Cultures and Organisations Intercultural

cooperation and its importance for survival

(Hofstede, 1994)


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Wu Lun the five basic relationships

1. Subject - ruler2. Father - son

3. Older brother - younger brother4. Husband - wife

5. Senior friend - junior friend(Holfstede, 1994)


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Power Distance Teacher Student

Relationships

High power distance relationship where juniorsdefer to seniors, and display a dependency

relationship in their daily activities and decision-

making.


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Power Distance Relationships

This has been used to understand the teacher-student relationship in CHC and explains the

westerners perception of the popular

approaches to teaching and school organisationin these countries.


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Approaches to learning can bedefined as a persons perception of

practices in a learning context(Biggs, 1987).

Biggs identifies three approaches to learning:

Surface (reliance on memorisation);

Deep (concerned with understanding and meaning);Achieving (using whichever approach is required to

succeed in academic pursuits).


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The Chinese Learner

The term should be used with caution as it isunlikely that the above mentioned national

groups can be described as a homogenous

group.

Most researchers describe these learners as

passive learners who are reliant on rote learningand memorisation methodology, or surface

learners.


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The Chinese Learner

It is said that Chinese students view the teacheras a role model or authority figure to respect and

obey, whilst western students see the teachers

role as facilitator and organiser.

(Cortazzi and Jin, 1997)


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The Chinese Learner

CHC students favour a collectivist view of culturewhere the good of the group is valued above that

of the individual. In this cultural setting, students

may be inclined to:defer to teacher authority;

prefer group harmonyavoid conflict; and


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The Chinese Learner

CHC students are unlikely to:question; or

draw attention to themselves;

But is this the full picture?


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CHC approach to learning

Over dependence on teacher instruction;

The use of rote learning;

Harsh teacher student relationships;

Large class size;

Undue emphasis on assessment; and

Teacher centred approaches.(Watkins 1996)


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CHC learning

Studies show that many of the better studentscombine the process of memorising and

understanding to produce higher quality learning

outcomes than their Australian peers (Watkins1996).

If the assessment system is seen by thesestudents to be rewarding higher order outcomes,

they are able to perform at higher levels.


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CHC learning

As Watkins says, the hopeful point here is thatmost Chinese students are cue conscious, so

changes in assessment systems can be used to

improve learning.


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CHC teaching

As far as teaching goes, it seems that the betterChinese teachers are able to engage their

students cognitively, even when using whole

group teaching methods in large classes.


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CHC approach to learning

There is an assumption that Chinese learnersare surface learners, but this does not explain

why they excel in science and mathematics, in

comparison with their peers in the UK, America,New Zealand and Australia.


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Could a student do well at science or

mathematics with a surface level understanding?

We suspect not.


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So this leads me to questioncommonly held assumptions about

teaching and learning in CHC

countries and what this means fortransition of learners from these

countries into western andinternational schools where inquiry-

based learning is favoured (in theory

and/or in practice).


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Asian Research

A number of studies based at Asian universities

have focussed much effort in explaining a

seeming paradox.

The good performance of Chinese studentsdespite teaching and learning approaches which

are viewed by western educators as typified by:


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My Research

Context

Methodology

Adopted from Cultural Learning Environment

Questionnaire (CLEQ). (Waldrip and Fisher)

3,000 secondary aged science students in Australian

schools and in Taiwan.Sample: Australian students, International students,

Chinese students.


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Methodology

Adapted the Cultural Learning Environment

Questionnaire of Waldrip and Fisher, which

Studied >3,000 students in selected secondary

Australian school classes;

Examined students perceptions about:

Modelling

Congruence

Deference

Competition

Gender equity

Collaboration

Teacher authority


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Methodology

In the Tasmanian study, an 8th scale was added:

To examine equity from the perspective of

access to resources and teacher assistance.

Examined actual rather than preferred

environment


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Methodology

Tasmanian student survey - 133 fee paying

international students from 4 senior secondary

colleges.

A small sample group of local students.

150 students from CATIS schools.


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Findings2003 survey & comparison

3.53.23.13.12.52.8Access

2.62.42.52.52.52.5Congruence

2.72.32.02.22.52.5Modelling

2.82.82.02.32.02.2Teacher authority

3.33.21.91.82.52.3Competition

1.91.91.92.02.32.5Deference

3.43.22.82.62.62.6Collaboration

3.83.63.53.83.13.1Gender equity

China

female

China

male

Local

female

Local

male

Int

female

Int

male

Focus


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What was learnt?

Gender equity

No significant difference between male and female

or between international and local.

Generally students do not see gender difference asaffecting their learning environments.


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What was learnt?

Collaboration

No marked difference between the 3 sample groups

Most scores fell within a narrow range except

international females, where a wide range of scoreswas recorded.

Chinese national students value collaboration slightly

more than the other groups in this survey.


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What was learnt?

Deference

International students relied more heavily on teacher

or peer support of learning may indicate a group

dependence on teacher or other significant person-centred learning.

Chinese national students studying in Australian

based programs may overtime be moreindependent risk takers.


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What was learnt?

Competition

Chinese national students favour competition in their

learning environments more highly than Australian

national students and international students studyingin Tasmania.


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What was learnt?

Teacher Authority

This study showed marked difference between

sample cohorts. This result serves to challenge

traditional held perceptions about the studentteacher relationships in Asian countries.

Chinese national students place greater reliance on

teacher authority in their preferred learningenvironments.


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What was learnt?

Modelling

This study showed only a small difference in

perceptions between local and international

students.No marked gender difference.

Chines national students had a similar preference for

modelling by teachers and peers in the classroom,

as did international students studying in Tasmania.


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What was learnt?Congruence

The focus group work undertaken as part of this study

showed that international students most likely interpreted the

word home to mean home country, home family, homestay

family, but most likely, life outside of school. They felt thequestions were asking students to examine the links between

school learning and their whole development.

There was no significant difference between international andlocal students.


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What was learnt?Access to Assistance

On the whole, students believed that they had access to

appropriate assistance and resources.

The international female student group scored slightly lower

than local males and females, suggesting that these students

might feel they have less access to resources and assistance

to teachers than local students.

Students in CATIS schools believed they had equal access toresources and teacher assistance.


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Implications for curriculum leadershipTendency for CHC students to work in smallgroups, especially with students from their owncountry.

For teachers this raises the question whosework is being assessed?

What skills need to be taught to allow CHC

students to access discussion based learning?

How is this best supported?


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Implications for curriculum leadershipNeed to focus on the student and the learningenvironment to improve learning for internationalstudents.

Most international students fail to mix withAustralian students they feel tolerated ratherthan accepted, and sometimes isolated and

excluded (Melbourne Uni study 2004)Buddy systems sound good, but rarely last.


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Implications for curriculum leadership

Every society has many beliefs and practices

which are so fundamental and so self evident

they are never discussed or questioned. There

may be a need to examine our own practices inorder to apprentice all students into academic

genres (Jones 1999).


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Implications for curriculum leadershipManaging the power distance relationship in the

context of language and communication difficultiesbetween teachers and student to establish conduciverelationships to manage transition.

Focus of learning is conceptual change?Understand that for CHC student there is a place formemorisation approach in surface and deep learning.

Proximity theory needs challenging.

Teach learning skills explicitly


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Discussion QuestionsWhat are the optimal groupings for CHC learners and

how do we accommodate their needs associated withtransition to western curriculum / schooling (what areyour experiences / strategies / solutions?)

What pedagogical practice provides situations formoving from the familiar surface to deeper learning viaachievement focus? What are the roles of inquiryproject and autonomous work.

What teacher behaviours will model, formatively,interactions that we want CHC students to adopt inworking in western and international schools

Documents

Chinese & Western Cultural Diff