Culture on Learning Styles Multiculturalism

¶ … Culture on Learning Styles

Multiculturalism as a backdrop for culturally-based learning styles in Australia

The concept of multiculturalism was imported, according to one opponent of the idea, form Canadian politics "to represent a vague set of ideas which purportedly promotes the cultural and economic interests of certain non-Anglomorph sections of the Australian community" (Cooray 2000). Quite simply, however, it simply describes the fact that immigration has brought various ethnic and linguistic groups to Australia, arguably complicating an already bifurcated educational system -- Anglo and Aboriginal -- with additional sets of expectations to consider in both presenting educational material and in assessing academic achievement. Cooray thinks it is going too far to assert the right of each ethnic community to maintain its language and culture on Australian soil, especially with the help of publicly funded programmes.

Still, in the educational setting, it is necessary to "create a more open-textured and tolerant social environment" (Senator Gareth Evans, quoted by Cooray 2000) in order to be certain members of each ethnic group are able to take advantage of Australia's educational system and even, as Cooray desires, become more "Australian" in the process.

In addition to language differences and a variety of unique customs, the multicultural population will also add varieties of religious experience (with apologies to philosopher William James) that will have influence upon the ways people learn, and in some cases, even on the choices they make on what to learn and where to learn.

Before determining what possible effect the culture of two of Australia's ethnic populations might have on learning styles, it is important to understand how Anglomorphic Australia became multicultural: it is now, in fact, one of the world's "most plural and multicultural societies" (Bouma 1995).

In 1947, most Australians were members of the Church of England, had a British background, ate meat pies and feared the Yellow Peril (Bouma 1995). After World War Ii, large numbers of immigrants -- mainly British, but also a large number of Greeks and Italians -- arrived and were expected "to fit in, to blend into Australian institutions, churches, and organizations, to adopt Australian cuisine, and to play Australian sport" (Bouma 1995). While in the case of Greeks and Italians, the language difference would have had an effect on classroom practice, by and large the European sensibilities were not so exotic that it was even necessary to think about variations in learning styles. Partly, the locus of emigration to Australia was determined by the government's "White Australia" policy that limited access to Europeans. In the 1960s, however, that policy was scrapped, with the result that large numbers of migrants form Middle Eastern and Asian nations arrived (Bouma 1995). With that influx of people with not only different languages (with no commonality, as is arguable when referring to major European languages), but different religious backgrounds and different gender relations, it began to be advisable to wonder whether migrant children, or even those born to migrants after they had arrived in Australia, would require a different approach to education. Indeed, it might be prudent, especially in the case of the Arab immigrants, to wonder if the ethnic identification would be at odds with Australia's educational system over the issue of gender.

While the in-migration might call for educational adjustment in Australian schools, at least, according to Bouma, it has been unlikely to cause strife, for several reasons. These are:

The relatively small size of the minority groups vis-a-vis the dominant but nearly equal Catholics and Anglicans, the lack of overlap between ethnic and religious difference, the lack of ghettoization, the fact that religious difference is not politicized, a long history of sorting out intergroup conflict through legislation and courts, and the existence of effective organizations promoting positive intergroup relations (Bouma 1995).

It is also interesting that this in-migration is likely to have less impact on Australia in the long-term than will relations with the Aboriginal population. The survival of Aboriginal culture and language "depends solely on what happens in Australia" whereas the "centres of Italian, Greek or Chinese culture are elsewhere. Whatever happens in Australia will have no consequence for the survival of these cultures in their respective homelands" (Cooray 2000). However, culture is not static, especially in communities which interact with each other (Cooray 2000). Over time, then, whether or not the unique learning styles of these populations are considered, the interplay between them and the indigenous Anglo-Australian population is likely to cause rapid cultural evolution, although:

When a small community interacts with a large community it is inevitable that the elements of the more prevalent culture will tend to predominate in the evolutionary outcome. Thus when a small group of Greeks or Italians translocate themselves into an Anglomorph environment, it is inevitable that they will become assimilated into the larger community if not in the first generation, in the generations to follow (Cooray 2000).

Again, this would seem to be easier for European cultures, having much in common with the foundation British culture of Australia, than for cultures such as those of the Middle East and Asia. Still, maintaining the cultural differences that result in learning differences over a long period is difficult. Maintaining cultural differences "needs an iron clad system of apartheid or self-imposed inward looking communal traditions" (Cooray 2000). While this is more likely with the Middle Eastern immigrants for a variety of reasons, if the children are in Australian schools, it is likely that assimilation is acceptable to the family, and the teachers then must grapple with the cultural expectations those children bring to the classroom. This may be slightly less prevalent for Asian immigrant children simply because, in the current global climate, they would not suffer from what Australians think they know about the culture as is arguably the case with those from the Arab world.

At this point, Cooray's negative attitude toward government-sponsored multicultural programmes comes into play once again. He notes that "there is a difference between teaching language for its educational value and teaching it in pursuance of the illusory goals of multiculturalism...(and)... It must not be forgotten that the urgent demand of both educationists and ethnic Australians is to increase facilities for teaching English to migrants disadvantaged by language" (Cooray 2000), which will possibly hasten their assimilation and diminish the impact of culturally differentiated learning styles. Cooray (2000) also contends that, despite the cultural differences, the immigrants desire, overwhelmingly, to become culturally Australian. During the interim period, between an immigrant's identification with his or her home country and making the transition to being Australian, the cultural expectations brought from the 'old country' will have an effect on the pace at which the immigrant learns and becomes Australian, and is thus a worthy topic for investigation. Cooray proposes that making too much of multiculturalism, however, is likely to be counterproductive. Cooray (1995) says Australia is fortunate in that it is able to "culturally unify diverse peoples with minimum trauma" (Cooray 1995), unlike Sri Lanka, Cooray's own birth country, which has had unending party strife "Ever since the unifying element of a common language (English) was removed by chauvinistic politicians, (and) the two minor lingual communities have treated one another with mistrust and hostility" (Cooray 1995).

The effects on learning of ethnic communities

Yee (1996) believes the existence of ethnic enclaves serving new arrivals from different cultures has a positive effect on assimilation, at least if they are studied and the lessons applied to instruction. Yee recommends that teachers and students may study the growth and development of the relevant cultural enclaves, "the morphological characteristics of each site, the spatial distribution of the various ethnic groups and the languages or dialects spoken within each enclave, the pattern of economic activities and occupations, the architectural styles of buildings and places of worship, and the traditions and cultural festivities" (Yee 1996). Understanding these factors would conceivably help inform teachers regarding what to expect in student behaviors, learning and social; from that point, the teachers could look for ways to help students around any impediments regarding the major culture's expectations.

While Cooray was almost completely opposed to multiculturalism, Yee finds that it is worthy of studying vis-a-vis the educational experience, as do Nassar-McMillan & Hakim-Larson (2003), who noted that the "relatively new, global focus on diversity has resulted in governmental and corporate ventures, among others, to educate, retrain, or otherwise restructure the thinking of individuals about populations different from their own."

Some researchers classify four paradigms of culture: functionalist, interpretive, critical humanist, and critical structuralism (Martin & Nakayama 1999). Others, including the influential researcher, Geert Hofstede (1998), quantify the components of cultures so that one can discern "the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another," information essential to effective teaching of multicultural groups. Hofstede (1998) notes that "Families, schools, work places, authorities, political parties and religious bodies may mean quite different things in different nations." In fact, the four factors Hofstede studied in the world's major nations and cultures are broken down into categories that can be very useful in determining the cultural factors of Asians and Arabs in an Australian educational setting. Following are Hofstede's four categories and what they measure:

Power Distance (PD) is the "extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally" (Hofstede 1998) with a small PD meaning more equality in the society, and a large PD meaning less.

Individualism (ID) defines whether the society expects people to look after themselves or not. Its opposite is Collectivism, which Hofstede (1998) defines as "the extent to which people in a society from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, which throughout people's lifetime continue to protect them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty."

Masculinity (MA) defines the degree of distinction of gender roles. High MA means men are supposed to be "assertive, tough, and focused on material success; women are supposed to be more modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of life" (Hofstede 1998). Its opposite is Femininity.

Uncertainty Avoidance (UA) measures how threatened a society's members feel in uncertain or unknown situations. In "uncertainty avoiding nations, people are more expressive; in uncertainty tolerating nations the expression of feelings is inhibited" (Hofstede 1998). Although it may be a cliche, Britain (stiff upper lip, no shows of emotion) would rank low in UA, while the Arab states would rank high, a fact borne out by Hofstede's research. Hofstede noted that a high UAI indicates the country has low tolerance for uncertainty, which, in turn, "creates a rule-oriented society that institutes laws, rules, regulations, and controls in order to reduce the amount of uncertainty" (Hofstede 2005). The opposite ranking indicates "the country has less concern about ambiguity and uncertainty and has more tolerance for a variety of opinions. This is reflected in a society that is less rule-oriented, more readily accepts change, and takes more and greater risk" (Hofstede 2005).

Influences on learning style derived from Hofstede's classifications very quick comparison of Australia, the Arab World (which Hofstede investigated monolithically) and a representative Asian nation (which will have great areas of commonality with the others) can help determine what the learning styles of each area are likely to emphasize.

Australia's cultural expectations

The Hofstede analysis for Australia puts its Individualism score at 90, the second highest country surveyed and right behind the United States, which is at 91. The concept of individuality is reinforced in daily life; privacy is the cultural norm and over-familiarity risk rebuff (Hofstede 2005). Moreover, the predominantly Australian religion, Christianity (50%), correlates with other Christian-based cultures; Individualism and Christianity correlate well (Hofstede 2005).

Power Distance (PDI) is low, at 36; the world average is 55. This means there is a great deal of perceived equality between societal levels, from families to government. "This orientation reinforces a cooperative interaction across power levels and creates a more stable cultural environment" (Hofstede 2005).

The Arab World's cultural expectations

This analysis includes Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, and "demonstrates the Muslim faith plays a significant role in the people's lives" (Hofstede 2005). The region exhibits a high Power Distance score (80) as well as high Uncertainty Avoidance (68). Hofstede interprets these numbers to man that:

These societies are more likely to follow a caste system that does not allow significant upward mobility of its citizens. They are also highly rule-oriented with laws, rules, regulations, and controls in order to reduce the amount of uncertainty, while inequalities of power and wealth have been allowed to grow within the society (Hofstede 2005).

Moreover, with both of these factors being high, it creates situations in which leaders are virtually all-powerful, and the rules they develop reinforce their control; armed insurrection, rather than diplomatic or democratic change, is the method by which rule is altered in these societies (Hofstede 2005). Hofstede also emphasizes that the high PD rating is not resented as it would be if a resident of a low PD nation traveled to one of high PD. "These populations have an expectation and acceptance that leaders will separate themselves from the group and this condition is not necessarily subverted upon the population, but rather accepted by the society as their cultural heritage" (Hofstede 2005), a factor which can have a significant effect on learning styles per se because the need for an authoritarian teacher would seem best suited to this population. The high UA rating means that, as far as students are concerned, strict rules and policies would be expected.

Most importantly for assessing cultural differences in learning styles, the Arab world scores third highest in the world on the Masculinity index; "This would indicate that while women in the Arab World are limited in their rights, it may be due more to Muslim religion rather than a cultural paradigm" (Hofstede 2005).

With its very low ranking on Individualism (38, against a world average of 64), the Arab world is a Collectivist society: this is "manifested in a close long-term commitment to the member 'group', that being a family, extended family, or extended relationships. Loyalty in a collectivist culture is paramount, and over-rides most other societal rules" (Hofstede 2005).

Arab society is more likely than other cultures to follow a virtual caste system that does not allow significant upward mobility; that being the case, it can be assumed that for students still operating within the 'old country' paradigm, education would not be seen as the boon Westerners consider it to be. Therefore, the learning style that results, from those in the lower portions of the caste system, would be likely to regard achievement as less meaningful than it is to Westerners, or, arguably, those of higher expectations.

Thailand's cultural expectations

While it is in some ways representative of the rest of Asia, Thailand offers two equal Hofstede scores: 64 on both Power Distance and Uncertainty Avoidance. Hofstede proposes that the basis for the high PD score is different from the high score in the Arab world in quality. While it means that there is very unequal distribution of power and wealth in both societies, in Thailand, "This condition is not necessarily forced upon the population, but rather accepted by the society as a part of their cultural heritage" (Hofstede 2005). Moreover, "The ranking of 64 is slightly lower than the Asian average of 71" (Hofstede 2005). In being risk averse, Thailand ranks "slightly higher than the Asian average of 58" (Hofstede 2005).

Thailand's lowest score is in Individualism, 20. The society is Collectivist as compared to Individualist (Australia).

Loyalty in a collectivist culture is paramount, and over-rides most other societal rules and regulations. The society fosters strong relationships where everyone takes responsibility for fellow members of their group," (Hofstede 2005), a factor which could also have a great effect on learning styles.

Thailand also has the lowest Masculinity score of the Asian nations studied: 34. The Asian average is 53 and the world average is 50. This, too, might have a significant effect on learning styles, being "indicative of a society with less assertiveness and competitiveness, as compared to one where these values are considered more important and significant. This situation also reinforces more traditional male and female roles within the population" (Hofstede 2005).

Finally, Thailand's religion is Buddhism, practiced by 95%, and requiring members to lead a "moral life, being mindful and aware of thoughts and actions, and developing wisdom and understanding" (Hofstede 2005), attain with major potential impact on learning styles. (The rest of Asia tends to practice Buddhism, Confucianism, Shintoism, Taoism, Hinduism and their close relatives: all of these religions are seen as more pacifist than Islam, and even than Christianity.)

Amazingly enough, this factor allows Thailand and similar Asian nations to have a close correlation with the majority of the European Catholic countries, which are also able to withstand a great deal of uncertainty (Hofstede 2005).

A sign of resistance to accepting the new culture

From an analysis of the Hofstede material, it would seem that the Arab learners would have a more difficult time accepting the less authoritarian teaching styles of Australia and the greater demand for self-direction inherent in the teaching and learning styles of a highly Individual society. That can invite resistance. Mitchell (2000) examined the use of indigenous languages in rap music in "Zimbabwe, Switzerland, France, Italy, and Aotearoa/New Zealand" (arguably similar to Australia) and found that there were "resistance vernaculars" intended to re-territorialize use of language to conform to their home country expectations.

Factors involved in accepting the new culture

Positive psychological states are necessary for effective learning no matter what cultural styles a person brings to educational tasks. In that regard, "theory and research on acculturation suggest the importance of adaptation to the new society. The literature has generally shown integration, that is, simultaneous ethnic retention and adaptation to the new society, to be the most adaptive mode of acculturation and the most conducive to immigrants' well-being, whereas marginalization is the worst"...and "(with regard to identity, positive psychological outcomes for immigrants are expected to be related to a strong identification with both their ethnic group and the larger society" (Phinney et al. 2001).

Again, regardless of specific learning styles, Hosen et al. (2002) found that "Adaptive human learning involves self-instruction and individually determined self-education.... Useful learning is imparted through the right kind of socialization, formal education, informal and incidental learning, and psychotherapy. In each domain the function of external instruction is to foreclose dysfunctional options." They conclude that "A merger of formal and informal instruction and learning is probably becoming indispensable to the acquisition of functional beliefs capable of promoting human happiness," which would argue against success in cultures that have low ID scores and high PD scores, both of the cultures considered here.

The importance of culture on learning styles literature review did not discover any studies that compared success rates achieved by students with learning styles congruent with their cultures. Several studies did, however, asses achievement depending on a variety of other factors assumed to be present in homogeneous cultural settings. One study found that males at different institutions of higher learning scored higher on Deep Processing and lower on Methodical study than female students (Clump & Skogsberg 2003). This would suggest that for students from societies with a high Masculinity rating, male students would be more likely to employ a Deep Processing style of learning; Arab counties score very high on Hofstede's Masculinity scale. On the other hand, Asians score quite low, suggesting that males from that culture would not employ Deep Processing more often or more successfully than females.

Moreover, at the college level, studies suggest success depends on individual learning styles; however, these are bound to be based in cultural norms. In a study of African-American students and Caucasian students, however, no significant differences in learning styles were discovered (Clump & Skogsberg 2003). This may not correlate well with a discussion of Asian and Arab students in Australia simply because, despite a foreign origin, the immigration of Africans to the United States is several centuries in the past and it may be assumed that major cultural attributes are shared between those groups in a way cultural attributes are not shared between Australians and Arab immigrants or Asian immigrants.

Arab-Australian learning styles

The few studies that have specifically addressed Arab learning styles in an English-speaking culture dealt with Arabs in the United States. However, in light of the similarities between Australian and American Hofstede scores, the findings can be instructive for Australian educators.

For instance, in the U.S., Arab clients of one counseling firm "who present as dependent, indecisive, or nonverbal emotionally may be labeled as 'resistant (Karmo, 2001) because they do not exhibit behaviors valued by mainstream U.S. society" (Nassar-McMillan & Larson 2003), a result that might also be seen in Australia. Another psychological finding that may have impact on learning styles of Arab students in Australia is that "Because of the role of fate in the teachings of Islam, Arab-Americans are thought to be survival-oriented rather than insight-oriented. Some authors suggest that therapies focused on insight tend to be ineffective and counterproductive with this population and can be highly anxiety provoking because of the conflicts between individual vs. collective forces" (Nassar-McMillan & Lawson 2003). Just so, demanding intuitive, rather than rules-based, responses from students might have a similar effect, for example. It was also noted in the American study that even Arabs who had become Christian would tend to hold some of the Islamic Arab attitudes in various settings (Nassar-McMillan & Lawson 2003). They also noted that the cultural expectation that women would play subordinate roles, especially in public, could contribute to the need for a different approach to therapy (Nassar-McMillan & Lawson 2003); likewise, it could make it difficult to even assess a learning style in the female students.

A study that specifically compared the learning styles of Australian, Colombian, German and Palestinian adolescents found, not surprisingly, that Arab students, when in academic difficulties, sought spiritual support at a much higher rate than did either Australian or German students, but that they also had more active coping strategies of which that was just one part (Frydenberg & O'Mullane 2000). However, they also noted that Australians -- consistent with Hofstede's assessment of the culture -- employ relaxing diversions and physical pursuits significantly more often than the Palestinian students when having learning difficulties (Frydenberg & O'Mullane 2000).