Knowledge and cognitive development in Western adult learning paradigms

¶ … twentieth century brought psychology along with the psychology of learning on a new, scientific ground. Learning theories developed based on scientific observations, tests and studies. The western approach to learning theories has contributed to the development of systems of education that spread around the globe. The Anglo-Saxon education system, for example, is viewed today as one of the most effective systems in the world. Nonetheless, it is also one of the most expensive education systems. The globalization era brought peoples closer together than they ever were in the history of humankind, but it also made individuals more aware of cultural differences. Since learning theories are older than the twentieth century, the gathering and assessing of a body of work dedicated to this subject from all over the world became absolutely necessary for the researchers who were willing to integrate what others had already observed and studied into the modern science of psychology.

For best results, health care and nursing education in particular are heavily dependent on both the western and non-western learning theories. Multicultural societies need to take into consideration multicultural differences with regard to patients as well as the professional staff. As Braungart and Braungart stress in their paper "Applying Learning Theories to Healthcare Practice": "Beyond one's profession, however, knowledge of the learning process relates to nearly every aspect of daily life."(Braungart&Braungart, 2007) As Merriam and Kim point out, the modern Western learning psychology, rooted in the ancient Greek philosophy, is usually considered superior to other learning theories, in spite of the fact that some of them are as old as the ancient Greek works the Western adult learning theories rely on.

To know how people learn and what motivates them is essential in any educational system today. The online learning system is the newest learning system that can offer new insights in the approaches of learning systems in a medium that has numerous students with different ethnic backgrounds. Through its nature, online learning is highly individualistic, but also tremendously tributary to the contributions of all those who are involved in a particular course, exchanging their learning as well as teaching experiences through this communication medium.

"Learning is communal," as Merriam and Kim title a subchapter in their chapter "Non-western perspectives on learning and knowing." They take the example Melissa Fay Greene has taken, that of an "Ethiopian woman who dealt with the death of her husband and daughter by providing for children from AIDS-stricken families" (Merriam and Kim, ) The two authors further notice that Greene has "titled the book after an African proverb: "There Is No Me Without You"(idem)