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Cross-Cultural Learning Approaches in Students from the USA, Japan and Taiwan

East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA, brownmi{at}ecu.edu

Megumi Aoshima

East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA

Larry M. Bolen

East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA

Rosina Chia

East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA

Takaya Kohyama

Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between approaches to learning and locus of control of students from the USA, Japan, and Taiwan. The results show that students from the USA utilized more rote memory learning compared to students from Japan and Taiwan, while students from Japan were more likely to be `Achieving' learners than peers from either the USA or Taiwan. `Deep Approaches' to learning, however, were similar across the three groups. Students from both Japan and Taiwan exhibited higher levels of external orientation than did students from the USA. Although cultural characteristics were reflected in students' locus of control orientation, there were no differences in students' deep processing understanding strategies as all students displayed low levels. School psychologists must therefore be aware that students from different Asian cultural backgrounds do not have a singular approach to learning or a singular locus of control orientation. The mediating role of cultural context in learning must be considered for individual students in order to implement appropriate and effective teaching strategies, techniques, and methods that promote deep level understanding for learners with differing cultural backgrounds.

Key Words: cultural context • deep learners • learning approaches • locus-of-control • motivation • SPQ • surface learners

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School Psychology International, Vol. 28, No. 5, 592-604 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0143034307085660


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This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Web of Science (1) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Brown, M. B. Articles by Kohyama, T. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?