Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Teaching Across Cultures

  • Chapter
Student Motivation

Part of the book series: Plenum Series on Human Exceptionality ((SSHE))

Abstract

Teaching across cultures, whether as an expatriate teaching in a different culture, or as a local teaching international students, is an experience that many university teachers see as problematic. The following comment from the United Kingdom on teaching international students is typical:

many overseas students now originate in Pacific Rim countries, whose educational cultures characteristically value a highly deferential approach to teachers and place considerable emphasis on rote learning. This approach, of course, promotes surface or reproductive learning, which is at variance . . . with officially encouraged teaching innovations . . . to ensure deep transformational learning (Harris, 1997: 78).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Ballard, B. & Clanchy, J. (1997). Teaching international students. Deakin ACT: IDP Education Australia

    Google Scholar 

  • Baumgart, N. & Halse, C. (1999). Globalisation v. cultural diversity. Assessment in Education, 6, 321–339.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biggs, J.B. (1987). Student approaches to learning and studying. Hawthorn, Vic: Australian Council for Educational Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biggs, J.B. (1989) Some reflections on teaching at HKU. Hong Kong University Staff Newsletter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biggs, J. (1991) Approaches to learning in secondary and tertiary students in Hong Kong: Some comparative studies. Educational Research Journal, 6, 27–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biggs, J. B. (1996a). Stages of expatriate involvement in educational development: Colonialism, irrelevance, or what? Education Research Journal, 12, 157–64

    Google Scholar 

  • Biggs, J.B. (1996b). Enhancing teaching through constructive alignment. Higher Education, 32, 347–364.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biggs, J.B. (Ed) (1996c). Testing: To educate or to select? Education in Hong Kong at the crossroads. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Educational Publishing Co

    Google Scholar 

  • Biggs, J.B. (1998). Learning from the Confucian Heritage: So size doesn’t matter. International Journal of Educational Research, 29, 723–738

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biggs, J. B. (1999). What the student does: Teaching for quality learning at university. Buckingham: Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biggs, J.B., & Moore, P.J. (1993). The process of learning. Sydney: Prentice Hall of Australia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biggs, J, & Watkins, D. (1996). The Chinese Learning in retrospect. In D. Watkins and J. Biggs (Eds.), The Chinese learner: Cultural, psychological and contextual influences (pp.269–85). Hong Kong: Centre for Comparative Research in Education/Camberwell, Vic: Australian Council for Educational Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crooks, T.J. (1988). The impact of classroom evaluation practices in students. Review of Educational Research, 58, 438–481.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gao, L. (1996). Cultural context of school science: Teaching and learning in P.R. China. Paper given to The Global Summit on Science and Science Education, San Francisco, December 27–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton, G., & Wang, Z. (1992) Translators’ Introduction. Fei Xiaotong, From the soil: The foundations of Chinese society. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harris, R. (1997). Overseas students in the United Kingdom university system. Higher Education, 29, 77–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hess, R.D. & Azuma, M. (1991). Cultural support for schooling: Contrasts between Japan and the United States. Educational Researcher, 20 (9), 2–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ho, I. (in press). Are Chinese teachers authoritarian? In Watkins, D., & Biggs, J. (Eds.). The Chinese Teacher. Hong Kong: Centre for Comparative Research in Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) (1996). The Third International Maths and Science Study. Paris: OECD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kember, D., & Gow, L. (1991). A challenge to the anecdotal stereotype of the Asian student. Studies in Higher Education, 161, 117–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, W. O. (1996). The cultural context for Chinese learners: Conceptions of learning in the Confucian tradition. In D. Watkins and J. Biggs (Eds.), The Chinese learner: Cultural, psychological and contextual influences (pp.25–41). Hong Kong: Centre for Comparative Research in Education/Camberwell, Vic: Australian Council for Educational Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • McKay, J., & Kember, D. (1997). Spoon feeding leads to regurgitation: a better diet can result in more digestible learning outcomes. Higher Education Research and Development, 16, 55–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • March, R.M. (1996). Letter to the Editor, The Australian, 9th September, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marion, F., dall’Alba, G., & Tse, L.K, G. (1996). Solving the paradox of the Asian learner? In D. Watkins and J. Biggs (Eds.), The Chinese Learner: Research and Practice (pp. 69–84) Hong Kong: Centre for Comparative Research in Education/Camberwell, Vic: Australian Council for Educational Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nathan, A.J. (1993) Is Chinese culture distinctive? A review article. The Journal of Asian Studies, 52, 923–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Connor, J.E. (1991) A descriptive analysis of Chinese teachers’ thought processes. Paper presented at the Conference on Chinese Education for the 21st. Century, Honolulu, November 21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Poortinga, Y. (1996) Indigenous psychology: Scientific ethnocentrism in a new guise? In Pandey, J., Sinha, D, & Bhawuk, D. (Eds). (1996) Cross-cultural contributions to Asian psychology. (New Delhi, Sage).

    Google Scholar 

  • Salili, F. (1996) Accepting personal responsibility for learning. In D. Watkins and J. Biggs (Eds.), The Chinese Learner: Research and Practice, (pp. 85–106). Hong Kong: Centre for Comparative Research in Education/Camberwell, Vic: Australian Council for Educational Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt, W., & 14 others. (1996). A summary of characterizing pedagogical flow: An investigation of mathematics and science teaching in six countries. London: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shuell, T.J. (1986). Cognitive conceptions of learning. Review of Educational Research, 56, 411–436.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stedman, L.C. (1997). International achievement differences: An assessment of a new perspective. Educational Researcher, 26(3), 4–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stevenson, H.W. & Stigler, J. (1992) The learning gap: Why our schools are failing and what we can learn from Japanese and Chinese education. New York: Summit Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stigler, J., & Hiebert, J. (1999). The teaching gap New York: The Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stigler, J. & Stevenson, H.W. (1991). How Asian teachers polish each other to perfection. American Educator, 15(1), 12–21 & 43–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tang, C. (1991). Effects of two different assessment procedures on tertiary students’ approaches to learning. Upublished doctoral dissertation. University of Hong Kong.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tang, C. & Biggs, J. (1996) How Hong Kong students cope with assessment. In D. Watkins and J. Biggs (Eds.), The Chinese Learner: Cultural, Psychological, and Contextual Influences (pp. 159–182). Hong Kong: Centre for Comparative Research in Education/Camberwell, Vic: Australian Council for Educational Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tang, C. & 12 others (1997). Developing a context based PBL model. In J. Conway, R., Fisher, L. Sheridan-Burns and G. Ryan (eds). Research and development in Problem based learning. Volume 4: Integrity, innovation, integration. Newcastle: Australian Problem Based Learning Network.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, C. (1994). Assessment for measurement or standards: The peril and promise of large scale assessment reform. American Educational Research Journal, 31, 231–262.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tobin, K. (1987). The role of wait time. Review of Educational Research, 57, 69–95.

    Google Scholar 

  • Triandis, H.C. (1972) The analysis of subjective culture. (New York, Wiley).

    Google Scholar 

  • Volet, S., and Renshaw, P. (1996). Chinese students at an Australian university: Continuity and adaptability. In D. Watkins and J. Biggs (eds.), The Chinese Learner: Cultural, psychological and contextual influences (pp. 205–220). Hong Kong: Centre for Comparative Research in Education/Camberwell, Vic: Australian Council for Educational Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watkins, D., & Biggs, J. (Eds.) The Chinese Learner: Research and Practice. Hong Kong: Centre for Comparative Research in Education/Camberwell, Vic: Australian Council for Educational Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watkins, D., Regmi, M., & Astilla, E. (1991). The-Asian-as-rote-learner stereotype: Myth or reality? Educational Psychology, 17, 89–100.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitehill, T., Stokes, S.F, and MacKinnon, M. (1997). Problem based learning and the Chinese learner. In R. Murray-Harvey and H.C. Silins (eds.). Learning and teaching in higher education: Advancing international perspectives. Adelaide: Flinders Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    John B. Biggs

Authors
  1. John B. Biggs
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    Farideh Salili  & Chi Yue Chiu  & 

  2. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong

    Ying Yi Hong

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2001 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Biggs, J.B. (2001). Teaching Across Cultures. In: Salili, F., Chiu, C.Y., Hong, Y.Y. (eds) Student Motivation. Plenum Series on Human Exceptionality. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1273-8_14

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1273-8_14

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-5472-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-1273-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation