COLLECTIVISM AND INDIVIDUALISM IN TEACHING AND LEARNING

Bài viết này xem xét một số nguyên lý cơ bản của sự đa dạng văn hoá về chủ nghĩa cá nhân và chủ nghĩa tập thể trong học tập và môi trường giáo dục nói chung.. Từ khóa: chủ nghĩa tập thể,[r]

COLLECTIVISM AND INDIVIDUALISM IN TEACHING AND LEARNING

Summary

Cultural variation has long been a theme of great concerns in education settings and cultural studies Culture flows and shifts between us; it both binds and separates us, but in different ways at different times and in different circumstances (Holiday, 2005) According to Hofstede (1997), culture differs along five dimensions: power distance, individualism- collectivism, masculinity- femininity, uncertainty avoidance, and short-term time orientation versus long-short-term time orientation These dimensions were arrived in his 1980 publication, "Culture's consequences: International differences in work-related values." One of the most well-known cultural continuums is individualism versus collectivism which has been the much debated topic in academic research and journals In individualist cultures, the individual is emphasized and independence valued (Dodd, 1998) while the emphasis in on the well-being of the group in collectivist cultures This paper will look at some basic tenets of cultural variation in term of individualism and collectivism in learning and educational settings

Key words: collectivism, individualism, educational settings, cultural variation

1 Collectivism versus individualism

The dimension of individualism and collectivism has been considered one of the most influential dimensions of cultural diversity identified in cross cultural studies Individualism is a characteristic of cultures in which “the ties between individuals are loose; everyone is expected to look after him or herself and his or her immediate family”

(Hofsetede, 1997) Some of the typical features of an individualist culture is that people see themselves as independent individuals with independent relations emphasizing the importance of ‘self’ Members of individualistic cultures are described as valuing personal time, freedom, challenge, direct communication style, and materials rewards at work (Hofstede, 1997) Triandis’s study (1995) also showed that the individualism is most often

a consequence of looseness and cultural complexity Thailand is considered having a loose culture because Thai culture is located at the interjections of major other countries (e.g Thailand is at the interjection of India and China) In Thailand, there is very little concern with work rules and etiquette If an employee is going to leave his or her place of employment because of homesick or any other reason, he or she may leaves without giving a formal resignation

Collectivism pertains to society in which people from birth onwards are intergrated into strong, cohesive in groups which continue to protect them throughout their lifetime in exchange for unquestioning loyalty (Hofstede, 2003, p.51) According to Triandis (1995), collectivism is most often a consequence of tightness and cultural simplicity Japan is considered a tight culture because people are socialized to act properly

In collectivist culture, people tend to live in an extended family pattern, including two or even four generations in which they can expect to live their whole life This family structure is rather common in many countries is Asia such as China, Vietnam, South Korea and Taiwan In the family structure of this kind, the later generation should take the advice of the former generation For example, children are often required to respect and obey their parents’ advice It’s not surprising that the study options of collectivist students are sometimes influenced directly by parents’ options or preferences which are not likely

to take place in Western countries where the individualist culture influenced greatly on every aspect of people’s lives

In an individualist culture, a small nuclear family is seen very common, including parents and children As these children are grow-up, they often decide their study options by themselves, tend to be independent, competitive in almost activities and willing to accept challenges for individual success and accomplishment in their learning and later life As Dodd (1998) stated that “disagreement contrasting ways of thinking are considered desirable, and the emphasis is on meeting personal needs and goals rather than thinking in terms of the group”

2 Collectivist and individualist cultures in educational settings

Hofstede’s notions of individualism and collectivism have been widely examined in education and classroom context As Hofstede (1986) suggested that individualist students are described as perceiving “education as a way of improving one’s economic worth and self respect based on ability and confidence” The students are often encouraged to be competitive, self-reliant and willing to ask the teacher questions related to the lesson in learning activities and discussion Independence and self-reliance are greatly emphasized and valued Members of individualist cultures are described as valuing challenge, direct communication style and openness Therefore, individualist students have the tendency of speaking their minds whenever they are confused or they want to share their opinions or ideas with their teacher or classmates

During my study period at the university of Newcastle where there are a lot of local students and those who are from other countries with different cultural backgrounds, I realize that many students, especially Australian and Western students possess the characters of the individualist culture They discussed their ideas and opinions without any hesitation during the lesson Lecturers also seem very willing to answer their questions in the class I also find that the students from Asian countries such as China, Vietnam and Taiwan seldom raise questions to the teacher; instead, they prefer meeting the lecturers after class if they are confused or do not understand some content of the lesson Some questions also come to my mind that whether the teachers or individualist learners (including Australian students) see the collectivist learners as withdrawn or uninterested or not? Do the teachers feel reluctant to ask the collectivist learners some questions about the lesson? May the frequent questions to lecturers raised by individualist students be seen as rude or impolite in the eyes of their collectivist classmates? As a matter of fact, the cultural differences among the students from different countries can lead to misunderstanding across cultural groups

Contrary to individualism, collectivist students tend to work in groups and they are often encouraged to learn through participation and interaction within group settings Many researchers stated that the characters of collectivist students are strongly influenced by the Confucian Heritage Culture (CHC), which is dominant in China and other countries such

as Vietnam, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Malaysia In addition, a large number of cultural studies also suggested that CHC students are able to demonstrate their strong points when they have a chance to work in the group settings In a collectivist classroom,

the virtue of harmony reigns supreme Confrontation and conflicts are to be avoided (Hofstede, 2005) Several studies also show that Chinese students, in a group setting, always try to avoid conflicts, losing one’s face and tend to maintain group harmony A study conducted by Phuong Mai (2005) showed that Vietnamese students also tend to

“appreciate the one-for-all mentality”, that is, every member of the group try not to raise different opinions, but should sacrifice for the sake of group harmony Vietnamese people have some proverbs expressing this character: “One time self-denial means nine times goodness”; “Think seven times before speaking out”; “Words cost no money, use them well to please others”

According to researchers, the learners who are influenced by the features of CHC prefer working in groups and perform better in groups It can be assumed that group learning is considered to be culturally suitable methodology for students from Asian collectivist countries However, there are contradictory views of some researchers whose studies are

on CHC learners that there is a preference to work individually among CHC learners Agelasto’s study (1998) argued that in a classroom setting, Chinese learners are very competitive, not cooperative She also stated that “cooperative learning rarely exists at any level of education in China” In addition, Park’s study (2002) also showed that Korean students are not accustomed to studying in groups, but they tend to study on their own, individually and competitively in almost learning activities In real classroom settings in Vietnam, it seems inappropriate to apply the Western approach of working in groups and dealing with conflicts although the Vietnamese culture belongs to collectivist culture and

it is also strongly influenced by the Chinese Confucian Heritage Culture Whenever Vietnamese students have a chance to work in groups, they often do not create competitive

spirit among the learning groups but always try to avoid conflicts and maintain the harmony in the class However, there is the tendency that most Vietnamese students are used to studying individually and independently and they prefer this learning style They also find it easier to figure out new things by themselves rather than working in groups because they are able to control their critical thinking more effectively to have better learning results In other words, their study was set up individually with no collective target

3 Conclusion

Hofstede’s notions on individualism and collectivism provide teachers useful and essential understanding about the different learning styles among the students with different cultural backgrounds From this perception, teachers become more aware of designing the study programs, teaching strategies and classroom activities which should be appropriate for both individualist and collectivist students It can be said that when the teachers have a thorough understanding about students’ cultural needs, learners can get the best benefits in their studies

Tóm tắt

CHỦ NGHĨA TẬP THỂ VÀ CHỦ NGHĨA CÁ NHÂN TRONG VIỆC DẠY VÀ HỌC

Sự đa dạng về văn hoá từ lâu đã là một chủ đề thu hút nhiều sự quan tâm trong các cơ sở giáo dục và nghiên cứu văn hoá Theo Holiday (2005) văn hóa chảy và chuyển đổi giữa chúng ta; văn hóa kết hợp và tách biệt chúng ta nhưng theo những cách khác nhau, ở những thời điểm khác nhau và trong những hoàn cảnh khác nhau Theo Hofstede (1997), văn hoá khác nhau theo năm khía cạnh: khoảng cách quyền lực, chủ nghĩa cá nhân - chủ

nghĩa tập thể, nam tính - nữ tính, mức độ e ngại rủi ro, và định hướng ngắn hạn - định hướng dài hạn Những khía cạnh này đã được bàn luận trong ấn phẩm năm 1980 của ông, "Những hậu quả của văn hoá: Những khác biệt mang tính quốc tế trong các giá trị liên quan đến công việc." Một trong những khái niệm văn hoá phổ biến nhất là chủ nghĩa

cá nhân và chủ nghĩa tập thể và đây là chủ đề được bàn luận khá nhiều trong các nghiên cứu và tạp chí học thuật Trong văn hoá theo chủ nghĩa cá nhân, cá nhân được nhấn mạnh và sự độc lập được đề cao trong khi văn hóa theo chủ nghĩa tập thể tập trung vào sức mạnh của một nhóm người Bài viết này xem xét một số nguyên lý cơ bản của sự đa dạng văn hoá về chủ nghĩa cá nhân và chủ nghĩa tập thể trong học tập và môi trường giáo dục nói chung.

Từ khóa: chủ nghĩa tập thể, chủ nghĩa cá nhân, sự đa dạng văn hoá, mội trường giáo dục

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[3] Hofstede, G (1986) Cultural differences in teaching and learning International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 10, 301- 320.

[4] Phuong-Mai, N., Terlouw, C & Pilot, A (2005) Cooperating learning vs Confucian

Heritage Culture’s Collectivism, Asian Europe Journal, 3, 403-409.

[5] Phuong-Mai, N., Terlouw, C & Pilot, A (2006) Cultural appropriate pedagogy: the

case of group learning in a CHC context Intercultural Education, 17, 1-19.

[6] Triandis, H C (1995) Individualism and Collectivism Bolder: Westview.