I have been thinking about the effect of culture on education, particularly how a society’s power distance changes how people think about and practice learning and teaching. Hofstede defines Power Distance and summarizes the difference it can make.
Power Distance:
The extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally.
Small Power Distance | Large Power Distance |
Students treat teachers as equals. | Students give teachers respect, even outside class. |
Teachers expect initiatives from students in class. | Teachers should take all initiatives in class. |
Teachers are experts who transfer impersonal truths. | Teachers are gurus who transfer personal wisdom. |
Quality of learning depends on two-way communication and excellence of students. | Quality of learning depends on excellence of the teacher. |
Less education persons hold more authoritarian values than educated persons. | More educated and less educated persons show equally authoritarian values. |
Educational policy focuses on secondary schools. | Educational policy focuses on universities. |
(Geert Hofstede, Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind, Chapter 3)
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