Culture and Learning: Confucian Heritage Learners, Social-Oriented Achievement, and Innovative Pedagogies

Abstract

A barrier to innovation in education is the perception that cultural practices are an inherent hindrance to new modes of learning. There is extensive research dedicated to understanding how culture strongly influences how individuals approach education and societies’ acceptance of innovative practices. Building on this literature, the purpose of this chapter is to illuminate how ethnocentrism has served as a barrier to important education innovations in Asian contexts. The chapter shows how the flipped instructional model and team-based learning can be adopted as innovative pedagogic approaches for students from Confucian Heritage Culture traditions. The author finds that traditional cultural values could positively influence pedagogic goal achievements, disputing the view that culture is a barrier to new pedagogic practice for effective learning.