Learning

Do metacognitive beliefs about learning differ across cultures? This chapter reviews relevant literature from different fields (in particular from educational science and from social, cognitive, and educational psychology). Building on previous work, it argues that Western students conceptualize learning primarily as the acquisition of knowledge and the development of mental skills (“mind orientation”). According to the “virtue orientation” that is more prevalent among Asians, learning encompasses in addition the pursuit of moral and social development. Both orientations are embedded in intellectual traditions that go back to ancient times (i.e., to Socrates in the West and to Confucius in the East). They are also associated with the culturally conferred understanding of what it means to be a good person, which differs between individualist and collectivist societies. The chapter reviews the empirical literature showing that discrepancies in learning beliefs between faculty and students from diverse backgrounds are detrimental for academic satisfaction and performance.