Cultural Determinants of Learning Style Preferences.

Abstract

We investigate the relationship between cultural values and the learning style preferences of students of business administration. By linking Kolb's (1984) model of learning style preferences to the cultural values of learners we develop hypotheses that are tested against data collected from 939 individuals studying at universities in Germany, the UK, the USA, Russia, Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland, China, and the United Arab Emirates. Our findings show that learning style preferences vary with individuals' cultural values. We also find that study level, exchange student status, and gender are related to individuals' learning style preferences. The results are of importance to researchers and practitioners interested in the learning process of individuals from different cultural backgrounds.

The Moderating Role of National Culture in the Relationship Between University Entrepreneurship Offerings and Student Start-Up Activity: An Embeddedness Perspective

“…In a low power distance environment, the student is being reinforced to challenge these norms and create their own job. When they find themselves in an entrepreneurship course or taking advantage of a co‐curricular or financing program, the larger societal values are saying it is okay to challenge the status quo (Barmeyer ; Holtbrugge and Mohr ). Even for those coming from poverty or the lower end of the economic scale, the presence of low power distance suggests anyone can start their own venture and create their own wealth (Ozgen ).…”

Preference for Anonymous Classroom Participation

“…However, there is a growing body of research to show that students' cultural value orientations influence their instructional preferences (Holtbrügge & Mohr, 2010;Hwang & Francesco, 2010). Furthermore, researchers have argued that students with a higher power distance orientation are likely to feel less comfortable raising questions with the professor in class (Hwang & Francesco, 2010).…”

“…Hwang and Francesco (2010) applied these ideas to the area of education and argued that students with a high power distance orientation would view instructors as less approachable because high power distance cultural values reflect the view that one should not share thoughts and ideas with others at higher levels of the social hierarchy. Therefore, less direct contact and interaction between instructor and student are preferred by those with a high power distance orientation because this prevents them from being put into socially uncomfortable situations caused by losing that degree of expected interpersonal distance (Holtbrügge & Mohr, 2010). As such, we expect that students with a high power distance orientation will prefer anonymity because it prevents them from having to directly interact with their instructor or appear as though their response is challenging the instructor's authority (Hwang & Francesco, 2010).…”

The relation of cognitive learning strategies to psychosocial employability attributes amongst black adult learners in the economic and management sciences field

“…Research has further shown that cognitive styles and cognitive learning strategies are related to learners' academic achievement (Liu et al, 2008;Williams et al, 2004;Zhang, 2004). Research also provides evidence that learners' preferred cognitive learning strategies and styles influence their level of achievement and that adult learners differ in terms of their success at taking formal assessments or examinations (Holtbrügge & Mohr, 2010;Naimie, Siraj, Abuzaid & Shagholi, 2010;Ng, Pinto & Williams, 2011).…”