2. Abstract
The study of brain related to culture, in disciplines such as cultural neuroscience, has
revealed major differences in perception and cognition when it comes to Eastern and Western
cultures. In a selective review of theoretical and empirical work, brain imaging findings in an
attempt to better understand cognitive processing differences amongst these two cultures. I
propose that these findings be taken into account to comprehend transitional difficulties that the
immigrant and international student population face in Canadian education institutions. In turn,
recommendations, suggestions, and strategies are presented.
3. Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I would like to thank my husband, Sherif Wahby, for his
continual faith in me, support, and encouragement which enabled me to complete this journey
that I embarked on. I would like to express my gratitude to my family for their inspiration, their
unconditional love and support. Finally, I would like to thank the faculty for their excellent
guidance, dedication to teaching, and patience.
4. “Have you tried neuroxing papers? It’s a very easy and cheap process. You hold the page
in front of your eyes and you let it go through there into the brain. It’s much better than
Xeroxing” (Brenner, 1988, p. 104).
This humorous quote by Sydney Brenner reflected the dominant and outdated
understanding that psychologists and educationalists had concerning the brain. The metaphorical
representation of the brain as machine emerged in the 1950s with the advent of the computer
(Kitayama & Park, 2010). Similar to the computer, the brain consisted of a series of wires and
networks, in this case neurons and neural connections delivering a specific output given the
input/stimuli. It was understood that the processing that took place, similarly to a CPU (computer
processing unit), was standard, equivalent, and did not differ in normal human brains. More
important however was the comparison that the mind was “fixed, bounded and housed neatly in
the head, and but for sensory receptors nearly completely isolated from the external
environment” (Kitayama & Park, 2010, p. 111).
Advances in neuroscience have revealed that the brain is malleable, or demonstrates
plasticity, which suggests that it can be shaped by environmental or nongenetic factors
(Kitayama & Park, 2010). The brain can change in response to stimulation from the
environment, and culture could be one of these environmental factors (Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD], 2007, p.30). Developments in neuroscience
due to technologies such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have enabled
researchers to observe and identify specific brain regions that are recruited in perception,
judgment, and decision making (Kitayama & Park, 2010, p. 112).
This paper will discuss how sustained experiences such as culture shape the brain and
generate perceptual and cognitive changes. These environmental stimuli “cause new neuronal
5. connections to form” (Koizumi, 2004, p. 435). To set this paper in context, I will briefly define
what I mean by culture. This definition adapted from Kitayama and Park (2010) characterizes
culture as a set of experiences, beliefs, and values that comprise relevant tools, practices, and
tasks across one’s lifetime.
In this paper, I will first provide a rationale and context that anchors this research, with an
explanation as to why I chose this topic. I will then present a few cognitive findings that
document differences between Eastern and Western cultures. I will then draw on themes
suggested from these findings and highlight their importance in an educational context in an
effort to discuss the challenges and barriers that immigrants face when transitioning into a new
culture, such as the Western educational system. Finally, I will propose some suggestions that
could help ease this transition.
Why Care?
This topic is of a personal interest to me as I am a second generation immigrant and, as
such, I have witnessed my parents’ difficult transition into Western culture; they have
encountered many challenges and barriers such as the discounting of their skills and experience
and had to climb the uphill road to start all over again. Even closely, I also have witnessed this
transition in my sister as she entered the Canadian educational system late in her adolescent
years, and I observed both the challenges and the opportunities she met in the process of
transition. On a community scale, being Egyptian, there has been an influx of Egyptian
immigrants into Canada over the past 10 years; hence, it is of cultural significance to understand
the transitions in order to enhance the likelihood of success for Egyptian immigrants to Canada.
Finally, on a professional level, I am a college teacher, and most of my students are international
and/or immigrants. They come from a variety of cultures, and I have always wondered what the
6. transition was like for each of them. As an educator, I wanted to learn if there were innate neural
differences due to cultural values. Is culture more than a social set of rules, or could it also be
viewed as biosocial? How do students from various cultural backgrounds see the same stimuli?
How are those stimuli interpreted? Finally, what are some of the strategies that I can apply in my
classroom to ease their transition and increase their chances of success.
Theoretical Perspectives
An emerging field in neuroscience has begun to investigate how human brain functions
are shaped by interactions between culture and genetics (Han, Northoff, Vogeley, Wexler,
Kitayma, & Varnum, 2013); similarly, current research has been investigating how neurological
processes such as genetic expression and brain function give rise to cultural values, practices,
and beliefs (Chiao, 2010, p. 109 as cited in Han et al., 2013, p. 336). With advanced techniques
such as functional magnetic resonance imaging, it is possible to identify specific brain regions
that are recruited in psychological operations such as perception, judgment, and decision making
(Kitayama & Park, 2010). The plasticity of the human brain reflects its capacity to change both
structurally and functionally both to environment and to experience (Shaw & McEachern, 2001
as cited in Han et al., 2013). Thus cultural neuroscience places huge emphasis on the influence of
cultural values, beliefs, and practices since the brain is a biosocial organ and not merely
biological (Hans et al., 2013).
A broad agreement exists that experience can shape cognitive processes and neural
organization (Park & Gutchess, 2002). Multiple research articles have cited that cultural tasks
can shape and modify brain pathways (Kitayama & Park, 2010). The classic example often cited
is that of London taxi drivers who relative to control subjects, showed an enlargement in their
hippocampi region (Kitayama & Park, 2010). The hippocampi region, responsible for memory
7. formation and retrieval (Squire & Schacter, 2002 as cited in Kitayama & Park, 2010), was
enlarged due to the constant spatial navigation, rerouting, and improvisations that are required
(Kitayama & Park, 2010; Park & Gutchess, 2002); “when fired together the brain neurons begin
to be wired together” (Kitayama & Park, 2010, p. 114). This marriage of culture and genetics, as
cofactors that shape neural organization and sensitivity, challenges the dichotomy of nature
versus nurture, or genetic versus epigenetic factors. This relation has been discussed previously
by Bronfenbrenner in his ecological systems theory, “in an attempt to define and understand
human development within the context of the system of relationships that form the person’s
environment” (Johnson, 2008, p. 2). The layers of systems which include the macrosystem refer
to the broad social context, the values, beliefs, customs embedded within culture (Heft,
2013Johnson, 2008).
In order to understand how culture affects cognitive functions, we provide a definition for
both terms. According to Kitayama and Park (2010), culture is defined as a set of values,
meanings, beliefs, conventions, and artifacts that tie together relevant tools, practices, and tasks.
Humans are not born with inclinations for a certain culture; rather they construct and create
culture, meaning that individuals can change their cultural values if they are exposed to another,
as in the case of emigration (Han et al., 2013); “cultural practices can foster different notions of
the self and well-being as well as different cognition and emotion” (DeVos, 1973 as cited in
Kitayama & Park, 2010, p. 114).
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2007),
cognition is defined as:
the set of processes enabling information processing and knowledge development. These
processes are called “cognitive functions”. Among these, the higher cognitive functions
8. correspond to the human brain’s most elaborate processes. They are the product of the
most recent phase of the brain’s evolution and are mainly centred in the cortex, which is
highly developed structure in humans. (p. 24)
The cultural context of this paper will solely focus on the differences between Eastern
and Western cultures. Research has studied the differences between Eastern versus Western
cultures because of a clear cultural dichotomy. According to Nisbett and colleagues (2001 as
cited in Park & Huang, 2010, p. 391), this cultural dichotomy is present in the way that East
Asian and Western cultures process information, which is a result of contrasting cultural values
and beliefs. Eastern versus Western cultures will be solely examined as a result of insufficient
information gathered and assessed for other cultures.
The Cultural Brain
Behavioural performances among individuals from Western and East Asian cultures
revealed differences in culture-dependent cognitive processing in the following categories:
arithmetic processing, self-construal, person perception, attention, emotional regulation, and
motivation (Han et al., 2013). Below I will expand on the following categories and emphasize
the differences in processing between the two cultures in an effort to paint a larger picture and
reveal the importance of understanding such processes, in order to discover educational
applications and implications.
Arithmetic Processing
According to Kitayama and Park (2010), in arithmetic processing, native English
speakers differ from Chinese speakers and engage a different region of the brain known as the
perisylvian cortices, which is involved in linguistic processing. In contrast, Chinese speakers
show very little activation in linguistic processing areas and increased activation in the premotor
9. cortex which is involved in motor execution (Tang et. al., 2006 as cited in Kitayama & Park,
2010). The deviation in brain processing areas is due to the fact that during mathematical
training and computation East Asian cultures place an emphasis on using manipulatives, the most
common being the abacus, which involves finger movements (Kitayama & Park, 2010). This
finding is powerful because it demonstrates that the same behavioural outcome can be
accomplished by different brain pathways; same tasks are accomplished by the recruitment
varying neural components that are dependent on social and cultural backgrounds.
Self-Construal or Views of the Self
In an experiment where Eastern and Western subjects were asked to think about their
mothers, different neural pathways were engaged (Kitayama & Park, 2010). In Chinese subjects
the medial prefrontal cortex was activated (Craik et al., 1999 as cited in Kitayama & Park,
2010), an area responsible for its role in decision making involving risk and reward (Botvinick et
al., 2007 as cited in Euston, Gruber, & Bruce, 2012 ), executive control (Posner et al., 2007;
Ridder-royd et al., 2004 as cited in Euston et al., 2012), and reward-guided learning (Rushworth
et al., 2011 as cited in Euston et al., 2012). The engagement of this neural pathway indicates that
Eastern subjects see the self as interdependent to close others. According to Markus and
Kitayama (1991), this interdependence indicates that a higher value is placed on the interpersonal
or social self, emotional life is positioned on social goals and concerns, and finally motivation is
through such social goals and concerns.
In contrast, in Western subjects the medial prefrontal cortex was not engaged (Craik et
al., 1999 as cited in Kitayama & Park, 2010). The lack of engagement in this neural pathway
suggests that Westerners’ self-construal is separated from close others. According to Markus and
Kitayama (1991), this indicates independence and suggests that a higher value is placed on the
10. self, emotional life is positioned around one’s personal goals, desires, and needs, and motivation
is through goals that are set personally.
This finding is powerful because it demonstrates an Eastern view of self that is
incongruent with how the West views the self within society (Kitayama & Park, 2010). Instead
of the self being intertwined within the social fabric with all decisions made and influenced by
others, the view of the self in Western culture stands alone, independent of the social fabric, with
decision making being very personal and internally driven (Kitayama & Park, 2010).
Attention
According James (1980), “attention refers to the selection of specific information within
the visual representation, usually by enhancing processing of the selected items or by inhibition
of non-selected items, or both” (Goh & Park, 2009, p. 96). Experiments have been carried out by
various researchers evaluating how individuals from Western and Eastern cultures are affected
by visual contextual information (Kitayama et al., 2003; Blais et al., 2008; Goh et al., in
preparation). One such study used the Frame-Line Test in which participants view a line within a
surrounding square frame of a fixed size (Kitayama et al., 2003 as cited in Goh & Park, 2009).
Participants are given time to view this information in the study phase, and in the test phase
participants are presented with an empty square frame that is of a different size and are asked to
draw a line in the square using either relative judgment, so that the ratio between the line length
and the square length is preserved as in the study phase, or using absolute judgment so that the
square size is ignored and the line length is maintained as in the study phase (Kitayama et al.,
2003 as cited in Goh & Park, 2009). Results revealed that Western subjects were better at
absolute judgment, meaning that they were less affected by the change in context (i.e., size of the
11. square), whereas Eastern subjects were better at relative judgment which took into account the
changing size of the square (Kitayama et al., 2003 as cited in Goh & Park, 2009).
In Eastern subjects’ attention in visual stimuli (to objects and contexts) was diffused and
holistic due to collectivist dialectic traditions within the culture (Park & Gutchess, 2002).
According to Nisbett, Peng, and Norenzayan (2001), holistic thought involves an orientation to
the context as a whole including attention to objects situated within a field. This results in
information being processed in a more holistic and contextual fashion (Kitayama & Park, 2010).
Further,
“holistic approaches rely on experience-based knowledge rather than abstract logic and
are dialectical, meaning that there is an emphasis on change, recognition of contradiction
and of the need for multiple perspectives, and a search for the ‘Middle Way’ between
opposing propositions” (Nisbett et al., 2001, p. 293).
Since there is an overall picture that is being taken into account, subjects from Eastern
cultures paid less attention to categories or specifics (Park & Gutchess, 2002; Nisbett &
Miyamoto, 2005). East Asian students are “field dependent” (Ji, Peng, & Nisbett, 2000, p. 953),
where attention is focused on the context and thus the “bigger picture” is easier to see. As stated
by Ji and colleagues (2000), “they (East Asians) might be more capable than Americans of
detecting relationships in the environment” (p. 944). However, they might be challenged by
picking out details for a given task and might experience difficulty with questions that are detail
oriented or those that require the recall of details (i.e., contrast and compare tasks). As a result,
they “may need more help in differentiation and analysis” (Ji et al., 2000, p. 953). Further,
according to Witkin and colleagues (1977 as cited in Ji et al., 2000, p. 953), “field dependent
12. people have interpersonal orientation, show strong interest in others, and prefer to have people
around them and even physically close to them”.
Western subjects’ attention was focused according to the ancient Greek tradition of logic
which results in more rule, based and analytic processing (Park & Gutchess, 2002). Thus, less
attentional bias was devoted to context and more focus was given to categories (Kitayama &
Park, 2010; Nisbett & Miyamoto, 2005). Analytical processing viewpoint sees the world as
composed of objects, focusing on details and their properties (Ji et al., 2000); it also involves a
preference for using rules to explain and predict an object’s behaviour (Nisbett et al., 2001, p.
293). As a result, they (Western subjects) are referred to as “field independent” (Ji et al., p. 944),
since they are able to separate objects from their environments. This point is demonstrated by
Goh and Park (2009): “Westerners perceive visual information in terms of features and constant
attributes that are less bound to the context” (p. 97).
Emotional Regulation
Based on the views of interdependence, emotional regulation in Eastern subjects
expressed socially engaging emotions including friendly feelings, respect, guilt, and shame
(Kitayama & Park, 2010). Feelings such as guilt and shame indicate a link to interpersonal loss
or one that is connected to the feelings of others within social fabric (Kitayama & Park, 2010).
Based on the views of independence, emotional regulation in Western subjects expressed
socially disengaging emotions such as pride, feelings of superiority, anger, and frustration
(Kitayama & Park, 2010). In contrast to feelings such as guilt and shame, feelings of anger and
frustration indicate a link to the personal self, or one that is self-oriented (Kitayama & Park,
2010).
13. Motivation
Similarly to the socially based views for self-construal and emotional regulation,
motivation in Eastern subjects was observed to be socially oriented (Yu & Yang, 1994). This
means that personal motivation is anchored to the expectations of others and a sense of
obligation and duty to community (Kitayama & Park, 2010). Also interesting is the observation
that intrinsic motivation increased when tasks where chosen by close others such as mothers
(Kitayama & Park, 2010). According to Iyengar and Lepper (1999), intrinsic motivation was the
highest in Western subjects when tasks were chosen by self, and no difference was noted in the
level of motivation whether they were chosen by a close other (Kitayama & Park, 2010).
Perception of Control
Findings about motivation and self-construal are related to perception of control. As the
actor is seen as the main cause of behaviour in Western cultures, a sense of personal control is
more important (Ji et al., 2000). A sense of control is important for Westerners in that they often
fail to distinguish between controllable and uncontrollable events, giving them a false sense of
control or an “illusion of control” as defined by Langer (as cited in Ji et al., 2000). On the
contrary, a sense of perceived control is not as important for East Asians as accommodating or
conforming to reality including group needs (Ji et al., 2000). Understanding one’s illusion of
personal control is important as it affects cognitive functions (Ji et al., 2000). For example,
performance on routine tasks is greatly improved when people believe they can control the
occurrence of events, even though in reality they might not exercise any control over that event
(Glass & Singer, 1973 as cited in Ji et al., 2000).
Holistic Versus Analytic Traditions: Why the Differences?
14. In America, “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” In Japan, “the nails that stands out gets
pounded down” (Markus & Kitayama, 1991, p. 224). Cognitive differences amongst Eastern and
Western cultures have been thought to originate because of differences between their ancient
civilizations and systems of thought (Nisbett et al., 2001) and/or because of differences in their
social structures (Ji, et al., 2000). According to Nisbett and colleagues (2001), cognitive
differences between Eastern and Western cultures are due to the ancient civilizations they
belonged to, namely Chinese and Greek civilizations. Eastern cultures derived their cultural
values and systems of thought from Chinese civilizations. In Chinese societies, the self was
defined in relation to the community; “individuals are part of a closely knit collectivity, whether
a family or village, and… the behaviour of the individual should be guided by the expectations
of the group” (Nisbett et al., 2001, p. 292). As a result, Eastern cultural values centred on the
holistic perspective (Park & Huang, 2010) and focused on relationships and connections.
Western cultures, derived from Greek civilizations, emphasized the self as a single entity, or the
“location of power” (Nisbett et al., 2001, p. 292). Individuals were encouraged to develop a
sense of personal agency, a sense of choice independent from the social fabric of society. As a
result, Western cultural values centred on the analytic perspective, where categorization and rule
generation were key (Nisbett et al., 2001).
Another perspective which attempts to explain cognitive differences among Eastern and
Western cultures proposes that it is due to their social structures. According to Nisbett and
colleagues (2001), Chinese societies were based on agriculture and farming, where cooperation
and working as a “team” were crucial. Further this environment was highly complex and
constraining, requiring obedience (Ji et al., 2000). Thus this environment requires interpersonal
orientation and a sense of community or allegiance.
15. European societies, on the other hand, were based on hunting and gathering and required
individual effort and units for their success (Ji, et al., 2000). Hunting and gathering communities
emphasized independence or autonomous functioning and a loose social structure (Barry, Child
& Bacon, 1959; Whiting & Child, 1953 as cited in Ji et al., 2000). Thus, this environment or
structure involved impersonal orientation and more solitary or nonsocial situations (Greenem
1973; Witkin & Goodenough, 1977 as cited in Ji et al., 2000; Nisbett & Miyamoto, 2005).
These differences in cognition and perception have allowed Asian and Greek civilizations
advantages and disadvantages over the centuries. For example, an analytic perspective has
allowed the Greeks to discover many scientific laws but failure to understand the interaction
between an object and its field (Nakamura, 1964/1985 as cited in Ji et al., 2000, p. 943). Aristotle
explained a stone’s falling through air by reference to the stone having the property of gravity (Ji
et al., 2000). The Chinese, due to their understanding and focus on the field, were able to
understand that causation is always the result of interaction between the object and the field (Ji et
al., 2000). This has allowed them to understand and properly explain phenomena such as
resonance and magnetism, and even correctly describe the behaviour of the tides (Needham,
1962 as cited in Ji et al., 2000).
Another theory has to do with the socialization process characteristic of each culture,
such as child-rearing practices (Nisbett & Miyamoto, 2005). For example, American mothers
observed playing with their children point out the characteristics or attributes, whereas
Japanese mothers emphasize the social routines which might direct infants’ attention to the
relationship/context (Nisbett & Miyamoto, 2005).
Possible Implications of Cultural Differences for New Immigrants to Canada
Like the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, Canada has grown through
immigration (Cervatiuc, 2009). During the 1970s, increasing numbers of Asians were
16. immigrating to Canada—specifically they comprised 48% of the people settling in Canada (the
immigrant experience, 2002). Canada’s immigration policy has changed over the past 20 years to
attract the world’s best educated people in order to compete in a knowledge economy that relies
heavily on a skilled workforce (Baxter, 1999; Duffy, April 2000; DeVoretz, Hinte & Werner,
2002 as cited in Cervatiuc, 2009). This push in immigration has been due to global competition
and a gateway for Canada to replace its aging population with young, educated, and skilled
newcomers (Cervatiuc, 2009).
However, many immigrants are unsuccessful culturally transitioning into Canadian society,
as there are many adjustments such as: new languages to learn, customs to adapt to, accompanied
with a radical change of climate (The Immigrant Experience, 2002). According to Sinacore,
Park-Saltzman, Mikhail, and Wada (2011), “cultural transitioning is the process of an immigrant
adapting from their culture of origin to that of a new country” (p. 168). Successful cultural
transitioning is achieved when individuals are able to achieve sociocultural and psychological
adjustment within the new culture (Berry, 2003 as cited in Sinacore et al., 2011). Despite
immigrants representing a highly skilled and qualified workforce, one major obstacle is securing
economic opportunities and employment (Reitz, 2001; Wald & Fang, 2008 as cited in Sinacore
et al., 2011). This has been due to a variety of reasons including negative attitudes towards
immigrants as perceived competition for resources and skill discounting (Sinacore et al., 2011).
As a result, many educated and skilled immigrants cannot practice their chosen occupations in
Canada, and this has hindered their participation in society (Dean & Wilson, 2009 as cited in
Sinacore et al., 2011). This “gap” has resulted in retraining at postsecondary institutions and,
according to Statistics Canada, 439,650 immigrants over the age of 15 attended high school or
17. postsecondary full time in 2001, while 267,585 immigrants attended school part time (Sinacore
et al., 2011).
Even within the Canadian educational landscape, many immigrant and International
students have difficulty navigating the system that should lead them to academic and future
occupational success (Sinacore et al., 2011). The difficulty in navigating the Canadian school
system has contributed to 3 times higher immigrant academic attrition rates (Gunderson, D’Silva,
& Odo, 2012; Gitlin, Buendia, Crosland, & Doumbia, 2003; Sagy, 2000 as cited in Sinacore et
al., 2011). “Becoming a student in a new country requires socialization into the teaching,
learning, and student cultures. A second-language-learner must learn features of these cultures if
he or she is to become communicatively and academically competent” (Gunderson et al., 2012,
p. 144).
Another issue is the influx of international students within Canadian institutions – if
Canada has developed policies and strategies (such as planning, cooperative efforts between
government and education, funding for marketing, and simplified visa applications; Schneider,
2000 as cited in Andrade, 2006), it should be the responsibility of Canadian institutions to
develop strategies to successfully integrate and ease the transition of the immigrant and
international student population. The development of these “strategies” should be motivated by
two main factors: economic gains and national relations (Andrade, 2006). First, international
student enrollment in Canada is a source of revenue for postsecondary institutions (Lee &
Wesche, 2000 as cited in Andrade, 2006). Second, international students contribute to
“intercultural learning and increased understanding of diversity and global issues” (NAFSA,
2003 as cited in Andrade, 2006, p. 133). International students create global relations and
connections and promote foreign policy interests (Schneider, 2000 as cited in Andrade, 2006).
18. Dominant Western Ideologies and Mismatched Expectations
“A major part of how people make decisions has to do with their past social experiences,
reputation and cultural history” (Immordino-Yang, 2011, p. 99). As stated previously, there are
substantial cognitive differences between Easterners and Westerners due to cultural and social
structure differences, and these differences affect how information is perceived, stored in
memory, and retrieved later on (Goh & Park, 2009). The emerging evidence on the brain
suggests that “pruning” is dependent on tasks which are regularly pursued and practiced, and this
causes different patterns of neural activities to be expressed, becoming automatic (Kitayama &
Park, 2010). Thus, the brain is sensitive to the social and cultural context in which individuals
are immersed (Han et al., 2013; Northoff, 2012). These findings have two implications: first,
immigrant and international students entering the Canadian educational system have been
immersed in their own sociocultural contexts; as a result of this “pruning” cognition and
attention will be directly affected; second, after spending “x amount of time” in the West, can the
brain “rewire” its circuitry? (Second, if culture is a powerful determinant of behaviour, do
individuals from different cultures continue to act in the new setting as they did previously, or
do/can they change their behaviours and thus the rewiring of brain circuitry?; Berry, 1997).
Western institutions embody Western values, beliefs, and attributes related to the
individual and culture as a whole; “the domains of knowledge are the products of classroom
activity as beliefs, values, conceptions and norms of students” (Packer & Goicoechea, 2000 as
cited in Somal, 2011, p.10). Markus and Kitayama (1991) sum up some of these attributes as: the
individual as independent, self-contained, and autonomous who is comprised of unique attributes
such as abilities, motives, and values (p. 224). The imperative of this culture is to become
independent, discover and express one’s unique attributes (Johnson, 1985; Marsella et al., 1985;
19. J. G. Miller, 1988; Schweder & Bourne, 1984 as cited in Markus & Kitayama, 1991). Western
society also values free speech, freedom of expression, and equality of participants (Becker,
1986). Also, from experience, I see Western institutions embodying the skills of independent
thinking through the focus of critical thinking, referring to and expressing one’s thoughts through
the encouragement of in-class participation and questioning, and so on. If we contrast this to
Eastern societies that leave little room for the development of ideals such as “liberty, equality, or
individuality” (Nakamura, 1964, as cited in Becker, 1986), there is a clear cultural incongruence.
Further, a society which is organized through vertical hierarchy and values interdependence
cannot conceive the individual as a single entity and will not tolerate free thought or individual
expression (Becker, 1986). “A society which cannot conceive of a student questioning a master
is not going to tolerate debate and argumentation” (Becker, 1986, p. 77).
In addition, utilizing the research and results from cultural neuroscience people from
Eastern cultures might be challenged by picking out details for a given task and might experience
difficulty with questions that are detail oriented or those that require the recall of details (i.e.,
contrast and compare tasks). As a result, they “may need more help in differentiation and
analysis” (Ji et al., 2000, p. 953). Further, according to Witkin and colleagues (1977 as cited in Ji
et al., 2000, p. 953), “field dependent people have interpersonal orientation, show strong interest
in others, and prefer to have people around them and even physically close to them”. Thus, East
Asian students might prefer collaborative projects, instructional strategies that require sharing
and debriefing. From the social perspective, they might excel in social situations such as forming
new friendships amongst colleagues and teachers. On the flip side, independent projects and
tasks could be challenging. Also, referring to the holistic aspect of Asian culture, concepts such
as global citizenship, global responsibility, and interdependence are quite well understood and
20. can be conceptualized. “Asians, have been shown repeatedly to be more likely than Americans to
explain behaviour in terms of situational or contextual factors, including social roles and
obligations” (Ji et al., 2000 , p. 944). As a result, East Asian students may have issues with
assertiveness, taking initiative, or understanding the concept of individualism that is central to
Western culture. According to Ji and colleagues (2000), “Chinese and Japanese children
performed best on anagrams their mothers chose for them” (p.944). This concept of
interdependence could make it difficult for East Asian students to become autonomous and self-
directed learners, where they will need to make decisions on their own.
Students from Western cultures may have difficulties with tasks that require making
connections or seeing relationships, between objects (Ji et al., 2000). Since they are “field
independent” (Ji et al., 2000, p. 953), Western students might find it a challenge to find
connections, find relationships and draw on the larger picture. In contrast to Eastern cultures,
however, Western cultures see the actor as the main cause of behaviour (Ji et al., 2000). This
individual focus of control is defined by Langer (1975 cited in Ji et al., 2000, p. 944) as the
“illusion of control”. Westerners think that they have more control rather than what they actually
have. This overtly controlling nature might make it difficult for Western students to cope with
events that are out of their control, and as a result they may experience feelings of frustration,
helplessness, and anger.
Other than cultural disparities between the East and the West, there exist mismatched
expectations and perceptions between what students want and expect and what their teachers
want and expect. Kimmel and Davis (1996 as cited in Goldschmidt & Ousey, 2006) summarize
this issue poignantly by stating that amongst the mismatched academic expectations, most
students (international and immigrant) are unfamiliar with the culture of the academy and have a
21. difficult time navigating the system and being advocates for themselves. Faculty have a role to
play, as they also come with mismatched expectations. According to Goldschmidt and Ousey
(2006), faculty expect that students have a foundational knowledge in a variety of disciplines;
however, the reality is that educational background of immigrant and international students
differs from Western pedagogy due to cultural differences and life experiences (Ballard, 1996 as
cited in Somal, 2011). “Students taking the same course will not learn the same things as they do
not start with the same background knowledge or the same representation of that knowledge”
(OECD, 2007, p. 32). Thus, learning experiences should take into account individual and cultural
differences.
Further, faculty misread certain student behaviours as communicating indifference or
apathy. A study conducted by Tompson and Tompson (1996; as cited in Andrade, 2006), found
that professor attitudes towards international students who preferred to sit next to conationals as
unproductive and disengaged. However, from an international students’ perspective, these
students explain that they sit next to students who speak their language in order to ask questions
during the lecture (Tompson & Tompson, 1996; as cited in Andrade, 2006). What actually
prevented participation by these students were language difficulties, anxiety, and lack of
confidence (Robertson et al., 2000 as cited in Andrade, 2006). Fox (1994 as cited in Andrade,
2006) found that immigrant and international students’ lack of writing and communicating was
not only due to language difficulties, but their writing was bound by their cultures, identities, and
“ways of seeing the world”.
Facilitating a Smooth Transition to Canada for New Immigrants
“Is it ethical to ignore a field of relevant and original research that is shedding new light
and fundamental understanding on education?” (OECD, 2007, p. 28). As previously mentioned,
22. institutions that attract international and immigrant students should serve as one of the locations
in setting strategies that are culturally sensitive in order to aid the adjustment to a new
educational system for this special population (Andrade, 2006). What are some of the strategies
or solutions that can be incorporated within the institution and at the classroom level? Since I am
a college educator who regularly is in contact with this special population, I will provide a few
insights based on my experience into what I have done within my own classroom. A few
solutions and strategies from literature will also be presented.
First, to aid students with the emotional and psychological adjustments that may be
encountered when immersed in a new culture, institutions should set up mentoring as a pivotal
resource for assisting students with social integration, culture, and environment (Abe, Talbot, &
Geelhoed, 1998 as cited in Sinacore et al., 2011). Mentoring serves as a peer support program
where students can be paired with volunteer “host” students and they can attend various campus
activities together (Abe et al., 1998 as cited in Sinacore et al., 2011). Research has revealed
numerous positive effects of peer-support programs such as enhanced cultural understanding and
knowledge, friendship, and sharing of academic resources (Andrade, 2006).
Second, a great idea was offered by Goldschmidt and Ousey (2006), which was creating a
one-credit class to be offered the week prior to the start of the school year as an introduction to
college. This class would bring immigrant and international students together with faculty as a
way to become oriented to the system (Goldschmidt & Ousey, 2006). The class would be offered
at no extra charge and would be based on hands-on activities in order to expose students to the
realities of the classroom and help address misconceptions that faculty may hold of students
(Goldschmidt & Ousey, 2006). Throughout the year, schools or faculties could also provide
23. seminars, tutorials and workshops that focus on topics such as study skills, reading, writing, and
critical analysis.
Initially for these strategies to “work” and be effective at the classroom level, faculty
must be culturally sensitive and aware of the various groups that are present within their
classrooms. There needs to be an intention to modify teaching practices and create
accommodations for this special population. If institutions will not offer cultural training, it still
needs to be the responsibility of teachers to get to know their students, their cultural
backgrounds, their previous educational/work experience, and their interests. I personally like to
use journal reflections or small group discussions to achieve this; however, numerous other
strategies are possible here. Another way that teachers can be culturally sensitive is to avoid
stereotypes and generalizations based on culture (e.g., all Asian students excel in math); this
enables faculty to view their students as individuals with their own unique abilities versus
tagging perceptions based on culture. Other strategies that I have personally used in class
include:
Make expectations clear—provide a course outline at the start of the semester and
dissect it with your class (Andrade, 2006).
Speak slowly during lectures (pace can be an issue for international and immigrant
students because of language and idioms).
Pause during lectures to assess understanding and comprehension. This can be
achieved through “checkpoints” or questions that are posed during the lecture to
assess a concept before moving on to the next.
Recap the lecture and emphasize the key points.
24. Pick examples that are culturally sensitive; do not make any assumptions regarding
understanding; also, avoid using slang (Andrade, 2006).
Write key terms on the board (engage the verbal and visual).
Post lectures and materials ahead of time online; that way students can prepare by
reading and highlighting any possible issues/questions.
Provide time in class to work on assignments and ask related questions; students can
also assist one another by working in groups, as group interaction is seen as desirable
by students as it not only helps them academically but it also enhances cultural
understanding and communication (e.g., slang phrases and idioms; Campell & Li,
2007 as cited in Somal, 2011).
Create a classroom environment where students are comfortable talking about
themselves and know that their contributions matter to the learning of others; that way
they will want to share their thoughts, experiences, or feelings in response to issues
presented in lecture.
Provide opportunities for meeting (i.e., office hours, after class) for students to come
and ask questions privately. This not only offers academic support but can be an
emotional support as well.
Always provide feedback on assignments, providing as much detail as possible.
Offer extra help and guidance by offering out-of-class sessions, such as holding
tutorials. Students become exposed to the learning material again, increasing
comprehension and understanding.
25. Concluding Remarks
The past 2 decades have seen tremendous expansion and understanding in the use of
cultural neuroscience to study social and cognitive processes in order to understand human
diversity due to culture (Fiske, 2000 as cited in Ames & Fiske, 2010). Although these findings
may be not be applicable to all fields, within the field of education one has to take note of the
relevance of these findings to today’s multicultural and diverse classrooms in order to improve
educational practices and pedagogy (Ames & Fiske, 2010). A reciprocal relationship between
research on learning and educational practice needs to be established in order to help identify
effective solutions. It is time for higher education institutions, teachers, the curriculum, and
education as a whole to be better informed with neuroscientific insights.
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