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The Effects Of Cross Cultural Understanding On Educational Environments

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Effect of Cross-Cultural Understanding in Educational Environments

When comparing the typical classroom in the U.S. to the cultural norms of other cultures, it is easy to see how a student could be confused, how a teacher might misinterpret situations and how parents might be involved to a greater extent or not at all in their child’s education.

When international or immigrant students are quiet during class, teachers might assume that these students are not interested in the topic or in learning. This may be true, but maybe the student is simply from a culture that had a high power distance heritage.

In order to better understand cultural values and the effects on cross-cultural understanding in educational settings, the six value dimensions, as defined by Hofstede (Samovar, Porter, McDaniel, & Roy, 2007 pg.184-193, ), will be discussed with examples of how teachers, parents and students might misunderstand each other due to cultural differences..

1. Individualism and Collectivism
One of the variables that has a tremendous influence on understanding both students and parents relates to where on the Individualism-Collectivism continuum a certain culture is based. Individualistic cultures encourage people to be unique, independent and to pursue their interest and collectivist cultures place emphasis on what is best for the group, often the family unit, and often in contradiction to an individual’s desires. Immigrant students and parents that come from a more

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