How do cultural values influence motivation?

[Gisela]

What is education? How do we learn? Often times psychology books will address this through a study of gender differences or economic differences. Rarely is the factor of culture included. Yet it is so vital because it builds up the values that essentially are the fuel for our drive, our motivation.

I’m an American high school student trying to answer the following questions: How do different countries’ cultural values shape the individual’s attitude towards academics? How does a positive or negative perspective on academics affect the individual’s success rate?

I had the initial idea of comparing the western and eastern mindset. My range reached to basically all continents, but my teacher convinced me to narrow down my choices of countries to the ones I actually have personal experience with.

My flesh grew from Filipino soil taking root and my parent’s hearts remains there. However my mind and very idea of self was shaped in America. In Japan I grew my branches at age 16 and learned more about myself in one year than I could ever at home.

Philippines, America, and Japan are all personal places for me, places I know on a level below the surface.

Yet all three countries are remarkably different from one another. America and Japan are the polar opposites whose western and eastern ideologies clash. Yet Philippines is no more like Japan than America. It holds cultural values and ideologies much like Americans, but retains just as many values associated with Asian countries.

In Asian countries, success in academics is a reflection of the individual. In my home country-Philippines, being smart was more important than any other activities and came hand in hand with popularity or at least more so than in America. Yet despite the greater priority of academic success in the Asian countries, there is a lack of the desire to learn. I saw this in a lot of my classmates in Japan. Everything was for the college entrance exams. That concept of learning for the sake of learning is more predominant in Western countries.

I’m really intrigued by the different education system we’ve all experienced, and the different perceptions we have of what school and learning is. Having been influenced by both Asian and American ideologies, I want to know which cultural values discourage academic success and which nurtures it.

Not to say that one culture is better than another, but just which aspects of that culture is positive for motivation in learning and which is negative.

What is educational success anyway? Is it being an A+ student or an intellectual?

[infinito2345]

I am from india and i agree that in asian countries especially :- "china,japan south korea,india,philippines" and even in "vietnam" etc...as you said academic qualifications depict your status in the society.I think the exceptionally high flow of graduate students from asian universities to american universities corrobate this fact.But i don't think asian countries have an option but to encourage thier student's to get good grades because ultimately i think the number of returned phd graduates from abroad universities represents the intellectual strength of the country.

[Supervin]

All cultures have their unique trait contributions to benefiting education - and they can predominantly be broadly distinguished between eastern and western styles. In generalizations, the east is concerned with rote and regurgitation whereas the west is concerned with understanding and application, which I'm sure you're aware as you've also been educated via both means.

As to your question on the shaping of an individual's attitudes towards academics, again, the differences of systems lead to varying attitudes. The eastern style would invariably cause more respect and adherence to academics, whereas the western style, due to provoked thought, would have a more critical aspect to academics. However, both styles can overlap at different stages of education as the style is not constant when comparing primary education to tertiary education - the eastern style makes a large jump when reaching college to the style of the west.

As to work ethics, perhaps rote and regurgitation promotes more discipline and work ethic; but then again, it may encourage apprehension and indifference. Similarly, understanding and application promotes curiosity and personal endeavor; but, it may encourage laziness and lack of motivation. As you can see, there is no one-sided advantage for a particular style.

'Educational success' mostly hinges on grades and ideas. There's also no reason why the A+ student cannot be an intellectual as well (by 'intellectual', I assume you mean the latter). This is, however, completely different from success in other areas of life of course.

This would mean that inevitably cultural values do influence motivation at the outset, but what an individual makes of education is up to one's attitude through experience.

[gaijinalways]

Well put. We all make our own bed, and culture plays a small part in it. Our home environment, including our family members, makes a large part of our life as well as our natural genetic aspects.