experience open, public critical feedback in their classes. These practices serve to
inculcate the cultural values of individual self-worth, independence, self-reliance,
and freedom of choice.
Traditional Chinese classrooms are characterized by the teacher lecturing and stu-
dents furiously copying everything so that it can be memorized and replicated on
exams. The instructor’s questions, when asked, will frequently be responded to en
masse. This form of classroom teacher-centered behavior is a reflection of China’s
Confucian heritage, which elevated the values of hierarchy and social cooperation
and placed memorization of established precepts above creative thinking. The stu-
dent–teacher relationship is formal at all times, and like their Japanese counterparts,
Chinese secondary school students usually wear uniforms, have a larger class size than
in the United States, and remain together as a class for all subjects. In their study of
preschools, Tobin and Hayashi observed that Chinese students received open, honest
critical comment from their teachers and peers, another Confucian attribute. As an
example, a student experiencing difficulty with a math problem may be requested to
come to the front of the classroom and try to work through the problem. This allows
the teacher and the class as a whole to offer assistance. The thought is that this expe-
rience will cause the student to reflect on his or her efforts and work harder, quite in
contrast to the individualistically oriented positive feedback procedures used in U.S.
classes. From this brief overview, you should be able to appreciate that in addition to
subject material, the Chinese classroom also instills the cultural values of a hierarchi-
cal social structure, group identity, social harmony, and the importance of determina-
tion and perseverance.^29Cultural Attitudes Toward Education
How you perceive education is strongly influenced by culture, or, as stated by
McHugh,“the cultural attitudes of the society toward education greatly affect the
education of its citizens.”^30 The contrasting attitudes across cultures can readily be
seen by comparing the United States with two Asian nations—China and Korea.
Clearly, education is seen as important in the United States, but it is not consid-
ered an absolutely essential prerequisite for success. The strong sense of independent
meritocracy among U.S. Americans, partly fed by media stories and programs, conveys
a belief that if someone has an idea and the determination, one can fulfill one’s
dreams. Stories abound of young dot-com entrepreneurs dropping out of college to
start their own businesses—Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg being but
three among many.^31 Declining U.S. test scores in comparison to other nations have
also contributed to a growing ambivalence toward the contemporary U.S. education
system. Today’s parents demand choices for the education of their children, as seen in
the growth of charter schools, homeschooling, and private schools. There is also vocal
concern that the federal government has too much influence on local schools and the
curricula. And although U.S. American parents take an active role in school activi-
ties, Ripley found that they tended to focus on the“nonacademic side of their chil-
dren’s school” and felt that the best setting for learning was an unstructured
environment. Additionally, building self-esteem was considered an important part of
the classroom experience.^32
In China and Korea, along with most Asian cultures, including Asian Americans,
educational achievement is among the highest of values, and parents are involved in360 CHAPTER 10• Intercultural Communication in Contexts
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