In the second study, Li (2002a) asked U.S. and Chinese college students to
describe their ideal learners in order to access a fuller account of learning im-
ages as embodied in real people in addition to language expressions that she
utilized in her first study. She probed four specific dimensions: (a) ideal learn-
ers’ thinking on the nature of knowledge, purposes and processes of learning,
and views of intelligence and excellence; (b) their understanding of the rela-
tionship between learning and one’s moral development; (c) their learning be-
haviors in routine situations such as facing high achievement, high intelli-
gence, failure, not understanding concepts, inability to learn despite effort,
and boredom; and (d) their emotional patterns associated with good or poor
learning. The written descriptions of each of these dimensions were analyzed
qualitatively first and then later quantitatively (see Li, 2002a for more de-
tails). These procedures yielded four profiles corresponding to the four
probed dimensions of the ideal learner for each culture.^2
The basic findings from the two studies converge to two comprehensive
pictures of the two cultures’ beliefs about learning. Table 14.1 summarizes
the components and dimensions of these two different belief systems. There
are at least four large common component headings across the two cultures:
purpose, process, achievement (excellence of learning), and affect. The spe-
cific items within each component were decided on the frequency of the
number of each culture’s respondents who referred to these ideas as well as
the presence of these components on the two cultural maps of learning be-
liefs as derived from learning related terms. Purpose contains beliefs about
personal meanings, significance, value, and regard people attach to learn-
ing. Process includes conceptions regarding how learning takes place, what
enables a person to learn, what role inherent ability, the mind, and personal
effort play, what preferred activities are, what course of action to take, and
so forth. Achievement refers to views of what counts as worthy levels of
learning achievement and the standards people strive for. Finally, affect en-
compasses emotional and attitudinal aspects that exist and function dynam-
ically in the various components and their relations. Affect also includes
both positive and negative valences that serve either to promote or discour-
age learning.
Figure 14.3 indicates how purpose, process, and achievement might be in-
tegrated for both cultures. Since affect is present in every main component,
which is necessary for the belief system to be activated in learning, we placed
it at the center of the system. In the following, we discuss each culture’s sys-
tem by describing each component. Then we attempt to draw relationships
between these components and affect while highlighting similarities and dif-
ferences between the U.S. and Chinese beliefs.
- AMERICAN AND CHINESE LEARNERS 397
2 2 The Chinese data have been fully analyzed and published, but the U.S. data are still being
analyzed. The presentation of the U.S. data is based on preliminary analysis.