CONTRADICTION OF EASTERN AND WESTERN

CULTURES PERCEPTION OF LEARNING

A REVIEW OF LITERATURE

CHOMPHUNIK SINGLAMLERT

A PAPER SUBMITTED IN FULFILMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENT FOR THE 4TH QUARTER FINAL PROJECT
ENGLISH GRADE 10
MAHIDOL UNIVERSITY INTERNATIONAL
DEMONSTRATION SCHOOL
2016-2017
 SINGLAMLERT 1

Chomphunik Fay Singlamlert

Ms. Orana Meenongwha
English 10/10:04
May 25, 2017

Contradiction of Western and Eastern Cultures Perception of Learning

Introduction

Oprah Winfrey, a well-known American television host, once said For every one of us

that succeeds, its because theres somebody there to show you the way out. The light doesn't

always necessarily have to be in your family; for me it was teachers and school. There is no room

for doubt that education has played an essential role and created a great impact on every society

for several decades. However, it is still a controversial issue among the western culture and eastern

culture on the perspective of learning. With a considerable number of differences, two cultures

apparently differ from each other by the method of their education in terms of learning. Therefore,

this disparity leads to an enormous dissimilarity in both of fundamental system of school and how

teachers conduct classes and nurture their students. To illustrate, one of the most notorious

education systems in Asia is sequent examinations, which is one of the crucial elements affecting

the students to just memorize rather than to discuss and profoundly understand. On the other hand,

in the western countries, Finland, which has been ranked as one of the most successful schools in

the world, educates their young learners by letting them learn through oneself observation and

hands-on activities(Taylor, 2011). Even though the two cultures provide educations methods in

distinct ways, evidently, both of them have shared a common purpose focusing on learning

awareness which is to produce literate and well-rounded people for the future of their nations. As

you can see, it is clear that several factors in various cultures, such as parenting techniques and

lifestyle, make a contribution to the way people think and define the way they learn. Therefore,

this paper will explore the differences between the two cultures education, evaluate the
 SINGLAMLERT 2

advantages and disadvantages of both and analyze their perceptions of learning.

Eastern Cultures Education

In the Orient, education is considerably significant and highly expected for every child.

Generally, schools are divided into three major levels which are kindergarten, primary school and

secondary school. However, most of the education system emphasizes on doing exercises and,

especially, testing rather than conducting activities or experiments. At this point, it consequently

influences students to merely memorize the facts from their textbooks in order to be able to pass

the test rather than to learn and apply their knowledge to real life. Moreover, according to this

system, it is apparent that the class is teacher-centered which means the teacher is the only

authority. For instance, in Thailand, it is believed that teachers explanations and commands

should not be questioned. As a result, there is a lack of motivation for the students to be active and

to response in class. Furthermore, this leads to a very common behavior of students during class

which is napping. Nevertheless, this system compliments the students to respect the elders, such

as the teachers and parents, and follow their instructions and rules. In addition, since most of the

students are highly expected from their parents to compete with other classmates to get good

grades and attend top-ranked university, a majority of high school students, is urged to go to the

cram school specialized private schools that train their students to meet particular goals. This is

because the lack of understanding of the certain subjects and the knowledge in their typical classes

is not enough for the entrance examinations. To illustrate, the recent statistic reported that 90.8%

of the guardians in Japan send their kids to cram schools and pressure them to pass the universitys

entrance examination(Japan Education Statistics, 2014). As a result, with the stress and

depression, among Japanese teens and young adults aged between 10-24, there were

approximately 4,600 suicide deaths each year and another 157,000 self-inflicted injuries(Lu,

2015). Thus, it is obviously proven that in the eastern countries, education is set down as a priority
 SINGLAMLERT 3

for young children and they take it very seriously. Equally crucial, there are a massive number of

rules to be followed while being at the school which is sometimes eliminated the conformity and

originality of the students. For example, most of the schools in Asia require the students to wear

school uniforms neatly which is apparently opposite to the Westerners. By wearing the uniforms,

it is represented the equality of everyone at the schools and that students should focus on the

lessons rather than dressing up. However, it is also argued that with the rule of freestyle dressing,

including make up, it is a great deal of opportunity for children to express themselves and broaden

their minds. With these huge amount of rules, Eastern learners result in thinking inside of the box

more than to be creative and independent. This is also the result of the lack of physical activities

which contributes to their learning problem. As it is mentioned, students mostly study from their

textbooks which is cannot visually be seen or understood in certain areas such as health science

and biology. Without the deep understanding, it is inevitable that most of the students do not

actually learn and truly understand the lessons and it becomes persistent issue in the Eastern

education system.

Western Cultures Education

Obviously, Western education differs from Eastern education in several aspects. First and

foremost, in the Western world, the learning process is mostly based on student, also known as

student-centered. To explain, learner centered education refers to the method of teaching that shift

the focus of instruction from the teachers to the students. This provides an opportunity for students

to get involved in the classrooms planning, implementation, and assessments. Also, this allows

learners to share in decision making rather than the teachers deciding alone. Moreover, both of the

teachers and student earn respect from each other and have a comfortable relationship.

Significantly, this style of teaching and learning is personalized for each student which means it

emphasizes the needs in learning, interests, aspirations and cultural backgrounds for each of
 SINGLAMLERT 4

individual student. Consequently, students are provided the appropriate knowledge and care for

them. Secondly, critical thinking is obviously crucial in the western world. To explain, students

normally work independently on assignments which allows then to engage in critical thinking in

order to understand and think deeply on the lesson theyre leaning. In addition, there are also a

huge number of physical activities outside of the classroom provided for the students such as field

trips and experiments. This, in fact, essentially supports and urges the students to think more

independently, adaptively, and creatively. To illustrate, according to Kelly Day(2015), a student

in Finland, she stated The teacher is able to take more risks and try new things and create exciting,

engaging curriculum that allows students to become skilled individuals ready for the real world.

They have time to teach skills that allow students to develop into individuals who know how to

start a project and work systematically to accomplish a goal. They have time to teach craft

education where students get to learn how to do real life skills like sewing, cooking, cleaning,

woodworking and more. And while they are learning these amazing skills they are also learning

math and problem solving and how to follow directions. It is clear that the main focus on this

education is the learning skills from the real situation and participate more in activities such as

sports, cooking and clubs. Finally, there is more emphasis on the understanding concepts by asking

questions and learning by students self rather than sitting and memorizing information given only

in the classrooms. As a matter of fact, this learning style assists the students to actually learn and

gain literal knowledge in order to adapt and use in the real world. All in all, it can be seen that

education in the western culture certainly give precedence to learners to actually learn as much as

take part in activities in the society.

 SINGLAMLERT 5

Advantages and Disadvantage of Eastern and Western Education

It is crystal clear that there are a considerable number of differences between two cultures

regarding education which both have not only advantages, but also disadvantages. To begin with,

in the Orient, learners are educated heavily in the school, nurtured to be hard-working and

cooperative, and highly pressured from the parents. Also, students are more likely to respect the

teachers and the elders more than in the western culture. To explain, students and teachers are in

the healthier relationship in the Western world, so the students sometimes get too comfortable and

cross the line. On the other hand, teachers are considered as the authorities in the Eastern countries

and the students need to respect them. In addition, with all of the strict rules in eastern school, it

is obvious that students tend to be more disciplined and have more responsibilities. Also, this

provides them the perception of the equality since the young age and teaches them to treat

everyone in the society equally. Also, since they are prone to have many extra classes out of

school, this helps them to manage their time effectively. Furthermore, students are usually put in

a group work, therefore, they know how to socialize and work with others well. In contrast, in the

western world, students are taught to be more independent, self-assured and self-confident which

they sometimes think of only themselves and cannot get along with others effectively. However,

students also are trained to think critically and creatively so they can adapt themselves in every

environments and situations that they have to face. Equally important, they are apparently good at

resolving the issues and problems due to their critical thinking and open-minded attitude.

Moreover, there are a massive amount of activities in western school, thus, the students have the

great opportunities to practice their skills in a certain area of their interest or the subjects that they

take. Simultaneously, this system of education emphasizes on the learning process of students by

making them truly understand the lesson rather than just remember. On the whole, there are, of

course, pros and cons of both style of teaching, however, the major purpose of them is similar

which is to educate their nations children.

 SINGLAMLERT 6

Conclusion

As has been stated, education systems in the Western and Eastern cultures distinguish in

several aspects including advantages and disadvantages due to a variety of factors such as norms,

lifestyles, religions and, especially, cultures. Even though, it is positive that most of authorities

and governments are aware of how significant the education is to every kids, they are supposed to

initially focus on the educators qualification before developing the system as a whole. Nowadays,

Eastern schools has increasingly adopted various education methods and techniques from Western

countries. To illustrate, only in Bangkok, Thailand, there are more than 70 international schools

providing Western teaching system, such as American and British, and the number is dramatically

growing. Also, at present and the near future it is likely to be that learning in Asia is stricter and

competing, whereas Western learning is more practical and interactive. To explain, as there is a

high competition among Asian students, the tutoring school business is dramatically thriving.

According to Thai Education Ministry(2011), it is reported that there are approximately 400,000

students countrywide attending tutorial schools in 2011, generating revenue of more than 6 billion

baht. On the other hand, Western countries seems to liberate their learners out of typical

classrooms. For instance, Finland's educational system, considered as one of the best, is all set to

undergo a revolutionary change by removing the traditional school subjects like history or biology

from its previous curriculum. Students will learn about the phenomenal events in the past in an

interdisciplinary format. For example, "Working in a Cafe course will provide the learners the

knowledge regarding the English language, economics, and communication skills at the same

time. As can be seen, it is evident that both of the educations are evolving and shifting over time

for the better results on their people. All in all, it depends on each family or parents decision to

select school systems that suit to their children the most. Also, their perspectives are essentially

considered towards learning in schools especially the purpose of learning and how much learners

can utilize the theories and knowledge for the future work and life.
 SINGLAMLERT 7

References
Copland, J. (19 February 2015.) West and East: 5 Main Differences in Approach towards

Education. Retrieved from https://www.thepensters.com/blog/west-east-education/

Day, K. (15 April 2015). 11 Ways Finlands Education System Shows Us that Less is More.

Retrieved from https://fillingmymap.com/2015/04/15/11-ways-finlands-education-

system-shows-us-that-less-is-more/

Fredrickson, T. (18 January 2011). Tutorial schools are thriving. Retrieved from

http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-news/216946/tutorial-schools-are-

thriving

JAPAN EDUCATION STATISTICS (2014). Retrieved from

http://apecsec.org/japan-education-statistics/

Lu, S. (22 October 2015). THE MYSTERY BEHIND JAPANS HIGH SUICIDE

RATES AMONG KIDS. Retrieved from https://wilsonquarterly.com/stories/the-

mystery-behind-japans-high-suicide-rates-among-kids/

Rubin, C. (16 June 2014). The Global Search for Education: East vs. West Part.

Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/c-m-rubin/the-global-search-for-

edu_b_5497682.html

Taylor, A. (14 December 2011). 26 Amazing Facts About Finlands Unorthodox Education

System. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/finland-education-school-2011-

12/#finnish-children-dont-start-school-until-they-are-7-1
 SINGLAMLERT 8

Appendix