The Chinese Learner
Cultural, Psychological and Contextual Influences
(華人學生的文化、心理與環境影響)
ISBN : 978-086-4311-82-5
Distributed for HKU Comparative Education Research Centre 香港大學比較教育研究中心
January 1996
304 pages, 6″ x 9″
- HK$200.00
This is the first book to paint a clear, research based picture of how Chinese students and their teachers see the context and content of their learning both in Hong Kong and abroad. The focus of much of this research is the question ‘How can Chinese learners be so successful academically (often out-performing their Western peers) when their teaching and learning seems to be so oriented to rote memorization?’.
It is concluded that at the heart of this paradox are cross-cultural differences in the very processes of teaching and learning, particularly concerning the relationship between memorizing and understanding and the nature of motivation. Widely held Western stereotypes and misconceptions of Chinese learners are shown to be largely without foundation.