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Cross cultural perspectives of teachers: a study in three countries
International Journal of Intercultural Relations 24 (2000) 455±475 www.elsevier.com/locate/ijintrel
Cross cultural perspectives of teachers: a study in three countries p Christine M. Halse*, Neil L. Baumgart Faculty of Education, University of Western Sydney, PO Box 10, Kingswood, NSW 2747, Australia
Abstract In a shrinking world where globalization has blurred the boundaries across nation states and cultural divides, limitations on intercultural communication can readily give rise to glib generalizations and lack of understanding of diversity. Acknowledging the key role of teachers in shaping the views of future generations, this paper reports on the ®rst stage of a research study on the intercultural understanding of teachers in Australia, Japan, and Thailand. Overall, the teacher participants had diverse cross-cultural experience, diering both in extent and nature of the contact. The methodology used a common survey instrument, except for its language of presentation. However, instead of using a traditional comparative approach to contrast responses of the three target groups, the study asked teachers to provide their perceptions of prevailing world views of people in their own AND the other two countries. The reciprocal nature of the observations provides a powerful methodology to explore perceived intercultural similarities and dierences. The article also considers problems associated with response set in investigations of this kind. Three scales are considered Ð change through intervention, symbolic inner self, and independent thought and action Ð and the data reveal some similarities but also some striking dierences in perceptions across countries. The dierences signal a lack of intercultural understanding which is being explored further in a second, qualitative stage of the research. The ®ndings indicate the need for increasing shared programs, exchanges and other opportunities for reciprocal relations that foster genuine dialogue, partnership and intercultural understanding between countries. 7 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
An earlier version of this article was presented to the 1997 Annual Conference of the Paci®c Circle Consortium held at the University of Southern Oregon in April 1997. * Corresponding author. Tel.: +61-247-360055; fax: +61-247-360055. E-mail address: [email protected] (C.M. Halse). p
0147-1767/00/$ - see front matter 7 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 1 4 7 - 1 7 6 7 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 0 1 2 - 2
456 C.M. Halse, N.L. Baumgart / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 24 (2000) 455±475 Keywords: Cross-cultural studies; Intercultural understanding; Comparative education; Values education; Intercultural relations; Globalization; Response set; Cultural identity; Intercultural understanding in education; Asia; Teacher attitudes
1. Background The present study was prompted by questions arising from attempts by the Australian Government economically, socially and politically to locate Australia within the Asian region. Such policies are understandable given that Asian countries now provide Australia's major trading partners as well as one of the largest sources of migrants. The conceptual repositioning of Australia has been supported by educational initiatives including national programs in Asian languages and the study of Asian cultures and societies. Teachers were seen as a focal point for facilitating the educational initiatives and substantial funding has been channeled into professional development programs for teachers. A preliminary, exploratory study (Halse & Baumgart, 1995) based on a sample of Australian teachers was completed in 1995 but subsequent events have heightened the need for continuing research to inform debate on a number of controversial and emotive issues. Following a national election and a change of government in March 1996, the newly elected member for Oxley, Pauline Hanson, called for restrictions on Asian immigration and curbing of the policy of multiculturalism. Her speeches and widespread media reporting led to vitriolic, public debate on whether Australia should be resurrecting or renunciating a eurocentric identity and celebrating or condemning policies of a multicultural, pluralist society. The formation in 1997 of her new political party portraying Australia as `one nation' lent credence to the hypothesis that xenophobic and racist discourses serve to provide a cohesive identity in modern nation states where nationalistic self-images are challenged by political struggles over the state's selective allocation of goods and services (Wimmer, 1997). Regardless of the motivation behind the Australian Government's `push into Asia', the initiatives taken have also served to reinforce a binary divide between `Asia' and `Australia' (Ang, 1996) and to underscore through essentialist labeling the competition for jobs and public services within a society ostensibly celebrating its cultural diversity. Prompted by recent debates within Australia and mindful of her historical disdain for Asian migration and close relationships with Asian countries, some Asian leaders have interpreted skeptically current government policy as economic opportunism rather than a genuine attempt to incorporate an `Asianness' into Australia's identity as a multicultural nation. The questions raised about Australia are equally applicable in other nation states where accelerating globalization poses threats to local cultural identities (Halse & Baumgart, 1996) and introduces tensions between modernist and postmodernist constructions of identity, `self' and `other'. For example, in Japan, the essentialist discourse of `Nihonjinron' as a distinctive, exclusive Japaneseness
C.M. Halse, N.L. Baumgart / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 24 (2000) 455±475 457
(Nozaki & Inokuchi, 1996) provides a very powerful, national image (Featherstone, 1995) even though the reality of Japan's origin, history and current composition is heterogeneous (Murphy-Shigematsu, 1993). Although national and state governments in Australia have committed resources to prepare teachers to introduce studies of Asia, more fundamental conceptual issues need to be addressed if Australia is to become an integrated entity within Asia. What are the constructions of national identity within Australia, within Asian countries, and globally, across their geographic boundaries? How do people, and teachers in particular, perceive cultural similarities and dierences? The present study sought to map the perceptions of teachers from three countries (Australia, Japan and Thailand) as a starting point towards understanding the complex issues underpinning intercultural communication (Corson, 1997) in the context described above, and to relate these data to contemporary theorizing about perceptions of cultural similarities and diversity against a backdrop of globalization. 1.2. Scope of the present study The present study is a collaborative project between educational researchers in Australia, Japan and Thailand. As a cross-cultural study, the research was planned with two complementary stages, each designed to illuminate the perceptions of values that are held nationally by teachers in the three countries. The ®rst stage (aspects of which are reported in this paper) involved a survey approach using a common instrument, except for its translation from English into Japanese and Thai. It was thus quantitative in nature and used an `etic' approach by assuming that the constructs underpinning the instrument could be meaningfully applied across cultures. Such an assumption has often been questioned, particularly for the application of western constructs and theories in non-western environments (Watkins, 1996). To this end, several strategies (discussed below) were used to seek evidence of the construct validity of the measures for the three target groups, and hence to allow an argument for `scalar equivalence' (Hui & Triandis, 1985). A second, qualitative stage of the research project is using an `emic' approach by identifying through phenomenographic strategies possible culture-speci®c perceptions held by teachers. This stage of the research will be undertaken in 2001 and will collect data through interviews with teachers. The ®ndings of both stages of the research have the potential to be used in teacher training and professional development to illuminate perceptions of collective identity, to challenge stereotypic views of `otherness', and to provide a basis for dialogue and relationships that facilitate intercultural understanding. 1.3. The I-CUE methodology The methodology for the study uses a process which identi®es elements of commonality and dierence within and across cultures which we have described
458 C.M. Halse, N.L. Baumgart / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 24 (2000) 455±475
Fig. 1. I-CUE is deduced from perceptions of own and other cultures.
previously (Halse & Baumgart, 1996) and labeled by the acronym I-CUE (intercultural understanding in education). Fig. 1 depicts the model for two cultures, A and B, in which self and other perceptions are identi®ed for each group and the series of intersections as de®ned in the key represent the full range of possibilities for describing perceived commonalities and dierences. The I-CUE methodology as applied in the present study sought perceptions of respondents from each culture about the prevailing world views of people in their own cultures and those of people in the other two cultures. Because of the reciprocal nature of the observations, the model oers a much more powerful methodology to explore intercultural similarities and dierences than is the case for traditional comparative approaches employing a common instrument in two or more cultures. In the present study, each of the `scales' had associated with it nine sets of responses. The challenge was then to `explain' the similarities and dierences across the nine data sets in terms of known theories, or to extend the theories to accommodate the observations.
2. The sample This phase of the study involved 230 teachers from Australia, 455 from Japan, and 328 from Thailand. Although the sample was based on convenience using available networks, the teachers were drawn from both primary and secondary schools, from dierent regions in each country, and in gender and age were fairly representative of the teaching populations in the three countries. Information was also sought on respondents' contact with people in the other countries, whether through friendship or travel. The background characteristics of teachers in the sample are reported in Table 1. The present paper focuses on similarities and
C.M. Halse, N.L. Baumgart / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 24 (2000) 455±475 459
dierences in perceptions across countries, but it should be noted that magnitudes of dierences associated with background characteristics of respondents within countries (never more than about 1% of the variance) were far outweighed by the magnitudes of the dierences in ratings across `country' as a variable, sometimes as high as 60±70% of the variance.
3. The instrument The instrument was based on the literature concerning culturally embedded and shared ways of knowing, valuing and understanding that shape people's world views and their perceptions of their identity and their relationship with the world around them (see for example, Helms & Carter, 1990; Ibrahim, 1991; Ibrahim & Owen, 1994; Jackson & Meadows, 1991; Prawat & Floden, 1994; Sue, 1978). It was developed from an earlier version in the light of feedback from participants in an exploratory study (Halse & Baumgart, 1995) and subjected to intensive scrutiny and debate during a 2 day meeting of researchers from the three countries involved in the study. The ®nal instrument comprised 37 items that re¯ected the following conceptual domains: 1. `Ways of Knowing' (i.e., processes used for reasoning and gathering knowledge); 2. `Ways of Seeing' (i.e., the nature of reality and the world) 3. `Ways of Valuing' (i.e., the values held by individuals and wider society); 4. `Ways of Changing' (i.e., the nature of change and progress). As a result of the 2 day collaboration on the instrument design, the researchers agreed that the conceptual mapping of domains and the items they embodied were valid for each country in the study. Thus, ®ve more items were added to the original pilot instrument and the wording of several items was modi®ed to ensure meaning and relevance for each country in the study. In addition, the pool of potential items, written in English, was discussed for their meaning in dierent cultural contexts, including the precise wording for each item when translated to Japanese and Thai. These procedures formed one important mechanism in striving for construct validity, a second being the search for internal consistency (see below) based on empirical data. Thus, the ®nal instrument was a collaborative construction by all researchers involved in the study. Such a process was not only an exercise in intercultural understanding itself but a practical application of the ICUE methodology. Thus, the methodology for designing the instrument moved beyond traditional approaches to quantitative, cross-cultural research where the resulting data may have little or no meaning because the items were written and informed by one particular cultural framework but administered in a very dierent cultural context. After translation into Japanese and Thai, the instrument was back translated by independent linguists into English with the consequence that ®ve items in the
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Table 1 Characteristics of the sample of Australian, Japanese and Thai teachers Characteristic
Australian sample
Japanese sample
Thai sample
Sample size
N = 230
N = 455
N = 328
Current position
Principal Other exec. Teacher
Region
NSW Victoria ACT South Aust.
School gender
Girls only Boys only Mixed
School level
Primary Secondary Both/other
Gender
Female Male
Age
R 25 years 26±30 years 31±35 years 36±40 years 41±45 years 46±50 years 51±55 years 56±60 years > 60 years
Years of teaching Mean SD Second languages Japanese Thai Other
6 (3%) Principal 68 (30%) Other exec. 153 (67%) Teacher 86 31 48 65
(37%) (13%) (21%) (28%)
Hiroshima Prefecture Other Prefecture
12 (6%) Girls only 11 (5%) Boys only 192 (89%) Mixed 88 (40%) Primary 94 (43%) Secondary 37 (17%) Both/other 167 (74%) Female 60 (26%) Male 15 (7%) 26 (11%) 31 (13%) 26 (11%) 62 (27%) 42 (18%) 23 (10%) 5 (2%) 15.3 years 8.3 years
R 25 years 26±30 years 31±35 years 36±40 years 41±45 years 46±50 years 51±55 years 56±60 years > 60 years Mean SD
17 (7%) English 2 (1%) Thai 71 (31%) Other
29 (6%) Principal 43 (9%) Other exec. 382 (84%) Teacher
328 (100%)
268 (59%) 187 (41%) Girls only Boys only 455 (100%) mixed
328 (100%)
300 (66%) Elemetary 149 (33%) Lower sec. Upper sec. All sec.
211 (64%) 54 (16%) 22 (7%) 42 (13%)
239 (53%) Female 215 (47%) Male
273 (83%) 54 (17%)
32 (7%) 71 (16%) 82 (18%) 69 (15%) 65 (14%) 60 (13%) 49 (11%) 26 (6%) 16.2 years 9.8 years
R 25 years 26±30 years 31±35 years 36±40 years 41±45 years 46±50 years 51±55 years 56±60 years > 60 years Mean SD
10 (3%) 15 (5%) 35 (11%) 56 (17%) 95 (29%) 65 (20%) 24 (10%) 16 (5%) 1 (0%) 19.8 years 8.1 years
75 (17%) 1 (0%) 19 (4%)
Quali®cations
2/3 years trg 23 (10%) 2/3 years 4 years trained 187 (82%) 4 years trained Masters 19 (8%) Masters
50 (11%) 2/3 years Cert. 392 (86%) 4 years not Ed. 12 (3%) 4 years Educ. Masters
6 (2%) 10 (3%) 284 (87%) 27 (8%)
Visited other countries
Yes
193 (84%) Yes
249 (55%) Yes
88 (27%)
Friends in other countries
Yes
178 (77%) Yes
44 (10%) Yes
186 (57%)
C.M. Halse, N.L. Baumgart / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 24 (2000) 455±475 461
Japanese version and six in the Thai version were queried. After consultation with the researchers in the respective countries (via email), adjustments to the wording of the items were made where necessary. Respondents were asked to give their opinions on ``the extent to which each statement applies to values held by people in general'' in the target country. In all cases, the home country was listed ®rst, followed by the other two countries. The response format used was a unipolar, 5-point Likert scale with responses coded as `very often' (5), `often' (4), `fairly often' (3), `sometimes' (2), and `rarely' (1). Based on feedback from the exploratory study in which teachers indicated that they frequently felt uninformed, provision was made for teachers to tick an ``unsure'' box instead of feeling obliged to guess at a response. 3.1. The scales explained A usual procedure in examining attitudes using quantitative approaches is to group items into broader clusters or factors that represent underlying constructs related to the theoretical and conceptual basis of the study. Items grouped together need to be conceptually related and empirically associated to justify their aggregation in a measurement scale. The present paper reports on three scales formed from conceptual groupings of 18 of the 37 items. These scales were labeled change through intervention (®ve items), symbolic inner self (seven items), and independent thought and action (six items). Although the 37 items were originally written to map four domains as de®ned above, the scales were formed on the following basis. Firstly, they were collaboratively selected by all researchers as having construct validity across each of the three target countries and were expected to reveal similarities and dierences in behaviors or perspectives across the three societies. Finally, based on empirical data, items within the scales were shown to be internally consistent for each of the three cultures. Tables 2±4 provide information on the relationships between items and total scores (actually an `adjusted' correlation between each item and the total with itself left out) as well as an overall index of internal consistency (Cronbach alpha coecients). The N at the top of each column represents the number of teachers responding to all items comprising that scale. Not surprisingly, response rates were much higher when teachers provided perceptions of people in their own countries than in other countries and the lowest response rate came from Thai teachers rating Australian people re¯ecting rare coverage by Thai media and limited communication through travel and business. For the scales to be regarded as scalar equivalent, one aspect that had to be satis®ed was acceptable internal consistency values for all nine sets of ratings for each scale. In fewer than 10% of the 162 correlation coecients reported in Tables 2±4, item v. total score correlations fell below 0.25, and in only ®ve of the 27 overall reliability (internal consistency) coecients did values fall below 0.60, 0.54 being the lowest alpha obtained. Inter-scale correlations in all cases were suciently below the internal consistencies to warrant separate use of the scales.
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(Thus for Australian, Japanese and Thai respondents, the mean inter-scale correlations were 0.16, 0.48 and 0.59, respectively, while the means of the nine Cronbach alpha values (from Tables 2±4) were 0.68, 0.61 and 0.68, respectively). Based on the above empirical data on the scales and considering the initial deliberations about the conceptual bases for items, it is argued that comparisons across groups of teacher respondents from the three countries are warranted. Although such comparisons need to be interpreted with appropriate caution, they do provide a basis for fruitful discussion on one aspect of the application of the ICUE methodology. The scale labeled change through intervention is characterized by looking to the future, expecting technology to bring about signi®cant change, or more generally believing that human intervention is necessary to control the environment and institute change in society. The second scale, symbolic inner self, is characterized by an emphasis on the spiritual or the religious, a belief in looking for symbolic meaning beyond people's overt expressions or behaviors, and a commitment to inner harmony with knowledge developing through a unity of body, mind and spirit. The third scale, independent thought and action, indicates the development of independent thought, a preparedness to be critical and to question what is taught, and in general the use of a constructivist approach to learning. How do teachers from each of the three cultures view their compatriots and people in the other cultures on these dimensions? What commonalities and dierences exist and how can these be explained? By implication, will recognition of dierent perceptions and insights into their origins provide a stimulus for increased intercultural understanding? 3.2. Response set across cultures Before presenting results from the ®rst phase of the present study, this article draws the attention of readers to the diculties associated with response set in cross-cultural research. This problem has been recognized by some cross-cultural researchers (Hui & Triandis, 1989; Watkins, 1996; Watkins & Cheung, 1995) and raises fundamental questions about interpreting dierences among means. Response set or bias becomes an issue if there is evidence of a tendency for respondents from one culture to respond in a systematically dierent way to all items, regardless of their content. Three kinds of response set were in evidence in the present study. In the ®rst place, there was some evidence that Japanese teachers tended to avoid the extremes of the scale (1 and 5) as compared with their Australian and Thai counterparts. One way to adjust for varying dispersion would be to apply a linear transformation to bring the distributions of item responses from all three cultural groups to the same standard deviation. Across all 37 items applied to the three countries, the standard deviations for the Australian, Japanese and Thai teachers were 1.0, 0.9, and 1.0, respectively. Although the dispersion for Japanese teachers is lower, the magnitude of the dierence is not sucient to warrant statistical adjustment.
30
23
13
Q 4 7
Cronbach alpha
In general, in this country people look to the future rather than the past. people look to technology to bring about a signi®cant change in the society. people believe modern technology can achieve a better future. people believe the society and environment must be controlled and used to serve human needs. people believe human action is necessary to bring change.
Item statement
0.61
0.33
0.17
0.53
0.28 0.56
0.65
0.39
0.27
0.52
0.41 0.51
0.63
0.21
0.33
0.59
0.31 0.54
0.65
0.50
0.38
0.44
0.41 0.30
0.55
0.28
0.33
0.36
0.24 0.38
0.56
0.35
0.16
0.36
0.34 0.41
0.69
0.50
0.39
0.48
0.40 0.49
0.70
0.54
0.42
0.51
0.35 0.52
0.60
0.39
0.37
0.43
0.21 0.40
Japan Thai (N = 166) (N = 305)
Ratings by Thai teachers of
Japan Thai Australian (N = 305) (N = 171) (N = 160)
Australian (N = 187)
Australian (N = 208)
Japan Thai (N = 128) (N = 73)
Ratings by Japanese teachers of
Ratings by Australian teachers of
Table 2 Items in the change through intervention scale showing adjusted item vs total score correlations and scale reliability
C.M. Halse, N.L. Baumgart / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 24 (2000) 455±475 463
32
28
24
12 15
5
Q 3
Cronbach alpha
In general, in this country people believe it is important to live according to their spiritual or religious values. inner peace and harmony brings feelings of high self worth more than recognition by others. what people do is more important than what they possess. it is usual to look beyond people's words and actions for their hidden meaning. people believe technology brings material change but not inner harmony and peace of mind for people. knowledge develops through a unity of body, mind and spirit people observe the world around them and look for symbolic or inner meaning.
Item statement
0.68
0.50
0.41
0.31
0.31 0.36
0.54
0.36
0.62
0.49
0.44
0.34
0.19 0.09
0.51
0.34
0.64
0.48
0.38
0.26
0.35 0.32
0.52
0.21
0.54
0.32
0.26
0.34
0.23 0.12
0.28
0.34
0.55
0.41
0.37
0.20
0.33 0.04
0.35
0.37
0.54
0.36
0.46
0.17
0.20 0.10
0.40
0.20
0.63
0.39
0.39
0.33
0.40 0.28
0.30
0.31
0.68
0.44
0.44
0.36
0.36 0.35
0.42
0.38
0.67
0.38
0.49
0.30
0.29 0.36
0.47
0.38
Japan Thai (N = 124) (N = 286)
Ratings by Thai teachers of
Japan Thai Australian (N = 284) (N = 151) (N = 114)
Australian (N = 158)
Australian (N = 184)
Japan Thai (N = 108) (N = 73)
Ratings by Japanese teachers of
Ratings by Australian teachers of
Table 3 Items in the symbolic inner self scale showing adjusted item vs total score correlations and scale reliability
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Cronbach alpha
Q In general, in this country 10 students are encouraged to develop their own ideas on how things work. 17 people are valued if they are prepared to be critical or to express ideas opposing what has been done in the past. 20 people believe any problem has several possible solutions. 21 students are encouraged to question what is taught and to understand the world for themselves. 34 people speak directly and say what they think and feel. 36 people emphasise knowledge built from experiences.
Item statement
0.42 0.61 0.45 0.33
0.54 0.66 0.54 0.35
0.77
0.60
0.56
0.79
0.71
0.62
0.73
0.43 0.30
0.28 0.62
0.54
0.69
0.76
0.46 0.46
0.53 0.54
0.44
0.56
0.67
0.39 0.39
0.40 0.46
0.29
0.46
0.66
0.45 0.34
0.42 0.44
0.34
0.37
0.76
0.48 0.46
0.54 0.64
0.39
0.50
0.70
0.33 0.51
0.50 0.53
0.34
0.46
0.72
0.40 0.47
0.48 0.50
0.47
0.41
Japan Thai (N = 332) (N = 304)
Ratings by Thai teachers of
Japan Thai Australian (N = 332) (N = 159) (N = 138)
Australian (N = 186)
Australian (N = 197)
Japan Thai (N = 101) (N = 64)
Ratings by Japanese teachers of
Ratings by Australian teachers of
Table 4 Items in the independent thought and action scale showing adjusted item vs total score correlations and scale reliability
C.M. Halse, N.L. Baumgart / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 24 (2000) 455±475 465
466 C.M. Halse, N.L. Baumgart / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 24 (2000) 455±475
Secondly, there was a tendency for Thai teachers to assign higher ratings overall than was the case for Australian and Japanese teachers. Across all 37 items applied to the three countries, the mean ratings for Australian, Japanese and Thai teachers were 3.3, 3.1 and 3.8, respectively. This problem is akin to a zero error, say, in using a set of bathroom scales. To counter this phenomenon when interpreting data, one might regard all means given by Thai teachers as in¯ated by approximately 0.6 of a scale point. Most importantly, problems of interpretation of results stemming from the ®rst and second forms of response set can be avoided by examining dierences in ratings within a group of teachers (e.g., comparisons of how Japanese teachers rate people in Australia, Japan and Thailand). The third type of response set, however, raises questions about interpreting dierences even within a group of teachers. This response set is associated with what might be termed a modesty/humility hypothesis which proposes that Asian respondents are in¯uenced by a cultural tendency towards self-depreciation or selfeacement by not putting themselves or their ideas forward (that is, behaving modestly) regardless of their inner convictions. This phenomenon was reported by Iwata, Saito and Roberts (1994) and Iwata, Roberts and Kawakami (1995) who found that Japanese high school students and adult workers respectively tended to suppress positive aect by giving consistently lower ratings than their USA counterparts to positively worded items on a depression scale. In contrast, no dierences were found across cultures on negatively worded items. A similar observation was made by Tanzer (1995) who reported cross-cultural bias in Likert scales measuring academic self-concept when Singaporean students were reluctant to agree strongly with items of self-praise. In the present study, it is feasible that the responses of the Japanese and possibly the Thai teachers are in¯uenced by the modesty/humility hypothesis. It is possible to infer from scrutiny of the 37 item statements (none was negatively worded per se) whether a higher or lower mean would be associated with modesty or humility in responding. Although for 29 (78%) of the items, Japanese teachers did rate their compatriots in a direction consistent with such an hypothesis, a reverse pattern was evident for the remaining eight (22% of) items, contrary to expectations from a universal response set. Nevertheless, to take account of this potential response set by Japanese and possibly Thai teachers, dierences in means are only interpreted as signi®cant when there is evidence of a marked eect size (operationally, at least 25% of the variance in ratings within a group of teachers is associated with dierences in ratings across countries). 4. Results In the present study, two-way repeated measures ANOVAs revealed signi®cant main eects for both independent variables (country of raters and countries being rated) but also a signi®cant interaction between these two variables. The signi®cant eects were found for all three independent variables: change through
C.M. Halse, N.L. Baumgart / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 24 (2000) 455±475 467
intervention, symbolic and inner self, and independent thought and action. The patterns for the interactions are shown graphically in Figs. 2±4, respectively. However, interpretation of the ®ndings is not based simply on statistical signi®cance but takes into account the observations about response set discussed above. 4.1. Change through intervention As indicated in Fig. 2, Australian teachers perceived Japanese people as high on the Change through intervention scale and Thai people as relatively low. Although reasons for the perception by Australian teachers of Japanese people as highly interventionist (e.g., looking to the future, expecting technology to bring signi®cant change, taking action to bring about change) are necessarily speculative at this stage, one plausible reason is the overt portrayal of Japan in the media as a highly technocratic society implementing change through overt and vigorous economic strategies. The second phase of this study will endeavor to tease out the origins and bases for such perceptions. Perceived dierences between countries within the Japanese and Thai respondents were relatively small. Both Japanese and Thai teachers, however, rated their compatriots as lowest of the three countries and this feature may well be explained by the modesty/humility hypothesis discussed above. 4.2. Symbolic and inner self The patterns of responses revealed in Fig. 3 are somewhat dierent. Australian teachers perceived Australian people as overt in their speech and actions, not committed to religious or spiritual values, and giving relatively little regard to the inner self. In terms of scale scores, Australian teachers rated Japanese people (mean=3.6) and Thai people (mean=3.9) as well above Australian people on the symbolic and inner self scale. But this was not a view shared by Japanese and Thai teachers who rated Australians as similar to their own countries, allowing again for a possible modesty/humility tendency. Both Japanese and Thai teachers perceived each other's societies as relatively highest on this scale. The results call into question the stereotypical perception in western countries, mirrored in the responses of Australian teachers here, that Asian people are far more committed to symbolic meaning and inner peace and harmony than people in western countries. Media images of Asia, for example in travel advertisements, frequently portray this pervasive tradition through serene monks, or Zen gardens, or graceful dances. Because of the historical in¯uence of Confucian elites and their traditions in education, such a belief in inner peace and harmony does have some foundation in theory and practice. As explained by Lee Wing On (1996), the use of the term zi de relates, in the context of Confucian traditions, to `learning or experiencing some truth for oneself and deriving inner satisfaction therefrom' (p. 33). In addition to this emphasis on intrinsic motivation, Confucian teaching also places a high value on `pondering' and `re¯ecting' as part of the learning process,
468 C.M. Halse, N.L. Baumgart / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 24 (2000) 455±475
aspects in which the inner self is paramount. Attribution theory also suggests the importance of the inner self for Asian learners. Whereas western cultures typically attribute success to ability, Asian cultures are far more likely to attribute success to eort (Biggs, 1996; Salili, 1996). Whereas ability tends to be regarded, at least in western cultures, as relatively stable, eort is a characteristic under the individual's control and hence closely related to feelings of inner worth and self esteem. From the reverse perspective, and in contrast to perceptions of Australian teachers, why is it that Japanese and Thai teachers see Australian people as high on this scale? Do these beliefs stem from theories explaining action? Or are they derived from media images? Or do they re¯ect a de facto view of Christianity as very spiritual? The further qualitative stage of the present study will be important in seeking explanations from teachers for their perceptions of cultural dierences in ratings of the inner self and the data presented here also provide stimulating resource material for interrogating cross-cultural perceptions in training or professional development programs.
Fig. 2. Signi®cant interaction (country of rater country being rated) for the variable `change through intervention'.
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4.3. Independent thought and action Scholars have recently turned to an analysis of cultural traditions in several Asian countries in an attempt to explain why students from Asian countries, or of Asian background, outperform students from western countries in two contexts: within their own countries when international comparisons have been made on achievement measures; and in western countries where they have been highly successful in entering prestige professions through their performance on competitive examinations at the end of schooling. Questions have been raised about whether some aspects of cultural traditions in a Confucian or Buddhist heritage might illuminate student achievement in a way similar to the use of the `Protestant ethic' to explain a commitment to work in many western countries. Watkins and Biggs (1996) have collected much of this academic analysis in a book of readings which poses a fascinating paradox. Why is it that this welldocumented achievement by Asian students has occurred in spite of western perceptions that the methods of learning used are perceived as rote memorization (Purdie & Hattie, 1996) and contrary to those `deep structure' methods espoused as correlating with high achievement in western societies (Biggs, 1993; Entwistle & Ramsden, 1983; Marton & Saljo, 1976)? It might be claimed that standardized tests used in international comparisons do reward convergent, right answer approaches to learning. However, the explanation of better performance by Asian
Fig. 3. Signi®cant interaction (country of rater country being rated) for the variable `symbolic and inner self'.
470 C.M. Halse, N.L. Baumgart / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 24 (2000) 455±475
students, according to Biggs (1996), is that the view that Asian students only use surface approaches to learning is a `Western misperception'. The third graph (Fig. 4) shows the patterns of responses for the scale labeled independent thought and action. In this case, teachers in all three countries perceived Australian people as being independent, developing their own ideas, prepared to be critical and outspoken, questioning, and constructivist in their approach to learning. In contrast, but in keeping with the popular western views described above, Australian teachers perceived Japanese and Thai people as far more compliant, not being critical or questioning, and seldom developing their own ideas. If the paradox identi®ed by Watkins and Biggs (1996) can be explained by a western misperception, then one might expect Asian teachers in the present study to perceive their societies as being relatively high on the independent thought and action scale. Such was certainly not the case for Japanese teachers whose views paralleled those of Australian teachers. They rated Japanese people lowest of all on this scale, a long way below Australian people and somewhat below Thai people. Thai teachers also rated Australian and Japanese people higher than their compatriots. Perhaps the explanation for both Japanese and Thai teachers rating
Fig. 4. Signi®cant interaction (country of rater country being rated) for the variable `independent thought and action.
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their own people lowest lies again in the modesty/humility hypothesis. However, the magnitude of the dierence, particularly for Japanese teachers, suggests that this is at best a partial explanation. Japanese teachers did appear to perceive a dierence between Asian and Australian cultures on this scale that goes well beyond the possible bias introduced by response set. Thus, the rhetoric of western learners emphasizing understanding, deep learning, self-regulation and constructivist approaches seems to be well recognized, even in cultures which allegedly stress the value of rote memorization. However, perceptions of rote memorization may also be over-simpli®ed. Biggs (1996) argued that Asian students may initially display a docility syndrome in their learning, be receptive and compliant, operate from an external locus of control, take directions, and absorb information. But, Biggs argued, this stage is then followed by a phase when the students re¯ect on the material to understand it fully and test its usefulness by applying it in their own context. These later stages in learning show an internal locus of control, and knowledge is only accepted if it ®ts within the student's understanding and meaningful application. Yet learners have the bene®t of an extensive knowledge base from which to understand and apply their learnings. In contrast, teachers in western societies may ``well be doing their students a disservice'' by giving insucient attention to memorization as a strategy, ``labeling such behaviors as rote learning and dismissing them as inferior tools in the process of learning'' (Purdie & Hattie, 1996, p. 865). 5. Conclusions and implications The reported study oers an innovative methodology by broadening the approach traditionally used in cross-cultural studies by comparing teachers' perceptions of their own and other cultures across three countries. In addressing intercultural understanding, the I-CUE model, it is argued, provides a powerful methodology to focus on research issues, in this case the identi®cation of commonalities and dierences, from the perspectives of dierent cultures. The model does not simply make comparisons across cultures but permits the simultaneous exploration and revelation of values that are perceived as held nationally by participants' own and other cultures. In this way, the I-CUE model not only enhances the possibility of intercultural understanding by allowing reciprocal voices to be heard across cultures but, in doing so, oers a concrete application of intercultural understanding. The data revealed a number of signi®cant ®ndings. Teachers in each of the three countries expressed somewhat diering views about nationally held values thus indicating recognition of diversity within countries. Nevertheless, they clearly perceived that dierences across countries were much greater than variations within countries. Whilst this indicates the existence of dierent sets of values associated with dierent countries, the results from the three scales considered in the present study nevertheless indicated patterns of similarities and dierences in teachers' perceptions. On some occasions, teachers' views of another culture
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corresponded closely to the views of teachers from that culture while on other occasions, there were marked dierences. One could speculate about the reasons for dierences or similarities in teachers' perspectives in terms of media images, historical discourses, and contemporary rhetoric. The qualitative stage of the current research project is designed to illuminate possible explanations for dierent and similar perceptions. The results of the current study, however, raise the question of the accuracy of teachers' perceptions of these characteristics of national identity? Within Australia, for example, teachers are a relatively homogeneous group whose ethnic pro®le does not re¯ect the multicultural mix in the Australian population, and it is possible to speculate that a more heterogeneous teaching population may have held a wider range of views. By the same token, all three countries have recently introduced school curricula initiatives, particularly in Social Studies and related areas, that emphasize the mandatory teaching (and, in some instances, examination) of national history and cultural values as part of a broader movement to incorporate civics and citizenship education into schools. As a consequence, the generic role of teachers in shaping the views of future generations is underscored by their increased responsibility for de®ning and transmitting to students a coherent set of perceived `truths' about national culture, values and identity. In such an educational environment, teachers' personal perspectives of national cultural identity assume heightened signi®cance. Yet, particularly in Australia and Japan, there has been a parallel push by governments to increase the focus in school curricula on understanding other cultures and societies as a precursor to internationalizing education delivery and expanding international socio-economic interaction (Halse & Baumgart, 1996). This article has taken as an example the explicit requirement imposed on Australian teachers to incorporate studies of Asia across the curriculum in elementary and secondary schools, and argued that this task requires teachers whose intercultural understanding can enable them to discern complex and changing patterns of similarities and dierences across cultures. Yet the ®ndings of the study indicate that misperceptions continue to operate across cultures that signal a lack of accurate intercultural understanding. The conventional method for redressing such misperceptions would be through initial teacher training and professional development. However, such interventionist strategies have had limited success in changing deeply embedded perspectives and/ or behavior (e.g., Baker, 1977; Bennett, 1979; Grant, 1981; Washington, 1981), just as the ®ndings of the present study indicate that recent initiatives to educate Australian teachers about Asian countries and peoples have not in themselves been sucient to build intercultural understanding. In a world where globalization has blurred the boundaries across nation states and cultural divides through the construction of transnational economies, globally transmitted media images, and population mobility, the study's ®ndings also indicate that the concept of the nation state as described through a set of accompanying values remains ®rmly embedded in people's (or in this case, teachers') psyche. Hence, despite rhetoric that global processes will lead to cultural
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homogenization, teachers continue to perceive identi®able dierences in normative values and behaviors between nation states. This phenomena, in itself, warns against `misreading' apparent intercultural commonalities. On the other hand, post-modern resistance to categorizing nations and groups and essentializing identities may unwittingly occlude genuine cultural dierences. Thus, both perspectives embody the potential for generating new forms of ideological oppression rather than facilitating the recognition and sincere respect for cultural similarities and dierences that is the basis for genuine intercultural understanding. Hence, Homan (1996, p. 547), for instance, described her unease at observing photo collages promoting multiculturalism and labeled with key words such as `diversity', `dierences', `individuality' and `respect', because the overall impact was one of `ideological conformity' rather than ``an inherent openness and ¯exibility''. Thus, the study's ®ndings make an explicit contribution to the area of intercultural understanding by stepping beyond existing theoretical paradigms and providing empirical documentation of the perspectives held by teachers in the three target countries as a basis for facilitating genuine understanding of perceived cultural commonalities and dierences. In the light of this analysis, we would propose that increased intercultural understanding is far more likely to develop from shared programs involving reciprocal relationships across dierent cultures and geographical contexts that maximize ®rst hand opportunities to experience the cultures and perspectives of others. We would contend that intercultural communication is a precursor to enhanced intercultural understanding and that the quality of intercultural communication for teachers can be improved with opportunities for genuine dialogue and partnership across cultures. This is not to deny the need for expertise in both bicultural and bilingual domains as preparation for ``deep-level intercultural communication'' (Corson, 1997, p. 108) nor the diculties of achieving such levels of communication for more than a relatively small percentage. However, it is to argue that policy makers, teachers, and their students need to use available advances in technology, exchanges, and similar opportunities for discourse in their learning of other cultures.
Acknowledgements This research was supported under an Australian Reseach Committee 1996 Small Grant through the University of Western Sydney, Nepean. The authors gratefully acknowledge the collaboration of our collegues in the broader study: Professor Akira Ninomiya of Hiroshima University, Japan, Dr Suwaporn Semheng of the Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology, Bangkok, and Dr Ubolpong Wattanaseree of Khon Kaen University, Thailand
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References Ang, I. (1996). Asianising Australia Ð notes toward a critical transnationalism in cultural studies. Cultural Studies, 10, 16±36. Baker, G. (1977). Two preservice training approaches. Journal of Teacher Education, 23, 31±33. Bennett, C. T. (1979). The preparation of pre-service social studies teachers in multiethnic education. High School Journal, 62, 232±237. Biggs, J. (1993). What do inventories of students' learning processes really measure? A theoretical review and clari®cation. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 63, 3±19. Biggs, J. (1996). Western misperceptions of the Confucian-heritage learning culture. In D. A. Watkins & J. Biggs (Eds.), The Chinese learner: Cultural, psychological and contextual in¯uences. Hong Kong: CERC and ACER. Corson, D. (1997). Reclaiming reality: laying the ideology of cultural compatibility. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 21, 105±111. Entwistle, A., & Ramsden, P. (1983). Understanding student learning. London: Croom Helm. Featherstone, M. (1995). Undoing culture: Globalisation, postmodernism and identity. London: Sage. Grant, C. A. (1981). Education that is multicultural and teacher education: An examination from the perspectives of preservice students. Journal of Educational Research, 75, 95±101. Halse, C., & Baumgart, N. (1995). Do teachers regard Australia as part of Asia? An educational and political dilemma. In Paper Presented to the Twenty-®fth Annual Conference of the Australian Association for Research in Education, Hobart, November. Halse, C., & Baumgart, N. (1996). International education and culture: Getting the balance right. Unicorn, 22, 39±48. Helms, J. E., & Carter, R. T. (1990). Development of the White racial identity inventory. In J. E. Helms (Ed.), Black and white racial identity: Theory, research and practice. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Homan, D. M. (1996). Culture and self in multicultural education: Re¯ections on discourse, text, and practice. American Educational Research Journal, 33, 545±569. Hui, C. H., & Triandis, H. C. (1985). Measurement in cross-cultural psychology: a review and comparison of strategies. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 16, 131±152. Hui, C. H., & Triandis, H. C. (1989). Eects of culture and response format on extreme response style. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 20, 296±309. Ibrahim, F. A., & Owen, S. V. (1994). Factor analytic structure of the scale to assess world view. Current Psychological Research and Reviews, 13, 201±209. Ibrahim, F. A. (1991). Contribution of cultural worldview to generic counseling and development. Journal of Counseling and Development, 70, 13±19. Iwata, N., Roberts, C. R., & Kawakami, N. (1995). Japan-US comparison of responses to depression scale items among adult workers. Psychiatry Research, 58, 237±245. Iwata, N., Saito, K., & Roberts, R. E. (1994). Responses to a self-administered depression scale among younger adolescents in Japan. Psychiatry Research, 53, 275±287. Jackson, A. P., & Meadows, F. B. (1991). Getting to the bottom to understand the top. Journal of Counseling and Development, 70, 72±76. Lee, Wing On (1996). The cultural context for Chinese learners: conceptions of learning in the Confucian tradition. In D. A. Watkins & J. Biggs (Eds.), The Chinese learner: Cultural, psychological and contextual in¯uences. Hong Kong: CERC and ACER. Marton, F., & Saljo, R. (1976). On qualitative dierences in learning Ð 1: Outcome and process. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 46, 4±11. Murphy-Shigematsu, S. (1993). Multiethnic Japan and the monoethnic myth. Melus, 18, 63±83. Nozaki, Y., & Inokuchi, H. (1996). On Critical Asian literacy. Curriculum Perspectives, 16, 72±76. Prawat, R. S., & Floden, R. E. (1994). Philosophical perspectives on constructivist views of learning. Educational Psychologist, 29, 37±48. Purdie, N., & Hattie, J. (1996). Cultural dierences in the use of strategies for self-regulated learning. American Educational Research Journal, 33, 845±871.
C.M. Halse, N.L. Baumgart / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 24 (2000) 455±475 475 Salili, F. (1996). Accepting personal responsibility for learning. In D. A. Watkins & J. Biggs (Eds.), The Chinese learner: Cultural, psychological and contextual in¯uences. Hong Kong: CERC and ACER. Sue, D. W. (1978). World views and counseling. The Personnel and Guidance Journal, 56, 458±462. Tanzer, N. K. (1995). Cross-cultural bias in Likert-type inventories Ð perfect matching factor structures and still biased. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 11, 194±201. Washington, V. (1981). Impact of anti-racism/multicultural education training on elementary teachers' attitudes and classroom behaviour. The Elementary School Journal, 81, 186±192. Watkins, D. A., & Biggs, J. B. (Eds.) (1996). The Chinese learner: Cultural, psychological and contextual in¯uences. Hong Kong: CERC and ACER. Watkins, D. A. (1996). Learning theories and approaches to research: a cross-cultural perspective. In D. A. Watkins & J. Biggs (Eds.), The Chinese learner: Cultural, psychological and contextual in¯uences. Hong Kong: CERC and ACER. Watkins, D. A., & Cheung, S. (1995). Culture, gender, and response bias. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 26, 490±504. Wimmer, A. (1997). Explaining xenophobia and racism Ð a critical review of current research approaches. Ethnic & Racial Studies, 20, 17±41. Neil Baumgart is Emeritus Professor of Education and held the Foundation Chair in Education at the University of Western Sydney, Nepean, from 1991-1998. Prior to this appointment, he held positions in the Victorian Ministry of Education and at Macquarie University. He has extensive experience in national-level evaluations in countries through-out the Asia-Paci®c region. Christine Halse is Senior Lecturer at the University of Western Sydney, Nepean, where she is Chair of the Intercultural Education Research Group and Coordinator of Research and Postgraduate Students in the School of Lifelong Learning and Educational Change. Her primary research interest is in the roles of cultural identity and intercultural relations in educational policy and practice.
Cross cultural perspectives of teachers: a study in three countries p Christine M. Halse*, Neil L. Baumgart Faculty of Education, University of Western Sydney, PO Box 10, Kingswood, NSW 2747, Australia
Abstract In a shrinking world where globalization has blurred the boundaries across nation states and cultural divides, limitations on intercultural communication can readily give rise to glib generalizations and lack of understanding of diversity. Acknowledging the key role of teachers in shaping the views of future generations, this paper reports on the ®rst stage of a research study on the intercultural understanding of teachers in Australia, Japan, and Thailand. Overall, the teacher participants had diverse cross-cultural experience, diering both in extent and nature of the contact. The methodology used a common survey instrument, except for its language of presentation. However, instead of using a traditional comparative approach to contrast responses of the three target groups, the study asked teachers to provide their perceptions of prevailing world views of people in their own AND the other two countries. The reciprocal nature of the observations provides a powerful methodology to explore perceived intercultural similarities and dierences. The article also considers problems associated with response set in investigations of this kind. Three scales are considered Ð change through intervention, symbolic inner self, and independent thought and action Ð and the data reveal some similarities but also some striking dierences in perceptions across countries. The dierences signal a lack of intercultural understanding which is being explored further in a second, qualitative stage of the research. The ®ndings indicate the need for increasing shared programs, exchanges and other opportunities for reciprocal relations that foster genuine dialogue, partnership and intercultural understanding between countries. 7 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
An earlier version of this article was presented to the 1997 Annual Conference of the Paci®c Circle Consortium held at the University of Southern Oregon in April 1997. * Corresponding author. Tel.: +61-247-360055; fax: +61-247-360055. E-mail address: [email protected] (C.M. Halse). p
0147-1767/00/$ - see front matter 7 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 1 4 7 - 1 7 6 7 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 0 1 2 - 2
456 C.M. Halse, N.L. Baumgart / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 24 (2000) 455±475 Keywords: Cross-cultural studies; Intercultural understanding; Comparative education; Values education; Intercultural relations; Globalization; Response set; Cultural identity; Intercultural understanding in education; Asia; Teacher attitudes
1. Background The present study was prompted by questions arising from attempts by the Australian Government economically, socially and politically to locate Australia within the Asian region. Such policies are understandable given that Asian countries now provide Australia's major trading partners as well as one of the largest sources of migrants. The conceptual repositioning of Australia has been supported by educational initiatives including national programs in Asian languages and the study of Asian cultures and societies. Teachers were seen as a focal point for facilitating the educational initiatives and substantial funding has been channeled into professional development programs for teachers. A preliminary, exploratory study (Halse & Baumgart, 1995) based on a sample of Australian teachers was completed in 1995 but subsequent events have heightened the need for continuing research to inform debate on a number of controversial and emotive issues. Following a national election and a change of government in March 1996, the newly elected member for Oxley, Pauline Hanson, called for restrictions on Asian immigration and curbing of the policy of multiculturalism. Her speeches and widespread media reporting led to vitriolic, public debate on whether Australia should be resurrecting or renunciating a eurocentric identity and celebrating or condemning policies of a multicultural, pluralist society. The formation in 1997 of her new political party portraying Australia as `one nation' lent credence to the hypothesis that xenophobic and racist discourses serve to provide a cohesive identity in modern nation states where nationalistic self-images are challenged by political struggles over the state's selective allocation of goods and services (Wimmer, 1997). Regardless of the motivation behind the Australian Government's `push into Asia', the initiatives taken have also served to reinforce a binary divide between `Asia' and `Australia' (Ang, 1996) and to underscore through essentialist labeling the competition for jobs and public services within a society ostensibly celebrating its cultural diversity. Prompted by recent debates within Australia and mindful of her historical disdain for Asian migration and close relationships with Asian countries, some Asian leaders have interpreted skeptically current government policy as economic opportunism rather than a genuine attempt to incorporate an `Asianness' into Australia's identity as a multicultural nation. The questions raised about Australia are equally applicable in other nation states where accelerating globalization poses threats to local cultural identities (Halse & Baumgart, 1996) and introduces tensions between modernist and postmodernist constructions of identity, `self' and `other'. For example, in Japan, the essentialist discourse of `Nihonjinron' as a distinctive, exclusive Japaneseness
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(Nozaki & Inokuchi, 1996) provides a very powerful, national image (Featherstone, 1995) even though the reality of Japan's origin, history and current composition is heterogeneous (Murphy-Shigematsu, 1993). Although national and state governments in Australia have committed resources to prepare teachers to introduce studies of Asia, more fundamental conceptual issues need to be addressed if Australia is to become an integrated entity within Asia. What are the constructions of national identity within Australia, within Asian countries, and globally, across their geographic boundaries? How do people, and teachers in particular, perceive cultural similarities and dierences? The present study sought to map the perceptions of teachers from three countries (Australia, Japan and Thailand) as a starting point towards understanding the complex issues underpinning intercultural communication (Corson, 1997) in the context described above, and to relate these data to contemporary theorizing about perceptions of cultural similarities and diversity against a backdrop of globalization. 1.2. Scope of the present study The present study is a collaborative project between educational researchers in Australia, Japan and Thailand. As a cross-cultural study, the research was planned with two complementary stages, each designed to illuminate the perceptions of values that are held nationally by teachers in the three countries. The ®rst stage (aspects of which are reported in this paper) involved a survey approach using a common instrument, except for its translation from English into Japanese and Thai. It was thus quantitative in nature and used an `etic' approach by assuming that the constructs underpinning the instrument could be meaningfully applied across cultures. Such an assumption has often been questioned, particularly for the application of western constructs and theories in non-western environments (Watkins, 1996). To this end, several strategies (discussed below) were used to seek evidence of the construct validity of the measures for the three target groups, and hence to allow an argument for `scalar equivalence' (Hui & Triandis, 1985). A second, qualitative stage of the research project is using an `emic' approach by identifying through phenomenographic strategies possible culture-speci®c perceptions held by teachers. This stage of the research will be undertaken in 2001 and will collect data through interviews with teachers. The ®ndings of both stages of the research have the potential to be used in teacher training and professional development to illuminate perceptions of collective identity, to challenge stereotypic views of `otherness', and to provide a basis for dialogue and relationships that facilitate intercultural understanding. 1.3. The I-CUE methodology The methodology for the study uses a process which identi®es elements of commonality and dierence within and across cultures which we have described
458 C.M. Halse, N.L. Baumgart / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 24 (2000) 455±475
Fig. 1. I-CUE is deduced from perceptions of own and other cultures.
previously (Halse & Baumgart, 1996) and labeled by the acronym I-CUE (intercultural understanding in education). Fig. 1 depicts the model for two cultures, A and B, in which self and other perceptions are identi®ed for each group and the series of intersections as de®ned in the key represent the full range of possibilities for describing perceived commonalities and dierences. The I-CUE methodology as applied in the present study sought perceptions of respondents from each culture about the prevailing world views of people in their own cultures and those of people in the other two cultures. Because of the reciprocal nature of the observations, the model oers a much more powerful methodology to explore intercultural similarities and dierences than is the case for traditional comparative approaches employing a common instrument in two or more cultures. In the present study, each of the `scales' had associated with it nine sets of responses. The challenge was then to `explain' the similarities and dierences across the nine data sets in terms of known theories, or to extend the theories to accommodate the observations.
2. The sample This phase of the study involved 230 teachers from Australia, 455 from Japan, and 328 from Thailand. Although the sample was based on convenience using available networks, the teachers were drawn from both primary and secondary schools, from dierent regions in each country, and in gender and age were fairly representative of the teaching populations in the three countries. Information was also sought on respondents' contact with people in the other countries, whether through friendship or travel. The background characteristics of teachers in the sample are reported in Table 1. The present paper focuses on similarities and
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dierences in perceptions across countries, but it should be noted that magnitudes of dierences associated with background characteristics of respondents within countries (never more than about 1% of the variance) were far outweighed by the magnitudes of the dierences in ratings across `country' as a variable, sometimes as high as 60±70% of the variance.
3. The instrument The instrument was based on the literature concerning culturally embedded and shared ways of knowing, valuing and understanding that shape people's world views and their perceptions of their identity and their relationship with the world around them (see for example, Helms & Carter, 1990; Ibrahim, 1991; Ibrahim & Owen, 1994; Jackson & Meadows, 1991; Prawat & Floden, 1994; Sue, 1978). It was developed from an earlier version in the light of feedback from participants in an exploratory study (Halse & Baumgart, 1995) and subjected to intensive scrutiny and debate during a 2 day meeting of researchers from the three countries involved in the study. The ®nal instrument comprised 37 items that re¯ected the following conceptual domains: 1. `Ways of Knowing' (i.e., processes used for reasoning and gathering knowledge); 2. `Ways of Seeing' (i.e., the nature of reality and the world) 3. `Ways of Valuing' (i.e., the values held by individuals and wider society); 4. `Ways of Changing' (i.e., the nature of change and progress). As a result of the 2 day collaboration on the instrument design, the researchers agreed that the conceptual mapping of domains and the items they embodied were valid for each country in the study. Thus, ®ve more items were added to the original pilot instrument and the wording of several items was modi®ed to ensure meaning and relevance for each country in the study. In addition, the pool of potential items, written in English, was discussed for their meaning in dierent cultural contexts, including the precise wording for each item when translated to Japanese and Thai. These procedures formed one important mechanism in striving for construct validity, a second being the search for internal consistency (see below) based on empirical data. Thus, the ®nal instrument was a collaborative construction by all researchers involved in the study. Such a process was not only an exercise in intercultural understanding itself but a practical application of the ICUE methodology. Thus, the methodology for designing the instrument moved beyond traditional approaches to quantitative, cross-cultural research where the resulting data may have little or no meaning because the items were written and informed by one particular cultural framework but administered in a very dierent cultural context. After translation into Japanese and Thai, the instrument was back translated by independent linguists into English with the consequence that ®ve items in the
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Table 1 Characteristics of the sample of Australian, Japanese and Thai teachers Characteristic
Australian sample
Japanese sample
Thai sample
Sample size
N = 230
N = 455
N = 328
Current position
Principal Other exec. Teacher
Region
NSW Victoria ACT South Aust.
School gender
Girls only Boys only Mixed
School level
Primary Secondary Both/other
Gender
Female Male
Age
R 25 years 26±30 years 31±35 years 36±40 years 41±45 years 46±50 years 51±55 years 56±60 years > 60 years
Years of teaching Mean SD Second languages Japanese Thai Other
6 (3%) Principal 68 (30%) Other exec. 153 (67%) Teacher 86 31 48 65
(37%) (13%) (21%) (28%)
Hiroshima Prefecture Other Prefecture
12 (6%) Girls only 11 (5%) Boys only 192 (89%) Mixed 88 (40%) Primary 94 (43%) Secondary 37 (17%) Both/other 167 (74%) Female 60 (26%) Male 15 (7%) 26 (11%) 31 (13%) 26 (11%) 62 (27%) 42 (18%) 23 (10%) 5 (2%) 15.3 years 8.3 years
R 25 years 26±30 years 31±35 years 36±40 years 41±45 years 46±50 years 51±55 years 56±60 years > 60 years Mean SD
17 (7%) English 2 (1%) Thai 71 (31%) Other
29 (6%) Principal 43 (9%) Other exec. 382 (84%) Teacher
328 (100%)
268 (59%) 187 (41%) Girls only Boys only 455 (100%) mixed
328 (100%)
300 (66%) Elemetary 149 (33%) Lower sec. Upper sec. All sec.
211 (64%) 54 (16%) 22 (7%) 42 (13%)
239 (53%) Female 215 (47%) Male
273 (83%) 54 (17%)
32 (7%) 71 (16%) 82 (18%) 69 (15%) 65 (14%) 60 (13%) 49 (11%) 26 (6%) 16.2 years 9.8 years
R 25 years 26±30 years 31±35 years 36±40 years 41±45 years 46±50 years 51±55 years 56±60 years > 60 years Mean SD
10 (3%) 15 (5%) 35 (11%) 56 (17%) 95 (29%) 65 (20%) 24 (10%) 16 (5%) 1 (0%) 19.8 years 8.1 years
75 (17%) 1 (0%) 19 (4%)
Quali®cations
2/3 years trg 23 (10%) 2/3 years 4 years trained 187 (82%) 4 years trained Masters 19 (8%) Masters
50 (11%) 2/3 years Cert. 392 (86%) 4 years not Ed. 12 (3%) 4 years Educ. Masters
6 (2%) 10 (3%) 284 (87%) 27 (8%)
Visited other countries
Yes
193 (84%) Yes
249 (55%) Yes
88 (27%)
Friends in other countries
Yes
178 (77%) Yes
44 (10%) Yes
186 (57%)
C.M. Halse, N.L. Baumgart / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 24 (2000) 455±475 461
Japanese version and six in the Thai version were queried. After consultation with the researchers in the respective countries (via email), adjustments to the wording of the items were made where necessary. Respondents were asked to give their opinions on ``the extent to which each statement applies to values held by people in general'' in the target country. In all cases, the home country was listed ®rst, followed by the other two countries. The response format used was a unipolar, 5-point Likert scale with responses coded as `very often' (5), `often' (4), `fairly often' (3), `sometimes' (2), and `rarely' (1). Based on feedback from the exploratory study in which teachers indicated that they frequently felt uninformed, provision was made for teachers to tick an ``unsure'' box instead of feeling obliged to guess at a response. 3.1. The scales explained A usual procedure in examining attitudes using quantitative approaches is to group items into broader clusters or factors that represent underlying constructs related to the theoretical and conceptual basis of the study. Items grouped together need to be conceptually related and empirically associated to justify their aggregation in a measurement scale. The present paper reports on three scales formed from conceptual groupings of 18 of the 37 items. These scales were labeled change through intervention (®ve items), symbolic inner self (seven items), and independent thought and action (six items). Although the 37 items were originally written to map four domains as de®ned above, the scales were formed on the following basis. Firstly, they were collaboratively selected by all researchers as having construct validity across each of the three target countries and were expected to reveal similarities and dierences in behaviors or perspectives across the three societies. Finally, based on empirical data, items within the scales were shown to be internally consistent for each of the three cultures. Tables 2±4 provide information on the relationships between items and total scores (actually an `adjusted' correlation between each item and the total with itself left out) as well as an overall index of internal consistency (Cronbach alpha coecients). The N at the top of each column represents the number of teachers responding to all items comprising that scale. Not surprisingly, response rates were much higher when teachers provided perceptions of people in their own countries than in other countries and the lowest response rate came from Thai teachers rating Australian people re¯ecting rare coverage by Thai media and limited communication through travel and business. For the scales to be regarded as scalar equivalent, one aspect that had to be satis®ed was acceptable internal consistency values for all nine sets of ratings for each scale. In fewer than 10% of the 162 correlation coecients reported in Tables 2±4, item v. total score correlations fell below 0.25, and in only ®ve of the 27 overall reliability (internal consistency) coecients did values fall below 0.60, 0.54 being the lowest alpha obtained. Inter-scale correlations in all cases were suciently below the internal consistencies to warrant separate use of the scales.
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(Thus for Australian, Japanese and Thai respondents, the mean inter-scale correlations were 0.16, 0.48 and 0.59, respectively, while the means of the nine Cronbach alpha values (from Tables 2±4) were 0.68, 0.61 and 0.68, respectively). Based on the above empirical data on the scales and considering the initial deliberations about the conceptual bases for items, it is argued that comparisons across groups of teacher respondents from the three countries are warranted. Although such comparisons need to be interpreted with appropriate caution, they do provide a basis for fruitful discussion on one aspect of the application of the ICUE methodology. The scale labeled change through intervention is characterized by looking to the future, expecting technology to bring about signi®cant change, or more generally believing that human intervention is necessary to control the environment and institute change in society. The second scale, symbolic inner self, is characterized by an emphasis on the spiritual or the religious, a belief in looking for symbolic meaning beyond people's overt expressions or behaviors, and a commitment to inner harmony with knowledge developing through a unity of body, mind and spirit. The third scale, independent thought and action, indicates the development of independent thought, a preparedness to be critical and to question what is taught, and in general the use of a constructivist approach to learning. How do teachers from each of the three cultures view their compatriots and people in the other cultures on these dimensions? What commonalities and dierences exist and how can these be explained? By implication, will recognition of dierent perceptions and insights into their origins provide a stimulus for increased intercultural understanding? 3.2. Response set across cultures Before presenting results from the ®rst phase of the present study, this article draws the attention of readers to the diculties associated with response set in cross-cultural research. This problem has been recognized by some cross-cultural researchers (Hui & Triandis, 1989; Watkins, 1996; Watkins & Cheung, 1995) and raises fundamental questions about interpreting dierences among means. Response set or bias becomes an issue if there is evidence of a tendency for respondents from one culture to respond in a systematically dierent way to all items, regardless of their content. Three kinds of response set were in evidence in the present study. In the ®rst place, there was some evidence that Japanese teachers tended to avoid the extremes of the scale (1 and 5) as compared with their Australian and Thai counterparts. One way to adjust for varying dispersion would be to apply a linear transformation to bring the distributions of item responses from all three cultural groups to the same standard deviation. Across all 37 items applied to the three countries, the standard deviations for the Australian, Japanese and Thai teachers were 1.0, 0.9, and 1.0, respectively. Although the dispersion for Japanese teachers is lower, the magnitude of the dierence is not sucient to warrant statistical adjustment.
30
23
13
Q 4 7
Cronbach alpha
In general, in this country people look to the future rather than the past. people look to technology to bring about a signi®cant change in the society. people believe modern technology can achieve a better future. people believe the society and environment must be controlled and used to serve human needs. people believe human action is necessary to bring change.
Item statement
0.61
0.33
0.17
0.53
0.28 0.56
0.65
0.39
0.27
0.52
0.41 0.51
0.63
0.21
0.33
0.59
0.31 0.54
0.65
0.50
0.38
0.44
0.41 0.30
0.55
0.28
0.33
0.36
0.24 0.38
0.56
0.35
0.16
0.36
0.34 0.41
0.69
0.50
0.39
0.48
0.40 0.49
0.70
0.54
0.42
0.51
0.35 0.52
0.60
0.39
0.37
0.43
0.21 0.40
Japan Thai (N = 166) (N = 305)
Ratings by Thai teachers of
Japan Thai Australian (N = 305) (N = 171) (N = 160)
Australian (N = 187)
Australian (N = 208)
Japan Thai (N = 128) (N = 73)
Ratings by Japanese teachers of
Ratings by Australian teachers of
Table 2 Items in the change through intervention scale showing adjusted item vs total score correlations and scale reliability
C.M. Halse, N.L. Baumgart / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 24 (2000) 455±475 463
32
28
24
12 15
5
Q 3
Cronbach alpha
In general, in this country people believe it is important to live according to their spiritual or religious values. inner peace and harmony brings feelings of high self worth more than recognition by others. what people do is more important than what they possess. it is usual to look beyond people's words and actions for their hidden meaning. people believe technology brings material change but not inner harmony and peace of mind for people. knowledge develops through a unity of body, mind and spirit people observe the world around them and look for symbolic or inner meaning.
Item statement
0.68
0.50
0.41
0.31
0.31 0.36
0.54
0.36
0.62
0.49
0.44
0.34
0.19 0.09
0.51
0.34
0.64
0.48
0.38
0.26
0.35 0.32
0.52
0.21
0.54
0.32
0.26
0.34
0.23 0.12
0.28
0.34
0.55
0.41
0.37
0.20
0.33 0.04
0.35
0.37
0.54
0.36
0.46
0.17
0.20 0.10
0.40
0.20
0.63
0.39
0.39
0.33
0.40 0.28
0.30
0.31
0.68
0.44
0.44
0.36
0.36 0.35
0.42
0.38
0.67
0.38
0.49
0.30
0.29 0.36
0.47
0.38
Japan Thai (N = 124) (N = 286)
Ratings by Thai teachers of
Japan Thai Australian (N = 284) (N = 151) (N = 114)
Australian (N = 158)
Australian (N = 184)
Japan Thai (N = 108) (N = 73)
Ratings by Japanese teachers of
Ratings by Australian teachers of
Table 3 Items in the symbolic inner self scale showing adjusted item vs total score correlations and scale reliability
464 C.M. Halse, N.L. Baumgart / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 24 (2000) 455±475
Cronbach alpha
Q In general, in this country 10 students are encouraged to develop their own ideas on how things work. 17 people are valued if they are prepared to be critical or to express ideas opposing what has been done in the past. 20 people believe any problem has several possible solutions. 21 students are encouraged to question what is taught and to understand the world for themselves. 34 people speak directly and say what they think and feel. 36 people emphasise knowledge built from experiences.
Item statement
0.42 0.61 0.45 0.33
0.54 0.66 0.54 0.35
0.77
0.60
0.56
0.79
0.71
0.62
0.73
0.43 0.30
0.28 0.62
0.54
0.69
0.76
0.46 0.46
0.53 0.54
0.44
0.56
0.67
0.39 0.39
0.40 0.46
0.29
0.46
0.66
0.45 0.34
0.42 0.44
0.34
0.37
0.76
0.48 0.46
0.54 0.64
0.39
0.50
0.70
0.33 0.51
0.50 0.53
0.34
0.46
0.72
0.40 0.47
0.48 0.50
0.47
0.41
Japan Thai (N = 332) (N = 304)
Ratings by Thai teachers of
Japan Thai Australian (N = 332) (N = 159) (N = 138)
Australian (N = 186)
Australian (N = 197)
Japan Thai (N = 101) (N = 64)
Ratings by Japanese teachers of
Ratings by Australian teachers of
Table 4 Items in the independent thought and action scale showing adjusted item vs total score correlations and scale reliability
C.M. Halse, N.L. Baumgart / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 24 (2000) 455±475 465
466 C.M. Halse, N.L. Baumgart / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 24 (2000) 455±475
Secondly, there was a tendency for Thai teachers to assign higher ratings overall than was the case for Australian and Japanese teachers. Across all 37 items applied to the three countries, the mean ratings for Australian, Japanese and Thai teachers were 3.3, 3.1 and 3.8, respectively. This problem is akin to a zero error, say, in using a set of bathroom scales. To counter this phenomenon when interpreting data, one might regard all means given by Thai teachers as in¯ated by approximately 0.6 of a scale point. Most importantly, problems of interpretation of results stemming from the ®rst and second forms of response set can be avoided by examining dierences in ratings within a group of teachers (e.g., comparisons of how Japanese teachers rate people in Australia, Japan and Thailand). The third type of response set, however, raises questions about interpreting dierences even within a group of teachers. This response set is associated with what might be termed a modesty/humility hypothesis which proposes that Asian respondents are in¯uenced by a cultural tendency towards self-depreciation or selfeacement by not putting themselves or their ideas forward (that is, behaving modestly) regardless of their inner convictions. This phenomenon was reported by Iwata, Saito and Roberts (1994) and Iwata, Roberts and Kawakami (1995) who found that Japanese high school students and adult workers respectively tended to suppress positive aect by giving consistently lower ratings than their USA counterparts to positively worded items on a depression scale. In contrast, no dierences were found across cultures on negatively worded items. A similar observation was made by Tanzer (1995) who reported cross-cultural bias in Likert scales measuring academic self-concept when Singaporean students were reluctant to agree strongly with items of self-praise. In the present study, it is feasible that the responses of the Japanese and possibly the Thai teachers are in¯uenced by the modesty/humility hypothesis. It is possible to infer from scrutiny of the 37 item statements (none was negatively worded per se) whether a higher or lower mean would be associated with modesty or humility in responding. Although for 29 (78%) of the items, Japanese teachers did rate their compatriots in a direction consistent with such an hypothesis, a reverse pattern was evident for the remaining eight (22% of) items, contrary to expectations from a universal response set. Nevertheless, to take account of this potential response set by Japanese and possibly Thai teachers, dierences in means are only interpreted as signi®cant when there is evidence of a marked eect size (operationally, at least 25% of the variance in ratings within a group of teachers is associated with dierences in ratings across countries). 4. Results In the present study, two-way repeated measures ANOVAs revealed signi®cant main eects for both independent variables (country of raters and countries being rated) but also a signi®cant interaction between these two variables. The signi®cant eects were found for all three independent variables: change through
C.M. Halse, N.L. Baumgart / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 24 (2000) 455±475 467
intervention, symbolic and inner self, and independent thought and action. The patterns for the interactions are shown graphically in Figs. 2±4, respectively. However, interpretation of the ®ndings is not based simply on statistical signi®cance but takes into account the observations about response set discussed above. 4.1. Change through intervention As indicated in Fig. 2, Australian teachers perceived Japanese people as high on the Change through intervention scale and Thai people as relatively low. Although reasons for the perception by Australian teachers of Japanese people as highly interventionist (e.g., looking to the future, expecting technology to bring signi®cant change, taking action to bring about change) are necessarily speculative at this stage, one plausible reason is the overt portrayal of Japan in the media as a highly technocratic society implementing change through overt and vigorous economic strategies. The second phase of this study will endeavor to tease out the origins and bases for such perceptions. Perceived dierences between countries within the Japanese and Thai respondents were relatively small. Both Japanese and Thai teachers, however, rated their compatriots as lowest of the three countries and this feature may well be explained by the modesty/humility hypothesis discussed above. 4.2. Symbolic and inner self The patterns of responses revealed in Fig. 3 are somewhat dierent. Australian teachers perceived Australian people as overt in their speech and actions, not committed to religious or spiritual values, and giving relatively little regard to the inner self. In terms of scale scores, Australian teachers rated Japanese people (mean=3.6) and Thai people (mean=3.9) as well above Australian people on the symbolic and inner self scale. But this was not a view shared by Japanese and Thai teachers who rated Australians as similar to their own countries, allowing again for a possible modesty/humility tendency. Both Japanese and Thai teachers perceived each other's societies as relatively highest on this scale. The results call into question the stereotypical perception in western countries, mirrored in the responses of Australian teachers here, that Asian people are far more committed to symbolic meaning and inner peace and harmony than people in western countries. Media images of Asia, for example in travel advertisements, frequently portray this pervasive tradition through serene monks, or Zen gardens, or graceful dances. Because of the historical in¯uence of Confucian elites and their traditions in education, such a belief in inner peace and harmony does have some foundation in theory and practice. As explained by Lee Wing On (1996), the use of the term zi de relates, in the context of Confucian traditions, to `learning or experiencing some truth for oneself and deriving inner satisfaction therefrom' (p. 33). In addition to this emphasis on intrinsic motivation, Confucian teaching also places a high value on `pondering' and `re¯ecting' as part of the learning process,
468 C.M. Halse, N.L. Baumgart / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 24 (2000) 455±475
aspects in which the inner self is paramount. Attribution theory also suggests the importance of the inner self for Asian learners. Whereas western cultures typically attribute success to ability, Asian cultures are far more likely to attribute success to eort (Biggs, 1996; Salili, 1996). Whereas ability tends to be regarded, at least in western cultures, as relatively stable, eort is a characteristic under the individual's control and hence closely related to feelings of inner worth and self esteem. From the reverse perspective, and in contrast to perceptions of Australian teachers, why is it that Japanese and Thai teachers see Australian people as high on this scale? Do these beliefs stem from theories explaining action? Or are they derived from media images? Or do they re¯ect a de facto view of Christianity as very spiritual? The further qualitative stage of the present study will be important in seeking explanations from teachers for their perceptions of cultural dierences in ratings of the inner self and the data presented here also provide stimulating resource material for interrogating cross-cultural perceptions in training or professional development programs.
Fig. 2. Signi®cant interaction (country of rater country being rated) for the variable `change through intervention'.
C.M. Halse, N.L. Baumgart / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 24 (2000) 455±475 469
4.3. Independent thought and action Scholars have recently turned to an analysis of cultural traditions in several Asian countries in an attempt to explain why students from Asian countries, or of Asian background, outperform students from western countries in two contexts: within their own countries when international comparisons have been made on achievement measures; and in western countries where they have been highly successful in entering prestige professions through their performance on competitive examinations at the end of schooling. Questions have been raised about whether some aspects of cultural traditions in a Confucian or Buddhist heritage might illuminate student achievement in a way similar to the use of the `Protestant ethic' to explain a commitment to work in many western countries. Watkins and Biggs (1996) have collected much of this academic analysis in a book of readings which poses a fascinating paradox. Why is it that this welldocumented achievement by Asian students has occurred in spite of western perceptions that the methods of learning used are perceived as rote memorization (Purdie & Hattie, 1996) and contrary to those `deep structure' methods espoused as correlating with high achievement in western societies (Biggs, 1993; Entwistle & Ramsden, 1983; Marton & Saljo, 1976)? It might be claimed that standardized tests used in international comparisons do reward convergent, right answer approaches to learning. However, the explanation of better performance by Asian
Fig. 3. Signi®cant interaction (country of rater country being rated) for the variable `symbolic and inner self'.
470 C.M. Halse, N.L. Baumgart / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 24 (2000) 455±475
students, according to Biggs (1996), is that the view that Asian students only use surface approaches to learning is a `Western misperception'. The third graph (Fig. 4) shows the patterns of responses for the scale labeled independent thought and action. In this case, teachers in all three countries perceived Australian people as being independent, developing their own ideas, prepared to be critical and outspoken, questioning, and constructivist in their approach to learning. In contrast, but in keeping with the popular western views described above, Australian teachers perceived Japanese and Thai people as far more compliant, not being critical or questioning, and seldom developing their own ideas. If the paradox identi®ed by Watkins and Biggs (1996) can be explained by a western misperception, then one might expect Asian teachers in the present study to perceive their societies as being relatively high on the independent thought and action scale. Such was certainly not the case for Japanese teachers whose views paralleled those of Australian teachers. They rated Japanese people lowest of all on this scale, a long way below Australian people and somewhat below Thai people. Thai teachers also rated Australian and Japanese people higher than their compatriots. Perhaps the explanation for both Japanese and Thai teachers rating
Fig. 4. Signi®cant interaction (country of rater country being rated) for the variable `independent thought and action.
C.M. Halse, N.L. Baumgart / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 24 (2000) 455±475 471
their own people lowest lies again in the modesty/humility hypothesis. However, the magnitude of the dierence, particularly for Japanese teachers, suggests that this is at best a partial explanation. Japanese teachers did appear to perceive a dierence between Asian and Australian cultures on this scale that goes well beyond the possible bias introduced by response set. Thus, the rhetoric of western learners emphasizing understanding, deep learning, self-regulation and constructivist approaches seems to be well recognized, even in cultures which allegedly stress the value of rote memorization. However, perceptions of rote memorization may also be over-simpli®ed. Biggs (1996) argued that Asian students may initially display a docility syndrome in their learning, be receptive and compliant, operate from an external locus of control, take directions, and absorb information. But, Biggs argued, this stage is then followed by a phase when the students re¯ect on the material to understand it fully and test its usefulness by applying it in their own context. These later stages in learning show an internal locus of control, and knowledge is only accepted if it ®ts within the student's understanding and meaningful application. Yet learners have the bene®t of an extensive knowledge base from which to understand and apply their learnings. In contrast, teachers in western societies may ``well be doing their students a disservice'' by giving insucient attention to memorization as a strategy, ``labeling such behaviors as rote learning and dismissing them as inferior tools in the process of learning'' (Purdie & Hattie, 1996, p. 865). 5. Conclusions and implications The reported study oers an innovative methodology by broadening the approach traditionally used in cross-cultural studies by comparing teachers' perceptions of their own and other cultures across three countries. In addressing intercultural understanding, the I-CUE model, it is argued, provides a powerful methodology to focus on research issues, in this case the identi®cation of commonalities and dierences, from the perspectives of dierent cultures. The model does not simply make comparisons across cultures but permits the simultaneous exploration and revelation of values that are perceived as held nationally by participants' own and other cultures. In this way, the I-CUE model not only enhances the possibility of intercultural understanding by allowing reciprocal voices to be heard across cultures but, in doing so, oers a concrete application of intercultural understanding. The data revealed a number of signi®cant ®ndings. Teachers in each of the three countries expressed somewhat diering views about nationally held values thus indicating recognition of diversity within countries. Nevertheless, they clearly perceived that dierences across countries were much greater than variations within countries. Whilst this indicates the existence of dierent sets of values associated with dierent countries, the results from the three scales considered in the present study nevertheless indicated patterns of similarities and dierences in teachers' perceptions. On some occasions, teachers' views of another culture
472 C.M. Halse, N.L. Baumgart / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 24 (2000) 455±475
corresponded closely to the views of teachers from that culture while on other occasions, there were marked dierences. One could speculate about the reasons for dierences or similarities in teachers' perspectives in terms of media images, historical discourses, and contemporary rhetoric. The qualitative stage of the current research project is designed to illuminate possible explanations for dierent and similar perceptions. The results of the current study, however, raise the question of the accuracy of teachers' perceptions of these characteristics of national identity? Within Australia, for example, teachers are a relatively homogeneous group whose ethnic pro®le does not re¯ect the multicultural mix in the Australian population, and it is possible to speculate that a more heterogeneous teaching population may have held a wider range of views. By the same token, all three countries have recently introduced school curricula initiatives, particularly in Social Studies and related areas, that emphasize the mandatory teaching (and, in some instances, examination) of national history and cultural values as part of a broader movement to incorporate civics and citizenship education into schools. As a consequence, the generic role of teachers in shaping the views of future generations is underscored by their increased responsibility for de®ning and transmitting to students a coherent set of perceived `truths' about national culture, values and identity. In such an educational environment, teachers' personal perspectives of national cultural identity assume heightened signi®cance. Yet, particularly in Australia and Japan, there has been a parallel push by governments to increase the focus in school curricula on understanding other cultures and societies as a precursor to internationalizing education delivery and expanding international socio-economic interaction (Halse & Baumgart, 1996). This article has taken as an example the explicit requirement imposed on Australian teachers to incorporate studies of Asia across the curriculum in elementary and secondary schools, and argued that this task requires teachers whose intercultural understanding can enable them to discern complex and changing patterns of similarities and dierences across cultures. Yet the ®ndings of the study indicate that misperceptions continue to operate across cultures that signal a lack of accurate intercultural understanding. The conventional method for redressing such misperceptions would be through initial teacher training and professional development. However, such interventionist strategies have had limited success in changing deeply embedded perspectives and/ or behavior (e.g., Baker, 1977; Bennett, 1979; Grant, 1981; Washington, 1981), just as the ®ndings of the present study indicate that recent initiatives to educate Australian teachers about Asian countries and peoples have not in themselves been sucient to build intercultural understanding. In a world where globalization has blurred the boundaries across nation states and cultural divides through the construction of transnational economies, globally transmitted media images, and population mobility, the study's ®ndings also indicate that the concept of the nation state as described through a set of accompanying values remains ®rmly embedded in people's (or in this case, teachers') psyche. Hence, despite rhetoric that global processes will lead to cultural
C.M. Halse, N.L. Baumgart / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 24 (2000) 455±475 473
homogenization, teachers continue to perceive identi®able dierences in normative values and behaviors between nation states. This phenomena, in itself, warns against `misreading' apparent intercultural commonalities. On the other hand, post-modern resistance to categorizing nations and groups and essentializing identities may unwittingly occlude genuine cultural dierences. Thus, both perspectives embody the potential for generating new forms of ideological oppression rather than facilitating the recognition and sincere respect for cultural similarities and dierences that is the basis for genuine intercultural understanding. Hence, Homan (1996, p. 547), for instance, described her unease at observing photo collages promoting multiculturalism and labeled with key words such as `diversity', `dierences', `individuality' and `respect', because the overall impact was one of `ideological conformity' rather than ``an inherent openness and ¯exibility''. Thus, the study's ®ndings make an explicit contribution to the area of intercultural understanding by stepping beyond existing theoretical paradigms and providing empirical documentation of the perspectives held by teachers in the three target countries as a basis for facilitating genuine understanding of perceived cultural commonalities and dierences. In the light of this analysis, we would propose that increased intercultural understanding is far more likely to develop from shared programs involving reciprocal relationships across dierent cultures and geographical contexts that maximize ®rst hand opportunities to experience the cultures and perspectives of others. We would contend that intercultural communication is a precursor to enhanced intercultural understanding and that the quality of intercultural communication for teachers can be improved with opportunities for genuine dialogue and partnership across cultures. This is not to deny the need for expertise in both bicultural and bilingual domains as preparation for ``deep-level intercultural communication'' (Corson, 1997, p. 108) nor the diculties of achieving such levels of communication for more than a relatively small percentage. However, it is to argue that policy makers, teachers, and their students need to use available advances in technology, exchanges, and similar opportunities for discourse in their learning of other cultures.
Acknowledgements This research was supported under an Australian Reseach Committee 1996 Small Grant through the University of Western Sydney, Nepean. The authors gratefully acknowledge the collaboration of our collegues in the broader study: Professor Akira Ninomiya of Hiroshima University, Japan, Dr Suwaporn Semheng of the Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology, Bangkok, and Dr Ubolpong Wattanaseree of Khon Kaen University, Thailand
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