Education. The value of western and eastern education.
In general, many believe that there are features of western education system differentiates from those of eastern education system. I feel that both education systems incorporate culture values into the process of thought. In addition to development of globalization, cross-cultural communication seems critical, especially when it comes to negotiations in business scenarios or in social interactions. It is vital to understand that fundamental principles of culture values determine essential structures of western education and eastern education.
The predominant distinction between both education systems derived from social context cultures. Westerners are usually recognized themselves from low context cultures which are more task-focused with linear communication to get straight to the point in a clear, precise and accurate way. On the contrary, due to influence of Confucianism, eastern people from high-context cultures tend to more relationship-focused in order to build trust, to maintain harmony within groups, and to avoid conflicts. As a result of that, some criticize that eastern education has an inclination to look for standardized approaches. Students seek certainty in accepted rules. Memorizing all the materials is the main method for students to pass the examinations. By contrast, many believe that developing skills of critical thinking, problem solving and generating new ideas is the foundation of western education. Teachers would use a process of debates so that students could have opposing views in order to evaluate differences and finally reach conclusions. It could be argued that both methodologies have their merits and pitfalls for learning in schools.
Furthermore, the reason why Asian parents take university degree so seriously because this idea has been adopted from social class perspective since ancient China, scholars ranked the top of the society and followed by farmers, artisans and merchants. It is common to see Asian students attend cram schools to enhance some subjects of low scores. Take Taiwan for example, in 1980’s, many scholars studied in the U.S. and admired western educational system. They tried to change the whole eastern learning mind-set and adapted western value of independent thinking. Yet, as Taiwan is formed in a high-context society, this modified educational policy of laying equal emphasis on the five disciplines- moral, intellectual, physical, social and aesthetic, caused more pressure and stress because students need to join more classes relevant to music, sports, art, etc. In addition to the unsolid social welfare system in Asia, cram schools seem be a replacement for baby-sitter institutions for those parents who work for longer hours and are not able to accompany their children after school. Without consideration of original culture values, it seems to me that twisted changes have a great impact on emotional exhaustion of not only for the students, but also the society.With the development of technology in recent years, digital communication facilitates social connection regardless of distances and time restrictions. The world has become a global village. Intercultural communication through various social activities, such as business, travelling, overseas studies, and immigration, enhances recognition of diversified cultural backgrounds. Having knowledge of different education systems could help people to be more open to listen and to change existing stereotypes and prejudices for better understanding with each other. Furthermore, I believe that to persevere cross-cultural communication could develop a more comprehensive education system. Each educational structure has its pros and cons. This is not an either black or white decision. Globalization has influenced ways of thinking, beliefs, values, and identity. How to learn from both methodologies is crucial to face the rapidly shifting world and to have more empathy in human connections.
