The nature of the human brain has preoccupied philosophers and scientists for centuries. As early as the
4th Century BCE, Greek philosophers speculated that the
anatomically distinct hemispheres of the brain implied
specialisation of function. It was not until the "splitbrain"
operations of the 1950s, however, that the precise
specialisation of each hemisphere could be demonstrated.
The right hemisphere apparently assumed responsibility
for spacial, holistic processes, while the left hemisphere
processed analytical, sequential tasks.
During that same decade, educational psychologists
observed two markedly different ways in which
individuals perceive and relate to the world. It was later
observed that these "cognitive styles" seemed directly
related to the bi-polar functions of the right and left
hemispheres of the brain. This implied a genetic basis
for cognitive style.
Subsequent research suggested that cognitive style is to a
considerable extent a result of the environment of
socialisation, and therefore, different cultures would
demonstrate different cognitive styles. Such cultural
differences in learning expectations might have serious
implications for both teachers and learners in the field of
export education.
The literature review in this study identified physical,
environmental, and experiential factors which appear to
influence cognitive style. This information formed the
basis of the biographical section of a questionnaire which
elicited the learning style preferences of pre-tertiary
students from Australia (native speakers), Indonesia and
Japan. The study posed the negative hypothesis: There
are no significant differences in patterns of cognitive
styles between cultures.
The results of the field study contradicted the negative
hypothesis, identifying significant differences in patterns
of cognitive styles between the three cultural groups.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/219191 |
| Date | January 1993 |
| Creators | McDonald, P. M., n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright P. M. McDonald |
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