Cultural Values and Student Learning Style Preferences: Implications for Course Satisfaction

Abstract

This paper presents results from two studies that have been conducted with higher education business students at Victoria University, Melbourne Australia. The first study examines the relationship between business students' demographics, cultural values profile and the level of course satisfaction of 548 higher education business students. Similar to the first study Robertson and Hoffman's (2000) Cultural Values Scale, derived from the work of Hofstede (1980; 1991; 1998) was used to gauge students' cultural values profile, and a course satisfaction measure was derived from the work of Netemeyer, Krishnan, Pullig, Wang, Yagci, Dean, Ricks and Wirth (2004) and Harris and Uncles (2000). A major finding of this second study was that high Collectivism and high Uncertainty Avoidance ratings and Participant Age form the key determinants of Course Satisfaction. The second study examines the relationship between business students' cultural values profile and the Teacher-Driven learning preferences of 364 higher education business students. Two empirically driven inventories were used: Robertson and Hoffman's (2000) Cultural Values Scale, derived from the work of Hofstede (1980; 1991; 1998), and Honey and Mumford's (1992) Learning Style Questionnaire, derived from Kolb's (1974; 1976) theoretical framework. A major finding of this study was that high Masculinity, high Confucian, high Uncertainty Avoidance and high Collectivism ratings form the characteristics of the Teacher-Driven learning style.