Cross-Cultural Interpretations of the Concept of Teacher

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to determine if the concept of teacher varied across cultures. The hypothesis stated that the participating Indian cultural group would select a child-oriented teacher and that the participating non-Indian cultural group would select a task-oriented teacher. A COTOS scale (Child-Oriented-Task-Oriented Scale) was devised that consisted of 16 statements that, described a task-oriented teacher and 16 statements that described a child-oriented teacher. The respondents rated the importance of each statement by circling numbers from (1) to (9). Unimportance was indicated by circling (1), while circling (9) meant the statement was extremely important. According to the ANOVA, the Indian cultural group on the whole indicated a preference for a task-oriented teacher. The adult Indians showed an inclination towards a child-oriented teacher, but the young male Indians preferred a task-oriented teacher while the young Indian females indicated a strong tendency towards a task-oriented teacher. The non-Indian cultural group, on the whole indicated a preference for a child-oriented teacher and the young females indicated a preference for a child-oriented teacher. The young males preferred a task-oriented teacher. From the results it was concluded that the concept of teacher varied in the Indian and non-Indian samples involved in this study. A teacher preference in one culture may not be the teacher preference in another culture.