Cross-Cultural Differences in Learning Style and Learning Skills

Abstract

This chapter aimed to understand how learning style and learning skills differ among three countries—Japan, Thailand, and the United States—as viewed through Kolb's experiential learning theory. The study consisted of 300 undergraduates, with 100 freshmen from each country. Results indicated that Japanese students depended the most on a feeling mode rather than a thinking mode, followed by Thai students; Americans, in contrast, strongly preferred to learn from a thinking mode. Of the 12 learning skills analyzed, nine differed by both learning style (converging or diverging) and country, while three were affected only by country. Thais showed the highest level of most learning skills, Americans were in the middle, and Japanese exhibited the lowest level of all 12 skills. A converging learning style influenced learning skill development more than a diverging learning style. This study offers theoretical and practical implications.