In this article, we highlight three assumptions about culture that guide our research: (1) culture is lived but often implicitly; (2) philosophical origins illuminate cultural core values in the here and now; and (3) cultures differ. We focus on learning both in European-heritage and in Confucian-heritage cultures. To address the central question…

Little research exists on humility in human learning and from a cultural perspective. This article reviews current research and conceptualizes humility as a basic human potential that can become a virtue when cultivated. But the cultivation depends on the cultural values placed on humility. Although humility is recognized in the West, ambivalence…

Background: Kindergarten is the age at which children's future time perspective emerges. This capacity enables them to form goals based on past and ongoing experiences and project themselves in the future. This development may play an important role in guiding children in self-regulated learning. When faced with the conflict between their need to…

Maternal warmth, the quality of the affectional bond between mothers and their children, has been found to be consistently associated with children's positive developmental outcomes in Western cultures. However, researchers debate the potential differences in the cultural meanings of maternal warmth, particularly between Chinese and European…

Little cross-cultural research exists on parental socialization of children's learning beliefs. The current study compared 218 conversations between European American and Taiwanese mothers and children (6-10 years) about good and poor learning. The findings support well-documented cultural differences in learning beliefs. European Americans…

Western and East Asian people hold fundamentally different beliefs about learning that influence how they approach child rearing and education. Reviewing decades of research, Dr. Jin Li presents an important conceptual distinction between the Western mind model and the East Asian virtue model of learning. The former aims to cultivate the mind to…

The developing views of the purposes of school learning (PSLs) and related achievement among immigrant Chinese preschoolers and their European American (EA) age-mates were examined. Both culture and socioeconomic status (SES) were considered simultaneously, an often neglected research approach to studying Asian children. One hundred and fifty…

Examined the Chinese model of learning using the Chinese term, "hao-xue-xin" (heart and mind for wanting to learn.) College students described ideal learners. They considered learning a process of moral striving (self-perfection) that stressed seeking knowledge and cultivating passion for lifelong learning, fostering diligence, enduring…

The purpose of this study was to examine cultural influences on conceptual orientations of learning in U.S. and Chinese preschoolers. A sample of 188 preschoolers 4-6 years of age provided free-narrative responses to 2 story beginnings about the learning behavior of 2 protagonists, 1 who worked hard and 1 who gave up. Results showed that despite…

Used prototype methods of cognitive science to collect free associations of learning-related words and phrases from Chinese and American college seniors. Found that both cultures had a large set of conceptions about learning but that there was little overlap between the models of learning. Most striking was the near absence of references to hard…

This volume overall provides a compelling description of what respect entails and how it functions and emerges in childhood and adolescence. This construct requires further conceptual clarification and study across cultures. The strength of this volume lies in its cultural perspective and diverse empirical approaches.

Two studies were conducted to examine perceptions about achievement and achieving peers in 190 U.S. and Chinese kindergartners. Children provided free-narrative responses to story beginnings about an achieving protagonist in school settings. We found marked cultural differences. For achievement, U.S. children perceived more intellectual…

Despite much research on Chinese children's learning achievement, little research exists on their early development of beliefs about learning. This study examined the perceptions of purposes for and affective and value expression toward learning among 129 Chinese preschoolers aged 3-6 years. To tap culturally valid perspectives, free narratives…