Power distance in online learning: Experience of Chinese learners in U.S. higher education

The purpose of this research study was to explore the influence of Confucian-heritage culture on Chinese learners’ online learning and engagement in online discussion in U.S. higher education. More specifically, this research studied Chinese learners’ perceptions of power distance and its impact on...

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Autor principal:	Yi (Leaf) Zhang
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Athabasca University Press 2013
Materias:	online learning Chinese learners Power distance Special aspects of education LC8-6691
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/6795f4e3b34e4d50aac6f1150575be06
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id	oai:doaj.org-article:6795f4e3b34e4d50aac6f1150575be06
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:6795f4e3b34e4d50aac6f1150575be062021-12-02T19:25:29ZPower distance in online learning: Experience of Chinese learners in U.S. higher education10.19173/irrodl.v14i4.15571492-3831https://doaj.org/article/6795f4e3b34e4d50aac6f1150575be062013-09-01T00:00:00Zhttp://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1557https://doaj.org/toc/1492-3831 The purpose of this research study was to explore the influence of Confucian-heritage culture on Chinese learners’ online learning and engagement in online discussion in U.S. higher education. More specifically, this research studied Chinese learners’ perceptions of power distance and its impact on their interactions with instructors and peers in an online setting. This study was conducted at a research university in the southwestern U.S. Twelve undergraduate students from the Confucian-heritage culture, including mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, participated in the study. This study provided evidence that the online setting benefited these Chinese learners’ engagement in class discussion, but it may increase the level of anxiety in their participation. Learning, perceived by the Chinese learners, was more instructor-centered. Instructors were viewed as authorities, major sources of knowledge, and possessed high power to students. As a result, when encountering difficulties in learning, the Chinese learners were intimidated to interact with their instructors. Instead, they tended to seek help from peers, particularly those who shared similar cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Yi (Leaf) ZhangAthabasca University Pressarticleonline learningChinese learnersPower distanceSpecial aspects of educationLC8-6691ENInternational Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, Vol 14, Iss 4 (2013)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	online learning Chinese learners Power distance Special aspects of education LC8-6691
spellingShingle	online learning Chinese learners Power distance Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Yi (Leaf) Zhang Power distance in online learning: Experience of Chinese learners in U.S. higher education
description	The purpose of this research study was to explore the influence of Confucian-heritage culture on Chinese learners’ online learning and engagement in online discussion in U.S. higher education. More specifically, this research studied Chinese learners’ perceptions of power distance and its impact on their interactions with instructors and peers in an online setting. This study was conducted at a research university in the southwestern U.S. Twelve undergraduate students from the Confucian-heritage culture, including mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, participated in the study. This study provided evidence that the online setting benefited these Chinese learners’ engagement in class discussion, but it may increase the level of anxiety in their participation. Learning, perceived by the Chinese learners, was more instructor-centered. Instructors were viewed as authorities, major sources of knowledge, and possessed high power to students. As a result, when encountering difficulties in learning, the Chinese learners were intimidated to interact with their instructors. Instead, they tended to seek help from peers, particularly those who shared similar cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
format	article
author	Yi (Leaf) Zhang
author_facet	Yi (Leaf) Zhang
author_sort	Yi (Leaf) Zhang
title	Power distance in online learning: Experience of Chinese learners in U.S. higher education
title_short	Power distance in online learning: Experience of Chinese learners in U.S. higher education
title_full	Power distance in online learning: Experience of Chinese learners in U.S. higher education
title_fullStr	Power distance in online learning: Experience of Chinese learners in U.S. higher education
title_full_unstemmed	Power distance in online learning: Experience of Chinese learners in U.S. higher education
title_sort	power distance in online learning: experience of chinese learners in u.s. higher education
publisher	Athabasca University Press
publishDate	2013
url	https://doaj.org/article/6795f4e3b34e4d50aac6f1150575be06
work_keys_str_mv	AT yileafzhang powerdistanceinonlinelearningexperienceofchineselearnersinushighereducation
_version_	1718376564571242496

Power distance in online learning: Experience of Chinese learners in U.S. higher education

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