Cross-cultural communication in the music studio

American Music Teacher, August-Sept, 2002 by Kenneth Williams

Motivation and Achievement

What motivates a student to practice and to achieve success? The answer may depend on the student's cultural values. Farideh Salili, a researcher at the University of Hong Kong, explored cross-cultural differences in the meaning and dimensions of achievement among young people. The concept of success for students in some cultures is linked closely with pleasing one's parents and having friends--a manifestation of being socialized in a collectivist society. Children from these cultures are driven by a sense of duty to their parents. Equally significant, though, might be what students believe to be the causes of their success or failure. And these attitudes vary along cultural lines.

The social psychologist Bernard Weiner showed during the 1980s that judgments about the causes of achievement and failure could be important mediators of learning and behavior. (5) Weiner found that students who scored high on academic tests tended to attribute their successes to their own ability and effort while attributing their failures to external factors. External factors include bad luck, the difficulty of the test questions or poor testing conditions. During the 1990s, researchers used Weiner's theories, on motivation to compare students' attributions for achievement across cultural lines. These cross-cultural studies show that cultural factors mediate students' attitudes toward their own achievement. (6)

In Western cultures, students are more likely to attribute achievement to their innate abilities rather than their own efforts. Students from Eastern cultures tend to attribute their success more to effort. It is important to note we can control the effort we invest in learning, but we have no control over innate aptitude. Thus, students who believe their success depends on effort take more personal responsibility for their own learning. The roots of this cultural value can be found in the Confucian tradition emphasizing that every person is educable. In the Confucian tradition, the fact that there are differences in ability does not matter; education and learning are associated always with effort. Achievement through hard work in Confucian-heritage societies is more highly valued than achievement through high ability. Western cultures tend to praise those who make difficult tasks appear easy because of their own exceptional ability, as in the child prodigy phenomenon.

The contrast in these views across cultural lines not only distinguishes Eastern and Western cultures, but suggests a distinct change within Western cultures. The high value placed by Western cultures on hard work, sometimes called the "Protestant work ethic," seems to be diminishing as a source of motivation for younger generations. (7)

Acculturation: Burden or Benefit?

Culture is a dynamic force, not a static condition. Our students are shaped by influences from a variety of cultures and sources within their culture. Cultures seem to be evolving more quickly with every generation in modern society.