The higher education community is inherently multicultural: Finland itself is culturally and ethnically diverse. Exchange students and immigrants further enrich this diversity. Some degree programmes or courses are delivered in languages other than Finnish, enabling smoother participation for students who do not speak Finnish. Even in Finnish-language education, it is important to take into account the varied cultural and linguistic backgrounds found among students.
What do we mean by cultural awareness?
To begin with, it is important to understand the concept of culture. Many definitions emphasise collectivism as a key feature of culture. At its core, culture represents a shared way of understanding and interpreting the world – it connects members of a group while distinguishing them from others. Cultures evolve and intermingle, yet they are also preserved across generations through communication and the transfer of accumulated knowledge.
Our own culture often remains invisible unless we consciously reflect on how it shapes our behaviour and mindset. Cultural awareness means recognising one’s own way of interpreting the world and understanding it as one among many possible perspectives.
In an educational context, cultural awareness involves identifying what we take for granted in learning, for example, our assumptions about learning methods and the learning culture we have adopted. It refers to the ability to examine our own thinking and behaviour, recognise differences, and act flexibly without assigning greater value to one approach over another. A culturally aware teacher or instructor understands how their own culture influences their teaching practices.
Cultural awareness does not mean mastering every cultural practice or having answers to all questions; rather, it involves listening openly and exploring the different meanings individuals bring to interactions.
Learning cultures
Based on well-known cultural dimensions, we can make some assumptions about how general cultural differences affect learning cultures. For example, Hofstede’s dimensions (Hofstede 2005) – power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, and short-term/long-term orientation – have been linked to variations in learning cultures.
Evidence suggests differences in collectivism/individualism and power distance between European and Asian learning cultures (see, for example, Apfelthaler et al. 2007). It is useful to learn about these differences and how they may manifest in learning environments. However, regional, socio-economic and individual differences also intersect with cultural variation.
The right to learn in one’s own cultural way?
Lixian Jin and Martin Cortazzi (eg Cortazzi & Jin 2002) have researched Asian and Western students’ learning concepts. In one of their studies (Jin & Cortazzi 2017), they examined university students’ attitudes towards asking questions in class, revealing significant differences between Chinese and British students.
Chinese students viewed active learning as primarily listening. They preferred to postpone questions until after the lecture or not ask them at all. This was not due to timidity or fear of losing face; rather, they felt questions should be carefully formulated, which was difficult within the time constraints of a lesson. They also wanted to respect the teacher and believed that asking questions that may not interest others wasted the other students’ time. In addition, they believed that a well-prepared teacher would revisit important topics later.
In contrast, British students considered asking questions and participating in discussions as active learning. They believed teachers expected questions and might even leave gaps intentionally to stimulate thinking and discussion.
Chinese students perceived British students as disrespectful and lacking self-control, while British students interpreted Chinese students as shy, passive or indifferent. These misinterpretations of behaviour, rooted in different learning concepts, led to misunderstandings about personality (Jin & Cortazzi, 2017, p. 243).(Jin & Cortazzi 2017, 243).
This case raises an important question: to what extent should students in an international learning environment have the right to learn in their own cultural way when learning concepts collide? In multicultural settings, adaptation is inevitable. Are we willing to embrace diversity and remain flexible so that even minority students do not feel their learning concepts are belittled or their learner identity threatened?