An investigation of cultural variations in Chinese and American arithmetic learning contexts
Abstract
The primary purpose of this study is to further investigate the origins of cross-cultural differences in the arithmetic performance of early school-age children in Taiwan and the United States. The focus of the study is an investigation of cultural differences in the development of place-value concepts of children in the two countries. The study explores the hypothesis that socioculturally supported arithmetic learning activities are the primary sources of cross-cultural differences in children's performance. It is based on interviews with six mothers, six teachers, and ten children and on analysis of video-recordings of ten lessons in one classroom in each country. The classroom ethnographies and interview data are used to construct a holistic description of cultural variations in the courses and influences of socioculturally supported learning contexts of Chinese children in Taiwan and American children. An analysis of instructional activities reveals the differences in the culture-specific interpretation and utilization of numbers in the two countries. The instructional activities used in the American classroom seem to constrain the children's development of place-value concepts whereas those used in the Chinese classroom gave children greater opportunities to develop a reasonably sophisticated understanding of these concepts. An interactional analysis of classroom video-recordings indicates that Chinese children must develop explanations to be effective, whereas American children can be effective by memorizing facts and procedures, and by developing non-arithmetical ways to figure out the response the teacher has in mind. As a consequence, Chinese children in Taiwan have greater opportunities to develop conceptually-based arithmetical knowledge than their American counterparts. An analysis of individual clinical interviews reveals that Chinese children construct relatively more sophisticated concepts of place-value numeration than do American children. The study concludes that Chinese children in Taiwan have better opportunities to develop powerful arithmetical concepts in their learning contexts. The learning contexts of American children delimit their construction of sophisticated arithmetical concepts.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Cobb, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Elementary education|Curricula|Teaching|Mathematics education
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