Power distance at school

In the large power distance situation the parent-child inequality is perpe­tuated by a teacher-student inequality which caters to the need for depen­dence well established in the student's mind. Teachers are treated with respect (older teachers even more than younger ones); students may have to stand up when they enter. The educational process is teacher-centered; teachers outline the intellectual paths to be followed. In the classroom there is supposed to be a strict order with the teacher initiating all communication. Students in class speak up only when invited to; teachers are never publicly contradicted or criticized and are treated with deference even outside school. When a child misbehaves teachers involve its parents and expect them to help in putting the child in order. The educational process is highly personalized: especially in more advanced subjects at universities what is transferred is not seen as an impersonal 'truth', but as the personal wisdom of the teacher. The teacher is a 'guru', a term derived from the Sanskrit word for 'weighty' or 'honorable', which in India and Indonesia is, in fact, what a teacher is called. In such a system the quality of one's learning is virtually exclusively dependent on the excellence of one's teachers.

In the small power distance situation teachers are supposed to treat the students as basic equals and expect to be treated as equals by the students. Younger teachers are more equal, and therefore usually more liked than older ones. The educational process is student-centered, with a premium on student initiative; students are expected to find their own intellectual paths. Students make uninvited interventions in class, they are supposed to ask questions when they do not understand something. They argue with teachers, express disagreement and criticisms in front of the teachers, and show no particular respect to teachers outside school. When a child misbehaves parents often side with the child against the teacher. The educational process is rather impersonal; what is transferred comprises 'truths' or 'facts' which exist independently of this particular teacher. Effective learning in such a system depends very much on whether the supposed two-way communication between students and teacher is, indeed, established. The entire system is based on the students' well-developed need for independence; the quality of learning is to a considerable extent determined by the excellence of the students.

Earlier in this chapter it was shown that power distance scores are lower for occupations needing a higher education, at least in countries which, as a whole, score relatively low on power distance. This means that in the latter countries, students will become more independent of teachers as they proceed in their studies: their need for dependence decreases. In large power distance countries, however, students remain dependent on teachers even after reaching high education levels.

Corporal punishment at school, at least for children of pre-pubertal age, is much more acceptable in a large power distance culture than in its opposite. It accentuates and symbolizes the inequality between teacher and student and is often considered good for the development of the child's character. In a small power distance society it will readily be classified as child abuse and may be a reason for parents to complain to the police. There are exceptions, which relate to the dimension of masculinity (versus femininity) to be described in Chapter 4: in some masculine, small power distance cultures like Britain corporal punishment at school is not considered objectionable by everybody.

Reality is somewhere in between these extremes. An important conditioning factor is the ability of the students: less gifted or handicapped children in small power distance situations will not develop the culturally expected sense of indepen­dence, and will be handled more in the large power distance way. Able children from working-class families in small power distance societies are at a disadvantage in educational institutions such as universities which assume a small power distance norm: as shown in the previous section, working-class families often have a large power distance subculture.

Date: 2015-01-02; view: 1149