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De invloed van culturele factoren op een lesprogramma voor een samenwerkingsproject tussen een Nederlandse en een Cambodjaanse school

Bom, Mila (2012) De invloed van culturele factoren op een lesprogramma voor een samenwerkingsproject tussen een Nederlandse en een Cambodjaanse school.

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Abstract:In this thesis the design research is presented for the SolarSchools program of the foundation Pico Sol. Pico Sol supports small-scale applications of solar energy in developing countries and has since 2008 a local NGO in Cambodia. Authorities of Cambodia asked Pico Sol to make computer education possible with solar energy for children in the rural area. Because of this question, SolarSchools arises. SolarSchools is an educational product in which there is a connection between two schools, one in the Netherlands and one in Cambodia, in which there is communication between the schools and all this is made possible by solar energy. In 2010 research took place to discover how the program fits in the school curriculum. In the research here described, the lesson program is developed, implemented and evaluated. In het lesson program, the different cultures of the Netherlands and Cambodia meet. To take this into account, the central question is: How do cultural factors influence a lesson program for a collaborative project between a Dutch and a Cambodian school? Literature tells there are different cultural dimensions distinguishable, which can be used to look at the culture of a country. The most relevant dimensions are: 1. individualism vs. collectivism, 2. power distance, 3. uncertainty avoidance. In these dimensions it is about 1. if someone thinks from his own perspective or from the perspective of the group, 2. how great the power differences are and to which extend people accept these difference and 3. how people handle uncertainty. To answer the central question, using literature and these dimensions, the expected educational culture for the Netherlands and Cambodia is described. With this expectations design guidelines are developed. The Dutch design guidelines are used to develop the lesson program. This program is implemented in the Netherlands. At the same time the lesson program for Cambodia is, in cooperation with the teacher, changed to the Cambodian culture and also implemented. Each lesson in Cambodia has been observed and after each lesson both the Dutch and Cambodian teacher were interviewed. At the end of the series of lessons the children filled in a question form, a group discussion with the children took place and both teachers were interviewed. The observations and interviews revealed that the expected educational culture for both countries is almost totally correct. The educational culture in the Netherlands is, like expected, individualistic, there is a low power distance and low uncertainty avoidance. There is also proof that the lesson program is workable, which makes it possible to conclude that the Dutch design guidelines are relevant. The educational culture in Cambodia is, like expected, collectivistic, there is a high power distance and high uncertainty avoidance. The changes made in the Cambodian lesson program to be able to implement it, also fit with the cultural differences between the two countries. The conclusion can be made that the design guidelines for Cambodia should be different from the Dutch and should fit in with the expected educational culture of Cambodia. The influence of cultural factors on the lesson program are mostly the design guidelines and thus the pedagogy of the lessons. In the Netherlands the children want room for personal interpretation and should the teachers be involved in the learning process as much as the children. In Cambodia the learning activities should be clearly structured, is repetition important and should the teacher for the most part be responsible for the learning process. Apart from impact of culture on the teaching, the difference in level of development is also an influence on the lesson program. Because of the difference in computer skills and English skills, there is a difference in desires from both countries. In short, the cultural factors influence the pedagogy of the lesson program and the difference in development influences the desires from both countries.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:81 education, teaching
Programme:Educational Science and Technology MSc (60023)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/62301
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