Abstract
Educators are seeking to meet student needs in increasingly diverse university classrooms. Two contrasting ways of responding to cultural difference are planning instruction on the basis of cultural styles or repertoires of culturally-based experiences (Gutiérrez & Rogoff, 2003). Use of learning styles to address individual differences in learning is relatively commonplace (Young, 2008). More controversial is the use of cultural styles that assume commonalities in approaches to learning based on cultural background. There are benefits and problems with using individual or cultural learning styles. Gutiérrez and Rogoff (2003) proposed that we abandon the use of the styles construct in favour of working with students’ repertoires of culturally-based experiences. This cultural historical approach has different views of the learner and his or her relationship to cultural communities, the learning process, and the appropriate instructional practices to address diversity. After contrasting the styles and cultural historical approaches, a compromise position is presented along with recommendations for further research and the optimal use of both the styles and cultural-historical approaches.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC). (2007, August). Canadian universities and international student mobility. Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada.
Bernhard J.K. (1995) Child development, cultural diversity, and the professional training of early childhood educators. Canadian Journal of Education 20(4): 415–436
Cole M. (1996) Cultural psychology: A once and future discipline. Belnap Press, Cambridge, MA
Dunn R., Dunn K., Price G.E. (1981) Learning styles: Research vs. opinion. Phi Delta Kappan 62(9): 645–646
Eggen P., Kauchak D. (2001) Educational psychology: Windows on classrooms (5th ed.). Merrill/Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ
Eghan F.R., Eghan T. (1996) Human-ecology students: What is their learning style?. Canadian Home Economics Journal 46(2): 78–84
Gallagher-Mackey K. (2007) Conciliator’s final report: “The Nunavut project” (Thomas R. Berger, March, 2006). Canadian Journal of Education 30(4): 1093–1104
Grasha A.F. (1996) Teaching with style: A practical guide to enhancing learning by understanding teaching and learning styles. Alliance, Pittsburg, PA
Guild, P.B. (2001). Diversity, learning style and culture. New Horizons for Learning. Retrieved May 4, 2008 from http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/styles/guild.htm
Gutiérrez K.D., Rogoff B. (2003) Cultural ways of learning: Individual traits or repertoires of practice. Educational Researcher 32(5): 19–25
Heath S.B. (1983) Ways with words. Cambridge University Press, New York
Jung, C.G. (1971). Psychological types. (Collected works of C.G. Jung, Vol. 6, 3rd ed.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Keefe J.W., Monk J.S. (1986) Learning style profile examiner’s manual. National Association of Secondary School Principals, Reston, VA
Kolb D.A. (1981) Learning styles and disciplinary differences. In: Chickering A. (ed) The modern American college. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA, pp 232–255
Kolb D. (1994) Learning styles and interdisciplinary differences. In: Feldman K., Paulson M. (eds) Teaching and learning in the college classroom. Ginn, Needham Heights, MA, pp 151–164
Kolb, A. & Kolb, D.A. (2005). Learning styles and learning spaces: Enhancing learning in higher education. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 4(2), 193-212 [Electronic edition]. Retrieved May 4, 2008 from http://www.learningfromexperience.com/research-library/#7
Kuhn, D. & Dean, D. Jr. (2007/2008). Metacognition: A bridge between cognitive psychology and educational practice. In K.M. Cauley & G.M. Pannozzo (Eds.), Annual editions: Educational psychology (23rd ed., pp. 96-100). Dubuque, IA: McGraw Hill Contelmporary Learning Series.
Lave J., Wenger E. (1991) Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK
Lowenstein K.L. (2009) The work of multicultural teacher education: Reconceptualizing white teacher candidates as learners. Review of Educational Research 79(1): 163–196
MacCleave-Frazier, A. P. (1985). Exploration of relationships among home economics educators’ learning styles, learning characteristics, and planning preferences for systems of action (Doctoral dissertation, The Pennsylvania State University.) Dissertation Abstracts International, 46, 1541A.
MacCleave, A. (1995, June). Reclaiming educational purpose: Analyzing technology-based learning experiences from alternate curriculum perspectives. Paper presented at the XXIII Annual Conference of the Canadian Society for Studies in Education, Montreal, P.Q.
MacCleave, A., James, O., & Stairs, A. (2002). Sociocultural diversity: Insights from cultural psychology for family and consumer sciences. Kappa Omicron Nu Forum, 13(2). Available at www.kon.org/archives/forum/title13-2.html
McCarthy B. (1981) The 4MAT system: Teaching to learning styles with right/left mode techniques. Excel, Oak Brook, IL
Myers I.B., McCaulley M.H., Quenk N.L., Hammer A.L. (1998) MBTI manual: A guide to the development and use of the Myers Brigg Type Indicator (3rd ed.). Consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alta, CA
Norton P., Wiburg K.M. (1998) Teaching with technology. Harcourt Brace, Fort Worth, TX
Ogbu J.U. (1988) Human intelligence testing: A cultural-ecological perspective. National Forum 68(2): 23–29
Ormrod J.E. (2003) Educational psychology: Developing learners (4th ed.). Merrill/Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ
Popadiuk N., Arthur N. (2004) Counseling international students in Canadian schools. International Journal for the Advancement of Counseling 26(2): 125–145
Redwing Saunders S.E., Hill S.M. (2007) Native education and inclassroom coalition- building: Factors and models in delivering an equitous authentic education. Canadian Journal of Education 30(4): 1015–1045
Rogoff B. (2003) The cultural nature of human development. Oxford University Press, New York
Schmeck R.R. (1998) Learning strategies and learning styles. Plenum, New York
Shweder R.A. (1990) Cultural psychology – What is it?. In: Stigler J.W., Shweder R.A., Herdt G. (eds) Cultural psychology: Essays on comparative human development. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp 1–43
Silver, H.F. & Hanson, J.R. (1996). Learning styles and strategies (3rd ed., Manual #1 in the Unity in Diversity Series). Woodbridge, NJ: The Thoughtful Education Press.
Smith H.A. (1995) Cultural psychology and semiotics: Confronting meaning in educational practice. Canadian Journal of Education 20(4): 407–414
Smith H.A. (2001) Psychosemiotics. Peter Lang, New York
Snider V.E. (1990) What we know about learning styles from research in special education. Educational Leadership 48(2): 53
Stairs A. (1996) Human development and cultural negotiation: Indigenous lessons on becoming a teacher. Journal of Educational Thought 30(3): 219–237
Vygotsky L.S. (1978) Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
Young E. (2008) Focus on global education: A report from the 2007 PDK Summit. Phi Delta Kappan 89(5): 349–353
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Maccleave, A., Eghan, F. Use of Cultural Styles or Repertoires of Experience to Guide Instruction: What Difference Does it Make?. Interchange 41, 233–253 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10780-010-9128-x
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10780-010-9128-x