TRANSFER OF LEARNING AND THE CULTURAL MATRIX
Culture, Beliefs and Learning in Thailand Higher Education
Dr. Jonathan H. Green
Through this research, Jonathan Green has contributed to the body of knowledge about transfer of learning. His rigorous research investigates transfer in the context of learners’ personal epistemology and culture, yielding a culturally relative understanding of transfer that is highly relevant in today’s increasingly diverse classrooms. The findings, which have implications for educators in a wide range of educational contexts, will be of particular interest to those who teach in internationalized and multicultural institutions.
Alexander Nanni, Director, Preparation Center for Languages and Mathematics at Mahidol University International College, Thailand This is not only a fascinating study, but also a very important one. Engaging with crucial issues of transfer of learning, academic literacy, student beliefs and cultural influences, the research offers valuable insights for enhancing educational achievement in increasingly diverse contexts. The author makes rigorous use of mixed research methods in order to explore a particularly interesting international college in Thailand. The insights from the research have far wider applicability, however, and can inform further research in other contexts. I am delighted that this work is being made available to a wide audience.
Professor Terry Lamb, Professor of Languages and Pedagogy, Director of Learning and Teaching, Senate Award Fellow for Sustained Excellence in Learning and Teaching, President, Fédération Internationale des Professeurs de Langues Vivantes Jonathan Green has produced a detailed and relevant contribution to the discussion on the topic of the transfer of learning. His study sheds new light on the issue of transference and highlights the importance of this issue in relation to course outcomes and syllabus design, especially with regard to EAP (English for Academic Purposes) curricula at pathways schools and international colleges. The future applications of this research are enormous and promise to have a long lasting influence on this field of study. Rhys William Tyers, Subject Leader, English for Academic Purposes, Trinity College, The University of Melbourne With a focus on the context of an English for General Academic Purposes Program at a Thai University, Green presents a comprehensive analysis of learners' personal epistemologies. Educational leaders, language program developers, researchers, and instructors would find this text useful. A strong contribution to studies on learners' beliefs. Dr. A. Cendel Karaman, Assoc. Prof., Middle East Technical University, Turkey At a time when the debate on education prioritizes the transfer of learning as the focus of teaching models in advanced societies, Jonathan Green´s research offers a sophisticated analysis of empirical data to move forward in understanding the belief systems of the learners and their relation to learning transfer reviewing the rooted cultural matrix model, and incorporating the perceptions of students with international and intercultural educational background. This research work is brilliantly illustrated by narrative episodes.
Dr. Manuel Fernandez Cruz, Professor, University of Granada, Spain Original thought provoking, high quality research that extends our knowledge of transfer of learning in relation to multicultural tertiary students in international education settings. Deep insights are gained, through use of the researcher's Measure of Academic Literacy (MALT), a new tool that explored issues of context and cultural values and beliefs, and metacognitive knowledge in transfer of learning.
Associate Professor Shirley O’Neill, Applied Linguistics Discipline Coordinator, School of Linguistics, Adult and Specialist Education, University of Southern Queensland |
This study, conducted in an international college in Thailand, aimed to understand the transfer of learning from an undergraduate academic literacy programme to the disciplines. In so doing, it adopted a cultural matrix to investigate the interrelationship among students’ perceptions of transfer of learning, their personal beliefs about knowledge, knowing and learning, and their secondary school backgrounds. A three-part questionnaire, supplemented by purposive semi-structured interviews, was used to collect data from all consenting students from the final course in a four-trimester programme. The first part of the questionnaire employed the Epistemic Beliefs Inventory (EBI) in gauging students’ beliefs about knowing and learning, the second part comprised the Measure of Academic Literacy (MALT) , which measure students’ perceptions of transfer of learning from the academic literacy programme to the disciplines, and the third part of the questionnaire surveyed students’ demographic details, specifically with regard to their secondary school context. Data were then analysed to establish the interrelationship between these data sets. Open-ended questions to the MALT section of the questionnaire were analysed, and, in order to illustrate and further understand the data analysis from the questionnaire, trained interviewers conducted semi-structured interviews.
This study should be required reading for high school teachers, who are still overly concerned with the process of instruction. This work makes it clear that the context and the individual student are just as worthy of our attention. In encouraging a "culturally pluralistic" paradigm, it nudges the reader towards a more egalitarian way of perceiving new learning. Charles Kusner, High School English Teacher, The Kenmont School, South Africa The field of quality teaching and learning is a complex and dynamic one. Jonathan Green's book on the transfer of learning makes an original contribution to this field in that it adds value to the discourse on influences and forces impacting on quality student learning. Learning is not a one-directed process, characterised by teacher-centeredness, but one where students are at the centre. Understanding how students perceive and experience their own learning is a key to unlocking their potential. This is a long-overdue publication. Professor Arend E. Carl, Vice-Dean: Teaching, Stellenbosch University, South Africa As a foreign language education researcher, teacher, learner, and user, I fully and deeply realize the value of Dr. Jonathan Green’s gorgeous work in his mixed study of transfer of learning and the interrelationship of culture, beliefs, and learning and the improvement that the fascinating cultural matrix will bring to language education. This book is innovative, insightful and an invaluable resource for students and teachers engaged in world languages education.
—Dr. Jianfang Xiao, Associate Professor, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, China |
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