Resumen de Comparing the behavioural differences of teachers and students in learner-centred classrooms between China and the USA

Hong-Yu Cheng, Xiao-Xue Mei, Ru-Meng Tian

• This research was designed to examine how teachers and students from various cultures (China vs. USA) might present distinct behavioural features in learner-centred classrooms. The findings of the research would serve the purpose to answer the question regarding whether and how learner-centred instruction could better support the learning of students from non-Western cultures. Chinese students experiencing learner-centred instruction (the experimental group), Chinese students from traditional classrooms (the control group), and American students responded to measures assessing their perceived teacher behaviours, and their own learning behaviours along with other two highly relevant variables, namely academic motivation and self-efficacy. The results indicated that Chinese teachers and students in the experimental group presented certain distinct behavioural features in comparison to both control group and American group. It suggested that the implementation of learner-centred instruction brought certain behavioural changes for Chinese teachers and students. However, on the other hand, their behavioural changes were not completely consistent with expectations. For instance, Chinese teachers in the experiment group did not present better performance in empowerment and individualized instruction, and their students did not exhibit more autonomous and self-directed learning behaviours as expected. The implications of the research were discussed in the paper.