Adult learning across cultures
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Adult learning across cultures
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[post_date] => 2025-01-08 09:43:07
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[post_content] => Practice Passage (Question 1-6)
*This passage is the property of Khan Academy and has been reformatted into an AAMC-style interface in their entirety by MedLife Mastery. MedLife Mastery does not endorse and is not an affiliate of Khan Academy.
In contrast to how Westerners view knowledge as solely for the individual, non-Westerners tend to view knowledge as communal. What is learnt is meant to be shared. Professor Sharan B. Merriam, an expert in adult education, gives a wonderful illustration from Islam of this principle: If a village has no doctor, then the villagers pool together their resources to send one of their youth to medical school so that when he returns, the community will have a doctor.
Another characteristic of learning cross culturally is that it does not stop once the person has left a formal institution. In fact, the majority of learning happens outside of formal institutions. One can learn about nature and the cycles of life through gardening, for instance. Professor Merriam contrasts this type of learning with learning geared towards bettering one’s vocation which is prevalent in Western culture. There is a remunerative aspect tied to learning in that the learner acquires skills to help him produce more or faster. Additionally, in contrast to Western culture, non-Western cultures view learning as lifelong. It only ends when the person dies. Thus, learning occurs solely for the sake of learning.
Finally, learning is holistic, incorporating the whole person beyond just the mind. Neuroanthropologist Greg Downey’s article, “Balancing between cultures,” attests to this as he alludes to the fact that learning the Brazilian martial art of capoeira has influenced the way he carries his body. His sense of balance had been shaped by the many many hours of training that he spent practicing bananeira, a dynamic handstand that required the doer to ignore his natural inclination to look down to maintain his balance, instead demanding that he keep his eyes on his adversary at all times. The art of yoga is yet another example of how learning goes beyond the mind-body dichotomy that we have established in Western society. Yoga seeks to balance the mind, body, and spirit in an effort to move the whole person towards enlightenment.
What it means to be educated even varies across cultures. In one longitudinal study, conducted by education scholar Esther Prins, for Salvadoran adult learners, being educated encompassed not just book knowledge, but rather a holistic melding of social knowledge as well. Treating others with respect regardless of their station in life was considered one of the hallmarks of an educated person. Professor Prins conducted interviews of 12 Salvadoran adults from rural El Salvador, none of whom had had more than six years of schooling. One of the participants recounted an incident in which he went into a bank and was asked by a bank employee to “put his cebolleta here.” Though the term in this case referred to signature, it is considered insulting and would never have been used with someone of higher status. Thus, whilst the bank employee was educated in the technical sense, he was not an educated person in the Salvadoran sense.
Other participants corroborated the importance of learning proper social etiquette as part of their education. One participant claimed that before the literacy classes, she did not have the correct vocabulary to address people. She claimed that people often looked down on the campesinos, those from the country, because of the seemingly brusque way in which they interacted with others.
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[quiz_unique_key] => 578908434
[question] => The author’s argument suggests that the primary motive of people in Western culture who pursue education is to:
[value] => Array
(
[answer] => 1
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
This is a “Foundations of Comprehension” question which is asking you to recognize an accurate paraphrase or summary of the central theme or of particular statements in the passage, or to interpret word choices made by the author.
In paragraph 2 the author describes “learning geared towards bettering one’s vocation which is prevalent in Western culture.” This statement is consistent with option 1. The passage does not mention anything about social status (option 2), economic independence (option 3), or competition being a driving force behind the pursuit of education in Western culture (option 4).
Option 1 is correct.
)
[answers] => Array
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[0] => Array
(
[each_answer] => A. formally pursue a vocation for individual gain.
)
[1] => Array
(
[each_answer] => B. accumulate higher social status and respect.
)
[2] => Array
(
[each_answer] => C. obtain economic independence and security.
)
[3] => Array
(
[each_answer] => D. remain competitive in a capitalist economy.
)
)
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[1] => Array
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[quiz_unique_key] => 3873426850
[question] => Which of the following assumptions is most critical to the main point the author is making about the Brazilian practice of Capoeira?
[value] => Array
(
[answer] => 4
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
This is a “Reasoning Within the Text” question, which means that it directs your attention to an argument, claim, or theme presented in the passage, and tests your ability to analyze and evaluate the strength of evidentiary relationships among component parts of an argument.
The passage is about ways that non-westerners view education differently from Westerners. In paragraph 3, the author presents Capoeira as an “example of how learning goes beyond the mind-body dichotomy that we have established in Western society.” Thus, the author seems to be assuming that Capoeira is a form of education (option 4). It is not critical to the author’s main point that Capoeira improves physical balance (option 2). It would also not affect the author’s argument if Brazilians practice Capoeira less than they used to (option 3), or if Westerners engaged in physical activities similar to Capoeira (option 1).
Option 4 is correct.
)
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[0] => Array
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[each_answer] => A. Westerners do not engage in physical activities similar to Capoeira.
)
[1] => Array
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[each_answer] => B. Capoeira improves a person’s physical balance.
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[each_answer] => C. Brazilians no longer practice Capoeira as frequently as before.
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[each_answer] => D. Capoeira is a form of education.
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[2] => Array
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[quiz_unique_key] => 83407773
[question] => In the country of Dimonbaru, it is inappropriate to engage in workplace formality with colleagues of the same professional status. Suppose a renowned neurosurgeon from Boston works in Dimonbaru, and he is viewed as uneducated for greeting his fellow physician colleagues in a very formal manner. This is an illustration of which of the following scholarly findings mentioned in the passage?
[value] => Array
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[answer] => 3
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
This is a “Reasoning Beyond the Text” question, which means that it wants you to either apply or extrapolate the ideas in the passage to new situations or to assess how new information would impact the ideas presented in the passage. It is important to understand the assumptions underlying the article, and how new information may or may not shift the central thesis.
Sharan B. Merriam’s finding was not that non-western education rejects formality (option 1), but that non-western education encompasses endeavors that go beyond formal institutions (paragraph 2). Merriam’s finding that communities often view education as a means to serve the collective, rather than just the needs of the individual, doesn’t mean that non-western education completely rejects individualism (option 2). Also, the example of the neurosurgeon’s formality also does not invoke any notions of individualism. The neurosurgeon’s formality was not disrespectful or insulting (option 4), unlike Prin’s specific example of the bank employee who treated a customer like he was low-status. Rather, the surgeon’s overly formal greeting violated social norms in a more general way that is consistent with the passage’s broader interpretation of Prin’s work that being educated involves “a holistic melding of social knowledge as well.” (option 3)
Option 3 is correct.
)
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[0] => Array
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[each_answer] => A. Sharan B. Merriam’s finding that non-western education often rejects formality.
)
[1] => Array
(
[each_answer] => B. Sharan B. Merriam’s finding that non-western education often rejects individualism.
)
[2] => Array
(
[each_answer] => C. Esther Prin’s finding that education sometimes involves social knowledge.
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[3] => Array
(
[each_answer] => D. Esther Prin’s finding that treating others with respect is a sign of being educated.
)
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[3] => Array
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[quiz_unique_key] => 872728905
[question] => Suppose that public schools across the United States have implemented mandatory interfaith “prayer” hours at the start of the school day. In light of this information, the author’s position would be:
[value] => Array
(
[answer] => 4
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
This is a “Reasoning Beyond the Text” question, which means that it wants you to either apply or extrapolate the ideas in the passage to new situations or to assess how new information would impact the ideas presented in the passage. It is important to understand the assumptions underlying the article, and how new information may or may not shift the central thesis.
A central theme of the passage is discussing differences between Western and non-Western views of education, A main point in paragraph 3 is that Western education is less “holistic” and fails to “go beyond the mind” to include the “body, and spirit”. The United States is a part of the “West.” Thus, if non-Western and Western education were actually more similar (option 1) or if Western educational practice was more holistic than previously described (option 2), then this would weaken, not strengthen the author’s argument. The author does not imply that formal education is a purely Western practice or that spiritual education is inherently less formal than typical academics (option 3). The author’s main argument that Western education “fails to go beyond the mind” would be weakened if schools included a non-intellectual spiritual activity like prayer (option 4).
Option 4 is correct.
)
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[0] => Array
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[each_answer] => A. strengthened, since it would reveal similarity between non-Western and Western education.
)
[1] => Array
(
[each_answer] => B. strengthened, because it would show that the Western education is holistic.
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[2] => Array
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[each_answer] => C. weakened, since prayer would make school education less formal.
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[each_answer] => D. weakened, since prayer is a spiritual endeavor that goes beyond intellectual training.
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[quiz_unique_key] => 3143847772
[question] => Which statement best captures the overarching theme of the passage? “Western education
[value] => Array
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[answer] => 3
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
This is a “Foundations of Comprehension” question which is asking you to recognize an accurate paraphrase or summary of the central theme or of particular statements in the passage, or to interpret word choices made by the author.
The question is asking you to identify an overarching theme. While three of the options do highlight aspects of Western views on education mentioned in the passage, you are looking for the option that captures all of those aspects. The author mentions in paragraph 2 that Western education is more focused on advancing one’s vocation (option 1) than other cultures. Paragraph 3 discusses yoga, and how other cultures value education “beyond the mind” (option 2). Finally, paragraph 1 asserts that Western culture is less-community focused (option 4). The option that encompasses these three issues and others into a single overarching theme is the idea that other cultures view education more broadly than the West (option 3).
Option 3 is correct.
)
[answers] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[each_answer] => A. overly emphasizes the importance of vocational skills.
)
[1] => Array
(
[each_answer] => B. does not take into account spirituality.
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[2] => Array
(
[each_answer] => C. is more narrow than in some other cultures.
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[3] => Array
(
[each_answer] => D. is not as focused on the greater community.
)
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[5] => Array
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[quiz_unique_key] => 3143847772
[question] => Which of the following ideas about attitudes in non-Western cultures does the author try to support by discussing Yoga?
[value] => Array
(
[answer] => 4
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
This is a “Reasoning Within the Text” question, which means that it directs your attention to an argument, claim, or theme presented in the passage, and tests your ability to analyze and evaluate the strength of evidentiary relationships among component parts of an argument.
All of the options are ideas presented in the passage, but the author only refers to Yoga in support of one of them. Yoga is mentioned in paragraph 3, when the author claims that non-Western education “goes beyond the mind” to include endeavors like yoga, to achieve mind, body, and spirit balance (option 4). Paragraph 5 gives the example of how brusque mannerisms of people in the countryside in El Salvador can signal a lack of education to others (option 2). Paragraph 4 gives an example of someone well-educated “in the technical sense” but who was not viewed as an “educated person” because he did not display an appropriate level of cultural sensitivity (option 3). Paragraph 2 discusses life-long learning beyond formal education (option 1), but uses gardening as an example, not yoga.
Option 4 is correct.
)
[answers] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[each_answer] => A. learning is a lifelong process.
)
[1] => Array
(
[each_answer] => B. mannerisms can indicate educational status.
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[2] => Array
(
[each_answer] => C. years of schooling is not enough to make you an “educated person”.
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[each_answer] => D. less intellectual endeavors are valued as a form of enlightenment.
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