Thinking Styles, Culture, and Economy: Comparing Tibetan Minority Students with Han Chinese Majority Students

Li-fang Zhang; Gerard A. Postiglione; Ben Jiao

doi:10.1108/S1479-358X(2012)0000007014

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Advances in Education in Diverse Communities: Research, Policy and Praxis

ISSN: 1479-358X
Series editor(s): Professor Carol Camp-Yeakey

Subject Area: Education

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Thinking Styles, Culture, and Economy: Comparing Tibetan Minority Students with Han Chinese Majority Students

Document Information:
Title:	Thinking Styles, Culture, and Economy: Comparing Tibetan Minority Students with Han Chinese Majority Students
Author(s):	Li-fang Zhang, Gerard A. Postiglione, Ben Jiao
Volume:	7 Editor(s): Walter R. Allen, Robert T. Teranishi, Marguerite Bonous-Hammarth ISBN: 978-1-78052-640-9 eISBN: 978-1-78052-641-6
Citation:	Li-fang Zhang, Gerard A. Postiglione, Ben Jiao (2012), Thinking Styles, Culture, and Economy: Comparing Tibetan Minority Students with Han Chinese Majority Students, in Walter R. Allen, Robert T. Teranishi, Marguerite Bonous-Hammarth (ed.) As the World Turns: Implications of Global Shifts in Higher Education for Theory, Research and Practice (Advances in Education in Diverse Communities: Research, Policy and Praxis, Volume 7), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp.239-260
DOI:	10.1108/S1479-358X(2012)0000007014 (Permanent URL)
Publisher:	Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Article type:	Chapter Item
Abstract:	This study was to ascertain the validity of Sternberg's theory of mental self-government for Tibetan ethnic minority university students and to compare the thinking styles of Tibetan students with those of the Han Chinese majority students. Participants were 408 Tibetan students and 920 Han Chinese students. Furthermore, focus group interviews were conducted with two Tibetan scholars and 11 Tibetan students. Results indicated that compared with the Han students, Tibetan students scored significantly higher on the more norm-conforming thinking styles but significantly lower on the creativity-generating styles. Moreover, Tibetan students indicated a stronger preference for working with others as opposed to working independently. Discussions of these findings focus on the impact of Tibet's culture and economy upon students' thinking styles.