Ohtsuka, Keis and Miltiadous, Maria (1997) The impact of cultural education on adolescents and their comprehension of culture-specific reading material. In: 1996 ERA/AARE Joint Conference, 25-29 November 1996, Singapore.

Abstract

The impact of cultural education on adolescents and their reading comprehension of culture specific material was assessed using fifty-five 14-15 year olds. Two experimental groups (n = 22; n = 18) received cultural education, either on Aboriginal or Indonesian culture, and then read passages about cultural conflicts. The control group (n = 15) was not given cultural education. Two passages, either on Aboriginal or Indonesian culture, presented two episodes of cultural conflicts, a universal and culture-specific example. Later participants' comprehension was assessed. A repeated-measures analysis of variance indicated that cultural education significantly improved the understanding of Indonesian culture, F(2, 52) = 18.2, MSE= .19, p < .0005. Furthermore, the opaqueness of cultural conflict within a passage had an independent significant effect on comprehension, F(2, 52) = 10.31, MSE = .22, p < .005. Motivation to interact with the culture and negation of former cultural beliefs significantly predict interest in Indonesian culture, F(2, 52) = 57.54, p< .001. There were no significant predictors of learning on Aboriginal culture. Prior knowledge predicted learning on Indonesian culture, F(2, 52) = 16.19, p< .001. The results suggest that cultural education improves adolescents' understanding of cultural information and that reader interest is in part attributed to negation of prior beliefs.

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