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.