According to the Asmolov’s dichotomous conception cultures are divided into «cultures of practicality» and «cultures of value». Function of educational institutions in cultures of practicality is to educate the individual within the framework of the generally accepted rules. During learning the student receives the background knowledge necessary for becoming a part of the society. In cultures of value vice versa the educational process is aimed at the education of the autonomous «person».
Type
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Culture of practicality
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Culture of value
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| Values of the culture | Balance, adaptation, consumption, exploitation, manipulation («To possess many») | Development, search, commitment to individuality, freedom («To be many») | |
| Educational paradigm | Unitary, commitment to training, acquisition of knowledge, expertise and skills | Variable, commitment to the development, understanding of implications | |
| Objectives of learning | Safety, conformance | Comfort, adaptation to typical situations, focused specialization | Form of holistic view of the world providing problem-solving in the wide range of uncertain situations, self-evolution of the individual, increase of the population mobility |
| View of life | Stationary world | World as a set of patterns | Changing world |
| Recommended type of tasks | Receptive | Reproductive | Problem and search |
| Relevant problem-solving | Accurate following of the standard stages set of problem-solving | Application of the past experience schemes, exhaustive search in memory of current solving options | Transformation, generation of new objectives and goals, tendency towards the placement of super-objectives, innovation |
| Tutor’s behavior | Administrative, commanding, directive, mobilization | Program, objective, commitment to the development | |
On the basis of the abovementioned characteristics we can draw the conclusion that in different cultural groups there are fundamentally different objectives and learning tools: cultural characteristics influence on not only the organization of the learning but also the arrangement of the educational communication between the student and the tutor which forms the essential component of the educational process.