The effect of student cultural values on goals, generic skills and good teaching

This paper examines the relationship between Victoria University’s Master of Business students’ cultural values and their perceptions of goals, generic skills and good teaching. A total sample of 548 students was taken from Victoria University Melbourne, Australia. Students’ cultural values were obtained through Robertson and Hoffman’s (2000) Cultural Values Scale derived from the work of Hofstede (1980; 1991; 1998). The Course Experience Questionnaire developed by Ramsden (1991) was used to measure students’ course experiences through the Goals, Generic Skills and Good Teaching dimensions. Some of the major findings of this study were that high Uncertainty Avoidance and Collectivism cultural values are the key determinants of Generic Skills and Good Teaching. High Uncertainty Avoidance and Masculinity ratings are the predictors of the Goals dimension.