Tips For Teachers

For Teachers

Teachers play a vital role in bridging cultural gaps. Students from Asian systems may arrive in Western classrooms highly disciplined but hesitant to ask questions, while Western students entering Asian systems may struggle with the relentless pace and competition.

🌻Tips for Supporting Culturally Diverse Students

1. Understanding Cultural Differences in Learning

Asian education systems (collectivist values): Emphasise respect for authority, obedience, discipline, and exam performance. Students may hesitate to speak up, ask questions, or challenge ideas because they’re used to teacher-led instruction.
Western education systems (individualist values): Encourage independence, creativity, critical thinking, and open dialogue. Students are expected to contribute ideas and manage their own learning.
Teacher takeaway: Recognise that “silence” or hesitation from Asian-background students is not disengagement but cultural conditioning. Scaffold participation gradually (e.g., small group discussions before class-wide sharing).

System differences

⬆️Click to learn system differences between Asia and the West

2. Balancing Academic Success with Wellbeing

Challenge: In Asia, success is often equated with grades, which can heighten stress and mental health risks. Western systems may underemphasise discipline, risking underperformance if students lack self-regulation.

Practical strategies for teachers:

- Build classroom culture where wellbeing and learning go hand in hand. Example: set clear expectations but also normalise discussions around stress management and workload.
- Provide opportunities for student voice (e.g., anonymous surveys about workload, optional project formats).
- Encourage students to develop resilience without burnout, balance high standards with compassion.

3. Supporting International Students’ Transition

For Asian students in Western schools:

- They may struggle with independence, time management, or speaking up. Teachers can help by giving structured guidance at first (step-by-step instructions) while gradually allowing more freedom.
- Encourage participation by framing questions positively (“What do you think?” instead of “Who knows the answer?”).
For Western students in Asian schools:
- They may feel pressured by exams and competition. Teachers can encourage peer support groups or wellbeing check-ins.
- Provide opportunities for creative outlets within rigid curricula, so they don’t feel their individuality is lost.

4. Insights from Student Voices

Student A: Asian systems create strong academic memory but risk mental health; Western systems require independence but support wellbeing.
Student B: Asia builds resilience under pressure but sacrifices creativity and social life; Western systems encourage confidence and critical thinking.
Teacher application: Teachers can use these insights to adjust expectations. E.g., help Asian students develop confidence in open discussion, and help Western students manage academic rigour when in Asia.

5. Teacher Reflection & Feedback

- Teachers play a key role in mediating between academic success and wellbeing.
- Reflection is needed: “Are we pushing students too hard?” vs “Are we challenging them enough?”
Critical connection: Teacher voices validate and contrast student perspectives, showing the importance of educators adapting approaches across contexts.

🌍 Student & Teacher Voices: Balancing Success and Wellbeing

Different Perspectives, Shared Challenges

When comparing the Asian and Western education systems, both students and teachers acknowledge that success often comes with trade-offs.

One student interviewee explained:

“In Hong Kong, teachers always assign and force students to do work, which made me less motivated. In the UK, I feel less stressed and more independent, but it requires discipline to stay on track.”

In contrast, a teacher I interviewed emphasised that while exams and academic rigour in Asia build resilience and memory skills, they also undermine student creativity and wellbeing if taken to extremes. The teacher argued that educational achievement should not come at the expense of student mental health

🧠Link to Psychology

These voices can be understood through Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Students who are constantly under academic stress may have their basic needs for rest, safety, and belonging undermined. Without these, they struggle to reach higher levels such as confidence, creativity, and self-actualisation.

Similarly, Achievement Motivation Theory explains that while pressure and competition may motivate some students, others experience “avoidance motivation,” leading to burnout, anxiety, or withdrawal. Both the student and teacher responses illustrate this: Asian systems may over-emphasise extrinsic motivation (grades, exams), while Western systems lean more on intrinsic motivation (independence, exploration).

🌟What This Means for Teachers

Hearing both perspectives helps us understand how to better support students, especially those moving between systems.

For teachers in Western systems: students from Asia may excel under structure but struggle with independence. Gradually scaffolding their learning, while encouraging questions and self-expression, helps them adapt.
For teachers in Asian systems: wellbeing must be treated as integral, not secondary. Embedding more opportunities for creativity, self-reflection, and collaboration can protect student health without sacrificing academic success.
For all teachers: wellbeing and academic performance are not opposing goals. As both voices show, students perform better when they feel supported, valued, and motivated.

More resources⬇️

⬅️this website offer a variety of services and resources to support educators teaching international students

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse