PERCEPTIONS OF THE APPROPRIATENESS OF NEGOTIATION IN EDUCATIONAL-SETTINGS - A CROSS-CULTURAL-COMPARISON AMONG KOREANS AND AMERICANS

This study focused on perceptions of the appropriateness of negotiatio n among Koreans and mainstream Americans. Mainstream American college students (n = 193), Korean students in the U.S. (n = 75), and Korean s tudents in Korea (n = 110) rated the appropriateness of negotiating wi th instructors and classmates in 73 situations. Results showed that wh ile there were no significant differences between Korean students in t he U.S. and in Korea, there were highly significant differences betwee n the combined Korean group and the American group. Korean found negot iation significantly less appropriate in 12 of the 13 situations (i.e. , if the instructor had calculated points in an exam incorrectly, or i f the class was not helping them learn). The findings point to the imp ortance of cultural differences for the teaching and learning process.