Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate college students’ cultural views. To this end, an exploratory study was implemented, and data mainly came from students’ essay writing (via individual reflective activities) and focused group discussion (via collective reflective activities). The participants were 176 college students taking a culture-related course. Content analysis was employed to analyze data, and a coding scheme highlighting three general cultural views (i.e. transmission, exchange, and innovation) was developed. Findings indicate that college students typically hold a more conservative, transmission-oriented view that sees culture mainly as a legacy left by previous generations. They did not also see culture as something that should be further improved or innovated (an innovation-oriented view). In addition, students’ discussion also showed that they had a superficial understanding of why culture is important for the overall progress of a society. Some implications for curricular and instructional designs for promoting cultural awareness and multiculturism were discussed.

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