The influence of curriculum diversification and ethnic culture on student cognitive functioning

Abstract

This study examined the influence of curriculum diversification on student use of learning strategies; EFL Arab students’ patterns of strategy use; and how they differ from other ethnic groups in their strategy use. The study made use of positivism at the levels of ontology (one form of reality), epistemology (detachment from the subjects) and methodology (‘nomothetic’/ standardized research strategy ((survey) and instrument (questionnaires)). Data analysis involved percentages, means, oneway MANOVA (Lambda), and one-way ANOVA (Scheffe). Working with college students, the study concluded that course diversification influenced student use of compensation (but not memory, cognitive, meta-cognitive, affective, and social) strategies in favour of the scientific track of study. It also concluded that Arab learners were frequent users of meta-cognitive and social strategies but moderate users of memory, cognitive, compensation, and affective strategies. In addition, disagreement about ethnic cultures’ patterns of strategy use still continued. The study recommended that clear identification of effective cognitive strategies and styles could guide classroom-level and school-level curriculum developments and innovations and facilitate curriculum implementation (instruction). Moreover, it recommended that research should focus more on influential cognitive functioning factors (e.g., cognitive strategies and styles) than ethnic cultures. Key words: Cognitive strategies, learning styles, diversification, curriculum differentiation; foreign language learning