Collectivistic versus individualistic cultures: a comparison of American, Australian and Chinese music education students' self‐esteem

Abstract

Self‐esteem is often cited as an important personal competency for teachers. However, most self‐esteem research, particularly within teacher education and music teacher education, is framed exclusively within a European–American context. Since individuals from different cultures may tend to think about themselves in diverse ways, and given the importance of self‐esteem in the development of a music teacher, the purpose of this study was to compare levels of self‐esteem of 141 music education majors from America, Australia and China. Findings of this study reinforce those of previous studies showing that cultural groups diverge in their perceptions of self. In particular, Chinese music education students show a statistically significant lower level of self‐esteem than their western counterparts do. In addition to identifying different levels of self‐esteem, this study raises issues for further consideration by music teacher educators within a variety of cultural contexts.

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