Research On The Relationship Among Storytelling, Values, And Resilience Of College Students From Eastern And Western Cultural Background

There is a strong, constructivist knowledge base supporting the benefits of storytelling as an effective learning/teaching approach that is valued by some cultures more than others. Accumulating evidence also suggests storytelling may provide an important role in promoting resilience, defined as an individual’s ability to bounce back or recover from stress, as well as, storytelling is one of the best tools for transmitting values among generations. The present study addressed the problem that even though storytelling is not a new tool for teaching and learning, it is not well understood how it plays a very important role in an individual’s development of resilience and values. The dissertation examines the following problems. What significant difference is there between Western and Eastern cultural groups on storytelling? What significant difference is there between cultural groups on resilience? What significant difference is there between cultural groups on values? What significant relationship, if any, is there between storytelling, values and resilience? What significant relationship, if any, is there between storytelling, values and resilience? Is the structural model fit for predicting resilience significantly different by cultural groups?In order to investigate the above issues, the dissertation conducted two quantitative studies. The participants in both studies were 845 students, mostly education majors, with age range mainly of 18-25, who were attending colleges from the four countries of America, Germany, China and Vietnam. Data were collected by using the Adult Perceptions about Childhood Experiences with Storytelling Questionnaire, the Portrait Values Questionnaire, and the Brief Resilience Scale. Study 1, investigated how cultural and individual differences influenced perceptions about storytelling, resilience and values. Results confirmed general significant, cultural differences of storytelling, and values between the "collectivist" Eastern culture and "individualistic" Western culture. However, there was no significant difference of resilience between the cultures found in study 1. The reason for this similarity is tested and answered in the subsequent study. In study 2, quantitative results produced significant correlations between storytelling and values, and resilience. The mediator effects of values preferences on the relationship between storytelling and resilience of Western and Eastern cultures were investigated. Path analysis showed that values preferences partially mediated the relationship between childhood experiences of storytelling and resilience. The final model also revealed that college students of Western countries who report having significant childhood experiences of storytelling, and prefer openness to change values such as Benevolence, Self-Direction, and Stimulation perceive recalling, or telling stories more often for improving resilience.In conclusion, the data suggest prospective teachers from Eastern and Western cultures have differences in Storytelling, and Values perceptions that are in part due to individual and cultural factors. Even though there was not a significant difference for resilience, however, storytelling was positively associated with Resilience indirectly by the mediated values preference. The results also suggest that students on average who have more storytelling childhood experiences will be more resilient than those having less experience with storytelling. The results also showed positive correlation between storytelling and values. College students with a preference for the values of Benevolence, Universalism, Self-Direction, Hedonism, tend to have had more childhood storytelling experiences, and thus have higher resilience than students with other types of values, and less storytelling experience. Westerners strengthen their resilience by childhood experiences with storytelling via enhancing individuals’Self-Direction, but not Easterners. The best model from the current study supports the mediator effects of values upon the relationship between storytelling and resilience. The current finding indicates that college students of Western countries who report having significant childhood experiences of storytelling, and prefer openness to change values such as Benevolence, Self-Direction, and Stimulation perceive recalling, or telling stories more often for improving resilience.Implications were that prospective teachers and counseling psychologists can leverage the benefits of storytelling through increased understanding. Researchers across disciplines should conduct further studies to better understand the relationships between storytelling, values and resilience.