Why do Asian kids outperform Western kids in math?
Posted on October 7th, 2024
Excelsior.
Malcolm Gladwell in his book “The Outliers” states that the reason Asian kids consistently outperform western kids in international math tests is because of the cultural attitude these kids have towards solving a math problem, or any task that requires patience and effort for a long period of time. In China and other Asian cultures, there is a logical pattern to learning math based on a confidence and expectation that if we apply enough effort the problem is solvable while in the West, kids believe their ability is innate and can’t be changed or influenced. Malcolm’s theory is that the reason for this difference in attitude has to do with the historical agriculture practices in both cultures, where the rice growing Asian culture had a different lifestyle for thousands of years that required consistent hard work which translates in the today’s attitude of their kids when trying to solve a math problem.