Blended spaces, different places : getting the blend of ingredients right in a cross-cultural learning context

As an increasing number of tertiary institutions are providing more blended learning spaces in an increasingly diverse cross-cultural space, it is imperative that the appropriate ingredients are blended in such a way as to satisfy the needs of these international participants. Since technology in itself is insufficient to meet this need, consideration must be given to the effect of culture on the various components of blended unit delivery. This paper reports on a research study of an accounting subject presented to two cohorts of engineers, one in Australia and one in Hong Kong. In terms of delivery of a blended subject in a cross-cultural context, it is proposed that one of the most important ingredients is the amount of face-to-face contact time to which students are exposed, with Chinese students performing significantly better as this is increased. Cultural differences also presented implications for assessment with students achieving better results when they worked in smaller groups, contrary to their stated choices.