Cultural Context Connections between Bhutan and Australia: Research Notes on Instructional Design

Abstract

This reflection article discusses the instructional design of an ‘Australia Awards’ funded Human Resource Development and Planning project for Bhutan. The key idea underscoring the design of the experiential learning was the emphasis on the consideration of cultural and contextual dimensions. This also reveals some aspects of the cultural differences between Australia and Bhutan based on Hofstede’s Dimensions of Culture theory, in terms of the relationships between individuals and the degree of individualism compared to a collectivist Buddhist approaches to family, within business and personal life. The article also highlights that for a unique country like Bhutan, it was important for facilitators to understand the context of the country, population, economy and culture to ensure the contextualization of the course content in order to remove potential cultural and learning barriers as the open interaction of cultures effectively lead to exchange of ideas, values, knowledge and best practices, which was one of significant outcomes of this course.