Communication, Social, and Critical Thinking Skills of Students with Low-Power-Distance Teachers in a High-Power-Distance Country

This paper is aimed at giving a clearer picture of the power gap that exists between a group of Filipino students and their teachers in a laboratory school in a state university in the Philippines. This study emerged from the assumption that power distance between Filipino students and their teachers could help explain the level of their ability to communicate, socialize, and think critically. A survey of a group of Filipino students' perceptions of their teachers was conducted. Evidence shows that a low power-distance relationship exists between the students and their teachers. This finding is contrary to the view that the power-distance culture in the students' family is similar to the one that exists in school. Evidence suggests that it is possible for an educational institution to insulate itself from a high-power-distance culture of the students' home or family environment. Most of the students in this study agree that their teachers, in general, have significantly contributed to the advancement of their social, communication, and critical thinking skills owing to the low-level power-distance relationship that exists between them and their teachers.