Educational psychology

As Ormrod (2008) points out, students from some ethnic groups are more comfortable working in a cooperative rather than a competitive environment. 

But some teachers encourage competition among their students because in a traditional Western classroom, “learning is often a solitary, individual endeavor” (Ormrod, 2008, p.117). Therefore, the students should be able to adapt themselves to the traditional Western classroom where individual school achievement is quite competitive and students’ performance is evaluated in comparison with the performance of classmates.

In some cultures, group achievement is valued over individual school achievement and some students may resist when asked to compete against their classmates. 

Ormrod, J.E. (2008). Educational psychology: developing learners (6^th ed).

Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson