The Relationship between Cultural Dimensions and the Quality of Communication in Education

Culture is the collective programming of the mind distinguishing members of one group or category of people from others [1]. Each culture is different. Therefore, there are five dimensions of culture and this article explains and explores one of these: Power Distance (PD). This paper will outline the impact of these dimensions in educational institutions. In the study participated students from three countries (Croatia, Denmark, and Romania). The goal of this research is to determine how the students deal with a structured hierarchy and formal communication with a high level of Power Distance, rules and regulations. Research shows what kind of communication and distance are in countries with low power distance (e.g. Denmark). A semantic differential instrument was used to process the survey results. We know that culture has an influence over education, i.e. Power Distance has an impact on the education of young people. The paper also examines the influence of professors over students as well as the consequences of these impacts (level of formality of relations, the level of respect for student opinion, etc.). The possible models of improving the quality of communication and reducing the power of distance at the institutions of higher education will be explored.