The cultural correlates of learning poverty: The roles of long-term orientation and power distance

Learning poverty, defined as being unable to read and understand a simple text by the end of primary school, is a critical social problem. Past studies on learning poverty have mostly focused on the role of economic and demographic factors but have seldom explored the role of culture. To address this gap, we examined whether national cultural values (i.e., power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation, and indulgence) were associated with learning poverty in 45 countries. Ecological analyses indicated that among the different cultural values, long-term orientation was negatively associated with learning poverty, but power distance was positively associated with it. These associations remained robust after accounting for the roles of economic and demographic factors. These findings extend the literature on learning poverty by emphasizing the cultural correlates of learning poverty. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.