Hofstede proposes that contrasting cultural values can be described in four dimensions:
| Small Power Distance societies | Large Power Distance societies |
| 1 Stress on impersonal "truth" which can in principle be obtained from any competent person | 2 Stress on personal "wisdom" which is transferred in the relationship with a particular teacher (guru) |
| 3 A teacher should respect the independence of his/her students | 4 A teacher merits the respect of his/her students |
| 5 Student-centred education (premium on initiative) | 6 Teacher-centred education (premium on order) |
| 7 Teacher expects students to initiate communication | 8 Students expect teacher to initiate communication |
| 9 Teacher expects students to find their own paths | 10 Students expect teacher to outline paths to follow |
| 11 Students may speak up in spontaneously in class | 12 Students speak up in class only when invited by the teacher |
| 13 Students allowed to contradict or criticize teacher | 14 Teacher is never contradicted nor publicly criticized |
| 15 Effectiveness of learning related to amount of two-way communication in class | 16 Effectiveness of learning related to excellence of the teacher |
| 17 Outside class, teachers are treated as equals | 18 Respect for teachers is also shown outside class |
| 19 In teacher/student conflicts, parents are expected to side with the student | 20 In teacher/student conflicts, parents are expected to side with the teacher |
| 21 Younger teachers are more liked than older teachers | 22 Older teachers are more respected than younger teachers |
| Collectivist Societies | Individualist Societies |
| 23 Positive association in society with whatever is rooted in tradition | 24 Positive association in society with whatever is "new" |
| 25 The young should learn; adults cannot accept student role | 26 One is never too old to learn: "permanent education" |
| 27 Students expect to learn how to do | 28 Students expect to learn how to learn |
| 29 Individual students will only speak up in class when called upon personally by the teacher | 30 Individual students will speak up in class in response to a general invitation by the teacher |
| 31 Individuals will only speak up in small groups | 32 Individuals will speak up in large groups |
| 33 Large classes split socially into smaller cohesive subgroups based on particularist criteria (e.g. ethnic affiliation) | 34 Subgroupings in class vary from one situation to the next based on universalist criteria (e.g. the task "at hand") |
| 35 Formal harmony in learning situations should be maintained at all times (T-groups are taboo) | 36 Confrontation in learning situations can be salutary; conflicts can be brought into the open |
| 37 Neither the teacher nor any student should ever be made to lose face | 38 Face-consciousness is weak |
| 39 Education is a way of gaining prestige in one's social environment and of joining a higher status group | 40 Education is a way of improving one's economic worth and self-respect based on ability and competence |
| 41 Diploma certificates are important and displayed on walls | 42 Diploma certificates have little symbolic value |
| 43 Acquiring certificates, even through illegal means (cheating, corruption) is more important than acquiring competence | 44 Acquiring competence is more important than acquiring certificates |
| 45 Teachers are expected to give preferential treatment to some students (e.g. based on ethnic affiliation or on recommendation by an influential person) | 46 Teachers are expected to be strictly impartial |
| Feminine Societies | Masculine Societies |
| 47 Teachers avoid openly praising students | 48 Teachers openly praise good students |
| 49 Teachers use average student as the norm | 50 Teachers use best students as the norm |
| 51 System rewards students' social adaptation | 52 System rewards students' academic performance |
| 53 A student's failure at school is a relatively minor accident | 54 A student's failure at school is a severe blow to his/her self-image and may in extreme cases lead to suicide |
| 55 Students admire friendliness in teachers | 56 Students admire brilliance in teachers |
| 57 Students practice mutual solidarity | 58 Students compete with each other in class |
| 59 Students try to behave modestly | 60 Students try to make themselves visible |
| 61 Corporal punishment severely rejected | 62 Corporal punishment occasionally considered salutary |
| 63 Students chose academic subjects in view of intrinsic interest | 64 Students chose academic subjects in view of career opportunities |
| 65 Male students may chose traditionally feminine academic subjects | 66 Male students avoid traditionally feminine academic subjects |
| Weak Uncertainty Avoidance Societies | Strong Uncertainty Avoidance Societies |
| 67 Students feel comfortable in unstructured learning situations: vague objectives, broad assignments, no timetables | 68 Students feel comfortable in structured learning situations: precise objectives, detailed assignments, strict timetables |
| 69 Teachers are allowed to say "I don't know" | 70 Teachers are expected to have all the answers |
| 71 A good teacher uses plain language | 72 A good teacher uses academic language |
| 73 Students are rewarded for innovative approaches to problem solving | 74 Students are rewarded for accuracy in problem-solving |
| 75 Teachers are expected to suppress emotions (and so are students) | 76 Teacher are allowed to behave emotionally (and so are students) |
| 77 Teachers interpret intellectual disagreement as a stimulating exercise | 78 Teachers interpret intellectual disagreement as personal disloyalty |
| 79 Teachers seek parents' ideas | 80 Teachers consider themselves experts who cannot learn anything from lay parents - and parents agree |