ABSTRACT
Chapter 4 focuses on cognitive asymmetries in the structuration of global learning and discusses how human agency, shaped by academic stakeholders such as professors and students, becomes the driver of various tensions and conflicts on campuses. Cognitive capacities often result from the historical and circumstantial cross-currents caused by social dependencies and organizational capacities outlined in the previous chapters. This chapter delves into students’ interpretations of the decisive turning points on their learning paths, which inspired them to continue their cross-cultural exploration, despite social setbacks and inadequate institutional support. While moments of self-discovery happen to some students, they can be leveled down by the competitive pressures of consumption-oriented and reputation-minded higher education. However, cognitive pressures multiply (and thus allow for better understanding of, and engagement with, social networks and organizational capacities) as the conflicts between human and institutional agencies grow.
