Efforts to improve education, including the use of educational technology, are subject to factors within the context where the change is intended. In countries not typically classified as advanced, the change methods to be used, the probability of success, and even the ways of measuring achievement most likely will vary on the basis of cultural factors. This article suggests the main cultural dimensions present in traditional cultures, typifies and discusses these differences, and suggests implications these differences entail for attempts at major educational reform efforts. (Contains 1 table and 30 notes.)