Attitudes and Cross-Cultural Differences of UCSI University Undergraduates towards Multicultural Group Work

Autor/inn/en	Eng, Lin Siew; Kuan Khye Ling, Shephanie; Lim, Chang Kuan
Titel	Attitudes and Cross-Cultural Differences of UCSI University Undergraduates towards Multicultural Group Work
Quelle	In: International Journal of Instruction, 15 (2022) 1, S.21-38 (18 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1694-609X
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Undergraduate Students; Student Attitudes; Multicultural Education; Cultural Pluralism; Cultural Differences; Language Proficiency; Cooperative Learning; Intercultural Communication; Malaysia + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Schülerverhalten; Multikulturelle Erziehung; Kulturpluralismus; Kultureller Unterschied; Language skill; Language skills; Sprachkompetenz; Kooperatives Lernen; Interkulturelle Kommunikation
Abstract	Almost every course in higher education involved some form of multicultural group work activities and these have resulted in numerous problems for undergraduates due to the attitudinal and cultural differences. This study aims to find out the undergraduates' attitudes as well as the effect of cross-cultural differences towards multicultural group work. The mixed method design was used in this study. Questionnaire and interview questions adapted from both Wegelius (2013) and Iskandarova (2016) were used to collect the data. Google form was used for collecting quantitative data. There were 140 respondents comprising both Malaysian respondents and respondents from other nationalities studying in UCSI University. Out of these 140 respondents, eight respondents were selected for in-depth interviews. In general, the findings of this study showed that the local and foreign undergraduates' attitudes and language proficiency play major roles towards working effectively in group work. Besides, the data obtained indicated that there are both positive and negative effects of cross-cultural differences towards multicultural group work. A majority of the international undergraduates have a positive outlook when engaging with undergraduates from other countries. However, at times they isolate themselves due to differences in culture, language barriers, cross-cultural communication and attitudes. At the individual level, the findings can be used by students and educators as reference for combating problems encountered during multicultural group work while at the organisation level, the Human Resource Department can plan team building activities to bring the undergraduates together. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Gate Association for Teaching and Education. e-mail: iji@ogu.edu.tr; Web site: http://e-iji.net/
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01