Research Article
Communication and Group Work in the Multicultural Classroom: Immigrant Students’ Experiences

Artem Ingmar Benediktsson , Hanna Ragnarsdottir

3125 1935

Article Metrics

Views

 

3125

Downloads

 

1935

Citations

Crossref

0

Scopus

13


Benediktsson AI, Ragnarsdottir H. Communication and group work in the multicultural classroom: immigrant students’ experiences. European J Ed Res. 2019;8(2):453-465. doi: 10.12973/eu-jer.8.2.453
Benediktsson, A. I., & Ragnarsdottir, H. (2019). Communication and group work in the multicultural classroom: immigrant students’ experiences. European Journal of Educational Research, 8(2), 453-465. https://doi.org/10.12973/eu-jer.8.2.453
Benediktsson Artem Ingmar, and Hanna Ragnarsdottir. "Communication and Group Work in the Multicultural Classroom: Immigrant Students’ Experiences," European Journal of Educational Research 8, no. 2 (2019): 453-465. https://doi.org/10.12973/eu-jer.8.2.453
Benediktsson, AI & Ragnarsdottir, 2019, 'Communication and group work in the multicultural classroom: immigrant students’ experiences', European Journal of Educational Research, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 453-465. Benediktsson, Artem Ingmar, and Hanna Ragnarsdottir. "Communication and Group Work in the Multicultural Classroom: Immigrant Students’ Experiences." European Journal of Educational Research, vol. 8, no. 2, 2019, pp. 453-465, https://doi.org/10.12973/eu-jer.8.2.453.

Abstract

The paper is part of the qualitative research project Educational Aspirations, Opportunities and Challenges for Immigrants in University Education in Iceland, conducted in Iceland’s three biggest universities. The main goal of the paper is to investigate immigrant students’ experiences of communication with teachers during the learning process and their perspectives on multicultural group work. Furthermore, the paper explores immigrant students’ experiences of learner-centred approach and culturally responsive teaching methods applied by some teachers. The data was collected through focus group interviews and qualitative, semi-structured individual interviews with immigrant students. The theoretical framework is mainly based on the constructivist theory, which emphasises the importance of communication and the learner-centred approach. Additionally, the theoretical framework includes multicultural education theory, which puts an emphasis on applying culturally responsive teaching methods in classrooms with diverse student populations. The analysis of the interviews revealed that the participants’ experiences of communication with teachers and peers were mostly positive. However, culturally responsive teaching is still a rare phenomenon in Icelandic universities. When it comes to the participants’ perspectives on group work, the experiences ranged from being highly positive to negative.

Keywords: Communication, group work, immigrant students, higher education, Iceland


References

Banks, J. A. (2007). Multicultural education: Characteristics and goals. In J. A. Banks & C. A. M. Banks (Eds.), Multicultural education: Issues and perspectives (2. ed., pp. 3-30). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Banks, J. A., & Banks, C. A. M. (Eds.) (2010). Multicultural education: Issues and perspectives (7th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Bender, S. S. (2003). Rynihopar [Focus groups]. In S. Halldorsdottir & K. Kristjansson (Eds.), Handbok i adferdafrædi og rannsoknum i heilbrigdisvisindum [Handbook of methodology and research in health sciences] (pp. 85-99). Akureyri, Iceland: University of Akureyri.

Boesch, B. (2014). The importance of the professor in college classroom climate for immigrant students. College Quarterly, 17(4).

Books, S., Ragnarsdottir, H., Jonsson, O. P., & Macdonald, A. (2011). A university program with “the whole world as a focus”: An Icelandic response to globalization. Innovative Higher Education, 36(2), 125-139. doi: 10.1007/s10755-010-9163-7

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2013). Successful Qualitative Research : A Practical Guide for Beginners. London, UK: Sage.

Brinkmann, S., & Kvale, S. (2009). InterViews: Learning the craft of qualitative research interviewing (2. ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Brooks, J. G., & Brooks, M. G. (1993). The case for the constructivist classrooms. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Brown, K. L. (2003). From teacher-centered to learner-centered curriculum: Improving learning in diverse classrooms. Education, 124(1), 49–54.

Cornelius-White, J. (2007). Learner-centered teacher-student relationships are effective: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 113–143. doi: 10.3102/003465430298563  

Creswell, J. W. (2008). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating qualitative and qualitative research. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

De Vita, G. (2002). Does assessed multicultural group work really pull UK students' average down? Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 27(2), 153-161. doi: 10.1080/02602930220128724

De Vita, G. (2005). Fostering intercultural learning through multicultural group work. In J. Carroll & J. Ryan (Eds.), Teaching international students: Improving learning for all (pp. 75-83). New York, NY: Routledge.

Erisman, W., & Looney, S. (2007). Opening the door to the American dream: Increasing higher education access and success for immigrants. Washington, DC: Institute for Higher Education Policy.

European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice. (2015). The European Higher Education Area in 2015: Bologna Process Implementation Report. Luxembourg, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.

Flick, U. (2009). An introduction to qualitative research (4th ed.). London: Sage.

Forehand, J. W., Leigh, K. H., Farrell, R. G., & Spurlock, A. Y. (2016). Social dynamics in group work. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 11(2), 62-66. doi: 10.1016/j.teln.2015.12.007

Freeman, T. M., Anderman, L. H., & Jensen, J. M. (2007). Sense of belonging in college freshmen at the classroom and campus levels. The Journal of Experimental Education, 75(3), 203-220. doi: 10.3200/JEXE.75.3.203-220

Gay, G. (2000). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research and practice. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Gay, G. (2001). Preparing for culturally responsive teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 53(2), 106-116. doi: 10.1177/0022487102053002003

Gay, G. (2010). Acting on beliefs in teacher education for cultural diversity. Journal of Teacher Education, 61(1-2), 143-152. doi: 10.1177/0022487109347320

Grant, M. M., & Hill, J. R. (2006). Weighing the rewards with the risks?  Implementing student-centered pedagogy within high-stakes testing. In R. Lambert & C. McCarthy (Eds.), Understanding teacher stress in the age of accountability (pp. 19-42). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.

Guy, T. C. (1999). Culture as context for adult education: The need for culturally relevant adult education. New directions for adult and continuing education (82), 5-18. doi: 10.1002/ace.8201

Hassanien, A. (2006). Student experience of group work and group assessment in higher education. Journal of teaching in travel & tourism, 6(1), 17-39. doi: 10.1300/J172v06n01_02

Henson, K. T. (2003). Foundations for learner-centered education: A knowledge base. Education, 124(1), 5–16.

Jabbar, A., & Hardaker, G. (2013). The role of culturally responsive teaching for supporting ethnic diversity in British University Business Schools. Teaching in Higher Education, 18(3), 272-284. doi: 10.1080/13562517.2012.725221

Jones, M. G., & Brader-Araje, L. (2002). The impact of constructivism on education: Language, discourse, and meaning. American Communication Journal, 5(3), 1-10.

Karge, B. D., Phillips, K. M., Jessee, T., & McCabe, M. (2011). Effective strategies for engaging adult learners. Journal of College Teaching & Learning, 8(12), 53-56.

Kimmel, K., & Volet, S. (2010). Significance of context in university students' (meta) cognitions related to group work: A multi-layered, multi-dimensional and cultural approach. Learning and Instruction, 20(6), 449-464. doi: 10.1016/j.learninstruc.2009.05.004

Lichtman, M. (2013). Qualitative Research in Education (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Maiden, B., & Perry, B. (2011). Dealing with free‐riders in assessed group work: results from a study at a UK university. Evaluation in Higher Education, 36(4), 451-464. doi: 10.1080/02602930903429302

Moore, P., & Hampton, G. (2015). ‘It’s a bit of a generalisation, but …’: participant perspectives on intercultural group assessment in higher education. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 40(3), 390-406. doi: 10.1080/02602938.2014.919437

Nieto, S. (2010). The light in their eyes: Creating multicultural learning communities (10th Anniversary ed.). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Popov, V., Brinkman, D., Biemans, H. J. A., Mulder, M., Kuznetsov, A., & Noroozi, O. (2012). Multicultural student group work in higher education: An explorative case study on challenges as perceived by students. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 36(2), 302-317. doi: 10.1016/j.ijintrel.2011.09.004

Ragnarsdottir, H., & Blondal, H. (2014). Fjolmenningarlegt namssamfelag: Reynsla nemenda af albjodlegu nami í menntunarfrædi vid Haskola Islands [Multicultural learning community: The experiences of students in the International Studies in Education programme at the University of Iceland]. Uppeldi og menntun [Icelandic Journal of Education], 23(1), 27-45.

Rubenson, K. (2011). Adult Learning and Education. Oxford, UK: Academic Press.

Slee, J. (2010). A systemic approach to culturally responsive assessment practices and evaluation. Higher Education Quarterly, 64(3), 246-260. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2273.2010.00464.x

Smart, K. L., Witt, C., & Scott, J. P. (2012). Toward learner-centered teaching: An inductive approach. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, 75(4), 392 - 403. doi: 10.1177/1080569912459752

Statistics Iceland. (2017). Innflytjendum heldur afram ad fjolga [Number of immigrants keeps increasing]. Retrieved from https://www.hagstofa.is/utgafur/frettasafn/mannfjoldi/mannfjoldi-eftir-bakgrunni-2017/

Statistics Iceland. (2018). Fjoldi nynema a haskolastigi hefur tvofaldast a tuttugu arum [Number of new university students doubled during past twenty years]. Retrieved from https://hagstofa.is/utgafur/frettasafn/menntun/nynemar-i-haskolum-2010-2017/

Swaminathan, R., & Alfred, M. V. (2001). Strangers in the mirror: Immigrant students in the higher education classroom. Adult learning, 13(1), 29-32. doi: 10.1177/104515950101200408

Sweeney, A., Weaven, S., & Herington, C. (2008). Multicultural influences on group learning: A qualitative higher education study. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 33(2), 119-132. doi: 10.1080/02602930601125665

Thang, P. O., & Larson, M. (2010). Integration genom vuxenutbildning och vidareutbildning. Landrapport Sverige [Integration through adult education and further education. Country report Sweden]. Copenhagen, Denmark: Nordisk Ministerrad.

Tonnessen, E., & Larsen, H. (2018). Andelen av innvandrere som tar hoyere utdanning gar ned [The percentage of immigrants who pursue higher education goes down]. Khrono.no. Retrieved from https://khrono.no/ntnu-uio-unik5/andelen-av-innvandrere-som-tar-hoyere-utdanning-gar-ned/217837

University of Iceland. (2018). International Studies in Education. Retrieved from https://english.hi.is/international_studies_in_education

Villegas, A. M., & Lucas, T. (2002). Preparing culturally responsive teachers rethinking the curriculum. Journal of Teacher Education, 53(1), 20-32. doi: 10.1177/0022487102053001003

Wahlgren, B., Lund, K., & Geiger, T. (2010). Integration gennem voksen- og efteruddannelse [Integration through adult and further education]. Copenhagen, Denmark: Nordisk Ministerrad.

Webber, K. L. (2012). The use of learner-centered assessment in US colleges and universities. Research in Higher Education, 53(2), 201–228. doi: 10.1007/s11162-011-9245-0

Wood, C. M. (2003). The effects of creating psychological ownership among students in group projects. Journal of Marketing Education, 25(3), 240-249.doi: 10.1177/0273475303257553