Experiences & Perceptions of Pakistani Students in Group Projects at US Universities, Study Guides, Projects, Research of Research Methodology

Download Experiences & Perceptions of Pakistani Students in Group Projects at US Universities and more Study Guides, Projects, Research Research Methodology in PDF only on Docsity! Exploring the Experiences and Perceptions of Pakistani Students within Group Projects in American Universities Background of the problem International students bring diversity to a university that can enhance cultural understanding and improve relationships between nations. These students benefit universities by adding academic talents and economic gain (Luo & Jamieson-Drake, 2013). Positive international experience also develops global citizenship and resilience in both the visitor and the host. Caruana (2014) explained that meaningful international experience goes beyond concepts of student mobility. Studies also indicate that students who study abroad are better at understanding cultures, mature quickly, grow professionally and develop deeper knowledge (Kauffmann, Martin, Weaver & Weaver, 1992). Along with the benefits of international student exchanges, these exchanges are often spoiled by fears, insensitivities, and bigotry (Lee & Rice, 2007). These students bear the burden of adapting to a new culture; often while coping with an unwelcoming administration, faculty, host student body, and society. Among feelings of homesickness, isolation, academic stress, language anxieties, and discrimination, the richness afforded by the international experience can be sabotaged (Sherry, Thomas, & Chui, 2010). The diverse cultural differences of the Middle East, intense political scrutiny by the U.S. media of that region, and fears associated with Islamic extremism, result in Middle East students being highly vulnerable to what Lee and Rice (2007) described as neo-racism; a form of racism rooted in cultural rather than in racial differences. Lin (2012) found that the cultural norms in education can also effect perceptions of these students. For example, active participation typical in the American classroom may conflict with accepted classroom etiquette of the visiting student. As a result, the Pakistani students’ lack of interaction within the classroom may be perceived by both instructors and classmates as being disinterested or being academically inferior to American students. These factors are exacerbated by language deficiencies and generate substantial barriers for Middle Eastern students to adjust socially and form meaningful relationships (Lin, 2012). Pakistani and American students may face enormous challenges in successful integrative acculturation due to vast cultural differences. To examine the dynamics of the cultural integration of Pakistani students with international students during the acculturation process very few qualitative studies have been conducted (Muhammad, 2015), also, there is scarcity of research on the experiences and perceptions of Pakistani students while working in group based learning projects. Further researches are required to explore how Pakistani students understand their experiences as they engage with host students in project teams within the framework of a university course. Theoretical framework The theoretical framework to guide my study is interactive acculturation model (Ngo, 2008). According to this model the dominant and minority culture will influence each other during the assimilation and adjustment process. The steps involved in this process are: first, the tolerance of dominant culture towards the minority culture, while still holding their inherent culture. Second, the minority culture’s individuals start identifying themselves with the dominant culture’s individuals which helps them adjust into new culture. As, the immigrant students interact with native students, the adjustment between them takes place by the tolerance of one and the ability to identify and adjust by the other, into the new culture. Hence, students from both cultures effect each other. Significance of the study 2. Group Projects entails the team based projects that students need to perform within their coursework in American universities. Research Design For the current research qualitative approach will be selected, as it is suitable when little is known about the phenomenon being studied (Vivar et al., 2011). The qualitative research will enable description and documentation on the limited information that is presently available on the experiences of Pakistani students working in group projects with American teammates. Moreover, to understand the unique experiences of students in a holistic way, this approach is useful to get the complete picture of experiences of the visiting students, what hurdles they face, how they cope and how they adjust to their new environments. More precisely, this study is phenomenological, as it allows to capture the detailed description of lived experiences with regard to the phenomenon under study (Vivar et al., 2011). For present study, the purpose for using this method lies in its aim to explore the “essence” of the phenomenon covering experiences, perception, attitudes and behaviors of students from different cultures that work together for team projects. Method of data collection The method for data collection will be in-depth, face to face interviews. Semi structured format will be used to determine that interview questions are align to the study area. The subjective perspectives of Pakistani students will be facilitated by this method allowing exploration of deeper insights and meanings, which are not achievable through quantitative methods. Additionally, to enable Pakistani student participants to freely express their thoughts, experiences and perceptions the interview questions will be kept open ended. The interviewer will ask probing questions in order to elicit greater depth in how participants perceive their experiences as students. Collection of data Purposive sampling technique will be used in this study. Sample of the study will comprise of 6 to 8 Pakistani males and females, age ranging from 20 to 35 years. These participants are enrolled in American universities, and are currently on their visit to Pakistan. The reason for selecting one country i.e., America, to examine the lived experiences of Pakistani students; is the diversity and complexity of cultures, which can’t be completely captured in one study if the participants studying in various other countries would be examined. The sample will be selected on the basis of following criteria: 1. The student is Pakistani and has spent one year in any American university. 2. The participant has worked in group projects with host peers. 3. Studying in American universities is participant’s first experience of living abroad. After determining criteria for participant selection, the researcher will sought permission from HEC to provide list of students studying in American universities by explaining the purpose of research. Invitation emails will be sent to these students to participate in this research study along with attaching the informed consent. Those who: are meeting the participant eligibility criteria, have plans to visit Pakistan in next 6 months and confirm to participate in the study by responding to the email will be approached. The email communication will be followed up (if required) with a brief phone call to answer queries of participants. After that interviews will be scheduled at a location and time agreed upon by both the participant and researcher. Each in-depth interview is expected to last between fifty minutes to eighty minutes. Moreover, the interviews will be audio-taped for later transcription, with the consent of participants. As, audio-taping allows to increase the accuracy of data collection by recording the exact words of the participants. Open-ended and semi-structured interview questions will be asked allowing each participant to explore and reflect upon their lived experiences as immigrant students while studying in American universities. Supplementary follow up questions will be asked as needed for probing and clarification. In the end the participants will be thanked for their participation, and assured for confidentiality of their responses. Following each interview, the researcher will write brief notes highlighting observations and thoughts about the interview. Analysis of the data After gathering data, the interviews will then transcribed. Inductive approach will be used to analyze data. The process will comprise of: gaining a sense of the whole content and highlighting significant statements and phrases pertaining to the study by reviewing the transcripts several times. These statements will be coded, then reviewed again and condensed to find clusters of meanings to form categories. From the sorted categories, themes will be extracted. Next, the themes will be studied in broader context in order to interpret the findings. Quality of the data To obtain methodological rigor, the researcher will keep a reflexive mindset. Open ended questions will be asked to avoid researcher’s pre-assumptions and biases, which can occur through asking leading questions. Additionally, while analyzing the research content, the researcher will move back and forth between reviewing the transcripts and analysis in gaining deeper understanding and attaining saturation. Furthermore, to get an external check, the transcripts will be peer reviewed. Ethical considerations