and their correlations
4.3.1 Descriptive statistics of valid constructs
Table 4-13 below provides detailed descriptive statistics for the 5 constructs in the analysis of Term 3 Questionnaire responses.
The two constructs Benefits of group work (Term 3) (mean=4.72) and Benefits of multicultural group work (Term 3) (mean=4.82) have means higher than 3.5 (on a 6-point Likert scale). It indicates that when the participants in this study were surveyed in Term 3 again, after all of their taught classes were over and MGW were completed, they maintained similar attitudes towards MGW, they still acknowledged the benefits of group work in general and valued the benefits of working in mixed groups as they did in Term 1.
Preference of being assessed individually (Term 3) has a mean of 3.19, which is very close to 3.5, and more than 50% of the participants scored 3 and lower. It shows that in Term 3, students held the same attitude as before and most of them still didn’t want to be assessed on an individual basis.
Challenges in managing group work (Term 3) has a mean of 3.63, which is only slightly above 3.5. Also 50% of the participants scored 3.60 and below. This
97 construct contains statements referring to the difficulties in MGW in previous research (Beebe & Masterson, 2014; Pfaff & Huddleston, 2003; Turner, 2009).
98
Table 4-13 Descriptive statistics for the 5 constructs in Term 3 responses.
N Mean Std.
Deviation
Variance Minimum Maximum Percentiles
Valid Missing 25 50 75
Benefits of group work (Term 3)
126 0 4.7230 0.94718 0.897 2.00 6.00 4.1500 5.0000 5.4000
Benefits of multicultural group work (Term 3)
126 0 4.8211 0.78047 0.609 2.00 6.00 4.3333 4.9444 5.4444
Preference of being assessed individually (Term 3)
126 0 3.1931 1.19915 1.438 1.00 6.00 2.3333 3.0000 4.0000
Challenges in managing group work (Term 3)
126 0 3.6337 0.99198 0.984 1.00 6.00 3.0000 3.6000 4.4000
Challenges of multicultural group work (Term 3)
99 Agreeing with these statements means students also faced the same difficulties and found GW challenging. This mean of 3.63 is only just leaning towards agreeing, so it could be interpreted that the students had very diverse perceptions of the challenges of in working in groups, but were still more likely to agree with the difficulties of working in groups in general. How students perceived the challenges of managing GW and how they dealt with difficulties they encountered will be further discussed in the next chapter, which deals with the qualitative analysis and discussion.
Challenges of multicultural group work (Term 3) has a mean of 2.58, which is lower than 3.5, and 75% of the participants scored 3.25 and lower, so the majority of the participants in this study disagreed with these statements. In this construct, the statements were about the challenges of working in mixed groups in respect of different languages and cultures as reported in the literature. Similar to their answer in Term 1, students’ continuing disagreement with them shows that different languages and cultures were not perceived as serious barriers in working in multicultural groups.
4.3.2 Correlations of constructs
A Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was computed to assess the relationships among the 5 constructs in the Questionnaire Term 3 data. As Table 4- 14 below displays, both positive and negative correlations were found among these constructs.
There was a significant positive correlation between Benefits of group work (Term 3)and Benefits of multicultural group work (Term 3) (r = .791, n =126, p =.000). This strong positive correlation indicates that students who recognised the benefits of working in groups also recognised the value of working in multicultural groups. A positive correlation was also found between Preference of being assessed individually (Term 3)andChallenges in managing group work (Term 3) (r = .502, n =126, p =.000). This correlation suggests that the students who found it more challenging working with others in GW in general would prefer to be assessed individually. There is also a positive correlation between Challenges in managing group work (Term 3) and Challenges of multicultural group work (Term 3) (r = .328, n =126, p =.000). This correlation suggests that the students who in general
100 found it more challenging working with others in GW are more likely to consider MGW more challenging as well.
Table 4-14 Relationships among constructs in Term 3 responses
Benefits of group work (Term 3) Benefits of multicultural group work (Term 3) Preference of being assessed individually (Term 3) Challenges in managing group work (Term 3) Benefits of multicultural group work (Term 3) Pearson Correlation .791** Sig. (2-tailed) 0.000 N 126 Preference of being assessed individually (Term 3) Pearson Correlation -.387** -.338** Sig. (2-tailed) 0.000 0.000 N 126 126 Challenges in managing group work (Term 3) Pearson Correlation -.248** -.314** .502** Sig. (2-tailed) 0.005 0.000 0.000 N 126 126 126 Challenges of multicultural group work (Term 3) Pearson Correlation -.298** -.526** 0.128 .328** Sig. (2-tailed) 0.001 0.000 0.153 0.000 N 126 126 126 126
Four significant negative correlations were found between Benefits of group work (Term 3)andPreference of being assessed individually (Term 3) (r =-.387, n =126, p =.000); between Benefits of multicultural group work (Term 3)andPreference of being assessed individually(Term 3) (r = -.338, n =126, p =.000); between Benefits of multicultural group work (Term 3) and Challenges in managing group work (Term 3) (r =-.314, n =126, p =.000); and between Benefits of multicultural group work (Term 3) and Challenges of multicultural group work (Term 3) (r = -.526, n =126, p =.000).
Both Benefits of group work (Term 3) and Benefits of multicultural group work (Term 3) were negatively correlated with Preference of being assessed individually (Term 3). This means that those who had higher scores on Benefits of group work (Term 3) and Benefits of multicultural group work (Term 3), or in other words, those
101 who think GW generally has many benefits and MGW is also beneficial, would not want to be assessed on an individual basis. The two constructs Challenges in managing group (Term 3) and Challenges of multicultural group work (Term 3)
were negatively correlated with Benefits of multicultural group work (Term 3). These two negative correlations suggested that students who generally found it challenging to work in groups with other people and those who found MGW difficult would think less favourably of the benefits that MGW could bring.
The analysis of data from Questionnaire Term 3 shows some minor changes in how students scored in each construct compared to their scores in Term 1. This longitudinal difference will be analysed and discussed later, in section 4.5.