An empirical analysis of student’s perception towards group work – a Middle East perspective

Abstract

Group works have become an integral component of modern education system. The focus of this study is to explore the students' perception of group works. Based on a pilot study with 64 students and subsequent study with 274 participants, this research provides a holistic reading on group works from students' perspectives. The study analyses relative preference of students between individual and group assignments, advantages and disadvantages of group works and the strategies followed by the students in the process. The study also explores students' perception of free riding, peer evaluation and practical issues that teachers need to consider in designing group works. Analyses are conducted to capture the differences in perception based on the gender, academic performance and year of study of the participants.

Member Reactions to Social Loafers When Doing Group-Based Assignments: A Group Processes Perspective

“…This is not only an inequitable exchange but also a threat to delivery of quality education and its ultimate goal of producing quality teachers. This kind of unfairness is even multiplied when there is no proper mechanisms of awarding marks on the basis of individual contribution to group work as previously reported (Hall & Buzwell, 2012;Hassanien, 2006;Refeque, Balakrishnan, Inan & Harji, 2018). This, indeed, needs to be rethought if the value of using group work has to be attained in higher education, particularly when preparing teachers for the 21st Century teaching and learning (Geisinger, 2016;Kereluik, Mishra, Fahnoe & Terry, 2013;Mishra & Mehta, 2017).…”

Team work in business education: history, key concepts, and challenges

“…Perhaps the most frequent and consistent frustration expressed by students is their concern about free-riding (Albanese & Van Fleet, 1985) or social loafing expected from other students and allowed, accepted, or implicitly disregarded by educators (Ashraf, 2004;Boren & Morales, 2018;Burdett, 2003;Jassawalla et al, 2009;McCorkle et al, 1999;Pfaff & Huddleston, 2003;Saghafian & O'Neill, 2018;Taggar & Neubert, 2008). Freeriding is such a central issue for students participating in team work activities that similar concerns and frustrations have been unearthed in a variety of contexts all around the world (Clark & Baker, 2011;Mbalamula, 2018;Njie et al, 2013;Popov et al, 2012;Refeque et al, 2018).…”

Exploring Online Group Work Through The Social Cognitive Theory

“…There have been many past studies on group work. A study conducted by Refeque et al (2018) on their research on the students' perception towards group work, had involved 274 participants to investigate their perceptions of completing the assignment individually or in a group. This study revealed that students with higher Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) preferred to do the tasks individually.…”