Students’ Team Project Experiences and Their Attitudes Towards Teamwork

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of the study is to evaluate the influence of team project experiences of students (presence and role of a leader; fairness in team projects; conditions supporting teamwork created by a university) on their attitudes towards teamwork, especially the perception of teamwork effec tiveness and the preference of working in teams. Methodology:In the study the quantitative research was done among master degree Polish students of Management (105 questionnaires). The measures used for the study were developed specifically for the study referring to the previous research in the field. Findings:Results indicate that leaders in team projects and conditions supporting teamwork are connected with the students' perception of teamwork effectiveness, while the fairness in team projects is connected with students' preference of working collectively. Research implications:We conclude that in order to develop a positive attitude towards teamwork, the teamwork projects should be better supported by the instructors (especially supporting the emergence of leader(s) and minimising the problem of free riders) and the university should create a climate that facilitates teamworking, otherwise team projects might negatively influence students' attitude towards collective work.Value: On the labour market the teamwork skills are one of the most important skills of employees, as the team-based organizational designs are becoming the norm in work organization. The study is contributing to the understanding of the relations between student experiences and their attitudes as well as the role played by high education in the development of these attitudes. Some previous research in Anglo-Saxon culture countries indicate that team project assignments realised by students during studies might even hinder their attitudes to teamwork and their willingness to work in teams in the future.

Student Teachers’ Perceptions of Factors Influencing Learner Agency Working in Teams in a STEAM-Based Course

“…In one study, the challenges students faced in a teamwork setting were behind their preference for individual tasks over teamwork (Du et al, 2019). Other studies (Hassanein, 2011;Rudawska, 2017) have further emphasized the importance of students' positive attitudes towards teamwork and the role played by fairness in this respect. Specifically, Du et al (2019) found that the equal distribution of work and a fair evaluation were frequently cited concerns for engineering students in the Qatari context.…”

Construction and Validation of a Measurement Instrument for Attitudes towards Teamwork

“…It is our belief that teachers should create the conditions that can guarantee positive attitudes in learning teams. It is not sufficient to simply present the advantages of the effectiveness of teamwork to generate positive attitudes toward teamwork ( Rudawska, 2017 ). Actually achieving it involves an effort and interest on their part, as well as the assumption that their role not only determines the correct functioning of the team and the achievement of the goals, but also the satisfaction and attitudes of all the students that participate in the different teams.…”

“…However, several different investigations have focused on the assessment, using different instruments, of some of the variables related to attitudes toward teamwork; such as the preference or appraisal of the teamwork experience ( Pfaff and Huddleston, 2003 ; Gottschall and García-Bayonas, 2008 ; Alford et al, 2014 ; Rudawska, 2017 ), motivation ( Ibarra and Rodríguez, 2007 ; Järvelä et al, 2010 ), assessment and work environment ( Beigi and Shirmohammadi, 2012 ), the team’s potency ( León et al, 2017 ), the quality of the product and process, classmates’ support, or interdependence and frustration ( Nausheen et al, 2013 ). We believe it is necessary to have instruments that can contemplate these and other variables identified in the previous research involved in attitudes toward teamwork, such as: interest in the task and motivation, the time dedicated to it, the learning and decision-taking, or the interpersonal relations.…”

Qualified Satisfaction: First‐Year Architecture Student Perceptions of Teamwork

“…Studies from within professional and/or creative fields, where project‐based teamwork is considered especially fundamental to employability and lifelong learning, confirm this relational aspect of teamwork (see, for example, Alford et al 2014; Ettington & Camp 2002; Hynes 2015; Marin‐Garcia & Lloret 2008; Russ & Dickinson 1999; Webb & Miller 2006), as well as its potential for supporting student wellbeing and identity development (Thompson 2017). An oft‐noted key obstacle to the implementation of teamwork activities within curricula is the issue of student perceptions towards working in groups (see Brooks & Ammons 2003; Pfaff & Huddleston 2003; Chang & Brickman 2018; Burdett 2003; Bailey et al 2015; Rudawska 2017; Blignaut & Venter 1998). Emerging from this set of studies, the most significant issues raised by students concern ‘freeloading’ and notions of fairness; the reproduction of power dynamics; and challenges related to group formation, particularly when cohorts include high disparities of skills and/or engagement levels.…”