Cultural influences in collaborative peer learning preferences and practices

Abstract

Increasing internationalization of higher education and cross migration of international students has facilitated intercultural contact among students and the possibilities to implement peer group methods in education. Previous researches (Manikutty, Anuradha, & Hansen, 2007; Popov, Brinkman, Biemans, Mulder, & Kuznetsov, 2012) are inconclusive regarding the advantages and disadvantages of peer-group learning methods where the members belong to different cultures. Some studies point towards advantages of collaborating in a multicultural peer group such as ability to generate diverse perspectives. Others suggest possibilities of negative learning outcomes due to cross-cultural conflicts. However, very few studies look into how cultural background of students can explain their use and preferences regarding collaborative peer learning methods. This study deals with international students studying at different Finnish universities of applied sciences (N=147), and identify how cultural background of students may shape their preferences regarding collaborative learning processes. The processes considered includes communication, decision-making, leadership, evaluation, trust building, expression of disagreement, scheduling and persuasion in a peer group. Hofstede’s six dimensions of culture are used to understand the cultural differences among students. Most of the findings confirm to the expectations of Hofstede’s 6-D model. However, the study concludes that Hofstede’s framework may be too constrained in understanding the influences of culture in the context of collaborative peer learning and education in general.