Improving Immigrant Education at Turun AKK : satisfaction, barriers, and solutions
Faez, Ahmad (2024)
2024
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024121034261
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024121034261
Tiivistelmä
This thesis will be determining the satisfaction level and the barriers that immigrant students face while learning at Turun Aikuiskoulutuskeskus, AKK, and how the student learning can be enhanced. The research theoretical framework for this study is multivariant, that is Malcolm Knowles' Andragogy Model, Eccles and Wigfield's Expectancy-Value Theory, the SERVQUAL Model, and Oliver and DeSarbo's Expectation-Disconfirmation Model.
This mixed-methods study used a questionnaire, which was distributed to 100 students and resulted in a response rate of 64%, and interviews with educators. The participants were from varied groups, including Ukrainian students, cleaning industry students, and others from different vocational backgrounds, thus ensuring varied perspectives. Overall, these findings suggest that the general satisfaction with the quality of teaching is high; it's still the language barrier, the accent, speaking, and writing that's the big challenge. Students also complain about technical difficulties, increase in cultural contact, and the availability of career counseling which will meet their needs. Further analysis from the interviews showed that teachers were very adaptable to the different needs of all students, using Google Translate and other digital tools, but more training in language teaching and cultural competency for educators would be beneficial. The insights obtained from the theoretical frames indicate the integration of life experiences and practical knowledge in teaching methodologies, which coincides with the students' desire for relevance and skillrelated language support.
These include an expanded language training program, improved access to digital literacy resources, increased opportunities for cultural exchange activities, and enhanced career counseling services. All these go a long way in creating a friendly and inclusive learning environment that enables immigrant students to attain academic, social, and cultural integration into Finnish society.
This mixed-methods study used a questionnaire, which was distributed to 100 students and resulted in a response rate of 64%, and interviews with educators. The participants were from varied groups, including Ukrainian students, cleaning industry students, and others from different vocational backgrounds, thus ensuring varied perspectives. Overall, these findings suggest that the general satisfaction with the quality of teaching is high; it's still the language barrier, the accent, speaking, and writing that's the big challenge. Students also complain about technical difficulties, increase in cultural contact, and the availability of career counseling which will meet their needs. Further analysis from the interviews showed that teachers were very adaptable to the different needs of all students, using Google Translate and other digital tools, but more training in language teaching and cultural competency for educators would be beneficial. The insights obtained from the theoretical frames indicate the integration of life experiences and practical knowledge in teaching methodologies, which coincides with the students' desire for relevance and skillrelated language support.
These include an expanded language training program, improved access to digital literacy resources, increased opportunities for cultural exchange activities, and enhanced career counseling services. All these go a long way in creating a friendly and inclusive learning environment that enables immigrant students to attain academic, social, and cultural integration into Finnish society.