Educational_Research_Methods_EDU508001VA016-1214-001__Final_Paper_and_Survey_Data.zip

Assignment 4.Sample Template.docx
Running Head: ASSIGNMENT 4: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER 1

RESEARCH DESIGN 2

Running Head: ASSIGNMENT 4 – PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER 2

Assignment 4: Putting it All Together

Jane Doe

EDU 508: Educational Research Methods

Dr. Margie Vance, Ed.D., MBA

Strayer University

June 21, 2021

Introduction

This paper will discuss research done on cultural diversity in higher education institutions, on understanding intercultural competence and its development, and discovering more effective ways of teaching diversity in the classroom to prepare students for interacting with diverse groups in society and the workplace. The college classroom extends prospective opportunities for students to learn to mediate and communicate across difference while overcoming the potential challenges in functioning with diverse groups. It is the responsibility of adult educators to help adult learners understand how cultural, national, regional, and global recognitions are interdependent, multiplex and growing. The goal is to increase knowledge, improve attitudes, and develop diversity skills. However, the problem is finding the methods of reaching this goal are not as defined, and efforts to teach diversity are frequently met with significant challenges.

Purpose of the Research

The purpose of my study is to explore deeper into the research that has already been done on various methods and strategies of teaching diversity in college classrooms that will be most effective in preparing students for integration into today’s diverse workforce. Utilizing a qualitative approach, my study will consist of examining the responses from both student and faculty surveys and about their perceptions on communicating and integrating with others of different cultures in a classroom environment. The study seeks to find more effective ways of teaching for understanding cultural differences and its importance for world innovation.

Problem Statement

The problem is that educators are not adequately trained to teach the diverse student population in today’s colleges and universities. Although course content on diversity are offered, students do not participate in discussion, exploration, and consideration of messages that do not meet their views, thus active engagement is the missing element. Past studies have indicated that these kinds of discussions would be helpful in developing the skills needed to reason critically and examine situations from various perspectives. The question is, “What methods faculty must learn to teach diversity in the college classroom and encourage active engagement on controversial topics?” The following seven articles will support my research topic, “Cultural Diversity Studies have found that educators are not adequately prepared, and that both educators and administration in adult education for adult learners need more information regarding the inclusion of multicultural education to respond to the needs of the increasing adult populations to support diversity, civility, and democracy in education.

Literature Review

Article 1: The Relevance of Multicultural Education for Adult Learners in Higher

Education (Kumi-Yeboah, & James, 1), described multicultural education as an approach to teaching and learning the histories and cultures of students in an educational system’s teaching and learning process. The purpose of the article is to explain the significance of including multicultural education programs in adult education curriculum and in what manner educators can utilize it as a guide to encourage citizenship education. Programs that address multicultural education have been provided in colleges and universities due to the increased growth of the diverse populace. The aim is to change the structure of educational institutions so that students from different racial, ethnic, and social-class groups receive equality in education. In a quantitative theory, multicultural education emphasizes research and practice along with interconnected variables related with ethnic groups, gender, and social class. Research indicates the need to incorporate theories of ethnic studies into schools and teacher curriculum.

The problem is, not much investigation has been studied about the significance of multicultural education for adult learners in higher education. Multiculturalism can be taught indirectly through studying courses such as history, geography, economics or political science and literature, it is not adequate. Educators must recognize that in for multicultural education to be more effective, it must be taught directly, specifically, through its own college course curriculum whereby adult learners and faculties can understand other students’ cultures and ways of learning, and effects on their academic conduct (Kumi-Yeboah, & James, 1). The question is, “What types of social arrangements appear to foster active and participating citizenship most effectively?” Findings were that multicultural education should consist of content integration. Integrating knowledge construction, and teachings of various geographic regions, learning styles, socio-economic classes, fairness and justice, are all critical aspects of this article in regards to my research topic. Educators and administration in adult education for adult learners need more information regarding the inclusion of multicultural education to respond to the needs of the increasing adult populations to support diverse, civic, and democratic education (Kumi-Yeboah, & James, 1).

Article 2: Special Issue: Engaging Diversity in Undergraduate Classrooms: A Pedagogy for Developing Intercultural Competence (Lee, Poch, Shaw, & Williams, 2) discuss intercultural development theory as the basis of developing intercultural understanding in students and obstacles in developing intercultural competence in the college classroom. Faculty members play a significant role in developing affective and behavioral development of students by improving classroom interactions. Purpose of the review is to provide guidance, to create intercultural interactions, and increase the potential for inducing skilled communication with diversity. The problem lies in identifying and understanding the distinct content needed for intercultural communication to be appropriate and effective, and the process by which one develops such content. The research question, “What can faculty do to facilitate intercultural competency and development appropriately and effectively in college classrooms?” Findings were that individuals who can control their attitudes toward others who are different from themselves have developed strategies of effective communicators. And have found ways to identify and manage uncertainty in their interactions, an aspect that is relevant to my research topic because the college classroom is a practical environment for forming intercultural communication competence for future interactions with diversity in a professional and social manner. As the world becomes more diverse, faculty must utilize the classroom for students to interact with each other regardless of one’s differences. Intercultural communication requires behavioral change, which does not happen overnight. Effective behavioral changes demand careful mental development and opportunity to apply and refine theory in integration and practice (Lee, Poch, Shaw, & Williams, 2).

Article 3: Embracing Diversity through Service Learning (Gross & Maloney, 3) connected secondary-education teacher candidates with diverse populations through community-based service-learning activities in the first year of college. Through this experiment these students learned more about themselves and even more about others. They expressed increased cultural competence that reinforced their desire to effectively teach all students. The authors define service learning as a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service, with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities. Upon reflections of mutual exchange with other individuals from different backgrounds, teacher candidates can explore various cultures represented in the classroom. However, not all teacher education programs include a service-learning requirement. The problem was presented in the form of difficulties with some conversation partners discouraged by difficulties with

English, which resulted in the form of slang words and abbreviations rarely taught in Standard

English classes. The research question is, “How do students perceive themselves and others after performing service-learning” and “How do students reflect on experiential learning in their future classroom?” Although teacher preparation programs have not customarily been developed to promote the value of diversity, the changing demographics cause perspective teacher candidates to take note of the richness innate in the various cultures represented in the college classroom (Gross, & Maloney, 3).

Article 4: Using Conversational Learning to Enhance Teachings of Diversity (Dawson, 4), explores some of the challenges of diversity and suggests the use of conversational learning to make teaching more effective in preparing students and employees for the workplace. A model of conversational learning is also discussed along with ways to facilitate its use in teaching diversity. The goal is to increase knowledge, improve attitudes, and develop diversity skills. The problem is finding the methods of reaching this goal are not as defined, and efforts to teach diversity are frequently met with significant challenges, exploration, and consideration of messages that do not meet their views, thus active engagement is the missing element. Although course content on diversity are offered, students do not participate in discussion. According to the author, these kinds of discussions would be helpful in developing the skills needed to reason critically and examine situations from various perspectives. The research question is, “What methods faculty must learn to teach diversity in the college classroom and encourage active engagement on controversial topics?” Students will not actively engage in conversations regarding diversity if they are made to feel uncomfortable in the classroom setting, an important aspect of this article relevant to my research topic. Integrating conversational learning into teaching diversity has the potential to make a significant impact in the knowledge obtained by students as well as their abilities to cope with diverse environments they will encounter, despite the challenges faced by faculty and students.

Article 5: Teachers Beliefs about Diversity: An Analysis from a Personal and Professional Perspective (Chiner, Cardona-Molto, and Gomez-Puerta, 5) purpose is to examine the beliefs that teachers have about diversity and their level of sensitivity towards some topics related to it. In addition, beliefs were contrasted according to teachers’ personal and professional views and training experience. In today’s society and educational system, diversity is one of central support, and the more teachers are aware of their belief system, they become better at influencing their own actions and interactions. Thus, teachers must be prepared to effectively teach all students in their classrooms. When diversity is an issue, it is a challenge because a teacher’s beliefs, attitudes and perspectives will determine their response to education. It is suggested that teachers have the ability to identify and comprehend these beliefs for them to achieve positive changes. The problem is that the research done so far, does not yield conclusive results. Some studies show that teachers are sensitive regarding diversity, while others state neutral or negative beliefs. Due to the inconsistency, further research is suggested. The study attempted to answer the questions, “What are teachers’ personal and professional beliefs about diversity?” And “What level of sensitivity do teachers show about certain diversity issues?” In a quantitative research, the results of the study were examined more extensively and indicated that a teachers’ higher sensitivity towards these issues were more from a personal perspective, rather than from a professional perspective (Chiner, Cardona, Molto, and Puerta, 5).

Article 6: Using Routines to Improve Diversity in Higher Education Institutions (Hoover, 6) defines how organizational routines are utilized within Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The author explains how organizational routines are modified over time to improve diversity in institutionalized practices because of their considerable possibilities for encouraging continuing diversity and multiculturalism in HEIs. Furthermore, as a conceptual goal of HEIs to increase diversity in colleges and universities exists the idea that these HEIs should approach this goal in a well-planned manner in to attain progress that will achieve concrete goals that yield long-term results because diversity covers a wide scope of subjects and there are myriad potential strategies that could be undertaken to enrich diversity. Hoover discusses that the exchange of dialogue involving diversity often involves visually noticeable differences such as ethnicity, race or gender, as well as the inclusion of individuals with less indistinct internal differences such as personality traits, sexual identity, or religious beliefs. The problem is that increasing diversity and multiculturalism in higher education institutions is frequently pursued with institutionalized practices that are short-term and superficial. Customarily, HEIs have been founded based on the attitudes of an individual or group who regard themselves as being elite, resulting in HEIs accommodating a limited set of demographics and falling short in diversity. Yet the rising level of diversity has been considerably significant for a long time. Due to the many factors that affect why students will attend a particular HEI, strengthening diversity in these institutions is more complex than simply recruiting and admitting more individuals from diverse cultures. Directors of higher learning institutions must take into account factors within their HEIs that will encourage diverse individuals to remain at these institutions of higher learning (Hoover, 6). The author explains how using routines will improve diversity in HEIs. The research question is, “What type of routines would effectively support diversity in HEIs and how will they be implemented and evaluated?” In their efforts of pursuing research on the benefits of diversity, researchers have found advantages to having a diverse group of individuals within higher education institution’s organization system and for interactions connecting diverse individuals. Most importantly having a diverse student population engaging in activities will encourage diversity in course content, which has been demonstrated to create educational benefits (Laird, Engberg, & Hurtado, 2005). Furthermore, interactions between diverse individuals demonstrated benefits in decision-making, enhances critical thinking and problem solving, self-confidence, academic achievement, and democracy-associated outcomes (Hoover, 6). A method of improving diversity within colleges and universities is strategically implementing routines that can be maximized to improve and encourage diversity, relevant to my research because there are other methods to be explored. My qualitative theory will generate survey questions for developing routines to expand diversity and supporting members in finding solutions for resolving information processing conflicts that can help improve productivity, as well as improving the experiences of its members. Improving organizational routines can serve to increase diversity and produce a better environment in higher education institutions.

Article 7: Identity and Multiculturalism: Teaching Multiculturalism to Undergraduate College Students (Harris and Smith, 7) explains how critical cultural identity development of undergraduate college students, and the significance of their professors to understand their student’s stage of development opposed to their own when teaching multiculturalism in the college classroom. Students are struggling to get through the stages of “identity vs. confusion” and “intimacy vs. isolation,” which normally happens between the ages 11 through 20 years. As their professors have moved on through to the stage of “generativity vs. stagnation,” according to Erikson’s (1963) psychosocial theory, which occurs between the ages 30-60 years (Harris and Smith, 7), they are more career-minded and expect students to be on that certain level and demonstrate critical thinking, be self-directed learners and undertake responsibility for course concepts. However, students see college in another perspective, they see college as boring, impersonal, and has no relevance to real-life. Here lies the problem, students do not relate to the developmental level of thinking as their professors, as a result, the professor’s knowledge, in many cases, is unappreciated in the classroom. The knowledge simply does not connect. Many undergraduate students have not had enough exposure to groups of diverse cultures until their first year of college, where Multiculturalism is generally stressed as an important value to ingrain in college students. However, the multicultural education of undergraduates often consists of only one elective course that is not a requirement, and many professors treat cultural matters of secondary importance, rather than primary to education. A student’s thinking needs to be developed and nurtured. They need professors that teach from the concrete to the abstract and visual aids, at least until they have learned to integrate concepts on their own (Harris and Smith, 7). Little research is accessible on the effectiveness of multicultural classes on transforming the cultural views of undergraduate students.

Research Question or Hypothesis

The research question is “Why is it important for professors to focus on finding out where students are in their identity development?” It is critical to avoid making assumptions about a student’s identity based on one’s race. Professors must be attentive of the identity development of most college students and how it differentiates from their own developmental level for teaching multiculturalism in the college classroom; clearly relevant to my research topic. The Developmental Social-Context Theory, is based on the identification development that undergraduate college students are transpiring from teens, but they are not actually mature thinking adults. When a professor is at a later stage of cultural identification development than his or her student, this presents the greatest opportunities for the professor to engage these students in cultural conversation and encourage development of their cultural identification. Considering the cultural identity is most relevant due to the level of development for both student and the professor (Harris, & Smith, 7).

Gaps in the Literature

Most colleges and universities have been offered multicultural programs to address the growing tendency of the diverse populations. The classroom environment offers prospective opportunities for students to learn to moderate and communicate across difference while overpowering the immanent challenges in engaging with diverse groups. Studies suggest that knowledge of foundational principles of intercultural development will enable faculty to provide good use of the time and capacity of our classrooms, regardless of the branch of knowledge. In to show and receive respect appropriately, an individual need a base of knowledge about the culture of the person one interacts with. However, faculty are not adequately informed on how to structure and facilitate the opportunities to engage diversity in the classroom to acknowledge and support students of all cultures (Lee, Poch, Shaw, & Williams, 2). Educators of adult learners should know that as multiculturalism can be taught indirectly through studying courses such as history, geography, economics or political science and literature, it is not sufficient. Instead, multiculturalism must also be taught directly in its own curriculum in college education courses, more inclusive of diversity, such as ethnic studies, and cultural awareness to have an optimistic effect on learning democratic and multicultural outcomes (Laird, Engberg, & Hurtado, 11). Politicians, university administrators, and other influential pedagogue argue that college students will be taking courses in philosophy, political science, history, and sociology and will ripen their decision-making, causing them to reflect and accept total responsibility of diversity in American society (Kumi-Yeboah, & James, 1). The question is, “What methods faculty must learn to encourage active engagement on controversial topics around diversity in college classrooms?” Simply being in a classroom with diverse individuals and taking Multiculturalism College courses do not fully prepare students for integrating with diverse groups. Harris and Smith (7), found that the professor’s knowledge is only valuable as far as it is useful or meaningful to the student and is usually not appreciated in undergraduate classrooms because of where they are in their stages of development, the knowledge does not connect. The literature does not consider the importance of social-context, social interaction and social practice. Teachers must be able to relate to the cultural background of students’ attitudes, values and beliefs the student has developed through years, all of which undergraduate students bring to the college classroom. Dawson, (4) notes that teaching diversity is challenging due to the complexity of the topic itself and because there is no clear-cut guidance in teaching the subject. In addition, it is unlikely that diversity awareness will expand through courses that primarily involve lecture because there is not student interaction, nor experiential involvement. The central question is, “How to prepare educators to teach diversity in college classrooms that will prepare students for future engagement and interaction in a fast-growing diverse population?”

Proposed Theory

Using a qualitative grounded theory. Grounded theory involves the collection and analysis of data. The theory is “grounded” in actual data, which means the analysis and development of theories happens after you have collected the data. It was introduced by Glaser & Strauss (9) in 1967 to legitimize qualitative research. This theory seeks to determine what knowledge prospective secondary education teacher candidates gained from this particular community-based service-learning experience. The community-based service-learning program produced a large amount of positive, constructive results. In the process of working with conversation partners, culturally inexperienced students engaged in diversity first-hand, permitting awareness of diversity in our society. This proposed theory is relevant to my research topic because diverse cultures can be as simple as the openness and willingness to integrate with different cultures without prejudice. Most colleges and universities have been offered multicultural programs to address the growing tendency of the diverse population. The classroom environment offers prospective opportunities for students to learn to moderate and communicate across difference while overpowering the immanent challenges in engaging with diverse groups. Teaching diversity in higher education is a multiplex process. Multicultural education can only be as effective as it is appropriately taught, and even then, it will require understanding the cultural differences of others who hold various perspectives from ourselves, interacting with diverse groups, and continuous practice, which is not learned overnight.

Common Themes in the Literature

A common theme found in the background literature is that “there is no clear-cut best method of teaching diversity in the college classroom.” Another common theme found among the literature is a college or university’s Diversity course requirement, are courses intended to help prepare students to be effective citizens in a diverse society. These courses must be all inclusive of diversity and must be taught in their own curriculum to be most effective, rather than courses simply taught as an additive to multicultural education (Laird, Engberg, & Hurtado, 11). Students bring to college classrooms different languages, various levels of educational experiences, life histories, and cultural backgrounds but they do not enter classrooms with the ability to intermingle with diverse groups. Students may not look the same but they share similar goals and aspirations. Cultural diversity in college classrooms prepare students for working and interacting with myriad groups of people of every nationality, fosters creative thinking, amplifies self-awareness and expands a student’s ability to see many aspects of the world and their position in it (Hyman & Jacobs, 10). The following articles will support my research topic.

Contrast Findings and Results of the Literature

A qualitative theory, intercultural competence presents the underlying basis of how people develop capacities to relate across differences, it does not take into consideration the extensive social context of intercultural communication, whereby participants harbor various amounts of authority and have different social roles. Social-cultural context must be taken into account. Having knowledge, comprehension and intercultural skills can influence how students view other cultures in relation to their own culture, listen, observe and evaluate, examine and interpret behavioral, along with interaction between individuals must occur in for students to develop and practice intercultural skills (Lee, Poch, Shaw, & Williams, 2).

A qualitative theory suggests including and lending voice to people with differing ideas and experiences, the concept of conversational learning; a process whereas learners construct new meaning and transform their collective experiences into knowledge through their conversations (Dawson, 9). A fundamental goal of multicultural education is to alter the structure of educational institutions so that every student will have an equal opportunity to achieve academic excellence in school (Kumi-Yeboah, & James, 1). Today’s U.S. citizens, as adult learners, need to develop knowledge in diversity, skills, and attitudes to function in a global society.

Participants

The targeted group consisted of one faculty and 35 graduate students at the Strayer University’s online forum. Utilizing a qualitative approach was more appropriate for my study because I am focusing on the perspectives that the participants hold, and not the comparison of any specific numerical data. The participants’ age range were from 21-65 years. Eight participants identified as male, 21 as female, 3 as other and 2 would rather not say. My classmates and faculty received an invitation via Blackboard to take the survey. Out of the 35 students invited to participate only 7 responded. I realize that the number of responses were below the expected 10 but I was able to conduct the required data analysis.

Methodology

The protocol used to collect the data was a survey monkey design. The survey instrument consisted of 10-multiple choice questions around the subject of diversity, with level headings, 1-great amount; 2-moderate amount; 3-low amount; 4-little. The key question, “Does cultural diversity make a difference in college classrooms?” will be measured by the greatest percentage of greatly agree responses, against the moderately, or low amount responses.

Research Instrument

The instrument I used was a Questionnaire which was open from 08/24/2018 to 09/01/2018. A total number of 30 survey monkeys were delivered via e-mail to the selected group of participants, who were asked to mark one answer to each of the 10 multiple choice questions, then submit their responses. Final count in the study was 7 respondents, who completed and submitted the survey before the end date of the study. The data was collected, then organized in such a way that it could be analyzed looking at what participants are saying, and the overall tone of the ideas.

Data Analysis

A qualitative approach allows me to look for multiple data points regarding the views of the participants to see if they are credible, dependable, transferable, and can be confirmed. For instance, when participants were asked, “How comfortable do you feel discussing controversial topics in their college classroom with a diverse group of people?” 5 of 7 participants chose a great deal (71.43%) while the 2 remaining participants chose a moderate amount (28.57%). Next, when asked, “How much they valued the diverse population in colleges and …