Attitudes and Cross-cultural Differences of UCSI University Undergraduates towards Multicultural Group Work

Abstract

Almost every course in higher education involved some form of multicultural group work activities and these have resulted in numerous problems for undergraduates due to the attitudinal and cultural differences. This study aims to find out the undergraduates’ attitudes as well as the effect of cross-cultural differences towards multicultural group work. The mixed method design was used in this study. Questionnaire and interview questions adapted from both Wegelius (2013) and Iskandarova (2016) were used to collect the data. Google form was used for collecting quantitative data. There were 140 respondents comprising both Malaysian respondents and respondents from other nationalities studying in UCSI University. Out of these 140 respondents, eight respondents were selected for indepth interviews. In general, the findings of this study showed that the local and foreign undergraduates’ attitudes and language proficiency play major roles towards working effectively in group work. Besides, the data obtained indicated that there are both positive and negative effects of cross-cultural differences towards multicultural group work. A majority of the international undergraduates have a positive outlook when engaging with undergraduates from other countries. However, at times they isolate themselves due to differences in culture, language barriers, cross-cultural communication and attitudes. At the individual level, the findings can be used by students and educators as reference for combating problems encountered during multicultural group work while at the organisation level, the Human Resource Department can plan team building activities to bring the undergraduates together.