Comparison of the perceptions of classroom participation among Asian and non-Asian design students

INTRODUCTION The United States higher education system often reflects the culture' of the dominant society (Tierney, 1992). U.S. colleges and universities have largely been designed to educate Caucasian students. The educational system forces social integration and assimilation rather than creating a framework of liberation where differences are respected. Not until recently has emphasis been placed on multicultural education. In design studio classes, students' participation 2 is a generally accepted component of the grading criteria for the class. There are cultural differences in perceptions of classroom participation between students and educators from diverse backgrounds (Boss 1983; Scollon, 1981). For example, Scollon (1981) found differences existed on perspectives of classroom participation between instructors, Alaskan native students, and non-native students. This included differences in expectations of classroom behavior, attitudes about respect for elders and teachers, and relationships between instructors and students. Boss (1983) confirmed similar findings through her observations of Vietnamese students in classroom settings. She found that Vietnamese students tend to be more passive and demonstrate different learning attitudes as compared to U.S. students. IMPORTANCE* OF * THE * STUDY This study was based on the hypotheses that in the design field, Asian-American students and non-Asian students may have different frames of reference in regards to expectations of classroom participation. Since most U.S. college instructors may have been raised in the United States, it is logical for them to define good classroom participation in terms of U.S. culture. Educational curriculum underplays the influence of cultural background on students' learning experiences. Increased cultural diversity in higher education necessitates redefining the existing curriculum in order to better serve the changing student population. Cultural factors greatly influence educational motivation and achievement. Studies investigating the impact of cultural differences on perceptions of classroom participation are needed in order to help educators achieve effective communication and teaching styles with students from diverse backgrounds. This study was conducted at a large Midwestern university. The objectives of this study were to compare and contrast instructors' and Asian students' perceptions and expectations about classroom participation in a design classroom, and to compare and contrast perceptions and expectation about classroom participation between Asian and non-Asian students. The goal of this study was to increase awareness among design

educators about the significant role their students' cultural frames of reference play in classroom participation. The ultimate goal is to provide reference material for design educators so that they can improve their communications with students of diverse cultural backgrounds. Also, this study is intended to better the learning experiences of Asian students by offering a culturally sensitive model for classroom instruction. BACKGROUND Social integrationists suggest that each society has a uniform value system. A social integrationist perspective assumes that all individuals, regardless of race, class, or gender, must conform to a uniform set of values; furthermore, that it is an individual's responsibility to adapt to the values. Numerous arguments can be raised against this assumption. A major concern is that there are many components within each individual culture that cause differences in individual perceptions of the world. The U.S. higher education system reflects the culture of the dominant society, that is, Caucasian culture, as Tierney states (1992); he observes, "to assume that colleges and universities do not reflect the culture of mainstream society is to overlook the crucial importance of the sociocultural contexts surrounding post-secondary organizations" (p. 608). Multicultural education is becoming increasingly important. School systems have an expectation for increased participation of people from different cultural groups. Hence, instruction methodologies, as well as curriculum, must undergo modifications in order to accommodate diverse cultural audiences (Richards, 1988). Individuals and groups do not perceive reality in the same way. "Class participation" is a requirement in the majority of design courses, as well as nondesign courses, because discussion and critique are essential to the reinforcement principle. Participation in the classroom can enable students to develop social skills, increase recall of information, improve presentation skills, and increase their scope for improving the quality of work. However, due to differing perceptions of "class participation," Asian students frequently fall short of meeting this requirement. The following summarizes the outcomes and suggested courses of action of two landmark studies related to cultural variations in the perception of classroom participation. Scollon (1981) studied a development seminar conducted at the University of Alaska to examine factors that might create barriers of class participation for Alaskan native students. Results indicated that native students often cannot meet expectations for class participation held by University instructors. Some instructors included class participation in their grading criteria; this criteria usually benefited students who frequently asked questions and demonstrated more interest in the classroom activities. Instructors were also likely to stereotype native students as unresponsive. Additionally, findings indicated that native students usually hesitated to speak in class and asked fewer questions compared with Caucasian students. There were cultural differences in students' perceptions of what was appropriate or inappropriate classroom behavior. In a related study, Boss (1983) made classroom observations of Vietnamese students. Results reconfirmed that classroom behaviors reflected individual cultural frames of reference. Subjects in the study demonstrated passive humility in a classroom setting in

comparison to American students' assertive behavior. Findings suggested that Vietnamese students were brought up to respect teachers and elders, cooperate with peers, and control their actions and desires. Vietnamese students' "slow" or "unresponsive" attitudes reflected their preference for being right rather than being the first to speak up. On the contrary, American students were brought up to be aggressive, competitive, and to question authority. METHODS This study included three stages of data gathering. The first stage involved ongoing observation, for six months, by two evaluators in two different design courses during scheduled class time. The two design courses had an enrollment of 22 undergraduate students. The courses were chosen based upon which ones had the highest number of Asian students. Five participants were Asian students; these included two Vietnamese, one Laotian, one Cambodian, and one Korean. Seventeen participants were non-Asian (Caucasian) students. A standard measurement form, containing criteria for classroom participation, was developed and defined by the instructors of the two classes; this was done in order to reduce biases of the evaluators or the researcher. The form was used by the evaluators as an instrument for evaluating and collecting systematic observational data. Therefore, each subject in the class had his or her individual evaluation form for each class period (a total of 20 per student). At this stage, overall agreement between the two evaluators had to be more than 95 percent in order to be valid. The two evaluators observed each class period (three hours per day, two days per week) for a ten-week quarter and recorded students' learning and participating behaviors based upon the frequency of occurrence of each defined criteria for class participation. The form contained five questions and was measured on a 5-point rating scale: 1. How often did the students attend; 2. How much input did they give on the presentations of their peers; 3. How often did they present their own work; 4. Did they submit their assignments on time; and 5. How much did they cooperate and interact with their peers. In the second stage, each student completed a brief questionnaire at the end of the quarter that included his or her views of classroom participation. Three of the questions required a short response. Four of the questions asked students to indicate their responses on 5-point scales. In order to answer these questions, students had to analyze and evaluate their own participation. The purpose of this questionnaire was to reveal any perceptual differences of classroom participation among Asian and nonAsian students; additionally, the questionnaire was useful in comparing students' perceptions of their own classroom participation with their actual participating behavior (as reported in stage one by the two evaluators). The questionnaire contained the following questions:

1. Please describe your definition of class participation; 2. Rate how much you view your level of participation in this class; 3. Rate how much you view your level of participation in most of the design classes you have had; 4. Rate how much you think you have met the expectations of class participation for this course; 5. Rate how much you value class discussions and critiques; 6. What do you learn from class discussions and critiques? 7. What methods do you prefer for getting feedback about your work? The third stage involved individual interviews with the Asian students. The interview questions included: 1. Where were you born? 2. When did your family immigrate to the United States? 3. Do you speak only English? 4. Do you speak your native language at home? 5. Do you think you are exposed to a bicultural environment? 6. How do values between home and school differ? The purpose of interviewing Asian students was to find out what variables might hinder them from participating in class.

ANALYSIS*OF*DATA For the data collected during the first stage, an ANOVA was conducted to compare the mean values in the ratings of the two different groups (Asian students vs. non-Asian students). There were no significant differences in the following areas: attendance (Q1); frequency with which student presented his or her own work (Q3); turning in assignments on time (Q4); and frequency of cooperation and interaction with peers (Q5). However, a significant difference, F(1, 20) = 4.97, p For the second stage results, a descriptive statistical analysis and an ANOVA were used to analyze the data from the questionnaires. Four out of five Asian students defined class participation as giving feedback; three students defined class participation as responding to questions asked by peers or the instructor. In comparison, 12 non-Asian students defined class participation as giving feedback and having good daily

attendance. In addition, seven non-Asian students defined class Participation as being helpful, cooperative, and interactive with peers; and three students defined classroom participation as asking questions of the instructor. These results indicated that Asian design students have a narrower perception of classroom participation in comparison to non-Asian design students. The Asian design students' definitions of classroom participation seemed to be more passive and focused on responding to specific questions. Conversely, many non-Asian design students defined classroom participation as actively participating in classroom activities, cooperating with peers, and asking questions. In response to the question "What do you learn from class critiques or discussions?"three out of five Asian students said that they realized the importance of feedback and that it helped them improve the quality of their work. The other two said that they learned how to give opinions to the class. As for the non-Asian group, eight students stated that positive feedback was very important in critiques, and that they considered negative feedback to be ineffective. This might suggest that positive feedback enhances students' willingness to participate in critique sessions. Fifteen students preferred individual critiques as the method for getting feedback about their work; this was especially true for assignments that were due the next day. They wanted to have an opinion from the instructor because they felt that feedback from classmates could cause confusion. Furthermore, 13 students preferred small group critiques. Small group critiques can take less time than whole class critiques; although students wanted to see their peers' work and share ideas about their projects, they were still more concerned with the issue of time. Some students complained that they did not have enough time to work on their own projects during class because a whole class critique took up too much time. Individual or small group critiques might encourage each student to express his or her opinions and ideas more promptly than whole class critiques; this is especially true for Asian students who expressed a preference for individual or small group critiques as opposed to being critiqued in front of the whole class. An ANOVA revealed significant differences in the results for question two (Rate how much you view your level of participation in this class) L F (1, 20) = 5.91, p The last stage included interviews with Asian students born in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Korea. They spoke their own languages at home. Two students immigrated to the United States when they were one year old; they were more active in critiques than the other Asian students. In addition, they were more likely to be assimilated into the nonAsian students' learning processes. On the other hand, two students immigrated to the United States when they were 11 years old, and another student immigrated to the United States when she was 16 years old. One of the instructors indicated poor writing skills in the written presentations of these students. All of the Asian students agreed that they were exposed to a bicultural environment at school and home. Regardless of the native countries of the Asian students, their family values focus on being respectful and polite to others. CONCLUSION * AND * DISCUSSION

Asian students had more passive attitudes in class participation in comparison to nonAsian students. For example, Asian students were more hesitant than nonAsian students to express their opinions about their peers' work. Asian students were more concerned about being polite and respectful to others; this could create a barrier for criticizing their peer's work if they perceive criticism as being impolite.

Asian students believed that responding to questions was an important part of classroom participation. One Asian student said that she felt pressured to speak during class critiques; she needed time to organize her thoughts before she could express her opinions. In contrast, non-Asian students actively engaged in classroom participation; they also had a broader definition of class participation. Moreover, nonAsian students placed a higher value on constructive critiques than did the Asian students. There was no significant difference between Asian students and non-Asian students in the presentations of their own work. This might be due to the fact that presentations were a required part of the course grade, therefore, students were perhaps more willing to put up their work, and present it, regardless of cultural influences. There were significant differences in self-perception ofclass participation, meeting the expectations of participation in one particular class in which students were observed, as well as in responding to most ofthe design courses (Q2, Q3, and Q4 in the questionnaire, in stage 11). This indicates that Asian students have a more conservative evaluation of themselves than nonAsian students. Non-Asian students viewed themselves as being more active and rated themselves as being highly participatory in most of the design courses. Classroom participation is important for students in most college classes, especially in the design discipline. Participation enhances the opportunity for students to receive and give valuable feedback. Active classroom participation could stimulate and encourage students to express their own opinions, ideas, and critical thinking. Sowell (1991) indicated that small groups encourage each student to express his or her opinions and ideas more readily than in a large class setting. As the results show, most students preferred individual or small group critiques due to the concern with time and the possible confusion caused by feedback from many different people. Additionally, students wanted direct and instructional feedback from the instructor. The findings of this study can provide reference material for improving communication between design educators and students-especially students of different cultural backgrounds. However, it is clear that the current study suffers from a number of weaknesses. First, the sample size was limited due to the fixed size of design studio courses, as well as the variable and unpredictable enrollment (10-20 students for each class). Second, as shown in the results, there are clear differences amongst the group of Asian students. Although all subjects in this group are defined as Asian American (immigrants), the time period factor (i.e., how long they have lived in the United States) evidently affects the perception of classroom participation, as well as their actual behavior. A more accurate result could be obtained if all Asian subjects were born in the United States or at least had lived in the United States for a similar amount of time.

Third, the aforementioned language problems become a variable that interfere with the results of the study. Cultural differences have a definite impact on the perception of classroom participation. It is important for educators to be aware of this fact so that they may develop effective communication skills and teaching styles that are appropriate for multicultural classrooms. The findings from this study can be applied to other disciplines. It is necessary to examine current curriculum in order to better serve a diverse student population. NOTE 1. In this study, culture is defined as a sense contained within individuals. Individuals within a community share beliefs and theories and, therefore, reality is socially constructed within each culture (Wear 1993). 2. Participation, according to Webster's dictionary, is the "act of participating." Its definition is associated with the concepts of sharing, taking part in or "relating to a larger whole"(p. 836). As it is applied in a design studio class or defined by this article, participation includes the level of involvement of class activities such as critiques, discussions, attendance, group projects, and presentations.

REFERENCE Boss, R.S. (1983). The influence of cultural values on classroom behaviors of adult Vietnamese refugees (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 227 342) Richards, A. (1988). Perceptual training in drawing among students from two countries. Art Education, 29 (3), 302-308. Scollon, S. (1981) Professional development seminar: Amodel for making higher education more culturally sensitive. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 238 662) Sowell, J. (1991) Learning cycle in art history, College Teaching, 39 (1), 14-19. Tinery, W. (1992) An anthropological analysis of student participation in college. Journal of Higher Education, 63 (6), 603-618. Sauman Chu is an assistant professor and Joo Hei Kim is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Design, Housing, and Apparel at the University of Minnesota, St. Paul. Copyright Caddo Gap Press Winter 1999 Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved