Branch Campus Classroom Expectations: An Ethnographic Study of Transnational Faculty and Students in Qatar

Simple item page
atmire.migration.oldid2428
dc.contributor.advisorJacobsen, Michele
dc.contributor.authorBotting, John
dc.date.accessioned2014-09-04T20:57:21Z
dc.date.available2014-11-17T08:00:43Z
dc.date.issued2014-09-04
dc.date.submitted2014en
dc.description.abstractFew studies have deeply and empirically described and analyzed the teaching and learning dynamic in branch campus classrooms in the Middle East, and fewer still have focused on educational technology. The purpose of this ethnographic study is to examine whether any gaps in expectations between transnational Canadian faculty and students in Qatar might be present because teacher and student participants come from different cultural backgrounds. The three research questions guiding this study pertain to a priori expectations, gaps in expectations and acculturation of expectations. Current literature on globalization, internationalization, branch campuses, transnational education, Orientalism, Cosmopolitanism, culture, fundamental attribution error, and teaching and learning and educational technology in Arab Gulf nations is critically reviewed for this study. The study had four phases of data collection: (1) an initial online questionnaire about cultural differences in teaching and learning based on Hofstede’s (1986) work (faculty n = 20, students n = 20), (2) classroom observations of six faculty members over a semester, (3) semi-structured interviews (faculty n = 6, students n = 15) and, (4) a final online summary-feedback questionnaire (faculty n = 13, students n = 17). Findings suggest that Holliday’s (1999) proposition of a small culture approach specific to classrooms is more relevant to research in this context than Hofstede’s (1986) large, national/ethnic culture approach. Classroom activities and participant comments mostly concerned the fundamentals of teaching and learning and not large national/ethnic cultural concerns and issues. Large culture appeared more relevant to participants’ confidence than to the quality of teaching. Classrooms at the research site tend to have an oversupply of instructional technology for which faculty have received little or no training. This readily available technology was also not well supported. Classrooms on this campus are largely set up for lecture style instruction and do not easily accommodate constructivist approaches. Analyses of study findings suggest that the notions of heterogeneity, homogeneity, small culture and large culture are an apt framework for describing and analyzing transnational classrooms. Based on study findings, it is recommended that appropriate educational technology can be determined for the site by following a normal, systematic instructional design process.en_US
dc.identifier.citationBotting, J. (2014). Branch Campus Classroom Expectations: An Ethnographic Study of Transnational Faculty and Students in Qatar (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/25161en_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/25161
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11023/1728
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisher.facultyGraduate Studies
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen
dc.publisher.placeCalgaryen
dc.rightsUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subjectEducation--Bilingual and Multicultural
dc.subjectEducation--Teacher Training
dc.subjectEducation--Technology
dc.subject.classificationEducational Technologyen_US
dc.subject.classificationtransnational educationen_US
dc.subject.classificationCultureen_US
dc.subject.classificationMiddle Easten_US
dc.subject.classificationinternationalen_US
dc.subject.classificationglobalizationen_US
dc.subject.classificationQataren_US
dc.subject.classificationEthnographyen_US
dc.subject.classificationsmall cultureen_US
dc.subject.classificationlarge cultureen_US
dc.subject.classificationheterogeneityen_US
dc.subject.classificationhomogeneityen_US
dc.subject.classificationbranch campusen_US
dc.subject.classificationInstructional Designen_US
dc.subject.classificationsystems approachen_US
dc.subject.classificationCanadaen_US
dc.subject.classificationClassroomen_US
dc.subject.classificationteachingen_US
dc.subject.classificationlearningen_US
dc.subject.classificationCultural adaptationen_US
dc.subject.classificationacculturationen_US
dc.subject.classificationfundamental attribution erroren_US
dc.titleBranch Campus Classroom Expectations: An Ethnographic Study of Transnational Faculty and Students in Qatar
dc.typedoctoral thesis
thesis.degree.disciplineEducational Research
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgary
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Education (EdD)
ucalgary.item.requestcopytrue
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
ucalgary_2014_botting_john.pdf
Size:
4.66 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
2.65 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download
Collections
Open Theses and Dissertations