ATTITUDES TOWARD TEAMWORK IN HIGHER EDUCATION: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF RELIGIOUSLY AFFILIATED UNIVERSITIES AND SECULAR-BASED UNIVERSITIES

This research focuses on students ’ preferences for team-based assignments. It is no surprise that as many industries began using teams to solve problems that universities would adopt team-based assignments to simulate the “real world ” to the best of the academicians ’ abilities. While team-based assignments clearly have become accepted (i.e., preferred) pedagogy for many business programs, it does have its flaws as are pointed out in this article. The authors desire to shed light on improving the implementation of teamwork since it is not likely to be removed from the professor’s toolbox. The more poignant question investigated is whether students at religiously-affiliated universities demonstrated a higher proclivity for teamwork than students at secular-based schools. This investigation caused the authors to apply the individualistic versus collectivistic paradigm to the formation of teams. While the research suggests that students in religiously-affiliated schools did not demonstrate a preference for teamwork at a higher rate than secular-based students, the authors offer some suggestions for professors who utilize teams as an integral part of classroom instruction