Low Participation in e-Forum among International Students has become a hard nut to crack to the administrators and stakeholders in higher education. With the advancement in technology, education has been pushed to another level. Both private and public institutions continue to enroll students from across the universe. The online forum has solved the geographical barriers that deny students a chance to join particular institutions (Balaji & Chakrabarti, 2010). One justification is that, international student’s finds language barrier a setback to their participation in the online discussions because most institutions lacks program to increase their mastery of language to boost their fluency. A survey that was administered to 85 students involved in the Geographic Data Analysis (GDA) unit found that only 30 international students actively participated in the e-Forum (Tojet, 2013). Studies have found that the instructors’ lack of motivation and criticism towards the international students among the key factors affecting the international students. Another study that involved 196 students demonstrated that 34.7% were inactive participants in the online discussion forums. Only 33.2% actively participated in the forums, this being prove that the problem was brewing in an alarming rate. Debate on whether the online education benefits outweigh the disadvantages has ended up in controversies and misunderstandings (Tojet, 2013). In the recent past, studies have shown that only 33% of international students enrolling for the online programs complete their courses. Another justification is that studies indicate that internet is most tainted technology that people perceives it improves performance in international students, but the real sense, the ends up misusing it (Dixson, 2010). Nonetheless, little research explains on why international students participate in unethical misuse of the internet lacking time to engage with their fellow counterparts in the e-Forums.
The sample size involved in any research depends on the objectives and goals of the research. Tojet conducted a research investigating the factors affecting students’ participation in online discussion forums. Findings indicated that 41 of the students failed to complete the online course whereas 26.5% left the program before its completion. Most of the students lacked information on how to handle the online forums in a manner at which their dignity will not be affected ( De Cindio, Macintosh, & Peraboni, 2010). The study also indicated that the nature of the online program does not favor most students. The reason behind this is because, at most times, students are in different physical location and at the time of the discussion they may away from accessing the computer to stay online. International students have other responsibilities and errands that make them devalue online education losing concentration most of the time (MASON, 2011).
Outstandingly, the study will be institutional administrators, school principals, governments, students and other stakeholders in understanding the reasons behind low participation in e-Forum among International Students. The professors and other instructors will analyze these factors and derive ways that will help to improve the level of participation amongst international students. The students will also have a chance to propose common topics that they can handle at their best during the interactions (Balaji & Chakrabarti, 2010).Teachers play a vital role in encouraging active participation of students in classroom activities. Therefore, they will have a good understanding of why international students’ participation in e-Forum is at stake. The study will establish a good platform to address the issues heart-rending the participation of students in the online discussions and suggest approaches that will improve the level of participation of the international students.
Purpose of the research
The purpose of the research is to investigate the factors behind Low Participation in e-Forum among International Students. The research aims at suggesting the best approaches that can address the problem of low participation in the online discussions.Research Questions
The objective of this quantitative study is to investigate the alarming rates of participation of international students in online confabs. Here below, the research questions are examined
- What are the factors behind the low participation in e-Forum among International Students?
- What is the relationship between the role of lecturers and role of international students in e-Forum discussions?
- Are there approaches that can improve the level of participation in the online forums regarding international students?
HypothesisThe purpose and the research questions led to the following hypotheses:H1: There will be no dissimilarity in e-Forum participation between international students and the natives.H2: There will be an increase in participation of international students when the lectures play a role in motivating the scholars.
Limitations of the study
There is a low turnout of female students enrolling in the online programs compared to the male students. In addition, up to date, there is no extensive research done regarding this problem making it hard to compare the results over time. Moreover, the level of participation in the questionnaire in affected by the geographical factors and barriers (Rocca, 2010). Also, the time scheduled for the research was not enough to allow extensive readings regarding participation in online discussions.
References
Balaji, M. S., & Chakrabarti, D. (2010). Student Interactions in Online Discussion Forum: Empirical Research from ‘Media Richness Theory’ Perspective. Journal of Interactive Online Learning, 9(1).
De Cindio, F., Macintosh, A., & Peraboni, C. (2010). From e-Participation to Online Deliberation. Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Online Deliberation, ISBN 0-96678-186-4.
Dixson, M. D. (2010). Creating effective student engagement in online courses: What do students find engaging? Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 10(2), 1-13.
MASON, R. B. (2011). Student Engagement with, and Participation in, an e-Forum. Educational Technology & Society, 14(2).
Odom, S., Glenn, B., Sanner, S., & Canella, K. (2009). Group Peer Review as an Active Learning Strategy in a Research Course. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 21(1)
Rocca, K. (2010). Student Participation in the College Classroom: An Extended Multidisciplinary Literature Review. Communication Education, 59(2), 185-213. doi:10.1080/03634520903505936
TOJET. (2013). ENGAGEMENT WITH AND PARTICIPATION IN ONLINE DISCUSSION FORUMS. The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 12(2).
Warren, S., Christensen, L., Shyyan, V., & Thurlow, M. (2013). Forum on addressing performance gaps of low‐performing students. Implications for assessment and instruction.
Xia, J., Fielder, J., & Siragusa, L. (2013). Achieving better peer interaction in online discussion forums: A reflective practitioner case study. Issues in Educational Research, 23(1).
