The purpose of this research was to examine the perceptions of collaboration and individual communication skills among advanced high school students. Senior students from an Academic Year Governor's School for science and math, all of whom were enrolled in a 9-week leadership, teamwork, and communications course, participated in this mixed methods study. Pre and post surveys were administered to determine participants' perceptions of collaboration and their own communications skills and whether those perceptions changed after completing the course. Each student answered Likert-style questions taken from Zhuang et al. (2008) that categorized perceptions of three factors of collaboration: cooperation skills, advocating and influencing skills, and negotiation skills. A final open-ended question solicited elaboration regarding perceptions of collaboration. Junior students at the same school were not enrolled in the course but were asked to participate in the study as a comparison group. Two tailed t-tests revealed no statistically significant differences between the pre-survey results of the seniors and the juniors. T-tests also revealed no significant differences between the pre and post data for the juniors. However, senior participants had significantly more positive perceptions of collaboration overall; cooperation skills; and advocating and influencing skills; with a non-significant increase in negotiation skills, skills which were not specifically addressed in the nine-week course. The open-ended responses indicated that the seniors perceived collaboration in a more positive way when they were grouped with other students who were engaged and motivated. Students also indicated that positive collaborative experiences allowed students to hear different views and bring ideas together. More positive responses and fewer negative or neutral responses were noted in the post-survey data. The results of this study suggest that when the skills of collaboration and communication are specifically taught, students are more likely to view collaboration positively, recognize the benefits of collaboration both in school and in the workforce, and enjoy the experience of collaborating. / Doctor of Philosophy / The purpose of this research was to examine the perceptions of collaboration and individual communication skills among advanced high school students. Academically advanced senior students, all of whom were enrolled in a 9-week leadership, teamwork, and communications course, participated in this study that contained both quantitative and qualitative research data. Surveys were administered at the start of the course and then at the completion of the course to determine participants' perceptions of collaboration and their own communications skills and whether those perceptions changed after completing the course. Each student answered questions with responses including "never," "rarely," "sometimes," "often," "usually," and "always" taken from Zhuang et al. (2008). The results of the survey categorized perceptions of three factors of collaboration: cooperation skills, advocating and influencing skills, and negotiation skills. A final open-ended question solicited elaboration regarding perceptions of collaboration. Junior students at the same school were not enrolled in the course but were asked to participate in the study as a comparison group. The analysis of the results of the pre-survey data of the seniors and the juniors revealed a good basis for comparison. The data also showed little change of perceptions for the juniors over the 9-week period. However, senior participants had significantly more positive perceptions of collaboration overall; cooperation skills; and advocating and influencing skills; with a non-significant increase in negotiation skills, skills which were not specifically addressed in the nine-week course. The open-ended responses indicated that the seniors perceived collaboration in a more positive way when they were grouped with other students who were engaged and motivated. Students also indicated that positive collaborative experiences allowed students to hear different views and bring ideas together. More positive responses and fewer negative or neutral responses were noted in the post-survey data. The results of this study suggest that when the skills of collaboration and communication are specifically taught, students are more likely to view collaboration positively, recognize the benefits of collaboration both in school and in the workforce, and enjoy the experience of collaborating.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/109710 |
| Date | 20 April 2022 |
| Creators | Shifflett, Melisa Gail |
| Contributors | Education, Vocational-Technical, Bowen, Bradley Davis, Williams, Thomas O., Grohs, Jacob Richard, Edwards, Cherie Dionne |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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