Factors influencing effective performance of university student teams

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Research and Development in Higher Education Vol. 26: Learning for an Unknown Future

July, 2003, 692 pages
Published by
Helen Mathews and Rod McKay
ISBN
0 90 8557 55 8
Abstract 

Universities are often criticised for not developing important generic skills, such as teamwork, in their graduates (Eunson, 2002). Students, however, often resist team projects due to previous bad experiences with teamwork. The aim of this paper is to report on research, which sought to investigate university student team effectiveness. The focus was on understanding the impact of team-level issues, and complements previous research conducted by the authors on individual-level issues affecting student teams (Caspersz, Skene & Wu, 2002a & b). Intra group trust and leadership emerged as two significant indicators in team effectiveness. The research therefore supports the proposition that good student teamwork doesn't 'just' happen: proactive and positive facilitation addressing team-work processes is required to ensure teams function effectively.

Keywords: student, team, performance