The Design of an Interview - Coursework Example

The Design of an Interview Introduction: Educational needs of the modern generation are quite varied and diverse. People are breaking beyond conventional models of education and are ready to expand their knowledge from various sources. Distances and differences are no more a concern for the modern students who often flock to foreign countries in order to pursue their chosen career. Often this creates adjustment problems for the students as well the host population in which the student lives, works and earns his degree. Studying abroad gives one a chance to learn a foreign culture. At the same time, it also provides ample scope for cultures to know each other and exchange views and ideas that are so important to know one another. In fact, it may be seen that educational exchange programmes create maximum cultural interaction and exchange of views and ideas between different cultures. The city of Newcastle was selected in this project because the city is important in many respects. One, it is a prominent destination in the UK with regard to educational facilities and students, especially foreign students come to this place to pursue their education. The city also provides umpteen facilities and resources for students to exploit and further their educational aspirations. However, the city also has its fair share of problems. Cases of harassment based on colour, religion and ethnicity have recently been recorded from the city and people are apprehensive about local groups that are notorious for harassing foreign students. However, in spite of such irritants, the city administration has done a fair job of providing many facilities for education seekers who come to this place in search of a professional degree and qualifications. The interview will be designed to elicit the answer to the question ‘whats it like being an overseas student in Newcastle?’ The interview will try to encourage respondents to answer what their experiences are as a student at Newcastle. The interview will try to analyse the background of the students and also the common problems that they face as a student in this place. Importance of the interview: The country has witnessed a tremendous amount of progress in the area of educational reform over the last fifty years: the educational achievement gap between those of different races is narrowing and more and more students are finding the resources necessary to pursue higher education. However, it still has not solved one of the most persistent and pervasive inequities in the educational system: poorer communities suffer from substandard instruction and a lack of resources, while wealthier communities consistently have access to better resources. Minority students are disproportionately affected by the poor educational systems in low-income neighbourhoods Even though Newcastle is known throughout the world a prominent educational destination, there are many advantages and disadvantages of studying in this place. There are also many hidden issues that students will have to face when they join for their courses and will not have known then when they were contemplating study at the place. Many of these issues could have been solved or at least addressed by the relevant authorities, but there may be issues that could be out of control for the local authorities to contemplate and analyse. Hence, if an idea of the issues that students face could be enumerated, it will help the authorities to plan and develop a plan that will help future students who visit the place to actualise their dreams. A survey and interview will also help peers to know firsthand as to what are the issues that the students of Newcastle are facing. On the other hand, authorities will also come to know some of the advantages and disadvantages of the place, which will help them to compare the place with other educational destinations in the country. This will help to increase the overall facilities that are offered in this place and remove any deficiencies that may be present in the place. The content and structure of the interview: The content and structure of the interview had to be carefully selected in order to bring out relevant details of the issues that were being queried from the respondents. Questions cannot be point blank nor should they hurt the sentiments of the respondents. Hence, the questions had to be so framed so that the respondents could answer the questions without being embarrassed, apprehensive or partial. It was also important to select a diverse mixture of respondents to answer the questions because cultural issues could colour the outlook and answers of students. For example, Asian students may not feel about issues as their American or Canadian counterparts would. Hence, it was necessary to understand the student population and select an eclectic mix of students to respond to the questionnaire. It was also important to ensure that respondents would not feel intimidated or apprehensive to answer to the questions that were being put to them. A set of 10 questions were put to the students to understand what their ideas of the educational scenario in Newcastle was. The questions were asked to the students directly. No written questionnaires were provided. This would ensure that a direct and quick reply would be available from the students, which is often not available from respondents when a written document is presented to them. The facial expressions of the students will also be available for review when the questions are directly posed to them. This helps to modify ort change any questions that may embarrass the student or make it difficult for them to answer. Care was also taken to ensure that no controversial questions were asked to the respondents. The work involves a lot of research and management of information. The realms of research in any science are spread across either basic research or applied research. Though the two are usually differentiated, the distinction is quite vague and blurred. Though it is often said that both the research can be conducted independent of each other, in practice applied research is an extension of the basic research, with some additional fundamental research on the topic which is not already available. Selecting the candidates for the interview: A mix of diverse students was selected for the interview in order to allow an eclectic mix of students available for taking the interview. As far as possible, a balance was established between the cultures of students talking the interview. This was to ensure that the interview did not echo regional and cultural bias. It was expected that such a balance in approach would provide a balance view of the problem at hand. Students were approached to know their approval to conduct an interview. This ensured that a specific number of students were available to be interviewed. Students of known political affiliations or other biases were excluded from the interview process. This would ensure that answers were not politically motivated. Mostly I selected students pursuing their graduate programmes. The graduate programme is considered as the first step for students to achieve their higher objectives in life. Since almost all the graduate programs are pursued due to a genuine interest in academics, it follows that all the students who gain admissions for the courses are genuinely motivated to pursue their higher studies. I believe that students of the graduate programmes are more mature and experienced to answer the questions better. Conducting the interview: The interview was conducted at the college premises and outside where a sizeable number of student populations were available. The conduct of the interview was not announced previously in order to avoid any biased opinions that may be prepared in advance. Students who were willing to be interviewed were interviews one at a time with ample space for privacy. Hence, the opinion of one student would not affect the ideas and responses of other students. Questions were also framed in such a manner that the students were not apprised about the opinion of the majority of students who were interviewed. Group responses were avoided from students because of a chance for biased answers and because of group dynamics that would affect the answering process adversely. The answers were recorded in a voice recorder and the answers were later analysed after the interviewing process was complete. This allowed the interviewers to cover maximum number of students in a short time. The answers given by the students were collated and similar answers were grouped on the basis of their similarity. This gave an idea about the number of students who gave similar answers. This also helped to find out what the majority of students felt about Newcastle. The interpretations were derived from the total answers that the students gave. A general idea of the trends in the educational facilities of Newcastle was available from the answers that students gave and the answers allowed one to infer some important findings. Further study: It would be interesting to inquire about the experiences of the teacher during the course of their development as a teacher. The experience is both personal as well as professional because the making of a teacher involves both personal as well as the professional aspects of human development It should be interesting to track the process of development of a teacher from an Inexperienced individual to a person who is capable of putting a sense of direction in others. The efficacy of the teacher lies in his or her capacity to understand another individual and to put oneself in somebody else’s position. Hence, the development of a teacher has to take care of a lot of factors, which would help in the comprehensive development of the individual. Time and again, scientists and educational experts have stressed the need to develop teachers in a professional manner so that they would be able to impart the ideas that they have learned into other’s lives particularly in their formative period. Interview Questions: The following questions were asked to the students. How long have you been at Newcastle? What is the course that you are following? Are you employed? Are you being sponsored by a firm or are you on your own? How would you classify the educational benefits of Newcastle: Excellent, Good, Bad, Needs improvement, Can’t Say. How would you classify the cultural aspects of the city? : Highly cultured, Just another place, Very different from my place. How would you classify the people of Newcastle? Friendly, very helpful, ok, difficult to deal with How did you find the educational institutions in the place?: Friendly, Very helpful, Not helpful, very official What are any other issue that you feel must be enhanced in the place How do you find the place different from your country? How are the educational facilities different from your country? What do you like best of Newcastle? What do you like worst about Newcastle? How have your perspective changed as part of taking a course in this place? What are the personal and other advantages that you achieved as part of pursuing a course in this country? The results that I got from the interview supported my view that the students are having a good experience from their educational venture at Newcastle. They have been able to learn a lot in terms of cultural elements and other ideas. The facilities at New Castle may not be apt for some and cultural issues are also a problem for many. But, however overall most students found out that their experience at Newcastle is a good one. . Works Cited Aanstoos, C.M. (1994). Mainstream psychology and the humanistic alternative." The humanistic movement. Recovering the person in psychology (pp. 1-12). Lake Worth, FL: Gardner Press Helminiak, D. (2000, May 14). Humanistic psychology’s vision of being human (Core Beliefs). Carrollton, GA: Old Saybrook 2 conference committee report. Lajoie, D.H. & Shapiro, S.I. (1992). Definitions of transpersonal psychology: The first twenty-three years Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 24(1), 79-98. Walsh, R. & Vaughan, F. (1993). Paths beyond ego: The transpersonal vision. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher. 1-8 Nicholas Mays and Catherine Pope, Quality in qualitative research Qualitative research in health care: Assessing, doi:10.1136/bmj.320.7226.50 2000;320;50-52 BMJ Read More