Managing group work in the classroom: An international study on perceived benefits and risks based on students’ cultural background and gender

Sa？etak Working in groups has become an essential part of success of every organization operating in global economy. Therefore, the business sector has created an imperative for higher education institutions (HEIs) to modify study programs and prepare students to be effective team players. However, while group work has been highly encouraged among university students, their opinions on this practice remain rather neglected. In addition, the role of culture and gender in students’ perceptions of group work has received little attention. The purpose of this study is to examine how university students perceive group work in terms of its benefits and risks and whether their national culture and gender moderates these perceptions. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were employed to meet the research goal. Data were collected among Spanish, Croatian and international students from two European universities: University of Valencia in Spain and University of Split in Croatia. Results suggest that, although students seem to recognize the benefits of group work, they also perceive a considerable number of risks, especially Croatian students. This might be the reason why they don’t seem to prefer group work over individual work, despite their cultural background and gender