Report on the Level of General Knowledge Among Students of Nottingham University Malaysia Campus

Presented by:there are significant differences among the
Name: Wisdom Iheukwumere Elebavarious regions on their knowledge domains.Table
Supervised by: Ms Alison Abraham1: Comparison table of Students from Five
Regions in Asia and Africa
 The result in the Table 1 above showed that
Abstractstudents from Southeast Asian scored the
The aims of the survey are to investigate thehighest of 80%, Southern Africa (77%) and East
level of general knowledge among local andAfrica(77%) posses higher historical knowledge
international students studying in Nottinghamthan their counterparts from West Africa which
University Malaysia campus, and to investigatescored 62% and South Asia (62%). Similar trend
differences in the level of knowledge amongis depicted on knowledge of geography, where
students of Nottingham university studying inSoutheast Asia, East Africa and South Africa both
different faculties which include: Engineering,had average score of 62% on the sub scale of
Bioscience, and Business; and among studentsgeography knowledge; well ahead of the lagging
from various regions studying in the university ofregions: south Asia (46%) and West Africa
Nottingham.(42%).
These aims were realised by undertaking aHowever, result on the contrary showed that
survey of the different regions within the campus.south Asia has the highest knowledge on
The survey is the first of its kind to specificallyeconomics among other regions with total score
target inter-regional comparative study on level ofof 74%, West Africa (50%), Southern Africa
general knowledge among students of different(42%), East Africa (48%) and Southeast Asia
nationalities.(49%). On the related pattern, West Africa
The survey was conducted by means ofstudents showed impressive knowledge on
questionnaire. The questionnaire covered differentscience domain with a score of 60% ahead of
aspects of the knowledge domain and researchother four regions, and closely followed by South
process; including questions from the followingAsia (58%), Southeast Asia (58%), South Africa
subject areas: geography, economy, history,(57%) and East Africa (52%).
science, sports and entertainments.Nevertheless, the result is interpreted with lots of
The result defies the general held opinion andcaution as there are unequal representation
expectation that students in business are highlysample from these regions, which may likely have
knowledgeable in economics, as that is their coremoderating effect on the outcome of the result.
area of specialization. Such could also be arguedAlso, one observation that are readily deciphered
on the average score of Biosciences students onfrom the result is that, there is only marginal
science domain of knowledge.significant differences in the overall knowledge
There are only marginal significant differences inscore of students from these regions, as each
the overall knowledge score of students from theregion compensated for their low scores with
different regions, as each region compensated fortheir scores on other knowledge domain where
their low scores with their scores on otherthey have comparative advantage.
knowledge domain where they have comparativeBesides, the comparative analysis of scores
advantage. From the above result, this report hasacross courses of study showed a somewhat
fulfilled his aims and objectivessimilar pattern of knowledge specialization (see
IntroductionTable 2). Students from engineering disciplines
For centuries, people have been very keen inscored outstandingly higher in Science (64%) well
knowing whether there are differences in theahead of students from Business (57%) and
level of knowledge among various races. This hasBiosciences (52%). In a similar manner, students
been a controversial issue which has generated afrom Business discipline had score of 80% in
lot of conflicting opinions, One of the earliesthistory compared to their counterparts from
researchers to venture into such comparativeEngineering (71%) and Biosciences (58%) and also
research was ‘Alfred Binet’ and otherin sports & entertainment (62%), closely followed
researchers who had particular interest in studyingby students from Engineering (61%) and trailed by
intelligence as a construct. However, their findingsstudents from Biosciences (58%), but lagged least
have generated lots of interest and havein Economy and Geography knowledge domains.
prompted further researches on nature-nurtureTable 2: Comparison of the Students’ score
controversy in trying to understand the basis offrom the three fields of study
intelligence and knowledge. Another researcherFinally, students from Biosciences had average
who have drawn so much attention toscore of 68% in Economy and well above
differences in psychological and biologicalstudents from other fields of study, Engineering
endowment is ‘Geert Hofstede’ in his(53%) and Business (46%). Similarly, each faculty
cross-cultural study albeit limited to some domainscompensated for their areas of weaknesses in
of interest such as Masculinity/Femininity; Riskgeneral knowledge with areas they have
Uncertainty avoidance, Individualism/Collectivism,competitive edge.However, the result defies the
Power distance etc cross-cultural differences. Ingeneral held opinion and expectation that students
nutshell, this survey study is concerned aboutin business are highly knowledgeable in economics,
comparing students’ general knowledge inas that is their core area of specialization. Such
relation to their regions and field of study. Thecould also be argued on the average score of
study is intended to draw inference based on theBiosciences students on science domain of
analysis of the response of the sample populationknowledge.
drawn from University of Nottingham, MalaysiaThe result in Table 3 showed that students make
campus students and recommendation will bemore use of electronic media (internet and
made on how to foster general knowledge intelevision) in acquiring new knowledge than print
students.media (books and newspapers).the graph below
It is designed to encourage students who areshows how many respondents that uses
studying in a particular area of the world orelectronic media as sources of knowledge
discipline to acquire broader and generalcompared to print media.
knowledge to be able to have international focusTable 3: Table showing preferred media choice for
especially with the compelling trend of globalization.sourcing knowledge by students.
This aptly implies that students are more than
ever before challenged to possesImplication of the study: Only small sample of
‘generalists’ knowledge withoutUniversity of Nottingham, students were used in
necessarily compromising their ‘specialists’the study and there were fairly represented. This
knowledge for example, Engineering, Biosciencehampers the generalization of the result and
and Business students, thereby placing their areafindings from the study. Besides, those that took
or discipline in a broader, cross-cultural contextthe questionnaire home and returned it in a later
relation to influences by trans-national, sometimestime may have sourced the answer from friends
global dynamics and socio-cultural and earlyor through internet, thus possibility of biases and
educational system.errors in the study. The implication of this study is
Methodologythat students should be encouraged to acquire
The study employed survey methods to assessbroader knowledge in other fields outside their
student’s general knowledge on five subjectsubject of study, but should as a matter of
areas such as: history, economy, geography,requirement seek deeper knowledge in their area
science, sport and entertainments. The samplesof specialization or field of study.
were randomly drawn from the University ofConclusion
Nottingham Malaysia students studyingBased on the findings of the study, the
Foundations and Degree courses in Engineering,researchers are concluding by proffering the
Biosciences and Business. The age of thefollowing recommendations for improvement in
respondents ranges from between 16 to 24, withgeneral knowledge.
majority of the respondents in the age range ofThe university should improve its general study
19-21 years.courses to expose students to broad range of
Respondents were chosen randomly to fill up theknowledge.
questionnaire either at the spot or have itThe university should also invest more in digital
responded and returned within average time of(electronic) media in propagating knowledge than in
30 minutes later. Results were analyzed byprint media such as books, and make it as widely
regions (Southeast Asia, South Asia, West Africa,available as possible.
East Africa and Southern Africa) and by courseFor there are only marginal significant differences
of study (Engineering, Biosciences and Business),in the overall knowledge score of students from
to enable the researchers test some certainthe different regions, as each region compensated
assumption, and to compare the level of generalfor their low scores with their scores on other
knowledge among the students of Nottinghamknowledge domain where they have comparative
University. There are five researchers fromadvantage, thus the result has fulfilled his aims and
Business Foundation Class who conducted theobjectives by carrying out a comparative study
research and all contributed sizably in the courseamong the students from different faculties and
of the research.regions.
Responses: A combined total of thirty (30)Recommendations for future Studies: The study
foundations, undergraduate and postgraduatehas contributed to other scores of ethnographical,
students of Nottingham University responded toanthropological and cross-cultural researches on
the questionnaire, which yields an overall responseintelligence and knowledge and the researchers
rate of 100%. A total of 30 questions wereare hereby recommending that future study need
asked; 6 per section which comprises of History,to be undertaken with larger sample that should
Geography, Science, Economics and Sports &be systematically drawn from all the regions of
Entertainment. Some questions were structured ininterest to eliminate any potential of bias and to
such a way that there is only one correct answercorroborate the findings of this study. Also, future
from the options whereas others are open endedstudy should look at gender differences in general
questions but with a definite (correct) answer toknowledge among university students in University
such questions. Examples of questioned posed inof Nottingham, Malaysia campus.
the questionnaire in each of the categories include:Reference:
for Economics- the question asked was that;Hofstede, N. (1995). International Technical
where is the most expensive country to live inCommunication New York: John Wiley and Sons
terms of living cost? For History- ‘who is theHofstede, G. (1996) Cultures and Organizations:
most infamous dictator that led to the bombingSoftware of the Mind: Intercultural Cooperation
of West Germany? For Geography-‘whichand Its Importance for Survival New York,
country is most populated? For sports andMcGraw-Hill.
entertainment-“Which team did the formalHofstede, G. (1980). Culture's consequences:
world player of the year zinedine zidane playedInternational differences in work-related values.
for in his carrier? For science-‘which of theNewbury Park, CA: Sage.
following vitamins is abundant in citrus fruit?Murdock, G. P. (1949). Social Structure, New York:
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The analysis of the survey on general knowledgeMurdock, G. P. 1967. Ethnographic Atlas: A
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campus students, drawn from three facultiesPress
(Engineering, Business and Biosciences) asWhiting & John W.M. (1986). George Peter Mk,
presented in this study reveals the following(1897-1985). America Anthropologist: 682-686.
pattern of general knowledge. The result of theWhite, S. (2000). Conceptual foundations of IQ
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general knowledge among the students from theWolf, T.H. (1973). Alfred Binet. Chicago: University
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five different regions that made up the sampleZiegler, R. S. (1992). Developmental Psychology,
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