Cultural diversity in a public sector university of Pakistan : Exploring students' perceptions and experiences
Date of Award
2018
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Master of Philosophy in Education
Department
Institute for Educational Development, Karachi
Abstract
Pakistan has a rich cultural diversity in term of languages, dresses, beliefs, foods, traditions, and ethnicity etc. However, due to certain issues Pakistan has been unable to capitalize it for mutual respect, peaceful co-existence and promotion of peace in the society, and thus embrace severe issues of cultural diversity. This study aimed to explore the experiences and perceptions of public university students about cultural diversity in Karachi Pakistan. Employing qualitative research, with phenomenological bend, the study used Semi-structured interviews, document analysis and observation for data collection and triangulation focusing on the four overarching factors such as gender, language, ethnicity and religion. The findings of the research show that cultural diversity is very important for the development of any country and for the academic achievement of students. The study also revealed that there are very limited co-curricular activities happening in the university where females are not encouraged.to take part. The non-native speakers face problems which make them hesitant in presentation and in sharing their ideas. The other challenge is the interaction among the students as they fail to communicate their ideas with each other. This leads them to join different student unions formed on the basis of sects, languages and ethnicity. There is somehow biased attitude among the faculty not using appropriate language to promote cultural diversity in the university. Faculties are also not addressing the diverse student needs. The students are also not accepting each other due to their language, ethnic and religious differences. The research participants also supported that there are no fruitful co-curricular activities to promote cultural diversity and suggested that every department should be made accountable for conducting workshops and seminars on diversity every semester. The study suggests that there is dire need to promote cultural diversity in the campus for the improvement of the university environment and students' academic achievements
Recommended Citation
Shah, F. A. (2018). Cultural diversity in a public sector university of Pakistan : Exploring students' perceptions and experiences (Unpublished master's dissertation). Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.