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This paper presents the qualitative results of a larger mixed-methods study that examined teachers' experience transitioning to online teaching and learning (OTL) in Malaysian higher education (HE) institutions to understand how academics perceived their OTL readiness and what competencies were perceived to be central during the Covid-19 pandemic. Data collected from twenty-two teachers (n = 22) (three public; three private HEs) through semi-structured in-depth interviews revealed that OTL readiness was perceived through course design, communication competence, time management, and technological competence. Additionally, agentic competence emerged as crucial in shaping resilience and adaptability during the transition to OTL. The paper makes two contributions. First, the study contributed to the literature on online teaching readiness in that reconceptualisation needs to be holistic and inclusive due to the unique HE context. Second, it provides valuable insights to those who devise training exercises and universities required to respond to them in enhancing teacher agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a project on Chinese Malaysians' educational mobility across the Chinese-speaking world, this paper highlights their reasons for attending university in Taiwan while examining their subjective formations as ethnic Chinese vis-à-vis transnational processes. Resulting from ethnographic and interview-based research conducted in 2019–2021, the findings demonstrate that the students' choices for higher education are, to a great extent, culturally driven and historically contingent. Thus they provide an alternative view to the dominant paradigm of international student mobility that emphasises economic and future career incentives. By focusing on three factors—state racism, historical connections, and Sinophone cultural consumption—that motivated them to leave Malaysia and go to Taiwan, this paper moreover draws attention to the transnational infrastructures (e.g. policy, media, interpersonal networks) that have continually reproduced and transformed a long-existing migration pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact and changes due to sudden internal or external occurrence are difficult scenarios faced by many business organizations. The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the nation's economic, social, and technological progressions. The effects of the sudden, extreme changes and uncertainty toward the environment require business organizations to further adapt and change to improve their survivability. Dynamic leadership requires leaders to make sudden changes improving adaptability or marketing capabilities to stay resilient and relevant to the mass market. Thus, the goal of the present study was to investigate the influence of dynamic leadership and marketing planning on organizational resilience in the context of Malaysian Private Higher Learning Institutions (PHLI). In this paper, the study performed PLS-SEM on the data collected using purposive sampling of 224 respondents, consisting of managers from colleges and universities in urban areas of Malaysia. The SEM was used to test on the levels of relation and whether there was any mediation between the tested variables. The study revealed that the dynamic leadership and marketing planning of Private Higher Learning Institutions' (PHLI) managers can improve organizational resilience. It highlighted the impact of leadership values has on improving overall market plans and affecting their resilience. Marketing planning should not be neglected as it is one of the crucial factors in achieving resiliency. The study's results are timely as they provide information for users to improve their overall survivability. The value of marketing planning should not be lightly treated as it has a serious impact toward organizational resilience. It is an important element for organizations in the current state of where survivability is essential in an unpredictable environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several studies in higher education have attempted to study the impact of quality management practices on organisational innovation processes and outcomes in higher education institutions (HEIs). However, there is relatively limited research examining the impact of multidimensional quality management practices (QM-practices) on academics' innovative behaviour and performance. This paper aims to explore the relationship between QM-practices and academics' innovative work behaviour and examine how innovative behaviour affects academics' innovative work performance. A total of 586 responses were collected from public and private universities with self-accreditation status in Malaysia. The results indicated a significant and positive relationship between Social QM-practices and academics' innovative work behaviour. Also, a significant and positive relationship was found between innovative work behaviour and work performance. However, there is no direct impact between Social and Technical QM-practices on academic work performance. The relationship between Social QM-practices and work performance is indirectly established through innovative work behaviour. The findings signified the importance of innovative work behaviour on academic's work performance and highlighted the indirect impacts of Social QM-practices on innovative performance through innovative work behaviour in Malaysian HEIs. Efforts to improve Social QM-practices especially in promoting leadership for quality management, developing strategic vision, and providing effective educational support, as well as training may facilitate innovative work behaviour and enhance work performance at Malaysian HEIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Given the increased emphasis on embedding the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) in the curriculum, research, engagement activities and operations of higher education institutions, this comparative study aims to replicate an earlier international study of Turnaround Leadership for Sustainability in Higher Education (TLSHE) in the unique context of Malaysia and Japan. This paper also presents a case for closer focus on developing Education for Sustainability (EfS) leaders in institutions of higher learning. Design/methodology/approach: This study is a quantitative comparative research. The authors collected data for EfS-related variables from lecturers affiliated with Malaysian and Japanese public and private universities. Building on the data and results from the TLSHE study, this study made a series of within- and between-sample descriptive comparisons from different angles and levels. To generalize the findings, this study used gender and experience outside higher education as control variables and compared the academics from the Malaysian and the Japanese institutions through the path modeling framework. Findings: The comparisons showed that except for two domains, namely, contextual factors influencing EfS leadership and the EfS leadership development approaches, the means of all other domains based on the data collected from the Malaysian sample were the highest, followed by means from the international TLSHE sample, and finally the means from the Japanese sample. This study also observed that transparency, engagement with EfS initiatives at different levels, passion for teaching and learning, and creative and lateral thinking were among the top indicators. The inferential tests revealed significant differences between the academics from Japan and Malaysia as well. Practical implications: The findings of the analyses can be used to ensure that the selection and development of EfS leaders (in this case, lecturers who may be formal or informal EfS leaders), not just at the central but at the local level in the distinctive context of Japan and Malaysia, focus on what counts and the good ideas embodied in the 17 UN SDGs are actually put into practice. This study has also highlighted the policy implications with respect to the gender and the previous work experience of lecturers outside higher education sector in more detail. Originality/value: This study compares the perceptions of two samples of academics from Asian countries with the perceptions of the international TLSHE sampled EfS leaders in terms of EfS leadership-related issues and therefore, increases the awareness of academic community in this regard. It also highlights the role of lecturers (e.g. professors) as intellectual academic leaders in achieving SDGs. Moreover, this study shows that lecturers' gender and previous work experience outside higher education should be considered when developing and implementing policies on EfS leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Histology is often taught in higher education settings using online virtual microscopes (VM). This study aimed to develop and evaluate the use of VM in teaching on a BSc degree at the University of Nottingham by surveying students and staff. A key development was the use of an e-workbook so that students were actively engaged in creating their own bespoke revision material. Subsequently, this approach was used in a second study evaluating the use of VM in teaching the histology and pathology of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract via group work with students from two BSc courses at the University of Nottingham; one based at Derby (RDHC) and the other in Malaysia (UNMC). Students worked together in groups to complete an e-workbook, develop a presentation, and decide how to collaborate and communicate. An evaluation of these activities revealed advantages in developing transferrable skills, and good engagement with both the histology topic and group work. Analysis of assessment of the module at UNMC showed that student performance improved in the histology-based module after the intervention (p < 0.01) and that this improvement was not evident in other modules taken by the cohort. Furthermore, when interrogating the questions from the examination paper that asked students to identify features from histological images, fewer questions were seen as ‘difficult’ (p < 0.001) and more were seen as ‘average’ (p < 0.01). This study demonstrates that the use of VM in histology combined with active learning in creating a revision resource enhances engagement and depth of learning. When further combined with collaborative active group work, students developed a range of histology knowledge and transferrable skills, with notable improvement in examination performance relative to other contemporaneous modules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universities from varying institutional and geographical contexts have increasingly invested in offshore subsidiaries in the Malaysian private higher education sector. Literature on transnational education policy and management as well as economic‐geographic accounts of firms' transnationalisation or public service provision have not investigated foreign providers' direct investment and market access strategies in the higher education sector. This paper addresses these gaps, showing how and why foreign actors' investment and market involvement in Malaysia have changed. Empirical data is drawn from qualitative interviews and policy documents. The research reveals that foreign universities have strategically modified their business partnerships and bi‐national accreditation to bypass and bend state regulation of market access as well as to restructure internal organisation and geographical configuration. The paper proposes conceptualising foreign higher education providers as transnationalising, reflexive networks within networks that respond to dynamic market access regulation by adopting firm‐like investment strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The advancement of technology in the last decades transformed the education from mortar and brick into online teaching and learning. It also changed the assessments from paper-based to technology-supported assessments. This study aims to examine how technology support student's online assessments in higher education institutions from diverse background. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from 411 undergraduates in both public and private universities in Malaysia and analysed using partial least square-structural equation modelling. Findings: The findings implied that performance expectancy and resources-facilitating conditions have a positive significant relationship with behavioural intention. IT experience moderates the relationship between effort expectancy, social influence and behaviour intention to use online assessment. Originality/value: This study offered new insights into the intention to use online assessment among diverse student's background. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Managing education and research during pandemics has increased in importance since the onset of epidemics such as avian flu, SARS and now CoViD-19. Successful management in times of crisis ensures business continuity and institutional survival, making preparedness preceding an impending pandemic essential. Institutions of higher education (IHEs) must maintain balance between academic continuity and preventing morbidity during a pandemic crisis. To date, however, no general pandemic preparedness frameworks exist for IHEs. The aim of this paper is to report on the development of a Haddon matrix framework for IHE pandemic preparedness based on a scoping literature review of past IHE responses including pre-, during and post-pandemic phases. First, a review of previous global responses by IHEs during past pandemics was carried out. The review findings were then collated into a new IHE-centric Haddon matrix for pandemic preparedness. The content of the matrix is then illustrated through the documented responses of Malaysian universities during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The resulting IHE Haddon matrix can be used by universities as a general guide to identify preparedness gaps and intervention opportunities for business continuity during pandemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Covid-19 global pandemic has created an unprecedented experience for many. The private higher education was not spared and currently faces numerous challenges. This paper aims to provide a brief background on the higher education landscape in Malaysia and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the private higher education sector. Inevitably, these institutions need to reimagine their existing business models in order to face the post-pandemic world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how internationalisation of higher education institutions is reflected through their mission and vision statements by comparatively analysing the mission and vision statements of selected universities in Malaysia and the Philippines. To carry out the study, twenty (20) mission and vision statements of public and private universities in Malaysia and the Philippines were collected and analysed, underlined by the importance of textual agency in policy orientations. The framework used in analysing the mission and vision statements includes the analysis of textual practice and discourse practice. The micro-level analysis of the discourse focused on the textual practice, such as vocabulary, grammar, and text structure. Moreover, the genre and style of text were also analysed. The findings of the study reveal that the mission and vision statements of universities in Malaysia and the Philippines align with respective country policies, and have something in common as far as the concept of internationalisation in higher education is concerned. It is also evident that universities in both countries emphasise the importance of producing global and competent graduates, and obtaining international recognition and world-class education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Architecture is a professional discipline that integrates art and science to build attractive, practical and safe structures for human activities. In architecture, design is a core subject where students are taught the main skills to produce drawings and models of building design. Furthermore, architectural design involves a cognitive process that generates higher level of creativity in producing noble design solution. Such process is also fundamental to students who are learning architecture in the higher education. It helps student to develop their level of creativity and competency in design. This intellectual capability is an important aspect for architectural students to practice as professional architect when they graduated. Malaysia has many talented and internationally well-known professional architects. Their works represent high level of creativity that can be beneficial sources of practical knowledge to the students. Unfortunately, these respectable architects’ creative cognitive processes are not properly documented for references to others within the architectural community. Therefore, this paper aims at exploring and identifying the cognitive process characteristics of a local prominent, visionary architect, Dato’ Dr Ken Yeang who is well known for his creative, masterpiece architectural works. A semi-structured interview was conducted to gather insights on his cognitive process while designing to produce creative solution for complex architectural problems. The study found that this professional architect has a distinct formulation of knowledge, skills, attributes and principles that he utilises while designing and looking for creative solutions. This dynamic, integrated process involves imagination (intrinsic) and modelling(extrinsic) capabilities that produce renowned local architectural buildings. Such significant cognitive attributes will be useful guides to improve creativity in design among the young architectural students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Literature suggests that state–market relations in Asian transnational education appear as a hybrid of economic socialism and economic liberalism as well as of supra-territoriality and sovereignty. Such a notion of hybrid focuses on how Asian states manage the struggles over the meaning and value of higher education, thereby addressing various ways in which states participate in neoliberal globalisation. This paper argues that Asian states' higher education policy choices are restricted by local politics and the resulting policy agendas. This argument explains the paradoxical situation that Malaysia continuously encounters when developing its regulatory regime to govern transnational education. The argument also illuminates the recalibrations that appeared in the transnational education policies of Singapore and Hong Kong. The paradox and recalibrations reveal how a political perspective on transnational education is important to understand Asian states' responses to globalisation in higher education regardless of the nature of their regulatory regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reveals the complex diversity that underpins ostensibly similar transnational education programmes (TNE), through a comparison of UK TNE in Malaysia and Hong Kong. It draws on data from two different yet cognate studies on the role of UK universities in delivering higher education in Asia. Some fine-grained and informative differences between the ways in which 'value' in TNE is constructed in different host contexts is revealed. The paper brings to light the 'voices' of TNE students and graduates, which are very seldom heard. The arguments adapt and extend the concepts of education as a positional good, and as cultural capital. For various instrumental, intrinsic and personal reasons the authors discuss in detail, UK TNE is more highly valued in Malaysia than in Hong Kong. The paper makes a wider contribution to knowledge on the changing landscape of international higher education and the impact on social and personal (dis)advantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper makes a case for why welfare economics should be integrated and taught in social work courses, taking Malaysia a case in point. This is mainly a conceptual paper and secondary data are used to further support the arguments. Commencement of professional social work in Malaysia dates to 1946, to address the socio-economic problems of the Malaysians and migrants at that time. Social workers need a multi-pronged approach that is crucial to address the human problems that includes psychological, social, political, cultural and economic at micro and macro levels. Most of the problems referred to the social workers stem from poverty, unemployment, low access to material resources and corrupt governance practices coupled with unjust economic policies. Keeping in view the diverse economic needs and strengths of the clients referred to social workers, it is necessary that social workers are equipped with appropriate skills that include broader understanding about political economy. This paper argued that integration of welfare economics in the social work curricula is an urgent need considering the Malaysian economic development, austerity measures and the proactive role that social work as a human rights profession could play in the Malaysian society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poor mental health of university students is becoming a serious issue in many countries. Malaysia - a leading country for Asia-Pacific education - is one of them. Despite the government's effort to raise awareness, Malaysian students' mental health remains challenging, exacerbated by the students' negative attitudes towards mental health (mental health attitudes). Relatedly, self-compassion and resilience have been reported to improve mental health and mental health attitudes. Malaysian students (n = 153) responded to paper-based measures about mental health problems, negative mental health attitudes, self-compassion, and resilience. Scores were compared with 105 UK students, who also suffered from poor mental health and negative mental health attitudes, to make a cross-cultural comparison, to contextualise Malaysian students' mental health status, using t tests (aim 1). Correlation, path, and moderation analyses were conducted, to evaluate the relationships among these mental health constructs (aim 2). Malaysian students scored higher on mental health problems and negative mental health attitudes, and lower on self-compassion and resilience than UK students. Mental health problems were positively associated with negative mental health attitudes, and negatively associated with self-compassion and resilience. While self-compassion mediated the relationship between negative mental health attitudes and mental health problems (high self-compassion weakened the impacts of negative mental health attitudes on mental health problems), resilience did not moderate the same relationship (the level of resilience did not influence the impact of negative mental health attitudes on mental health problems). Self-compassion training was suggested to counter the challenging mental health in Malaysian university students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) require sustainable sources of income to fund operating costs. The role of endowment funds has always been significant in providing financial sources to these institutions. In Islam, an endowment is known as waqf. As the differences in these two types of funds are found to be indistinctive, this study explores and highlights the atypical concepts. The method of library research has been used to acquire relevant reference materials to discuss the concepts. This paper has identified several aspects that distinguished these two funds, which include the element of perpetuity element, rights of ownership, and governance (law, structure, trustee, need permission, and income sharing). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses a 2016/2017 sample of 1107 freshly minted university graduates from a public and a private university in Malaysia. Against a backdrop of an institutional setting very much different from that of western countries' and issues of high living costs and graduate unemployment, we analyse how academic performance affects graduates' employment likelihood, salaries, and salary distribution. Using quantile estimations, we find that academic performance is not a key determinant in whether or not a graduate secures a job upon graduation, and that having better academic performance would only be beneficial if the graduates are working in jobs at the lower half of the salary distribution. We fill the literature gap by analysing how academic performance affects new graduates in terms of where they are on the salary distribution continuum; such analyses are neglected in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores contact reconceptualizations of English Aunty as an address term in Greater Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In this multiethnic and multilingual city, Aunty is used in local discourses to address older females across different languages and regardless of whether Addressee is related to the Addresser. Moreover, usage of Aunty is extensive, covering a range of social roles, identities, and interpersonal relations that reflect acculturations to a context where diverse traditional cultural norms, multilanguage mixing, and modernity effects, are simultaneously salient. Using the Cultural Linguistics framework (Sharifian, 2017a, 2017b), it is demonstrated that long‐established Malaysian cultural priorities, race (ethnicity) and modern as status (modernity values) can help account for the potential range of usages of Malaysian Aunty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: Meetings, emails, phone calls and mobile telephone texts are often quoted as the primary methods of communication in the workplace settings. However, the rise of mobile messaging service has been superseding the use of these modes of communication. Hence, it is not surprising that messaging applications like Whatsapp has slowly replaced the transmission of messages in most workplace interaction. WA, the prominent global mobile messenger application (statistica.com) does not only allow users to send personal messages to others rapidly but also makes it possible for them to communicate in groups where the users can communicate interactively and achieve tasks swiftly. Methodology: Drawing on WA group messages and audio recordings of meetings of team meetings, this work analyses the impact of WA on internal team communication by focusing on the processes of decision-making displayed by the members of a group of academics at an institution of higher education in Malaysia. Findings: The analysis shows that the application functions as a useful platform for the team to negotiate solutions, make and revisit decisions that were previously decided in another interactional context. Contributions: This paper concludes that the use of WA constitutes a daily reality in the investigated workplace, illuminate the intertextuality of DM processes across these contexts, and that it is reflective of its main purposes: to make quick decisions, give confirmation or approval, and provide information regarding the issues raised. The study also addresses the crucial question: is WA the future of workplace communication and will it become the preferred medium for decision- making? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop a hierarchical model to rank the challenges faced by the private Malaysian higher education institutions (HEIs) in the provision of quality education and subsequently their corresponding critical success factors (CSFs) to address those challenges. Design/methodology/approach: A sequential mix method was adopted in this study. Semi-structured interviews with 29 participants were initially conducted to identify the challenges and CSFs. This was followed by a questionnaire survey involving 158 respondents to prioritise the identified findings. Thematic analysis was conducted in the qualitative stage, uncovering the challenges and their corresponding CSFs. Data for both stages were accumulated from internal and external stakeholders of Malaysian private HEIs. Finally, the four stages of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) were applied to rank the challenges and CSFs. Findings: The qualitative stage identified eight challenges, i.e. "academics", "facilities", "students", "programmes and curriculum", "competition", "accreditation", "finance" and "research" together with their corresponding CSFs. The AHP enables the ranking of these challenges. "Finance" has been found to be the most crucial challenge and "high competency in managing the institution's finance" as the most important CSF to address this challenge. Research limitations/implications: As the study restricted its focus on Malaysian private HEIs, the results may not be generalised for public HEIs and foreign private HEIs operating in Malaysia. Originality/value: The hierarchical model developed in this study is deemed important for implementation to resolve the prioritised challenges. It spells out the specific areas in which the resources of Malaysian private HEIs need to be prudently disbursed and properly managed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gifted students have intense motivation to explore ideas and difficult problems in detail and in depth, and if they have also confidence and good communication skills, gifted students will become the most valuable asset to the community. Other than that, communication skills are essential for the students to interact effectively with other students with diverse cognitive ability during their pursuit to higher education. Thus, this paper investigates the perception of pair or group work among a group of Malaysian pre-university gifted students in Vector Calculus course. Instrument used in this study is an open-ended questionnaire. Results show that most students view Vector Calculus as a hard course. They perceive group work as good and helpful other than it affects the way they learn. On the other hand, some students have negative view on group work indicating the giftedness quality among them. Thus, it is suggested for educators to carefully employ grouping strategies to cater Malaysian pre-university gifted students especially in a hard course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transnational education is becoming a popular way for students to earn an attractive credential from a foreign university in emerging education hubs in Asia. In an era where students are staying closer to home for their education, this paper offers insights into the motivations or choice criteria used by students currently enrolled at international branch campuses in Malaysia. Findings from a survey of 218 undergraduate and postgraduate students plus semi-structured qualitative interviews conducted with 18 students indicated that the motivations for studying at an international branch campus are a function of the combined pull–push factors (i.e. institution and academic reputations, marketability of the degree, low tuition fees compared to home institution, low cost of living, safe country for study, similarity of education systems as well as cultural proximity). The study proposes a model of student destination and institution choices based primarily upon ‘push’ factors which apply to international branch campuses in Malaysia. The success of a given university operating in a foreign market is shown to be influenced greatly by the destination's costs, attractiveness attributes, and locational convenience for students. The findings of the paper are especially relevant to developing market policy-makers of higher education in crafting specific management and marketing strategies targeting students to study at international branch campuses, particularly in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In Malaysia, Akta Universiti dan Kolej Universiti (AUKU) is the main legislation that governs public universities. It was enacted in 1971 and amended six times that had profound implications for the development of higher education, particularly on the governance and autonomy of public universities. However, the days of AUKU are numbered as the current Government in its election manifesto has slated for the act to be revoked and abolished. This paper examines the historical and chronological development of AUKU, more specifically the socio-politicaleconomic situation at the time of enactment and each subsequent amendment. In addition, the article also explores thematic issues related to AUKU, namely academic freedom and autonomy as well as the control of the State and Government on public universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The metaphor of an 'education hub' was initially promoted as also a policy concept for reversing cross-border student flows to the West in both Malaysia and Singapore. The Singapore version of 'Asian education hub policy' represents a distinct economic policy model of higher education which has since also influenced the very Western contexts it was derived from. However, it appears the Singaporeans might have actually borrowed the policy concept from the Malaysians whose aspirations to reverse international student flows to the West was rather aligned to related national capacity development plans as still something of a public good. This paper will use a Malaysia-Singapore contrast to compare distinct developing country (national/regional) vs. developed country (globalised) conceptions of the Asian education hub model. On this exemplary basis, it will also outline an integrated framework to better make sense of the related yet also often conflicting imperatives of privatization, internationalization and marketization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International students undertaking higher education in foreign countries bring with them some perceived beliefs about academic conduct. These beliefs are often in contrast with the host countries' academic practices, which may generate confusion and frustration among international students, affecting their learning behaviours. As a consequence of intercultural interactions in a foreign country, international students' beliefs and behaviours may change. Since Malaysia has emerged to be a hub of educational excellence in the region by transforming its higher education, thereby attracting increasing number of international students, this paper aims to investigate whether international students' acculturation-oriented attitudes impact their ethical academic conduct pertaining to research, exams and assignments in a public university in Malaysia. The results reveal that students adjusting to the local academic norms demonstrate significant positive commitments to host country's academic norms concerning research, exam and assignments. However, students upholding the norms of their home countries tend to show non-significant attitudes towards host country's academic norms. These findings have strategic policy implications for the host educational institutions that are highlighted in the paper. The paper also identifies its limitations and explores future research potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In line with the changing nature of the workplace, Malaysian higher learning institutions are currently confronted with issues pertaining to graduates' lack of ability to communicate confidently and fluently in English and to adapt effectively to the requirements of the workplace. This paper deliberates on the dynamic and constructive workplace skills demonstrated by undergraduate students through Oral Progress Report Activity (OPRA), introduced in an English language course. OPRA requires the students to carry out small group discussions in which they present and discuss the progress of their project work in a meeting-like situation. One student leads the group discussion while the others report on the progress of the project. After conducting the OPRA, the students are asked to write on their experiences, feelings and action plans in their reflective journals. Informed by the social theory of learning, this paper explicates the workplace skills involving communication skills, meeting skills and analytical reasoning. Data for this study are drawn from students' reflective journals and focus group interviews. The findings of the study illustrate that OPRA enhances students' communication skills, fosters critical thinking skills and increases students' selfconfidence. The findings also show that OPRA encourages them to become critical of their own performance and skills. The implication of this study suggests that the use of pedagogical approach promotes language and communication, and at the same time, emulates workplace skills is important to train students to acquire workplace skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper re-considers the concept of aliteracy by arguing that it is less about not reading than it is about choice, agency and context. By analysing findings from a study that examined undergraduates' reading experiences in a Malaysian university, this paper explores the complexities around how the undergraduates grappled with conflicting decisions. Through a phenomenological theoretical perspective and against the theoretical backdrop of domain specificity in reading motivation, this study utilised phenomenological interviews to draw out nine undergraduates' reading experience. The reading experience is understood in terms of their negotiation with institutionally imposed and personal-choice reading both as school students and as undergraduates. The past and more current reading experiences of two undergraduates who considered themselves highly and poorly motivated readers, respectively, were also juxtaposed. Findings from this study provide grounds to show that across different 'levels' of motivation and in school or post-school contexts, the undergraduates' motivation for reading is fragile because the reading choice is not a straightforward matter. This article concludes by suggesting a theoretical conceptualisation for why an able reader may surrender his or her reading choice. This study has implications for teachers and reading researchers who recognise the reading experience for its complexities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The current gap in the field of community engagement is evaluation and measurement of the impacts on the stakeholders, mainly the community being engaged with. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – This paper discusses the need to consider the stakeholder's perspective and their involvement in a community engagement initiative, or in any social program. The authors begin by debating the most common evaluation techniques used, followed by re-introducing stakeholder evaluation to the field of community engagement. Findings – The evaluation using the stakeholders’ approach will not only create a holistic evaluation process, but will also assist in fostering a sense of ownership of the community engagement program. Originality/value – Community engagement is given much importance nowadays in Malaysia, especially in line with institutes of higher learning's tripartite mission, the third mission being the ability to engage with communities. It is not surprising because community engagement offers enormous benefits for regional and societal development. Community engagement relies heavily on partnership and mutual reciprocity between different stakeholders such as communities, universities, non-government organizations, field experts and funding organizations. In order to sustain the engagement initiatives, it is important to know who are the “owners” or stakeholders of the program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of economic growth policies that stress the importance of a ‘creative economy’, and the expansion of private universities, there has been an enormous growth in the number of creative industry degrees offered by Malaysian HEIs. This paper provides a critical discourse analysis of the promotional materials used by two private institutions, Multimedia University and Limkokwing University, to persuade students that these degrees will offer them a desirable future as employable ‘industry savvy and tech savvy’ creative graduates. We explore the structures of feeling that promotional material seeks to engender in potential students as it promises them future success in a globalised, high-tech world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple-choice questions (MCQs) play a key role in standardised testing and in-class assessment. Research into the influence of within-item response order on MCQ characteristics has been mixed. While some researchers have shown preferential selection of response options presented earlier in the answer list, others have failed to replicate these results. This paper investigates a possible explanation for these mixed findings by assessing the influence of distractor strength on MCQ response order effects. A real-world assessment was administered to 232 undergraduates in which the response order within items was systematically varied. A generalised multilevel model was then used to show a significant interaction between distractor strength and response position with regard to response behaviour. Furthermore, the effect was found to be independent of student ability. These findings have implications for MCQ test construction, minimising the negative consequences of MCQ test exposure and promoting improved test-taking strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Are Asian universities different from those in Western countries? Premised on the hypothesis that Asian universities are different because of hybridization between Western academic models and local traditional cultures, this paper investigates the hybrid characteristics in Malaysian universities resulting from interaction between contemporary external influences and local traditional practices. At the system level, the interaction between external ideology of neoliberalism and local ethnic-based politics has resulted in ethnized neoliberalism in the higher education system. Hybrid characteristics at the institutional level have been operationalized into the domains of governance and management, programmes and curriculum, teaching and learning, and research and service. Based on three types of universities in Malaysia – mainstream, Islamic and Chinese community-based – we argue that Malaysian universities are hybrid universities because many of the policies and practices are distinctively different from the Western academic models. Indigenization of the Western models had taken place resulting in unique form of university governance and management, Islamization of curriculum and the Asian cultural ethos of the campus in Malaysian universities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Malaysia is undergoing a transformation plan from an industrial-based to a knowledge-based economy in an effort to become a high-income nation by the year 2020. The fact that knowledge is foregrounded means that at the center of the transformation is education, and higher education, inevitably, has to, hand in hand, work with the government policy. In this new transformation plan, higher education in Malaysia has to promote creative and innovative minds. Nonetheless, there exists a gap between the administrative policies at Malaysian public universities and students' own understanding of what creativity is all about. This gap is wider especially in the social sciences since the term innovation is often associated with the hard or pure science. This paper, using qualitative approach, analyzes students' descriptions of creativity in three focus group discussions - male only, male and female and female only groups. The aim is to provide data that can be used by the university with regards to students' understanding of creativity in social sciences. This hopefully will help young social scientists to start thinking about being innovative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to relate the problems identified about scholarly journal publishing in Malaysia to establish motivation for the system development; to describe the design of MyCite, a Malaysian citation indexing system and to highlight the added value to journals and articles indexed through the generation of bibliometrics performance reports. Design/methodology/approach – The system uses a rapid prototyping method, modeling the functions identified in the Web of Science databases and Scopus, as the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia requires the system to be ready within a year, mainly to help improve the quality, accessibility and performance of Malaysian scholarly journals. Findings – The paper shows the relational tables and module functions in MyCite; highlights the value added to bibliographic data through performance reports of authors, journals, institutions, country and bibliographical control of Malaysian journals; and provides performance tables of top authors, rank list of 75 journals by yearly impact factor, and other bibliometric indices. Research limitations/implications – The paper highlight the problems in gaining access to full contents of journals, authors' adoption of variant names, and the vast variations in referencing style adopted by publishers, which may result in inaccurate counting and lost citations. Originality/value – The strength of MyCite is in its reference editor module, which is a programme that segments article references into manageable chunks that helps speed up the data preparation for citation counting. MyCite improves the availability and visibility of Malaysian journals, enriches national research content, and provides better knowledge of national research outputs funded by universities and research institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose |!|#8211; The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Basic Student Entrepreneurial Programme (BSEP) among local university graduates who have undergone the training programme in entrepreneurship development. Design/methodology/approach |!|#8211; In total, 410 respondents who had participated in BSEP were interviewed with a structural questionnaire to gather information on their social attitude towards the effectiveness of BSEP on their intention to become an agri-entrepreneur. Chi-square analysis was used to determine the relationship between demographic variables towards motivating agri-entrepreneurship among the participants. Findings |!|#8211; The results show that the participants agreed upon the effectiveness of BSEP in developing graduates|!|#39; intention towards becoming agri-entrepreneurs. The results also show that there is a significant relationship between three variables which motivate participants to become agri-entrepreneurs. These were the origin of the participant, the presence of family members already involved in entrepreneurial activities and educational background. Research limitations/implications |!|#8211; The paper is only concerned with students|!|#39; perceptions towards the effectiveness of BSEP in encouraging them to become agri-entrepreneurs. The results from this paper are limited in terms of determining whether they really become an agri-entrepreneur or not because this research only focuses on intention. Practical implications |!|#8211; The paper provides an important exploratory analysis of the BSEP programme to enable further research to take place in the area of entrepreneurship education. The findings provide a valuable insight on effective teaching methodologies in the area of entrepreneurship education. Originality/value |!|#8211; The paper expands on Ajzen|!|#39;s framework to provide a basis to improve the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaysia has made significant progress in advancing access to education over the last two decades, having achieved the education goals of the UN's Millennium Development Goals. Unfortunately, this has not been accompanied by quality improvement, with reports of 'unemployable' graduates a frequent refrain. This paper reports on a study of Malaysian employers' perceptions of the country's graduates that finds a much more nuanced picture. While employers view Malaysian graduates as far from ideal, these graduates come with several strengths such as familiarity with local conditions, willingness to work hard, and lower hiring costs relative to foreign graduates. Not all Malaysian located graduates are ranked alike qualitatively; those enrolled in transnational private education are rated better than those from public universities. Major policy implications arising from this state of affairs are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine issues academics at importing institutions face while delivering Australian degrees in Malaysia. Transnational higher education (TNE) has been widely researched. However, less widely researched is the area of understanding what academics at the offshore locations need to uphold the required academic standards of their partnered exporting universities. This area warrants close attention if Australian and other transnational education universities are to sustain their growth through a partnership model with offshore academics delivering a portion (often a substantial portion) of the teaching.Design/methodology/approach Two focus groups were conducted with a mix of long standing and newly recruited Malaysian lecturers who taught into an Australian degree through a partnership arrangement. The semi-structured questions which were used were derived from a preliminary literature review and previous internal institutional reports.Findings The findings from the focus groups indicate that TNE is largely “Australian-centric” when addressing the standard of academic quality and integrity. The findings pointed not so much to any sustained internationalisation of curriculum or administration or personnel but more as internationalisation as deemed required by the local academic.Originality/value To a greater extent, the findings highlighted that equivalent student outcomes do not necessarily equate to equivalent learning experiences or teaching workload. In fact, the frustration of the interviewees on the tension to fulfil the home institution curriculum and helping students to “comprehend” an Australian-centric curriculum translates to “additional and unrecognised workload” for the interviewees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study develops and empirically tests a conceptual model capturing the factors impacting students' cross-cultural adaptation and the outcomes resulting from such adaption. Data were obtained from a sample of international postgraduate students from six Malaysian public universities using a structured questionnaire. Structural equation modelling using SmartPLS was utilised to analyse the data. The results indicate that amongst the antecedent variables (i.e. the individual and situational factors); only two relationships are not significantly supported; (a) media usage to psychological adaptation; and (b) attachment attitude to sociocultural adaptation. All the other relationships in the proposed model are significantly supported. The findings of the study further support significant and positive influence of psychological and sociocultural adaptations of international postgraduate students on their perceived psychological well-being and perceived academic satisfaction and ultimately on positive word of mouth in recommending the host country's educational institutions to others. The findings of this study provide insights into the Malaysian higher education policymakers especially those associated with expanding market potential as well as university administrators to manage the changes and accommodate the needs of international students in order to retain and attract more international students. This paper also elaborates the theoretical, empirical, practical and managerial implications of the findings of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entrepreneurship education is considered one of the key instruments that increases the entrepreneurial attitudes of potential entrepreneurs. The Malaysian government has made tremendous efforts in promoting entrepreneurship education by improving the current policy on entrepreneurship education, providing various entrepreneurship programs to increase the number of young entrepreneurs, and highlighting the need to empower entrepreneurship education among graduates of Higher Education Institutes (HEIs). However, despite the policies implemented by the Malaysian government, studies done on the effectiveness of policy implementation are still lacking. This paper therefore aims to examine the achievements of the Strategic Plan on Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (2013-2015) on promoting entrepreneurial education in Malaysian HEIs. The achievements were measured through Key Performance Indicators that were developed by the Ministry of Education. A set of questionnaires has been adapted and modified from the list of Key Performance Indicators. The questionnaire consists of 6 sections that represent the six thrusts in the Strategic Plan on Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (2013-2015). 20 set of questionnaires were distributed to the respondents from the Entrepreneurship Centers in 20 public Malaysian HEIs via emails. Completed data was collected from 10 respondents who represent 10 public HEIs in Malaysia. Some data was also retrieved from the Ministry of Education's database to provide a thorough analysis of the key performance indicators (KPIs). Findings of this study noted that four out of six thrusts, including the first thrust, which is to empower the Entrepreneurship Center in every HEI, the second thrust, which is to provide holistic and well-planned entrepreneurial education and programs, the fourth thrust, which is to enhance the competency of HEIs' entrepreneurship trainers and facilitators, and the sixth thrust, which is to increase the effect of the implementation of HEIs' entrepreneurial education and development, have been successfully achieved. Meanwhile, the other two thrusts that include the third thrust, which is to empower entrepreneurial development programs, and the fifth thrust, which is to provide a conducive environment and ecosystem for entrepreneurship development, have failed to be achieved. Overall, it has been shown that the efforts taken by the Malaysian government in promoting entrepreneurship education among HEI graduates still require some improvement. Therefore, it is important for the Ministry of Education and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to join hands in making sure that the current policies and programs as well as the curriculum and content on entrepreneurship are improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose |!|#8211; An important aspect of an academic curriculum in higher learning institutions for technical disciplines is the industrial internship programme for students. The purpose of this paper is to investigate students|!|#39; perception of the effectiveness of an industrial internship programme offered by a private technological university in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach |!|#8211; Utilising a case study approach, the data for this study were collected though a survey questionnaire. The questionnaire gauged students|!|#39; perception of their eight-month internship programme. Findings |!|#8211; The students rated the industrial internship programme favorably. Generally, students viewed the learning through practical experience during the internship positively. In addition, factors related to the organisers|!|#39; operational and administrative efforts and the role played by the host company were also identified as important in determining the success of the industrial internship programme. Originality/value |!|#8211; Industrial internship programmes in respective universities vary according to various needs. By sharing the findings in this case study, other institutions with similar or different industrial internship programmes can benefit from the information discussed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the contemporary development and reform challenges in tertiary education in Malaysia in both national and global contexts. The critical role exercised by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency in driving strategic change in higher education cultures, both in public and private universities is described and analysed. The paper examines the adoption, generation and institutionalisation of global standards of practice in teaching and learning and in other fundamental dimensions of the provision of quality education. Contending ideas, rationales and models of universities and the contributions this institution makes to educational provisions are examined. The analyses are informed by the development reforms in other sectors of government and society within the integrated framework of the nation's strategic vision of development - Vision 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaysia is gaining worldwide recognition as the preferred destination for tertiary and higher education, which indirectly gives a boost to the tourism industry. The number of international students at various public and private institutions of higher learning has increased significantly over the past five years. International students from China and Indonesia, as well as the Middle East, North Africa and West Asia, are a significant source of international tourists in Malaysia.This paper presents a general overview of the Malaysian tourism sector and examines the hospitality services experience and travel preference of international students during their holidays in Malaysia. The paper aims to gauge international students' travelling and expenditure patterns as well as their inclinations towards the services used during their holidays in Malaysia. The findings support previous research whereby satisfaction correlates substantially with international students' future behavior i.e revisiting of tourist destinations.The findings on international students' satisfaction can lead to the development of strategies to promote tourism destinations in Malaysia among international student travelers or the youth sector. Policy makers and service providers can focus their efforts to provide the facilities and quality service that international tourists perceive as being important in determining the overall service quality of accommodations, traveling arrangements and F&B sectors provided by Malaysian hospitality organizations. This is important as these sectors are contributing significantly to the Malaysian economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Why has Australian offshore higher education become the educational investment of choice for many students? What benefits do students anticipate from this education? What is the relationship between educational goals and educational experience? To address these questions, this paper draws on findings from empirical research conducted with students studying at an offshore campus of an Australian university in Malaysia. It was found that students typically chose to enroll with the Australian university to receive an international education. Reasons offered for seeking an international education effectively delineated two groups of students. For Malaysian nationals, an international education was valued largely as a passport to employment with (Western) multinational corporations operating in Malaysia. Generally the Malaysian students made positional investments in Australian offshore higher education. For non-Malaysian students an international education was typically selected as an aid to procuring a new identity. These students chose an international education with the hope of expunging provincial outlooks. From international education, they wanted new ways of viewing the world, new habits of thinking and new skills and approaches. They sought a personal metamorphosis. These students, therefore, typically made self-transformative investments in international education. The paper further shows that investment choices influenced the way students experienced their education. Of the two populations distinguished by investment type, students who made self-transformative investments were more likely to respond positively to challenging education experiences associated with studying at the campus. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The main objective of this paper is to examine the satisfaction levels of students pursuing private higher education in Malaysia. A brief introduction on the marketing orientation of higher education and a review of related literature is undertaken. A discussion of the market-sensitive higher education system follows. The paper presents conclusions from a survey that shows country preference of overseas universities among Malaysian students, the problems perceived by them, student views on teaching faculty and sources of information about overseas programmes. The paper concludes by identifying key strategic implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper mainly aims to identify the impact of online advertising on students’ decision-making and their choice of higher education institutions. Data for this study were collected from 350 students from various Malaysian universities using self-administered questionnaires. The acquired data went through an exhaustive process to ensure that it was ready for analyses in SPSS and AMOS software. Factor analysis was used to extract the significant constructs underlying the data followed by a two-stage structural equation modeling in order to examine the fitness of the proposed model and test the hypotheses. The results revealed that social media and websites positively affect students’ decision-making, which then significantly impact students’ choice of a particular university. This research has invaluable implications for policy-makers, especially in the education industry of Malaysia. It is hoped that the findings of this study can be considered while making marketing plans for an educational institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This study aims to investigate whether organisational climate (OC) predicts academic staff performance at Malaysian higher education institutions (HEIs). The study equally aims at validating the psychometric properties of OC and workforce performance (WFP) constructs.Design/methodology/approach Survey questionnaires were administered to 800 academic staff of eight selected HEIs. Principal component analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, full-fledged structural equation modelling and multiple regression analysis were performed to explore the underlying factors and test the factorial validity of the constructs.Findings The analysis yielded a five-factor index for the OC construct, whereas the WFP construct comprised two factors. The findings reveal a strong predictive causal effect between OC and WFP. These results suggest that establishing a positive OC enhances academic staff performance. Furthermore, the hypothesised model adds new knowledge to the literature of OC, from the Malaysian context, which could be used to predict WFP at the tertiary level.Practical implications The study concludes by discussing the theoretical and practical implications of the findings for HEIs.Originality/value This paper makes a significant contribution to the understanding of how OC could be used as an effective instrument in improving academic staff performance in the context of Malaysian HEIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The expansion and transformation of Malaysian universities have generated major changes in the nature of academic employment and the structure of academic promotion in higher education institutions. These changes have considerable implications, in particular for the policy and practice of academic promotion in the public universities. We argue that despite sharing one common grade and salary system, distinct and significant differences exist in the academic promotion systems of the public universities. Drawing on one recent study on the academic promotion process in Malaysian public universities to contextualise our discussion, this paper highlights the complexity in the promotion process in these institutions. It also discusses and articulates the attendant issues and challenging aspects of the academic promotion process. We argue that the interrelated issues and challenges, and certain academic practices and habits stemming from the pressure to gain a promotion are pervasive, and that they affect the academic value system and work culture. We conclude by asserting the importance of applying a consistent standard for promotion within a single salary system and that the academic promotion system in the public universities should ultimately affirm and communicate core academic values, and also aim at obtaining evidence of excellent accomplishments. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper offers an in-depth analysis of efficiency and productivity changes using the Hicks–Moorsteen total factor productivity index, in the context of higher education institutions. Unlike the Malmquist method, this approach makes no assumptions about firms' returns to scale conditions. We assume that the production technology exhibits variable returns to scale, which is more plausible than the constant returns to scale assumption, because universities usually operate at suboptimal scales. Three major groupings of Malaysian public universities are used in our case study: research, comprehensive, and focused universities. The results show that technical efficiency has improved after the 2007 National Higher Education Strategic Plan within all the three university groupings. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents the findings and conclusions of recent exploratory research conducted by the authors on quality practices at higher education institutions in the US and Malaysia. Data from the institutions were collected via mail questionnaires in December 1997 (Malaysia) and February 1998 (US). A brief description of the research as well as a summary of findings and conclusions are included in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research is to present the determinants of students’ perceptions of quality and experience of study at international branch campuses in Malaysia, a country that is set to become an academic hub in Asia. This study used a multi-method approach for data collection. The respondents comprised 245 students (both undergraduate and postgraduate) from six renowned international branch campuses operating in the country – three from Australia, two from the UK and one from India. In addition, a total of 21 face-to-face interviews were conducted after the survey. The results revealed that across the seven dimensions examined concerning education and non-education qualities – university reputation/image, programme quality, lecturers and teaching quality, student learning environment, effective use of technology, counselling and academic advising support, and social life (direct/indirect) facilities – the students were largely satisfied. The paper adds to the existing body of research on higher education service quality, particularly on students’ perceptions and expectations of international branch campuses. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]