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Higher education academics in Malaysia are encouraged to enhance their outreach and international experience via engagement beyond the campus. Such activities are considered paramount in fostering competence, credibility and relevance of the Malaysian higher education system as a whole. This paper explores the experiences and perceptions of internationalisation based on the Academic Profession in the Knowledge-Based Society (APIKS) global survey on academics (n=4368) in Malaysian higher education institutions (2019–2020). The primary purpose is to highlight Malaysian academics’ perceptions of internationalisation in their teaching, research and publication activities as well as their perceptions of the outcomes of internationalisation, including their institutional strategies and support for internationalisation. In addition, cross-sectional analyses of various groups (education background, rank and university types) were carried out to see the differences between them in internationalisation activities. The findings indicate that while Malaysian academics were quite international in their teaching and research orientations, this was less pronounced in their publications. International outcomes leaned strongly towards enhancing institutional reputation and academic quality. While the respondents had positive responses to institutional strategies for internationalisation, they seemed less assured of sufficient commitment, in terms of funding, to support scholarly activities. The findings also confirm the existence of differences among age groups, institution types and ranks on individual international research and publication practices. This paper concludes with recommendations for policy and practice on academic mobility, research support and professional development.

This paper details the development of the Love for Writing and Publishing Journal (LWPJ) Module, which encourages writing in a scientific and simple way through the approach of the Self Determination Theory, Social Constructivism Theory, and Successful Intelligence Theory. The content of the module was constructed through information obtained from a literature review and interviews with six experts who have produced many high-impact journal articles. The developed module was used in a two-day online training course, with participant monitoring before, during, and after the course through WhatsApp. This study used a mixed methods approach of design and development research. Using this method, the research was carried out in three phases. The first phase involved needs analysis; the second phase included design and development; and the third phase involved evaluation of the module. The research led to the successful development of the LWPJ Module by fostering a love for writing and publication of scholarly writing among course participants. The module benefits postgraduate students and academics at the higher education level by ensuring that scholarly articles are successfully completed and submitted for publication. This study has implications on the development of a culture of excellence and a culture of love for scholarly writing and publication among postgraduate students and academics from various walks of life at school and university levels.

Kajian kes ini dijalankan untuk mengkaji tahap motivasi berdasarkan akses internet dan faktor sosioekonomi dalam kalangan pelajar di sebuah kolej komuniti yang terletak di Pahang. Pengkaji melihat empat objektif utama iaitu mengenal pasti tahap motivasi pelajar, perbezaan tahap motivasi berdasarkan faktor jantina, tahap kelajuan internet dan tahap sosioekonomi. Dengan menggunakan kaedah tinjauan, borang soal selidik telah diedarkan secara atas talian (google form) sebagai instrumen bagi memperoleh data berbentuk kuantitatif. Kajian ini mengadaptasi instrumen Motivation Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) oleh Paul Pintrich et al. (1991) bagi mengukur tahap motivasi responden. Selain itu, data demografi berkaitan sosioekonomi dan akses terhadap Internet turut dikumpulkan. Kaedah persampelan rawak mudah digunakan dan seramai 127 orang pelajar kolej komuniti telah dipilih sebagai sampel kajian. Dapatan kajian mendapati motivasi pelajar berada pada tahap tinggi semasa pembelajaran dalam talian sepanjang pandemik. Analisis ujian t bagi tahap motivasi berdasarkan jantina menunjukkan perbezaan yang signifikan di mana motivasi pelajar perempuan adalah lebih tinggi berbanding pelajar lelaki. Analisis ANOVA menunjukkan tiada perbezaan yang signifikan bagi tahap motivasi pelajar berdasarkan pencapaian akademik, kelajuan internet dan tahap pendapatan keluarga. Manakala, tahap motivasi berdasarkan jenis pekerjaan bapa dan ibu menunjukkan perbezaan yang signifikan. Dapatan kajian memberi implikasi kepada pensyarah dan pihak pengurusan kolej komuniti untuk memastikan keperluan asas pembelajaran pelajar diberikan perhatian bagi memastikan proses pembelajaran secara dalam talian dapat dilaksanakan dengan berkesan.

Kajian ini dijalankan bagi mengenal pasti hubungan antara daya tahan dengan motivasi pelajar sepanjang pembelajaran dalam talian semasa pandemik. Kajian ini berbentuk kajian kes dengan memilih sebuah IPT iaitu KUIM sebagai satu organisasi kajian dan data dikumpulkan melalui kaedah tinjauan menggunakan borang soal selidik sebagai instrumen kajian. Data kajian adalah berbentuk kuantitatif yang dianalisis menggunakan analisis statistik deskriptif dan inferensi. Seramai 278 pelajar KUIM telah dipilih sebagai sampel kajian dengan menggunakan kaedah persampelan rawak berkelompok. Daya tahan pelajar telah diukur dengan menggunakan Soal selidik Ketahanan Kendiri (SKD) yang diterjemahkan oleh Amalia et al. (2011) dan motivasi pelajar pula diukur dengan menggunakan Soal selidik Motivated Strategies for Learning (MSLQ) oleh Pintrich et al. (1991). Dapatan kajian mendapati pelajar KUIM memiliki tahap daya tahan dan tahap motivasi yang tinggi sepanjang pembelajaran dalam talian semasa pandemik. Analisis korelasi pula menunjukkan terdapat hubungan linear positif yang kuat dan signifikan antara daya tahan dengan motivasi pelajar KUIM sepanjang pembelajaran dalam talian semasa pandemik. Hasil kajian juga mendapati terdapat perbezaan yang signifikan antara daya tahan berdasarkan faktor jantina pelajar. Namun, tidak terdapat perbezaan yang signifikan antara motivasi berdasarkan faktor jantina. Dapatan kajian ini menyokong teori bahawa semakin tinggi tahap daya tahan pelajar, semakin tinggi tahap motivasi mereka. Dapatan kajian ini wajar diambil serius oleh semua pihak khususnya IPT dalam usaha memastikan daya tahan dan motivasi pelajar sentiasa meningkat agar mereka tetap bersemangat menjalani pembelajaran secara dalam talian. Pihak bertanggungjawab juga perlu berganding bahu merangka inisiatif terbaik bagi memberikan sokongan yang sewajarnya kepada pelajar.

Kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengenal pasti hubungan antara tahap kesihatan mental dan tahap motivasi dalam kalangan pelajar sarjana Fakulti Pendidikan, di sebuah universiti penyelidikan di Lembah Klang semasa pembelajaran dalam talian dijalankan sepanjang pandemik Covid-19. Kajian berbentuk kuantitatif ini menggunakan kaedah tinjauan deskriptif melalui soal selidik. Kaedah persampelan rawak bersistematik telah digunakan untuk mendapatkan 242 orang pelajar sarjana dari Fakulti Pendidikan, UKM sebagai sampel kajian. General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) digunakan bagi mengukur tahap kesihatan mental pelajar sementara Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) digunakan untuk mengukur tahap motivasi pelajar. Data yang diperoleh dianalisis menggunakan statistik deskriptif dan inferensi. Dapatan kajian mendapati bahawa pelajar sarjana mempunyai tahap kesihatan mental yang rendah (baik) dan tahap motivasi yang tinggi semasa mengikuti pembelajaran dalam talian sepanjang pandemik Covid-19. Hasil kajian turut menunjukkan hubungan yang signifikan dan positif antara kesihatan mental dan motivasi dalam kalangan pelajar sarjana semasa pembelajaran dalam talian sepanjang pandemik Covid-19. Kajian yang dijalankan ini diharap dapat memberi sumbangan kepada pelajar, pensyarah dan Institusi Pengajian Tinggi (IPT) dalam memahami kepentingan menjaga kesihatan mental yang baik semasa pandemik. Dapatan kajian ini memberi implikasi bahawa komunikasi yang lebih luas dan berkesan diperlukan untuk mengurangkan masalah kesihatan mental dan meningkatkan motivasi dalam kalangan pelajar.

This paper explores the transnational trajectories of female Malaysian Muslim students through their commitment to piety-minded forms of Islam. In particular, it seeks to identify the reasons for their participation in piety movements and its importance to their lives. The ethnographic research, conducted over 8 months, involved 18 Malaysian female respondents who were studying and living in Manchester between 2016 and 2017. The findings show that the students’ involvement in piety movements was due to fictive kinship providing generous hospitality upon their arrival to the United Kingdom, pre-departure programs on preparation for studying abroad, family influence and sisterhood relationships. Participation in piety movements is said to help relieve stress and overcome loneliness, and is considered vital in guiding Muslim students to lead fulfilling and virtuous lives. The findings contribute significantly to transnational student mobility theories and the importance of sociality and religion in transnational migration.

Kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji tahap kecerdasan emosi dan hubungan di antara kecerdasan emosi dan demografi (jantina, umur dan bangsa), pengalaman mengajar, tahap pendidikan dan kelayakan mengajar (guru yang memiliki sijil mengajar) bagi guru-guru di sebuah sekolah antarabangsa di Kuala Lumpur. Kajian ini adalah kajian kes jenis tinjauan berbentuk kuantitatif dan menggunakan instrumen Inventori Kepintaran Emosi Malaysia (IKEM) yang dibina oleh Noriah et al. (2004). Seramai 47 orang guru sekolah rendah telah menyertai kajian ini. Statistik deskriptif digunakan bagi melihat tahap kecerdasan emosi manakala Ujian-t digunakan untuk melihat hubungan di antara kecerdasan emosi dan jantina serta kelayakan mengajar. ANOVA Satu Hala pula digunakan untuk melihat hubungan bagi pembolehubah-pembolehubah yang lain. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa tahap kecerdasan emosi guru berada pada tahap yang tinggi. Kajian ini juga mendapati bahawa tidak terdapat perbezaan yang signifikan di antara kecerdasan emosi dengan jantina, umur, bangsa, tahap pendidikan dan kelayakan mengajar. Namun, terdapat perbezaan yang signifikan di antara kecerdasan emosi dan pengalaman mengajar. Kajian ini memberi implikasi bahawa pengalaman mengajar adalah elemen penting dalam membentuk kecerdasan emosi guru.

Tujuan - Kajian ini bertujuan untuk meneliti hubungan keterlibatan murid, sokongan pembelajaran dan pencapaian akademik mengikut gender. Ia juga meneliti sama ada terdapat peranan keterlibatan sebagai perantara bagi hubungan antara faktor sokongan pembelajaran dan pencapaian murid. Metodologi - Tinjauan keratan rentas digunakan untuk mengumpul data yang melibatkan keterlibatan murid di sekolah, sokongan pembelajaran dan pencapaian akademik. Sampel kajian adalah seramai 800 orang murid yang berumur 16 tahun (lelaki n=400 dan perempuan n=400) dari sekolah menengah kawasan bandar dan luar bandar dalam daerah Kuala Selangor. Instrumen tinjauan keterlibatan murid di sekolah (The Student Engagement Scale, Lam et al.,2009) merupakan instrumen yang digunakan untuk pengumpulan data. Analisis inferensi korelasi Pearson dan regresi berganda dijalankan untuk menentukan hubungan dan sumbangan antara pemboleh ubah. Analisis model persamaan berstruktur (SEM) dilaksanakan untuk mengenal pasti peranan keterlibatan sebagai perantara bagi faktor sokongan pembelajaran dan pencapaian akademik murid, mengikut gender. Dapatan - Dapatan kajian menunjukkan hubungan yang signifikan antara keterlibatan murid, sokongan pembelajaran dan pencapaian akademik. Keterlibatan murid merupakan perantara bagi faktor sumbangan sokongan pembelajaran dan pencapaian akademik murid lelaki dan perempuan. Kepentingan - Hasil kajian ini dapat mengukuhkan teori peranan sokongan pembelajaran terhadap pencapaian murid, perbezaan gender dalam keterlibatan agar program intervensi dapat ditambahbaik bagi meningkatkan keberhasilan keterlibatan murid.

University–Industry Collaboration (UIC) has been identified as an essential item on Malaysia’s agenda for transforming itself into knowledge and innovation-based economy. However, despite the efforts, most initiatives have had limited results. This paper reports on an explorative study that sought to understand the contemporary realities of UIC in the Malaysian context. In particular, the study identified the expectations and impediments to UIC, from the perspectives of three groups of stakeholders – the academics, the industry players and policymakers. The findings reveal a number of barriers, including cultural differences, perceived lack of academic expertise and reputation, an inadequacy of institutional policies and regulations, lack of trust, issues of intellectual property rights, and the lack of an appropriate reward system. This paper concludes by proposing policy recommendations and strategies that could be used by the government, university, and the industry to promote further and foster university-industry collaborative opportunities and initiatives.

This study examines the relationship between career interest, knowledge, adaptability and maturity in predicting career choice among 720 students in the Malaysian Skills Certification System. Career interest, knowledge and adaptability were found to be positively related to career choice, while career maturity was not significantly related to career choice. The career choice model was observed to be sufficiently solid and flexible to incorporate and measure the five constructs (career choice, interest, knowledge, maturity and adaptability). Importance-performance matrix analysis indicates that career adaptability is the most important factor in students’ career choices, albeit with the lowest mean scores.

Carnegie Foundation for Advancement of Teaching described UCE as the “collaboration between higher education institutions (HEIs) and their larger communities (local, regional or state, national, and global) for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity.” Thus the term socially responsible university was proposed by Teichler (2017) which refers to the need for a university to be relevant to the society and that “the university has to pay attention as well that it serves the generally agreed function of generating, preserving and disseminating knowledge appropriately.” However, this function is the least emphasized by the university community and in criteria for promotion. This Article examines the nature of and the factors affecting universities’ engagement with their communities from the multiple perspectives of top management leaders of the university. Specifically, the research sought to access views on UCE and explores cultural and institutional barriers to involvement, and levels of recognition, support, and reward for community engagement. The article highlights the two perspectives from the respondents; their beliefs of what is currently occurring in their universities and their views on what ought to be occurring. Abstrak Carnegie Foundation for Advancement of Teaching (Yayasan Carnegie untuk Kemajuan pengajaran) menggambarkan university-community engagement (UCE) sebagai "kolaborasi antara institusi pendidikan tinggi (HEIs) dan komunitas mereka yang lebih besar (lokal, regional atau negara, nasional, dan global) untuk pertukaran pengetahuan dan sumber daya yang saling menguntungkan dalam konteks kemitraan dan timbal balik.” Dengan demikian istilah universitas yang bertanggung jawab secara sosial diusulkan oleh Teichler (2017) yang mengacu pada perlunya sebuah universitas menjadi relevan dengan masyarakat dan bahwa “universitas harus memperhatikan dalam melayani fungsi yang disepakati bersama untuk menghasilkan, melestarikan dan menyebarkan pengetahuan dengan tepat.” Namun, fungsi ini paling tidak ditekankan oleh komunitas universitas dan dalam kriteria untuk promosi. Artikel ini mengkaji sifat dan faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi keterlibatan universitas dengan komunitas mereka dari berbagai perspektif pimpinan manajemen puncak pada universitas. Secara khusus, penelitian ini beru paya untuk mengakses pandangan tentang UCE dan mengeksplorasi hambatan budaya dan kelembagaan untuk keterlibatan, dan tingkat pengakuan, dukungan, dan penghargaan untuk keterlibatan masyarakat. Artikel ini menyoroti dua perspektif dari responden; keyakinan mereka tentang apa yang sedang terjadi di universitas mereka dan pandangan mereka tentang apa yang seharusnya terjadi. How to Cite : Md.Yunus, A. S., Azman, N. Rahman, S. A. (2017). Socially Responsible University: Perspectives of University’s Top Management Leaders. TARBIYA: Journal of Education in Muslim Society, 4 (2), 128-147. doi:10.15408/tjems.v4i2.8008. Permalink/DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15408/tjems.v4i2.8008

The study is a descriptive survey study that aims to see the level of soft skills among Islamic Studies students’ courses. A total of 346 samples from a population of 955 students in Bachelor courses of Islamic Studies from a public university participated in the study. Seven attributes of soft skills (soft skills) for university students as outlined by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (MOHE) which include communication skills, leadership, teamwork, critical thinking and problem solving, lifelong learning, entrepreneurship and professional skills moral ethics were adopted. Data for this study were collected through a questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 17.0. Min analysis shows that students master the six constituents of soft skills at a high level unless entrepreneurial skills at moderate level. The highest skill mastered was teamwork skills, followed by learning skills and information management skills, leadership skills, critical thinking skills and problem solving, communication skills and moral and professional ethics. Entrepreneurial skills which was mastered the least need to be improved to encourage Islamic studies graduate to join entrepreneurship. The study recommends that the students to pursue other professional fields without forgetting the noble role to preach the message of Islam in any career endeavor. Abstrak Kajian ini merupakan kajian tinjauan secara deskriptif bertujuan untuk melihat tahap penguasaan kemahiran insaniah pelajar kursus Pengajian Islam. Seramai 346 sampel daripada 955 orang populasi pelajar Ijazah Sarjana Muda Kursus Pengajian Islam daripada sebuah universiti awam tempatan terlibat dalam kajian. Tujuh attribut kemahiran insaniah (softskill) untuk pelajar IPT seperti yang digariskan oleh Kementerian Pengajian Tinggi Malaysia (KPTM) merangkumi kemahiran komunikasi, kepimpinan, kerja berpasukan, berfikir kritis dan penyelesaian masalah, pembelajaran sepanjang hayat, keusahawanan dan kemahiran etika moral profesional (KPT 2006) digunapakai. Data kajian ini telah diperoleh melalui soal selidik dan dianalisis menggunakan prisian SPSS versi 17.0. Analisis min menunjukkan pelajar menguasai enam juzuk kemahiran insaniah pada tahap tinggi kecuali kemahiran keusahawanan pada tahap sederhana tinggi. Kemahiran yang paling tinggi dikuasai ialah kemahiran kerja berpasukan diikuti kemahiran pembelajaran berterusan dan pengurusan maklumat, kemahiran kemahiran kepimpinan, kemahiran pemikiran kritis dan penyelesaian masalah, kemahiran komunikasi dan kemahiran etika moral dan profesional. Kemahiran keusahawanan yang paling rendah dikuasai perlu dipertingkatkan sebagai usaha menggalakkan graduan pengajian Islam menceburi bidang keusahawanan. Kajian mencadangkan pelajar Pengajian Islam menceburi bidang-bidang profesional yang lainnya tanpa melupakan peranan mulia sebagai penyebar mesej keislaman dan pendakwah dalam apa jua karier yang diceburi.

This original book provides a unique analysis of the different regional and inter-regional projects, their processes and the politics of Europeanisation, globalisation and education. Collectively, the contirbutors engage with international relations and integrations theory to explore new ways of thinking about regionalisms and inter-regionalisms, and bring to the fore the role that higher education plays in this.

The aim of this study was to examine the associations between learning support, student engagement and academic achievement among adolescents. We also examined the extent to which affective, behavioural and cognitive engagement play a mediating role in students’ perceived learning support from parents, teachers and peers, and contribute to their academic achievement. Malaysian adolescents (aged 12–17 years, N = 2359) completed a self-administered questionnaire based on an adapted version of the Student Engagement And Learning Support Scale. Item and factor analyses were performed to ensure appropriate psychometric properties of the scales. Pearson correlation analysis identified the relationship between variables and structural equation modelling was conducted to identify the role of student engagement as a mediator between learning support and academic achievement. The study provides empirical support for the hypothesis that perceptions of learning support influence adolescents’ affective, behavioural and cognitive engagement in school in different ways, which in turn influences their academic achievement. Cognitive engagement seemed to be the best predictor of academic achievement and the strongest mediator for all three types of learning support. Behavioural engagement was negatively associated with academic achievement, and affective engagement did not have a direct relationship with academic achievement, although it contributed indirectly through cognitive and behavioural engagement. The results of this study provide a basis for policy makers to initiate prevention and intervention programs for increasing the quality of parent–child, teacher–student and peer–peer relationships which ultimately could lead to improved academic competence and outcomes.

The future of Malaysia as a high-income and competitive nation largely depends on its pool of highly skilled human capital. Hence, the issue of human capital development has taken centre stage in numerous reform agendas of Malaysia. This paper seeks to provide examples of policy initiatives aimed at facilitating the management of highly educated talent in Malaysia. It subsequently considers the role of higher education institutions, particularly the universities, as attractors, educators and retainers of intellectuals, in shaping talent. In conclusion, we argue that more significant underlying shortcomings of talent development are derived from the still transitional nature of the reforms and incomplete structural changes occurring in the national system, and that a change in mindset is the first necessary step towards nurturing and developing a human resource talent pool.

A factorial experimental design technique was used to investigate the removal of “Fe2+” from wastewater Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) through jar adsorption test technique. Jar testing is expected to contribute to cost savings in chemicals from which ferum ion can also be extracted. The best condition for slag adsorption from AMD wastewater was obtained via a complete 16 factorial design experiment. Factorial design for screening is chosen to test four effects factors Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) slag dosage (0.2 and 2.0g), stirration speed (150 and 250 rpm), interval time (5 and 100 minute) and concentration (200 and 1000 ppm) at two levels. Metal removal capability was evaluated using adsorption result. Using statistical methods, the main effects and interaction effects of the four variables were analysed. A regression model was suggested, and the experimental data was found to match very well. The findings were statistically analyzed using the Student’s t-test, variance analysis, F-test and lack of fit to identify three most significant process variables that influence “Fe2+” removal percentage. Therefore concentration was found to be the most important variable in this analysis.

The research study the feasibility of polysulfide sorbent (PSS) by using waste palm cooking oil and low-cost sulphur for mercury removal from aqueous solution. Mercury is known as one of the most hazardous toxic heavy metal that gives harmful to human being and environment. PSS is one of the materials that act as adsorbent to remove heavy metals. Waste palm cooking oil was used to produce PSS thus also can solved waste cooking oil management in Malaysia. The efficiency of PSS was investigated in this study based on the study of effect of initial Hg (II) concentration, contact time, pH and polymer sorbent dosage for removal of Hg (II) ion in aqueous solution. The characterization of surface morphology was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). From this study, the highest mercury removal was 95.57 % at 120 rpm of agitation speed, 4 hour of contact time, initial Hg (II) ion concentration of 1 mg/L, 2 g of sorbent dosage and pH 6.

University-community engagement (UCE) activities may be side-lined by academics due to the greater emphasis given to research, publication and teaching in promotion and yearly appraisal. Thus, communities close to a university may not receive any benefits from the existence of a university in their larger neighbourhood. UCE is described by Carnegie Foundation for Advancement of Teaching as the collaboration between higher education institutions (HEIs) and their larger communities (local, regional or state, national, and global) for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity. Involvement in UCE activities progresses from informing to consulting, involving, collaborating, and lastly, empowering the community. It may be in the form of service, outreach, partnership or curricular. Teichler (2017) uses the term socially responsible university to refer to the need for a university to be relevant to the society and that “university has to pay attention as well that it serves the generally agreed function of generating, preserving and disseminating knowledge appropriately”. This paper share views of top management leaders on the current state of UCE initiatives and what needs to be done to create more impactful activities.

Interest in the field of higher education in Malaysia rose dramatically at the beginning of the twentieth century as the higher education sector grew rapidly. At the same time, scholarly interest in higher education increased as the result of the reforms and transformations that occurred at both systemic and institutional levels. Based on a review of policies, graduate programme documents and data on HE research from the Ministry of Higher Education, this chapter provides a general introduction to some salient features of the evolution and current state of higher education as a field of study in Malaysia. It reviews the emerging nature of higher education as a field of study and the political and social forces that have shaped and contributed to its development. It also highlights certain characteristics, issues and developing trends which would provide a better understanding of both the present stage of development and the line of progress expected to emerge in the future. The chapter concludes that greater emphasis needs to be placed on research infrastructure, especially mechanisms for funding, storing and sharing research reports and materials.

This study analyzes whether academics with advanced degrees from foreign universities are more research productive than their domestic counterparts in the three selected East Asian higher education systems – Korea, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. The three systems have relatively large proportions of foreign degree holders among their professoriates. The data for this study is drawn from the Changing Academic Profession survey. In our negative binominal regression analysis, we found that foreign degree holders are not more research productive than their colleagues with domestic degrees, and even slightly less productive than domestic degree holders in soft disciplines (arts, humanities, and social sciences) in Korea unless they have further foreign post-doc experience after their PhD. Furthermore, foreign degree holders are less productive in hard disciplines (natural sciences, engineering, and bio-medical sciences) in Malaysia. Finally, we discuss the findings and attribute them to contextual differences between the three localities.

Policy decision-making in Malaysia has long used an approach based on intuition, ideology, or conventional wisdom. But as Malaysian society matures within an increasingly complex policy environment, a move toward an evidence-based approach to public policy-making is called for. This paper discusses the experience of the National Higher Education Research Institute (IPPTN) in its attempts at linking research to higher education policy formulation. The main aim is to understand the perspectives of the IPPTN researchers regarding the use and impact of higher education research on policy-making, and the challenges they experienced. The findings provide insights into the future of evidence-based higher education policy-making in Malaysia and the IPPTN's capacity and capability for evidence-based policy research.

Gender differences with regard to academic performance remain one of the more challenging issues in educational research. Gender disparity in education has traditionally focus on the under participation of girls and still is in some parts of the world. In a number of countries, including Malaysia, gender disparity in basic and higher education are in favor of girls both in terms of participation and performance. The dual purpose of this paper is to address and to understand the nature of the issue by analyzing the trends of student participation and performance; and secondly, to seek whether student engagement and burnout are possible factors contributing to school dropout and low achievement. There are evidence in the literature to show student engagement and student burnout accounted for gender differences in school performance. The results of the analysis of secondary data reflected a trend that shows girls outperformed boys in national examinations across school levels and types. These trends are confirmed by results of a survey of the level of student engagement and student burnout on a sample of students aged 12, 14 and 16 which seems to suggest that boys are less engaged than girls, and experience more burnout. The findings are discussed in the context of developing support for students, particularly boys, to be more engaged, and less burnout in school and in learning.

The process of globalisation has undoubtedly impacted countries, bringing about different challenges for each country, region and locality. Many countries have responded positively to the demands and challenges through a societal transformation process with an emphasis on developing tertiary education, research and innovative capacities. Drawing upon our experience with two cases of newly developed learning regions, Kuala Lumpur city-region and Iskandar Malaysia region, we examine Malaysia’s effort at transforming its higher education system in the context of learning region objectives. Key government policies, namely, the Tenth Malaysia Plan, the National Higher Education Strategic Plan 2007–2020, the Economic Transformation Programme as well as documents of the learning regions’ master plans were included in the document analysis. Although it remains to be seen how the learning regions will emerge, the experience in transforming higher education based on the learning region concept is highly relevant to developing countries that are attempting to shift their traditional economy to a more knowledge-intensive economy.

The study presented in this chapter describes the profile (e.g., gender, age, and language), career trajectory (e.g., highest degree obtained, academic trajectory and rank), and job satisfaction of academic staff based on the results of the CAP (Changing Academic Profession) survey of academics. The report provides a framework for discussing how recent contextual changes affect the academics’ career trajectory and are likely to affect the Malaysian academic profession in the future. The demands on the major tasks of teaching and research have increased significantly with emphasis on key performance indicators. These changes have impacted the career trajectory, motivations and morale of academics in Malaysian universities.

This paper examines the nature of the leadership crisis in Malaysia's public universities. Our main concern is about the leadership at the top levels of university management, and the administrative hierarchy as perceived by both outsiders and insiders. Critics have lamented that Malaysia lacks people with international stature to lead its public universities to greater heights; however, they stop short of outlining good, feasible leadership plans for public universities. This paper contends that the primary reason for the malaise underlying the Malaysian university leadership crisis is that there is no proper system in place to appoint the most able, talented, authoritative and respected scholars to lead Malaysia's public universities. This paper also argues that the current provision in the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971, regarding the appointment of a Vice-Chancellor, is obsolete and not aligned with the aspiration of treating universities as independent, trustworthy and autonomous entities. It is contrary to international best practices of selecting university leaders through an extremely competitive and rigorous search. Arguably, Malaysian universities need leaders — academics (in the first instance) cum administrators — who are inspirational, visionary, respected for their scholarship, and progressive in their approach. The leadership crisis in Malaysia's public universities is approaching such a critical stage that nothing less than a total reform has to be instituted, not only of the law in relation to appointments, but also of the practices and cultures, which currently do not promote meritocracy.

This paper is motivated by concern about the decline in the numbers of males entering the teaching profession in Malaysia. It seeks to explore first year student teachers’ views of teaching as a career choice and to determine the factors that influenced their decision to enter the teaching profession. A total of 425 student teachers completed a questionnaire in which they were asked to rate factors that influenced their decision to become teachers following which a comparison by gender was made. The findings of the study reveal that male and female student teachers have similar motives in selecting teaching as a career. Generally, both groups emphasise altruistic and extrinsic factors. This paper discusses the findings in relation to wider issues concerning gender, and draws conclusions which may be helpful to policy-makers and institutions in the recruitment of students into pre-service teacher training.

The study reported in this paper represents one of the first attempts at exploring the perspectives of the local communities on the designation of Langkawi Island in Malaysia as a UNESCO Global Geopark. It is premised on the widely acknowledged assertion that the local communities constitute an important group of stakeholders in the planning and implementation of development activities. Hence, the communities living in the geopark areas in Langkawi are considered important stakeholders who play a crucial role in the development of heritage tourism in Langkawi Global Geopark. This paper examines their views on their appreciation of the geopark as heritage, the interpretation of their shared values, the benefits and opportunities afforded by the geopark, and the extent of their involvement in the implementation of geopark activities. The findings point to the need for more support for public education programmes, and awareness initiatives aimed not only at ensuring community engagement with the development ...

This article reports on a study that examined the choice and use of academic reading strategies of adult learners who were identified as proficient and less proficient readers. The major objective was to explore the potential influence of their adult characteristics on their use of their academic reading strategies. Data were gathered using student diaries, participant observations, and think-aloud protocols. In addition, the take-home reading handouts were studied and retrospective interviews were conducted immediately after the think-aloud protocols. Data analysis was done at two levels: quantitative and qualitative. While the quantitative analysis yielded the variety and frequency count of the strategies used, the qualitative analysis provided the quality of and reasons for the choice and use of the strategies. Quantitative analysis resulted in the identification of 31 cognitive strategies, 20 metacognitive strategies, and 5 affective strategies amongst the proficient readers, and 26 cognitive strategies, 15 metacognitive strategies, and 6 affective strategies amongst the less proficient readers. The qualitative analysis revealed that the proficient readers were found to be able to manipulate their common characteristics as adult learners to the advantage of their academic reading, while the less proficient readers were found to be ignorant of the potentials of their common characteristics as adult learners. The findings of this study have direct implications on the teaching of academic reading to adult learners and the design of the academic reading curriculum in adult education.

Malaysian higher education institutions, particularly universities, are critical to the economic and social future of the nation. This is so as demands for pursuit of knowledge and innovations as well as for highly specialized and educated people have made university education highly important and a priority for the Malaysian government. This article presents the alternative models for Malaysian universities by establishing a set of scenarios based on the current model and future trends of Malaysian higher education institutions. The first section gives a brief overview of the Malaysian university system and the main forces that drive changes in the system. The second section discusses the project undertaken in scenario building which aims to develop alternative models of universities in Malaysia. The alternative scenarios conceptualized provide three main paradigms on the future model of higher education in Malaysia. The concluding section highlights the importance of understanding the scenarios applied ...

This paper reports on a study that identifies the learning styles of adult learners in non formal education programs at selected Malaysian community colleges. A survey of 959 adult learners from 14 community colleges was carried out to determine their learning styles using a modified version of Conti's Principles of Adult learning Scales. The data gathered were analyzed descriptively using SPSS packages. Results from the descriptive analysis revealed that the adult learners displayed behaviours of learner-centred and teacher-centred styles. Based on these findings, some strategies for instructors teaching community colleges or other adult students are recommended.

This paper examines Langkawi's local community's views on their appreciation of the geopark as a tool for heritage conservation. Data were collected through qualitative method using interviews with key village informants and local residents. The results of this study are presented according the five core values established in a newly developed framework: knowledge and understanding, shared values, benefit and opportunities, role and responsibilities, and empowerment. The conclusions point to the needs for public education programmes, and awareness initiatives aimed not only at ensuring community engagement within the development of Langkawi Geopark but also at generating stewardship actions from the community.

The purpose of this pilot study is to ascertain the level of educational aspiration among first-generation students and the extent of parental influence in the students’ aspirations to pursue tertiary education. A total 71 form four students responded to questionnaires containing aspiration scales and the role of parent's items. The results showed that the level of educational aspirations of first-generation students to pursue studies at higher education institutions is high. The study also showed that parents’ factors influence the first-generation students’ educational aspirations in pursuing tertiary education.

Organizational climate refers to a set of circumstances and work practices of an organization. Work climate describes the perception of the workforce towards the work environment, welfare and the prospects for staff development in an organization. The work climate will affect work performance and the relationship among individuals. This research is a survey that intends to identify the existing organizational process climate in MARA Institute of Higher Education. 1580 respondents; management, lecturers as well as the support staff from 35 institutions of MARA Institute of Higher Education took part in this study. The data was collected using a questionnaire and was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Overall, the findings of this research show that MARA Institute of Higher Learning has an organizational process climate that supports the implementation of TQM. Besides that, the organizational process climate of colleges such as UniKL (ISO) and IKM (ISO) which have obtained ISO certification show higher support for the implementation compared to the other institutions. Overall, the findings of this study also show that the implementation of TQM is the dominant factor in influencing the organizational process climate. The organizational process climate that is supportive will produce workers who are productive but a high dependency level. This situation is a good sign for the management of MARA Institute of Higher Education because this kind of climate shows that the workforce of MARA Institute of Higher Education is productive but not independent. The implication of this study shows that the implementation of TQM has to be refined from time to time to improve the organizational process climate.