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The purpose of this research was to investigate the possibilities and opportunities for ASEAN and Korea student exchange programs in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era, by focusing on the needs of non-participating ASEAN students. To do so, this study conducted an online survey to analyze ASEAN students' understanding, views, expectations, and reasons for not participating in student exchange programs to Korea, while investigating their considerations and preferences for future participation. The findings revealed significant differences between ASEAN students in terms of nationality (especially Vietnamese students), academic field, and gender. They also highlighted the rising role and importance of hybrid and online modes of student mobility, that grew in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, there is a need for universities, government policy makers and educational scholars to reflect the emerging new needs of students concerning ASEAN-Korea exchange programs in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era.

The use of technology in education is believed to enhance students' learning experience. Technology such as Augmented Reality (AR) is increasingly used in the classroom through the use of gamification. This study aims to examine students' experience in using a board game with web-based Augmented Reality named REV-OPOLY in their learning. REV-OPOLY's theme is on the emerging technology revolution concepts where in this board game, players can buy, rent and sell technologies through question cards to gain the opportunity to own the technology. AR is implemented into the game as the play pieces and part of the play cards. The respondents are the undergraduate students enrolled in Computer Application in Management course in Universiti Utara Malaysia. In this qualitative study, respondents will be tested through pre-test and post-test to compare the effectiveness and efficacy of REV-OPOLY compared to traditional methods of self-revision. The findings showed that 98.8% of the respondents are interest-ed in using REV-OPOLY in learning and 86.1% of them are satisfied with the structure of the game, mainly the multiplayer aspects of it (95.3%) which enforce interaction and discussion among the players (89.5%) and 93.0% agreed that they can learn better through the game as an informal learning medium. In this study, REV-OPOLY has shown to have received positive feedback from the respondents. Further research is required to assess the students' learning outcomes and experience of REV-OPOLY.

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), the fast developing teaching and learning platforms of global interest, are the product of higher education's expanded usage of e-learning. MOOCs have been heralded as the potential educational breakthrough for the 21st century. A positive attitude toward self-efficacy is essential for successful MOOC implementation. However, only a few studies have been conducted to ascertain a student's MOOC efficacy level, and a very limited scale for assessing a student's MOOC efficacy has been identified in the context of Malaysia. This study aims to develop and validate a student's MOOC-efficacy scale for higher institutions. In this study, students' MOOC-efficacy was conceived in four ways (i.e. information searching, making queries, MOOC learning, and MOOC usability). A descriptive research design with a scale was employed to collect information from 289 students enrolled in higher institutions. The Educational and Psychological Testing Standards were adapted to develop a scale to gauge students' MOOC-efficacy. The scale's appropriate items, as well as its validity and reliability, were determined using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). Significant levels of validity and reliability for the developed scale were found. The scale comprised four dimensions, i.e., information searching (three items), making queries (seven items), MOOC learning (six items) and MOOC usability (seven items), amounting to a total of 23 items. This scale was then used to determine the efficacy of higher institution students in using MOOCs. The eigenvalues of the four MOOC efficacy dimensions were within the range of 1.39 to 8.49. The factor structures explained 63.9% of the total variance. The scores of reliability varied in the range of 0.822 to 0.890. This work produced a psychometrically sound scale to measure students' MOOC efficacy. Students, educators, administrators, and other individuals may benefit from the application of the verified MOOC efficacy scale. The information generated from the scale can be utilized to determine the training needs of students, educators and MOOC developers.

The quality and level of job satisfaction among lecturers play a significant role in implementing transformation to improve the education system. The main reason for the decreasing of job performances among lecturers is due to the low level of job satisfaction. This study aimed to examine the relationship between a director's transformational leadership style and the level of job satisfaction among lecturers at MARA Professional College. This is a survey study employing descriptive and inferential quantitative method. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) and Job Descriptive Index (JDI) instruments were distributed to 64 participants that were chosen using simple random sampling from the 75 population of MARA Professional College lecturers. The data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 22. The findings revealed that the level of practice of the director on transformational leadership was low. In addition, there was a significant relationship between the transformational leadership practice of the director and the level of job satisfaction among lecturers at MARA Professional College. The level of job satisfaction among the lecturers was influenced by the director's leadership practice, thus a director can increase the level of job satisfaction among the staff by practicing the transformational leadership style in managing a college. The findings are expected to assist the organization of MARA Professional College to identify the level of work pressure faced by the lecturers.

This paper presents the development process of talent management in higher education institutions. Specifically, this study aims to identify clusters that best fit the leadership competency framework for those institutions. This study utilizes the qualitative approach via focus group discussion with the Leadership Competency and Instrument Committee in AKEPT, and also by interviews with academics in the public universities. The findings from the focus group discussion and interview demonstrate five clusters of leadership competency skills framework: personnel effectiveness, cognition, leading, impact and influence, and achievement and action. Within these clusters, issues were identified that need to be taken into consideration when selecting future leaders in higher education institutions. Based on the findings, a set of attributes were listed that can be adopted in the future to allow leaders of higher institutional education to enhance their sustainability performance. This paper provides an understanding to interested parties on the attributes of good leaders for higher education institutions.

This research explored two important constructs in 21st century e-education--students' MOOC-efficacy and meaningful learning among undergraduate students in selected public universities in Malaysia. Its main objective was to examine the causal relationship of students' MOOC-efficacy on meaningful learning. The study conceptualized students' MOOC-efficacy in four dimensions (i.e. information searching, making queries, MOOC learning, and MOOC usability), while conceiving meaningful learning as having five dimensions (i.e. cooperative learning, active learning, authentic learning, constructive learning, and intentional learning). This research applied cross-sectional survey design. Data were collected with a 52-item questionnaire whose reliability indexes ranged from 0.822 to 0.890 for the dimensions. The study's population was identified as university students who have had some experience with MOOCs and who willingly volunteered to participate in the research. A sample of 603 respondents was drawn through simple random sampling. The full-fledged Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was adopted for data analysis. The finding indicated that students' MOOC-efficacy was positively associated with meaningful learning. The results show that students' MOOC-efficacy explains 67% of the variance in meaningful learning. The fit indices indicate an adequate fit: RMSEA = 0.041, CFI = 0.923 and X[superscript 2]/df = 2.067. The finding provides further insights into what works in an open online environment. The insights may be used to fulfill learners' needs and preferences. MOOC-efficacy interventions are crucial in order to encourage students' meaningful learning in the e-learning platform.

Purpose: The main purpose of service learning is to produce holistically developed students. Since 2015, the Ministry of Higher Education has mandated the infusion of service learning into various study programs, however till today, service learning across the country is still in its infancy. Critical insights on its contextual compatibility is not fully understood within the Malaysian context. Therefore, this paper aims to highlight the perspectives of lecturers and students on the challenges they have encountered when participating in service learning. Methodology: This study employed a qualitative approach, and incorporated the principles of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) that guided data collection from the participants. The students and lecturers who participated in the study were selected using purposive sampling techniques. The data from the students were collected through focus group interviews, while in-depth face to face interviews were conducted to collect data from the lecturers. The two sources of data were then analysed using a thematic analysis method. Findings: Based on the analysis of the perspectives from students, the challenges encountered were as follows: 1) there is a gap in the understanding between theory and practice, and 2) the lack of cognitive autonomy. On the other hand, the main challenge identified based on the perspectives of the lecturers is the lack of structural support. Moreover, the common challenges experienced by both participants are the relationship and rapport with the community. Significance: These findings provide insight into the challenges faced by lecturers and students in a public university where service learning is practised. These insights would provide necessary information to academic developers that provide training workshops on service learning, and to lecturers that are involved in the design and implementation of service-learning projects.

To identify the most frequent factors that showed significant results in the previous literature of social media, a quantitative systematic approach of 713 studies was conducted. The results showed that perceived enjoyment (PE), subjective norm (SN), self-efficacy (SE), perceived critical mass (PCM), facilitating conditions (FC), perceived compatibility (PC), and information quality (IQ) were the main frequent factors that showed significant results in the reviewed studies. Accordingly, this research aims to develop a comprehensive theoretical model by extending the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with those factors to investigate the students' behavioral intention to adopt social media in higher education. The developed model is validated using the partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique through data collected from 655 students studying at eight colleges/universities situated at eight governorates in Oman. The findings showed that PE, PCM, PC, and IQ positively impact the perceived usefulness (PU) of social media for learning purposes. The results also indicated that PE, SE, FC, and IQ positively affect perceived ease of use (PEOU). However, PU was not affected by SN and SE. Similarly, PEOU was not influenced by PC. The theoretical contributions and practical implications of these results are also discussed.

Effective communication is central in the completion of most endeavors; however, a failure to communicate clearly or effectively can be commonplace and difficult to resolve. Communication within the online classroom is fraught with misinterpretations as there is a lack of real-time communication between instructors and students. Gaining a better understanding of what students expect in their communications with instructors can help alleviate the difficulties associated with communication in the online classroom. As such, the purpose of this study was to examine student perceptions and expectations regarding communications within their instructors in the online discussion forum. The critical issues that this study sought to investigate include the following: student expectations of the frequency of communication with instructors, the expected amount of communication, and how rapidly students expect instructor to respond to their posts. Findings from the study demonstrate that students desire to have engagement with their instructor, but in a balanced manner. Students wish to have an instructor that is actively engaged throughout the school week but not so much so that it will overwhelm their ability to interact with others.

Purpose: The validity of any performance assessment depends substantially on the rating scale used in the assessment procedure. It delineates the theoretical construct being measured and influences how performances are judged and interpreted. This study examined the factorial validity and invariance of the rating scale used for the assessment of the essay writing component of the Malaysian University English Test (MUET) in terms of the correspondence to empirical data and the theoretical construct of ESL writing. Methodology: To determine the factorial validity of the MUET essay writing rating scale, a measurement model was developed based on the criteria description of the scale. Model-data fit was tested using CFA. The data comprised 392 essays, taken from a university English proficiency examination. Factorial invariance was tested through consecutively more restrictive models. Results: A 3-factor structure model was found to produce the best fit to the data. Factorial invariance was tested by examining the comparability of the structure and values of parameters within the model across two groups. A more restrictive model was subsequently tested, where variances and covariances of the latent constructs together with factor loadings were constrained to be equal for the two groups. The resultant goodness-of-fit indices showed a better fit to the data, providing support for the factorial invariance of the 3-factor structure model. Significance: The results support a 3-factor structure model, congruent with the theory of ESL writing. However, further validation needs to be carried out across different ESL populations to ensure accurate representation and assessment of ESL writing performance.

Most learners studying English language feel that their educators use irrelevant, uninteresting, and culturally unfamiliar reading materials for teaching reading. As a result, most of them struggle to comprehend the English language texts used by the teachers. Therefore, the aim of this research is to investigate the genre and content preferences of ESL tertiary learners in UiTM Kedah, Malaysia. A two-part questionnaire was administered to 132 respondents aged 20 to 23 years old who are presently furthering their undergraduate studies in Accountancy, Administrative Science and Policy Studies, Business Management, Industrial Design, and Information Management. The results of the study show that these ESL tertiary learners prefer texts from the websites and blogs; and their preferred reading contents are dealing with Business Management, watching movies and listening to music. This article offers guidance to ESL teachers to select L2 reading texts based on the students' preferred genre and content.

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of information placement within the confines of the online classroom architecture. Also reviewed was the impact of other variables such as course design, teaching presence and student patterns in looking for information. The sample population included students from a major online university in their first year course sequence. Students were tasked with completing a survey at the end of the course, indicating their preference for accessing information within the online classroom. The qualitative data indicated that student preference is to receive information from multiple access points and sources within the online classroom architecture. Students also expressed a desire to have information delivered through the usage of technology such as email and text messaging. In addition to receiving information from multiple sources, the qualitative data indicated students were satisfied overall, with the current ways in which they received and accessed information within the online classroom setting. Major findings suggest that instructors teaching within the online classroom should have multiple data access points within the classroom architecture. Furthermore, instructors should use a variety of communication venues to enhance the ability for students to access and receive information pertinent to the course.

A number of systematic reviews were conducted with respect to social media on the one hand, and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) application, on the other hand. However, analyzing the TAM in social media context is still questioned and requires further examination. The main objective of this systematic review is to analyze the up-to-date social media studies that involved the TAM as the primary theoretical model. In that, 57 research articles ranged between 2009 and 2018 were critically analyzed. The main research findings indicated that studying social media adoption and usage among students was the most frequent research problem tackled. Additionally, the majority of the analyzed studies have been extended with external factors. It was also revealed that perceived enjoyment, subjective norm, self-efficacy, perceived critical mass, perceived connectedness, perceived security, and perceived trust were the most frequent factors that significantly extended the TAM. Besides, questionnaire surveys were found to be the most commonly used methods for data collection. In addition, the majority of the analyzed studies were conducted in higher education environments. Furthermore, Facebook was found to be the most common social media tool used in most of the analyzed studies. To that end, the results of this systematic review afford a better understanding of the TAM-based social media studies and form an essential reference for future research in the social media context.

Social learning refers to the learning delivered through social media applications. The examination of students' attitudes towards using social media applications for learning activities is still not fully understood. For this reason, this research is carried out with the aim of measuring the students' attitudes towards using social media from the lenses of several attributes, including gender, age, governorate, year of study, social media application, experience, and interest. The population of this study is the students enrolled at eight different universities and colleges located in eight different governorates in Oman. A total of 1307 students took part in this research through the use of an online survey. The results showed that gender, age, governorate, experience, and interest have significant impacts on students' attitudes. Nevertheless, the study years and social media applications did not expose any significant effect on students' attitudes. Additionally, WhatsApp was found to be the most predominant application used for educational purposes. Further, the study reported the barriers faced by the students while using social media applications for learning purposes. In response to these barriers, the study also provided a number of suggestions for improving the overall usage of social media in higher educational institutes.

Purpose: This study focused on the validation of a Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) instrument for using ICT in teaching and learning effectively in a Malaysian secondary school setting. The aim of this study was to confirm a seven-factor TPACK model which includes Technological Knowledge, Content Knowledge, Pedagogical Knowledge, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Technological Pedagogical Knowledge, Technological Content Knowledge and Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge. Methodology: This study was designed as a case study situated within a particular context in Malaysia. A survey was administered to 150 pre-service teachers enrolled in a university in Malaysia. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the adapted TPACK survey was preceded by assessing the fit of the measurement model with the data in the study based on the a priori theoretical model. Findings: The findings revealed that the measurement model adequately fit with the data collected within a Malaysian secondary school context, also lending validity to the adapted TPACK instrument used in this study. Significance: The adapted and translated TPACK survey was found to be a valuable self-report instrument for measuring pre-service teachers' TPACK knowledge. A greater understanding of TPACK may be required for pre-service teachers before adequate gains in using ICT in teaching can be achieved. Thus, it is recommended that this knowledge should be integrated in the Initial Teacher Education curriculum with more attention to improving access to ICT in Initial Teacher Education and the schools.

The purpose of this study was twofold, i.e. to examine the extent to which students' self-reported use of digital technology constituted meaningful and interpretable dimensions of the digital citizenship construct, and to test the adequacy of the construct in terms of its reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and measurement equivalence for male and female students. The sample consisted of 391 undergraduates from 15 institutions of higher education in Malaysia. The data were collected using a self-reported 17-item questionnaire measuring university students' digital citizenship behaviours. The results of the study supported and extended the results of previous work on students' behaviors when using digital technology. The study found evidence that students' digital citizenship is a valid and reliable multidimensional construct, and the measurement is gender-invariant. The findings are useful in making evidence-informed decisions in choosing and developing instructional interventions to produce ethical and responsible technology users, and in informing future research in the area.

This paper presents the instructional design effect on motivation towards the implementation of e-Portfolio with ARCS Motivational design strategies to enhance self-directed learning. The purpose of the study was to examine the learners' motivation level after the implementation of e-Portfolio. Initially, this paper was conducted to study a total number of twenty-four students as a small group evaluation. The survey instrument was divided into four subscales which involved (1) attention, (2) relevance, (3) confidence, and (4) satisfaction to measure the motivation subscales among learners. The findings reported that learners' motivation has a significant effect to create a desire and awareness in constructing, developing and exploring their knowledge. The e-Portfolio with ARCS motivational design strategies will enforce the learner in gaining their interest in learning. The integration of e-Portfolio and ARCS motivational design strategies will create an opportunity to enhance the transmission and instruction approach in teaching and learning for higher education environment.

The concept of situation awareness is essential in enhancing collaborative learning. Learners require information from different awareness aspects to deduce a learning situation for decision-making. Designing learning environments that assist learners to understand situation awareness via monitoring actions and reaction of other learners has been reported to be beneficial in enhancing collaborative learning. An emerging learning mode is mobile Web 2.0 learning where Web 2.0 tools support mobile learning--allowing for personalization, ubiquity and social connectivity in learning. Thus, the study investigates and models learner situation awareness in collaborative mobile Web 2.0 learning. Participants were novice teacher trainees in a local university. The study was conducted over a four-month period. Data were collected via questionnaires and analyzed by PLS-SEM analysis. The results revealed that learner situation awareness in collaborative mobile Web 2.0 learning is reflected by six factors: learning reflection, learning space, learning community, social, task, and personal awareness. Results also showed that learners perceived learning reflection awareness as the most important factor.

The rapid advancement of emergent learning technologies has led to the introduction of massive open online courses (MOOCs) which offer open-based online learning courses to a large number of students. In line with the advancement, the Malaysia Ministry of Education has recently initiated Malaysia MOOCs via collaboration with four public universities. This paper proposes factors that could be used in development of MOOC learning content, which are: (i) type of MOOC, (ii) type of video lectures, (iii) integration of cultural aspects in video lectures, (iv) communication style in video lectures; and (v) humor effect in video lectures. The paper also proposes factors in developing MOOC learning tasks, namely: (i) structure of learning tasks; (ii) dialog in learning tasks; (iii) learner autonomy in learning tasks; (iv) social settings of learning tasks; and (v) transactional distance of learning tasks. The factors are based on experiences during development of MOOC for ethnic relations and are aligned with learning concepts and strategies such as the transactional distance theory and the theory of the computer model of a sense of humor. Future directions on the development and research on MOOCs are also proposed.

Social media is increasingly becoming an essential platform for social connectivity in our daily lives. The availability of mobile technology has further fueled its importance -- making it a ubiquitous tool for social interaction. However, limited studies have been conducted to investigate roles of social participation in this field. Thus, the study investigates roles of social participation in mobile social media learning using the "ladder of participation and mastering." Participants were students taking an educational technology course in a local university. The study was conducted in a four-month period. Data was collected from discussions while learning among the students a social media platform, Facebook groups, on mobile devices. The data was analyzed using a social network analysis tool, NodeXL. Data was analyzed based on egocentric networks, betweenness centrality, and closeness centrality. The findings revealed that there are four roles of social participation in mobile social media, which are: (i) lurkers; (ii) gradually mastering members/passive members; (iii) recognized members; and (iv) coaches. The findings also indicated that over the course of four months, learners can inter-change roles of social participation--becoming more central or less central in learning discussions. As a result, a "roles of social participation" continuum for mobile social media learning is proposed. Future research could be conducted in other fields to investigate whether the continuum produced could be used to understand the relationship between mobile social media learning and social participation roles.

Problem Statement: The Internet as a tool that presents many challenges has drawn the attention of researchers in the field of education and especially foreign language teaching. However, there has been a lack of information about the true nature of these environments. In recent years, determination of the patterns of negotiation of meaning as a way to delve in these environments has grown in popularity. Purpose of the Study: The current study was an effort to determine the types and frequencies of negotiation of meaning in the interaction of Malaysian students as English as a second language learners and, furthermore, to compare findings of this study with correspondent previous studies. To this end, two research questions were posed for this study: (a) what types of negotiation of meaning emerge in text-based synchronous CMC environments? and (b) Are there any differences between findings of this study and previous studies in terms of negotiation of meaning functions in this environment? Method: Participants of this study were fourteen English as second language learners at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). They were involved in a series of discussions over selected short stories. Analysis of students' chat logs was carried out through computer-mediated discourse analysis (CMDA). Findings and Results: This study yielded 10 types of functions in negotiation of meaning, which are clarification request, confirmation, confirmation check, correction or self correction, elaboration, elaboration request, reply clarification or definition, reply confirmation, reply elaboration, and vocabulary check. Furthermore, findings of this study indicated that students negotiated with an average of 2.10 per 100 words. According to the findings of this study, the most-frequently used functions were confirmation, elaboration, and elaboration request and the least frequently used functions were vocabulary check, reply confirmation, and reply clarification. The findings of this study were in line with the findings of previous studies in that the proficiency of the participants influences the amount of negotiation for meaning strategies that occur. Conclusions and Recommendations: Findings of this study will give insight to teachers, learners, and researchers in the field of SLA and will help to sustain their liveliness and curiosity. Taking into account the current situation of Malaysia as the country that host so many international students from all over the world, future studies of these kinds can focus on examining the factor of proficiency in different dyads and its effect on students' interactions in terms of negotiation of meaning.

This study aimed to examine the influence of Adversity Quotient (AQ) on the academic achievement among Malaysian polytechnic students. A total of 1,845 students from five polytechnics in Malaysia participated in this study and these polytechnic was selected from five different zones, namely Nouthern, Southern, Eastern, Western and Borneo. The samples for the study was selected using the proportionate clustered multistage stratified sampling technique. Data collected for this study was analyzed using regression analysis and the results showed that the findings of the analysis showed that AQ contributed only 0.9% (r = 0.098) changes in the variance of academic achievement score. AQ still has the potential to be studied from the other perspective of the success factor in the polytechnic students as a whole.

Current trends in post-secondary education enrollment indicate that colleges and universities are likely to experience an increase in the number of online students. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the type of resources and support features online faculty need, desire, and expect in a support website. The method used to collect research findings was an online survey. The participants for this study consisted of the online faculty population at an institution of higher learning in the southwestern United States. Participants were invited by email to participate in a 13 question survey which asked participants to rate the importance of the questions listed. Of the 2,522 survey invitations e-mailed to potential participants, 380 responded with completed surveys, providing a response rate of 15.06%. Although this was a relativity low response rate, researchers felt the demographics of the respondents provided an accurate representation of the population studied. Findings from the survey indicated participants agree there is a need to implement a support website. Participants indicated the support website should provide support resources, communication forums, and resources to increase connectivity to the institution. The authors note providing online faculty with support websites could be a differentiation strategy to recruit and retain quality online faculty.

Purpose: Blended learning (BL) has been increasing in popularity and demand and has developed as a common practice in institutions of higher learning. Therefore, this study develops a model to evaluate the critical predictors that determine students' acceptance and deployment of BL in institutions of higher education based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Design/methodology/approach: The empirical analysis entails data collected from 1,811 responses from an online survey questionnaire from students in Malaysian universities, colleges and polytechnics. Partial least square--structural equation modeling (PLS--SEM) was employed for data analysis. Findings: The results reveal that the attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control and self-efficacy were found to influence students' intention to accept BL. Moreover, results suggest that the intention of students to accept BL approach is significantly influenced by actual BL deployment. Research limitations/implications: Data were collected from students in universities, colleges and polytechnics only. Besides, this research is one of the limited studies that explored BL deployment in a Malaysian perspective. Practical implications: Findings from this research not only add scientific evidence to BL literature but also provide a better understanding of the predictors that may motivate or discourage learners to deploy BL in institutions of higher learning. Social implications: Respectively, findings from this study aid students to acquire and apply knowledge on how to effectively improve BL initiatives in learning activities. Originality/value: This study is one of the fewer studies that investigate students' behavioral intentions toward BL deployment in Malaysia. Additionally, this study contributes to the understanding of the predictors that influence students' intention to accept and deploy BL in their respective institutions.

The purpose of this study was to investigate communication mindset changes across one semester of the introductory communication course and differences across students' demographic backgrounds. The study measured the communication mindset and other instructional constructs of 1299 undergraduate students during the first two and last two weeks of the semester. Results showed no change in communication mindset after one semester of the basic course, although public speaking anxiety was reduced, and self-efficacy and interpersonal communication competence increased. Further, results showed between-group differences in public speaking anxiety by gender, as well as differences in mindset and interpersonal communication competence between students of different racial/ethnic backgrounds and different language status. Implications for future research are discussed.

There has been rapid development in Blended Learning (BL) diffusion and prior studies mainly focused on issues related to students and lecturers in improving teaching and learning outcomes, but very few studies focused on institution's readiness and diffusion issues. Thus, there is need for institutional-based research to guide universities, colleges, and polytechnics to strategically diffuse BL. Accordingly, this study develops a model to investigate the variables and associated factors that influence institutions' administration readiness to diffuse BL initiatives based on Diffusion of Innovation (DoI) theory and institutional BL adoption framework that comprises of mature implementation stage of BL. Quantitative research approach was employed and data was collected using online survey questionnaire from 223 e-learning administrators/managers in Malaysia universities, colleges, and polytechnics. Next, Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) technique was employed for data analysis. Results indicate that institutional structure, resource support, technology infrastructure, management strategies, and ethical considerations are key variables that positively predict administration readiness to diffuse BL initiatives in higher education. Additional results from Importance Performance Map Analysis (IPMA) in PLS-SEM suggest that institutional structure has the strongest effect on administrators' readiness to diffuse BL and is also the most important variable that influences BL diffusion in institutions. Theoretically, findings from this study provide insights on how institutions' administration perception and acceptance of BL approach can be enhanced. Practically, the developed model can be employed as a readiness tool to assess institutions current state in implementing BL environment and further provides a road map for future improvement.

As the years progress there has been rapid growth in Blended Learning (BL) adoption, but only few research focused on adoption issues related to learners, academic staffs and management. Thus, research is needed to guide universities in strategically examining learners, academic staffs and management adoption of BL. Accordingly, this study develops a model to facilitate university policy makers in their decision making to assess students learning and academic staffs teaching outcome. Furthermore, this study explores on the factors that influence BL adoption in universities, through an empirical study from the perspectives of learners, academic staffs, and management. In particular, it examines the current BL practice adoption effectiveness in universities. Based on extensive review of prior studies, survey questionnaires was designed and distributed to convenience samples of 87 students, academic staffs, and management in 3 Malaysia universities to validate the developed model. Next, Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to analyze the survey data. Findings reveal that supportive factors, attitude, learning mode, satisfaction, course management, and ease of use positively predict the perception of learners and academic staffs' to adopt BL. Similarly, findings suggest that the perception of management towards BL adoption is positively determined by the strategy, structure, and support factors. Moreover, findings reveal that the impact of BL on learners' effectiveness is positively predicted by achievement, engagement, involvement, retention, and cognitive outcome. Additionally, findings suggest that the impact BL on academic staffs' effectiveness is significantly influence by delivery, performance, evaluation, motivation. Theoretical implications from this study contribute to enhance teaching quality by enriching course management, improving learning content, and facilitate management policies towards effective BL adoption.

This cross-sectional survey examined the structure of university students' subjective knowledge of green computing--hypothesized to be a multidimensional construct with three important dimensions--and its association with pro-environmental behavior (PEB). Using a previously validated green computing questionnaire, data were collected from 842 undergraduate students attending ten different public universities in Malaysia. The sample was split into two random halves (n[subscript 1] = 400 and n[subscript 2] = 442) to allow for Factor Analysis procedures and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to be conducted. Principal Component Analysis extracted a three-factor structure of subjective knowledge consisting of knowledge about green computing (GC) vocabulary, computer nature or characteristics, and e-waste, while Confirmatory Factor Analysis procedures confirmed the structure's measurement validity. SEM fit statistics indicated a strong influence of subjective GC knowledge on PEB with its three extracted dimensions cumulatively explaining 37% of students' reported PEB. The results confirmed the study's hypotheses regarding the multidimensionality of subjective knowledge, the adequacy of the measurement model of subjective knowledge, and its strong positive role in influencing PEB. The article concludes with guidelines for future research in areas involving green computing, subjective knowledge and PEB with an emphasis on the conceptualization and measurement of each construct.

This paper reports the findings of a national study involving 534 lecturers from 33 higher learning institutions in Malaysia to find out their self-reported practices and perceived competencies in assessment for learning. Data were collected using a 24-item assessment practice inventory drawn from five of the six standards stipulated in an established US developed assessment competency framework for teachers. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and descriptive statistics were used to analyse lecturers' reported practices and competencies. The PCA procedures extracted four underlying dimensions of AfL practice among the lecturers that corresponded to four of the five standards used. Further descriptive analysis produced a rank order of the four AfL dimensions in terms of practice and competency. Lecturers reported to quite frequently practise "communicating results and feedback to students" and "using diverse AfL methods." They also perceived to be more competent in these two aspects than in AfL compliant grading practices and recognising unethical uses of assessment information. The findings produced adequate empirical support for instructional interventions and training to be provided at the national level to upgrade lecturers' current competencies in assessment and support their adoption of AfL.

In the last two decades, investigating the sources of foreign language anxiety in general has increasingly attracted the attention of many researchers in the field of foreign language teaching. However, the sources of anxiety that influence the acquisition of certain specific language skills such as reading in particular have rarely been investigated. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore and understand the underlying problems and factors that contribute to reading anxiety faced by EFL students at Yarmouk University, Jordan. It was a qualitative exploration of the sources of English language reading anxiety for which observation, semi-structured interviews and diaries were collected from six informants with different levels of English language proficiency. The findings of the study revealed that there were two aspects of foreign language reading anxiety: personal factor and text feature. Under the concept of personal factor there were also two main sources of foreign language reading anxiety, which are: afraid of making errors and worry about reading effects. On the other hand, there were three main sources of foreign language reading anxiety under the concept of text feature, which are: unknown vocabulary, unfamiliar topic, and unfamiliar culture. The five main sources of foreign language reading anxiety were arranged according to their occurrences and percentages in the study. Moreover, recommendations were proposed.

The last decade has witnessed an increasing research trend on foreign language reading anxiety as a skill related to but distinct from foreign language anxiety. However, sources of foreign language reading anxiety have rarely been investigated. Thus, the current study responds to the study by (Saito, Horwitz, & Garza, 1999) and extends the work of (Al-Shboul, Ahmad, Nordin, & Rahman, 2013b) in this specific area to propose a theoretical framework that represents the sources of foreign language reading anxiety and to measure the extent of those sources in the Jordanian EFL context. A cross-sectional survey of 1500 undergraduate students who were taking Basic English courses was administered. A total of 1006 questionnaires were valid for analysis. However, only 408 questionnaires were randomly chosen according to the criteria of quota sampling techniques. The proposed theoretical framework was tested to measure the prevalence of the sources of foreign language reading anxiety to reveal that there were two aspects of foreign language reading anxiety: personal factors and text features. Under the concept of personal factors, there were two main sources of foreign language reading anxiety; afraid of making errors and worry about reading effects. On the other hand, there were three main sources of foreign language reading anxiety under the concept of text features; unknown vocabulary, unfamiliar topic, and unfamiliar culture. Implications to the study and recommendations for further research were considered.

Today teachers in schools and lecturers in institutions of higher learning are endowed with a wide range of new teaching experiences through web-based teaching and learning approaches (WBTLA), which was not possible before through the traditional classroom approach. With the use of WBTLA emerged problems related to usability in technical, pedagogical and contextual aspects of teaching and learning. This paper examines usability problems in the context of teaching and learning at higher institutions of learning in Malaysia. By using the framework proposed by Hadjerrout (2010), a survey was carried out to determine the aspects related to usability and the extent to which lecturers believed that they enjoyed teaching as well as faced difficulties in employing WBTLA in their classes. The findings show that while lecturers agreed on technical and pedagogical usability and the extent of difficulties involved which they could overcome, their perceptions and beliefs of contextual usability and the extent of the difficulties involved are less clear. This leaves much to the ability and willingness of each respective institution to invest in the technology and provision of training to the lecturers. Despite the problems identified the lecturers do see that WBTLA has good prospects in the future.

This paper aimed at examining the learning strategies constructs and to investigate the relationship between learning strategies and motivation in Arabic courses. The study uses a questionnaire as the information-gathering instrument, and the participants comprised students from two public universities in Peninsular Malaysia who are studying Arabic language. A total of 139 students were selected for this study. The questionnaire's construct validity was tested using confirmatory factor analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that a model including factors representing the dimensions metacognitive self-regulation, organization and peer learning was the best fit. Significant correlations between motivation and learning strategies subscales (metacognitive self-regulation and organization) provided preliminary evidence of predictive validity of the measure. Metacognitive self-regulation strategy has positive correlation with organization and peer learning strategy. The organization strategy was also positively correlated to peer learning strategy. The metacognitive self-regulation and organization have significant effect on motivation. Contrary to our expectation, peer learning has no significant effect on motivation.

This study investigated the effect of dynamic assessment on learners' syntactic knowledge. The main concern of this study was significant difference between dynamic and static assessment and the possible role of these two forms of assessment on the syntactic development of Iranian EFL college preparatory learners. To fulfill the purpose of the study, NELSON was administered to 70 pre university male learners. Those learners with scores one standard deviation above and below the mean were selected for the purpose of the study. There were 60 students who were then divided into experimental and control groups. Next, the pre-test (a teacher-made, multiple-choice test) was administered to 20 subjects of parallel group. Then, twelve multiple-choice grammar tests were administered to the subjects of the experimental group. The students received mediation in dynamic assessment model which involved some strategies like looking for clues, eliminating the answers that do not fit and comparison strategies. The mediation process was designed to enable teachers to mediate each of the items in an interactive way. The mediation was divided into two stages: a) manipulation of grammatical and structural point through the strategies mentioned above and b) information paper which was given to the students at the end of each session to work on them at home. The control group received deductive grammatical rules during twelve sessions. Finally, the pre-test was re-administered as the post-test and t-test was applied. The results showed that at 0.05 level of significance the mean of experimental group was more than the mean of control group for different scores and consequently the null-hypothesis was rejected. The study proved that dynamic assessment outperformed in improving syntactic knowledge of the learners.

The development in information technology has now moved from the first wave that emphasises on computer technical skills to the second wave which focuses on the application and management aspects. This paper aims to investigate the use of learning management system among future school heads in education management and leadership. The study was conducted in two phases. The first phase focused on developing a learning management system using open source software--"Moodle". This phase emphasized on the processes involved in designing and developing the learning management system prototype called "E-Headship". The second phase evaluated participants' suitability in becoming future school leaders and managers through the use of E-Headship for the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) programme. "E-Headship" was then evaluated in terms of the applications of the learning management system. Sixty (60) participants from Institut Aminudin Baki (IAB)--an institute for training school administrators took part in the study. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistic focusing on reporting of the results in percentile, means, standard deviation and frequency. As it compared the performance results of two groups, a simple T-test was also performed. The results revealed that "e-Headship" has succeeded in promoting teaching and learning strategies to a higher degree. It is hoped that the use of such prototype will help the education institution in designing and developing better programmes that could benefit the participants at large. (Contains 4 tables and 5 figures.)

Purpose: This paper aims to share experiences in teaching a Financial Accounting Principles course using a hybrid problem based learning (PBL) method. The three specific objectives of this paper are to document how the PBL project for this course was developed and managed in class, to compare the academic performance of PBL students with non-PBL students, and to investigate the students' perceptions of how PBL had benefitted them. Method: Based on our experience of the processes in developing and managing the PBL project, we described that process in this paper. Then, from the overall results of 1,148 students taking the Financial Accounting Principles course, we compared the academic performance between PBL and non-PBL students. In addition, we used a questionnaire to find out from the 267 students who had attended the PBL and the traditional non-PBL methods, how the various activities in the Financial Accounting Principles class had benefited them. Findings: The results showed evidence of the superiority of the PBL method. The PBL students out-performed those without the benefit of a PBL experience. The survey results also indicated that a PBL approach provided significant benefits to the students in their presentation skills, teamwork, leadership and ability to use IT. In addition, student responses to the open-ended questions revealed that PBL was an acceptable way of learning accounting. PBL was a challenging way of learning, but it offered great benefits; PBL helped our students in the experimental group to improve teamwork, communication and other soft skills. However, we found PBL to be suitable only for students with some basic accounting knowledge. Significance: PBL is an innovative teaching method because it uses problems in stimulating students to learn. This study has shown that PBL is a promising approach in teaching accounting. The major challenge for educators using this approach is to be able to provide well-developed problems in order to achieve the desired learning outcomes of the course.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between mindset theory and public speaking apprehension, interpersonal communication competence, and student engagement in the introductory communication course. The study adapted a mindset theory measure towards specific communication skills. Researchers collected and analyzed data from 1,037 participants gathered at the end of one semester of the introductory communication course. Results showed growth mindset was correlated with higher speech grades, higher interpersonal communication competence, and lower public speaking anxiety. Additionally, multiple regression tests indicated growth mindset and interpersonal communication competence, but not public speaking anxiety, predicted student engagement in the course.

This study was carried out to investigate the discrepancies that international students' geographical region could create on the relationships of adjustment attitude, attachment attitude, and intention after graduation with psychological and sociocultural adaptations. As such, multi-group analysis was performed using partial least squares structural equation modelling to explore whether international students' geographical place of origin (i.e. Asia, Middle East, and Africa) could play an important role in creating differences among the three groups of international students. To ensure that the measurement operations yield measures of the same attribute across the three groups of respondents, a new approach for establishing measurement invariance in composite models was applied in SmartPLS. The data were randomly collected from 1186 international students enrolled in a Master or Doctoral programme in top six public universities in Malaysia. Findings confirmed the existence of full measurement invariance across the three models in this study. The results also revealed that there are some similarities and differences among the Asian, Middle Eastern, and African models providing further understanding on each group's cross-cultural adaptation. Practical and empirical implications of the study are discussed.

Spurred on by rapid advances of technology, massive open online courses (MOOCs) have proliferated over the past decade. They pride themselves on making (higher) education available to more people at reduced (or no) cost compared to traditional university schemes and on being inclusive in terms of admitting vast numbers of students from all over the world. However, MOOCs tend to be tacitly based on the course designers' lifeworlds, which results in the sidelining of participants whose lifeworlds are different. The authors of this article highlight culture as an important but often overlooked aspect in the research on, and the design and running of MOOCs. They begin with a review of the role of culture in MOOCs research and find that it has been somewhat ignored. Next, they present a methodological framework--the culture contrast method--with which to approach the decisive role culture plays in MOOCs. Third, coming from differing cultural backgrounds, they apply the culture contrast method in a case study, contrasting experiences, interpretations and perceptions of a particular MOOC. Their varying perceptions of how, when and why they experienced a presence of authority emerge as a consistent theme in their data. Through the analysis of their data, they distinguish between the MOOC as an assemblage, consisting of the online interface, the design and hardware they inhabit as course participants, and their respective lifeworlds as their local and situated different cultures. They argue that during the run of the course, lifeworld and assemblage collide and enact a cultural authority. This authority sets the benchmark for what is deemed proper practice within a particular MOOC and it gives preferential treatment to some participants rather than others, thus actually undermining the professed inclusiveness of the MOOC format.

This study investigates the influence of length of stay in a foreign country on international students' adjustment and attachment attitude and examines the relationship between such acculturation attitude with psychological and sociocultural adaptations in a host country. Moreover, it investigates whether psychological and sociocultural adaptations could enhance international students' psychological well-being in a culturally new environment. Using a sample of 1186 international postgraduate students from an emerging education hub (i.e. Malaysia), we analysed the proposed model using partial least-squares structural equation modelling. Findings reveal that longer length of stay in a foreign country away from the home country ("out of sight") negatively influences attachment attitude to the home country ("out of mind"). Additionally, both adjustment and attachment attitude positively influence psychological adaptation while only adjustment attitude positively influences sociocultural adaptation. This study confirms the nexus between international students' cross-cultural adaptation and psychological well-being in Malaysia. The study findings offer novel insights to policy-makers, authorities in higher education and university administrators to prioritise international students' cross-cultural adaptation since it is directly related to psychological well-being.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between acculturation attitude (i.e. adjustment and attachment attitudes) and individuals' psychological adaptation (i.e. life satisfaction, depression and self-esteem). Additionally, the relationship between the dimensions of psychological adaptation with psychological well-being and their mediation effect are examined. Data were collected from 974 randomly selected international students pursuing their Master or Doctoral level studies in six Malaysian public universities using a structured questionnaire. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) technique was applied to examine the relationships in the research model. The results revealed that both adjustment and attachment attitudes are significantly related to life satisfaction and self-esteem while only adjustment attitude associates with depression. All the three dimensions of psychological adaptation are significantly related to psychological well-being. Moreover, the mediation effect of life satisfaction, self-esteem and depression are supported for the relationship between adjustment attitude and psychological well-being. Study implications and contributions are presented.

As classrooms become increasingly diverse in higher education, educators are emphasising inclusive practices in teaching and learning to accommodate the needs of diverse learners. There is also an emerging need for an inclusive approach in assessment for accessibility, opportunity, relevance and engagement. This study, using design-based research guidelines with student-faculty partnership, designed, developed, implemented and evaluated contextually sensitive assessment protocol as inclusive and fair assessment. Data from students' reflections and face-to-face interviews with open-ended questions suggested that, despite concerns such as potential bias, time and accommodation challenges, such assessment practices can make valuable contributions in creating a positive learning environment, improving relatedness and self-esteem and motivating and engaging students for better effort and effective learning. Implications for higher education practitioners with diverse learners are discussed.

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.

The increase in higher education internationalisation has called for finding possible ways to understand and improve its related issues. Despite the financial, cultural, and social benefits that international students bring to host countries' educational institutions, the challenges they encounter in a new environment are hard to deal with, especially acculturative stress and adjustment problems in a new environment. As international students are at the heart of education internationalisation, it is crucial to understand and address their adjustment issues for a sustainable education management. Therefore, this study develops a conceptual framework to portray international students' adjustment issues in a host country from perspectives of field theory and cross-cultural adaptation theory. The proposed conceptual model not only considers factors influencing international students' cross-cultural adaptation in a host country, but it also highlights the outcomes of such adaptation which can provide managerial implications for sustaining higher education mobility growth.

Based on Berry's seminal work on the acculturation process, this study examines the pattern of acculturation attitude among international postgraduate students in Malaysia, an emerging education hub in Asia. It also investigates the influence of several demographic factors (gender, geographical region, marital status, and education level) and predictors (English language proficiency, media usage, intention to stay in the host country after graduation, and perceived positive stereotype image) on international postgraduate students' four acculturation attitudes "integration", "separation", "assimilation", and "marginalization". Our survey of a sample of 1,186 international postgraduate students reveals that the most prevalent acculturation attitude chosen by the international postgraduate students is integration. The identified predictors are shown to positively influence integration attitude while the demographic factors have no significant effect on international postgraduate students' acculturation attitude in Malaysia. Study findings provide valuable insights for education policymakers and university administrators to manage and address the needs of international students via effective acculturation programs.

This study concerned validating academic integrity survey (AIS), a measure developed in 2010 to investigate academic integrity practices in a Malaysian university. It also examined the usefulness of the measure across gender and nationality of the participants (undergraduates of Nigerian and Malaysian public universities). The sample size comprised 450 students selected via quota sampling technique. The findings supported the multidimensionality of academic dishonesty. Also, strong evidence of convergent and discriminant validity, and construct reliability were generated for the revised AIS. The testing of moderating effects yielded two outcomes. While the gender invariant analysis produced evidence that the three-dimensional model was not moderated by gender; the nationality effect was inconclusive, probably due to a noticeable imbalance in respondent distribution for the nationality group. The significance of this study lies not only in the rigorous statistical methods deployed to validate the dimension and psychometric properties of the AIS; but establishing the gender invariance of the model. It is understood from the findings that although male and female students may vary in their academic misconducts, the underlying factors for these conducts are the same and can be addressed effectively using a non-discriminating approach.

The field of Information Communication Technology has offered a promising future for deaf students. Web design, animation, and multimedia application design are a branch of graphic design area, which aim to aid their learning visually. However, most of the technical terms cannot be interpreted in Malaysian sign language. Moreover, the development of the existing curriculum is not geared in catering needs of deaf students and not tailored to their learning styles. With the development of technology, learning for deaf students could be improved. However, previous studies only focused on language development and there is meager research on curriculum development and teaching in the field of graphic design. Therefore, this study was designed to obtain the views of students on the learning needs of graphic design module based on technology and learning styles of deaf students. Questionnaires were distributed to 58 students in special education schools and vocational colleges in Malaysia who majored in graphic design. Descriptive analysis of the data indicated that there is a need for a learning module and the reasons include difficulties in learning animation, different learning styles, communication of sign language in learning, and the efficacy of technology in aiding teaching deaf students.