Search

e-Learning was abruptly adopted in many countries to mitigate the adverse consequences of the sudden closure of institutions of higher learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Against this background, this study investigated how business undergraduates want to learn in the future and predictors of their future preferred mode of learning. 251 business undergraduates from a private university in Malaysia participated in an online survey conducted in July 2020, during the sudden closure of institutions of higher learning. Data collected were analysed using the multiple discriminant analysis to develop a characteristics profile of the three groups of business undergraduates (i.e., preferred fully conventional classroom learning, blended learning and fully e-learning) in terms of important predictors. Results revealed that the significant predictors of future preferred mode of learning of business undergraduates, in descending order, were disadvantages of e-learning, advantages of e-learning, self-regulated learning, learning outcomes, information and communications technology infrastructure and training, support and resources. This study concludes with some reflective thoughts about important lessons learned from this unprecedented pandemic pertaining to e-learning readiness to deal with future unexpected crises.

E-learning was abruptly adopted as a strategic response to the sudden closure of institutions of learning induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. In contrast to the conventional voluntary adoption of e-learning, this study aims to explore a new trail by drawing challenges of e-learning eclectically from recent literature to develop an alternative theoretical model of future preferred mode of learning against the background of the sudden closure of institutions of higher learning induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. The theoretical model was validated via an empirical study based on the responses obtained from 352 Malaysian undergraduates. Results from the multinomial regression revealed that the model was significant (p-value < 0.01). Moreover, Information and Communication Technology infrastructure positively predicted whereas bottom 40% household income category and disadvantages of e-learning negatively predicted undergraduates' future preference for blended learning (relative to 100% conventional classroom learning). Being male and possessing discipline for e-learning positively predicted whereas living in semi-urban area and disadvantages of e-learning negatively predicted undergraduates' future preference for 100% e-learning (relative to 100% conventional classroom learning). This study adds to the body of knowledge by way of an alternative theoretical model of undergraduates' future preferred mode of learning, which may facilitate future meta analysis on similarities and differences in challenges related to e-learning during the closure of institutions of higher learning across different countries. This study concludes with some reflective thoughts in terms of theory, practice and policy about one important lesson learned from this unprecedented closure of institutions of higher learning, which is readiness for blended learning to deal with future unexpected crises.

Purpose: This study identified salient challenges related to future preference for e-learning of undergraduates during closure of institutions of higher learning due to the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and put forth suggestions to overcome challenges of e-learning for present and future crises. Design/methodology/approach: Undergraduates were drawn from two universities in Malaysia who normally attend conventional classroom learning. Underpinned by the literature, the challenges and future preference for e-learning were operationalised into statements. Data were collected via a self-administered questionnaire hosted on Google Forms and were analysed with Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and STATA statistical software. Findings: The hierarchical multiple linear regression results showed that the salient challenges related to undergraduates' future preference for e-learning, in descending order, were learning outcomes, followed by disadvantages (negatively) and discipline. Moreover, there were nuanced gender differences on the relative importance of salient challenges related to future preference for e-learning. Research limitations/implications: Because the literature on e-learning during the closure of institutions of learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic is evolving, some salient challenges may not be captured in this study. Next, this survey was carried out in July 2020 when all courses were conducted using one hundred per cent e-learning for the first time. Hence, future replication studies may produce different results. Lastly, findings are not generalisable to other contexts as the salient challenges may be unique to the Malaysian context. Practical implications: Concerted efforts by all stakeholders to address these salient challenges will shift e-learning in higher education closer to a panacea during present and future crises. Originality/value: The sudden and involuntary switch from face-to-face learning to e-learning during the closure of institutions of higher learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic provided opportunity to research the salient challenges encountered by undergraduates and to overcome these salient challenges.

Purpose: This study aims to examine the status of entrepreneurship education (EE) in Malaysia and entrepreneurship education programmes (EEPs) offered by Malaysian public and private higher education institutions (HEIs), against the backdrop of macro-level context of Malaysian government institutions related to entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach: This study replicates and extends the research by Maritz et al. (2015, 2019). The study expands a nascent archetype regarding an iterative and systematic open-ended emergent enquiry, together with data collection from Malaysian HEIs. Findings: The findings suggest significant emergence of EE (programmes and research) in Malaysia, despite EEPs being sparsely distributed across HEIs. The top ten HEIs (12% of all HEIs) accounted for 35% of all EEPs. This study highlights the significant influence of Malaysian government institutions related to entrepreneurship on EE and EEPs. Research limitations/implications: The findings are subject to the availability and accuracy of information and documents available on official websites of HEIs. This limitation has been mitigated with telephone and email inquiries and other sources of information. Practical implications: The findings provide critical grounding and inferences on the status of EE and EEPs in Malaysia for researchers, practitioners, HEIs, governments and other stakeholders. Originality/value: This study is first of its kind on emergent enquiry into the status of EE in Malaysia and EEPs offered by 19 public HEIs and 67 private HEIs in Malaysia. Moreover, this study links macro-level context of the Malaysian government institutions related to entrepreneurship with micro-level context of EE and EEPs.

Research on new venture creation is often criticised for its deficits of theoretical sophistication and methodological rigour. This paper develops a framework by combining the values theory and the intention theory and validates it by conducting a rigorous structural equation modelling analysis based on responses obtained from 355 Malaysian entrepreneurship undergraduates. The individualistic values of openness to change as the salient motivational factor of entrepreneurship undergraduates' entrepreneurial intention over and above the demographic control variables suggested by extant body of literature contributes to a cumulative knowledge about motivations for entrepreneurial intention. Moreover, in the context of Malaysia, ethnicity does not moderate the relationship from openness to change to entrepreneurial intention. A clearer understanding of the salient dimension of individualistic values on entrepreneurship undergraduates' entrepreneurial intentions allows various entrepreneurship stakeholders to distinguish potential future entrepreneurs prior to their emergence. This valuable insight has the potential to inform substantive entrepreneurship knowledge and practice, entrepreneurship education and public policy to promote entrepreneurship among undergraduates at the pre-nascent stage of entrepreneurship.

A fundamental role of education is to equip students with sound justificatory reasoning capacities to support one's beliefs or actions and to guide rational decisions about complex problems. However, empirical research into justificatory reasoning among students is virtually non-existent and this impedes education research. This study illustrated the measurement of justificatory reasoning ability and investigated how tertiary students might use different justificatory reasoning forms (absolutism, relativism and evaluativism) depending on the reasoned domain, a controversial domain versus a moral domain. It further tested how different justificatory approaches might relate to varying willingness to engage in argumentation, as well as how they might engender beliefs with different strength of convictions. The results suggest that absolutism was preferred for moral domain, whereas relativism was preferred for controversial domain. However, those who used evaluativism were most willing to engage in discourse to defend their beliefs, and their engendered beliefs were also the strongest. Besides demonstrating how justificatory reasoning may be measured quantitively, the study provides guidance to educators on designing curriculum to develop justificatory reasoning ability. The findings also suggest that educators should not unconditionally focus on developing evaluativism in students, supposedly the highest form of justificatory reasoning.

Community-wide face mask wearing is recognised as an effective non-pharmaceutical defence against infection by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative virus of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, few studies have identified contextual factors of face mask wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to identify relationships between demographic factors, personal hygiene factors, online behavioural factors and face mask wearing by Malaysian adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected via an online survey questionnaire and analysed with Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 26. Non-availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) as well as fewer social media hours and fewer hours of browsing information related to the COVID-19 pandemic were identified as factors related to low compliance rate of face mask wearing by some Malaysian adults. This study advances contextual understanding of face mask wearing by specific groups during the COVID-19 pandemic and puts forth several recommendations to increase face mask wearing compliance rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]