Proposal Master - P4662
Proposal Master - P4662
Proposal Master - P4662
MASTER OF COMMUNICATION
UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA TERENGGANU
2021
2021
ADAPTATION PROCESS: INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS AND
THE STAFF CONTRIBUTION IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN
MALAYSIA
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS 2
CHAPTER 1INTRODUCTION 4
1.1 Introduction 4
2.1 Introduction 12
2
CHAPTER 3METHODOLOGY 19
3.1 Introduction 19
REFERENCES 27
3
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
Chapter one discussed the basic knowledge readers need to know about this
research. All the statement above is written to enlighten the readers on the
purposes of this research. Terms that are frequently used in this paper were
introduced as the early introduction to the readers to understand the latter
chapters better.
The rise in the number of international students in all the universities in Malaysia
has contributed to problems such as not catching up in their studies and failing to
Graduate on Time (GoT). There are few negative consequences to the students if
the intercultural adaptation cannot be applied to them. Research (Sakurai et al.,
2010) has stated that confusion and seclusion will sometimes be quite challenging.
5
Hence, the international students must identify their support system, whether an
individual or group, to back them up whenever they need or have difficulties. It is
thought to be an important element to survive (Gresham, 2003). Some of the
problems with the international students that contribute to the failure of the
adaptation process relate to academic problems, health problems, money crises,
social problems and, of course, student’s personal problems. These problems have
been identified as problems that can gives negative impacts and cause stress and
pressure to the international students (Khamis, Yaakub, Shaari, Zailani & Yusoff,
2002). When these students further their study in any foreign countries, they have
to adapt themselves to facing some of the problems related to the new social and
academic surroundings. Difficulties in communication, accommodation, worries
about security in the housing area, adaptation to different food preferences,
climate changes, and difficulties in social mingling may face problems (Blake,
2006). Usually, students who choose to further their study abroad may have
chosen to experience different lifestyles experience, new learning systems, and, of
course, to experience new cultures and customs (Mohamad Kamal Harun, 2009).
International students often started to handle multiple challenges when they
started their education in new culture and surroundings. Most international
students felt that the staff and representative from the university did not
understand their origins and culture (Alavi & Mansor, 2011, Sherry, Thomas, &
Chui, 2010). Differences in culture among international students can cause an
individual to face intrapersonal and interpersonal collisions (Nadeem et al., 2019).
Hence, these students need to balance their own culture and the new culture (Lin
& Yi, 1997). Sandhu (1994) admits that interpersonal issue relates to culture and
situation that contain difficulties in communication, loss of social support, and
culture shock. Al-Zubaidi and Rechards (2010) categorise international student
problems into three categories, with intercultural adaptation difficulties as the
main component. It refers to cultural identity, ethnic background, local dishes,
lifestyles and religions in Malaysia. The problems mentioned above impacted
their intercultural communication and influenced them to have difficulties
adjusting to the new culture. International students also tend to face higher
pressure upon their arrival to the foreign country because they need to adjust,
adapt and adopt the social surroundings, new culture and academic environment,
uncertain environment, psychological problems such as depression and stress (Ye
6
and Jun, 2018, Saravanan, Alias & Mohamad, 2017). Khosravi, Azman, Khosravi
& Khosravi (2018) research shows that mental health problems among a few
universities in Malaysia exist and contribute the most to the emotional depression
problem. This research suggests universities and colleges in Malaysia develop a
social support system for these students. Saravanan, Mohamad dan Alias (2019,
2017) research also found that international students were always exposed to
depression and the feelings of being homesick. It was also discovered that they
used multiple self-strategy to overcome these problems. The strategies are sharing
their problems with other individuals, purposely making themselves busy,
participating in physical activities, facing situations with courage, thinking
positively, and following religious teachings. While the group of the international
students that did not manage to overcome these problems were found to have
additional problems related to languages, social relationships, academic,
loneliness, depression, and family problems. Ye and Juni (2018) research found
that three types of depression dominate international students: academics,
financial concern, and social support. International students with depression
problems will face a decline in their academic achievement, causing them to risk a
dropout in their learning (Al-Jaberi, Juni, Shahar, Ismail, Saeed & Ying, 2020).
Freeman, Nga, and Mathews (2017) research also discovered that international
students face difficulties in academic adjustments and lack of support in facing
different sociocultural, psychological, social, and challenges to adjust themselves
during their higher education studies in Malaysia. Suppose these students are
unable to adapt and practice local norms and values. In that case, they may face
problems such as dropouts, unhealthy mental conditions, and inability to Graduate
on Time (GoT) during their studies in Malaysia’s higher learning institution.
The issue arises whether the Cultural Adaptation Model pioneered by Kim
is suitable for international students studying at higher education institutions in
Malaysia. The main research purpose is to identify whether the Culture
Adaptation Model is applicable in Malaysia to help the international student in
adapting to Malaysian culture and at the same time to help them avoiding
dropouts’ problems, depression and increasing the GoT rate. In addition, this
research will also justify the suitability of the current model in the higher
7
The majority of the previous research has narrowed its scope towards
intercultural adaptation among international students regardless of the role of staff
at the university in assisting the adaptation of international student culture
adapting to their respective institutions of study. This study will study the
adaptation process of international students and the role of staff in public
universities as hosts to them in assisting the cultural adaptation process while
studying at public universities in Malaysia. The study conducted by Young Yun
Kim (2001) also did not take into account the current factors that have
implications for the adaptation process of an individual student.
1.6.2 Communication
A student who has left their home country to continue studying by crossing
the border and has resided in the new country as a semi-permanent resident (Clark,
2009). Students from outside Malaysia with different backgrounds, furthering their
post-graduate studies, have resided in Malaysia for more than one year.
1.6.4 Contribution
1.6.5 Challenges
Interviews will involve three international graduate students and three staff
from the faculty administrative division from four chosen RU. A total of 12
responses will be collected.
10
UKM, USM, UPM, UM. These four locations were chosen because of their
high density of international students’ population, and the frequency of the
administrative division staff handling international students is higher than other
universities.
During the early phase of precautions measure taken by the government, all
the international students were sent home just in case the disease required a long time
to disappear. Even the local students were asked to empty the universities’ hostel and
residences. Hence, the time zone differences between Malaysia and the international
student home country have restricted the efficiency of setting up the appointment.
Therefore, it requires a few times of setting up the appointment between the
researcher and the respondents. The availability of the respondents who are tied with
their work and online distance learning has caused the data collection to be delayed.
11
In addition, it is known that work burden has increased and regulates 24 hours per
day for the staffs and non-stop assignments for the students with short deadline has
caused the also cause the interview appointment with the to be postponed for quite a
few times.
As the interviewer is a local, the international students will thought that they
are facing a stranger and tha stranger is among the locals that condemn them.
Some of the students and staff lived in remote areas with low network
bandwidth. Consequently, unstable conversations during interviews might cause
emotional disturbance towards the respondents. In addition, the interviews must be
postponed at certain times because of the lagging videos and audio caused by the bad
weather and external disturbance.
12
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
This chapter will help compile the significance of the study and the problems
the international student faced while residing in Malaysia, including the review of
related topics and previous studies that the researcher wishes to shed light on. They
are compiled here as a compilation of justification, and general topics were discussed
to give the readers a better understanding of this research
Even with the availability of social media to assist in the adaptation process,
social media only provides information without going through real experience. Yu
and Mustafa (2017) study found that international students at a public university in
13
Malaysia use social media to find information such as daily life information that can
contribute to the intercultural transition of these international students in adjusting to
Malaysia. At the same time, Sin and Kim (2013) found that international students
studying in the United States use social media to find information regarding financial
information, housing, health, news about the country of origin and entertainment.
International students also use various social media tools or channels such as “search
engines” to seek and obtain academic and daily life information (Korobilil et al.,
2011; Malliari et al., 2011). The results of a study by Hosseini, Kotilainen and
Okkonen (2020) show that social media has the potential to reduce stress and aid the
process of intercultural adaptation among Iranian students studying in Finland. A
study from Abdul Latiff Ahmad et al. (2014) showed that technology has
implications for international students. Technology that did not exist in the early
2000s provided many different adaptive experiences for individuals. The presence of
Whatsapp and Video calls facilitates individuals to contact and see the faces of
family and friends in the country of origin, The presence of Facebook and Instagram
facilitates the sharing of the latest developments of individuals with those from the
country of origin.
However, some participants in this study felt that social media was not
helpful enough in the process of improving their cultural adaptation. They feel that
social media is not enough as a platform to facilitate communication between Iranian
and Finnish society. This situation is because social media platforms do not involve
experience in the intercultural interactions of international students with campus
residents or the local community compared to their direct involvement in other social
activities at the university. The study of Saad & Yusuf (2019) supports the use of
social media by international students to help intercultural communication because
the information obtained is in real-time without the need to face it and is more
interactive. Social media also opens space to global communication more widely
regardless of borders and saves time. Effective communication can further facilitate
cultural adaptation because intercultural communication occurs without physical and
place boundaries. While communicating, feelings of embarrassment or insecurity are
also successfully overcome through social media (Bartsch & Viehoff, 2010). In
14
addition, the process of cultural adaptation through social media also supports
cultural adaptation through communities created online.
The existence of a local community enclave in the new country also plays a
role in the adaptation process (Yakin & Totu, 2018). When a person continues his
studies in a new country, for example, Malaysia, there is already an enclave of the
local community. A situation can be taken as an example when an Indonesian student
studying in Malaysia will find it easier to adopt because more Indonesians are in
Malaysia creating Indonesian villages. It is easier for them to socialise and get food
from Indonesia, for example. Similarly, students from the Middle East find it easier
to adapt in Malaysia because many Arabs are in Malaysia, and there is a growth of
Arab food restaurants in Malaysia.
migration process, adaptation needs to be done to ensure that they can adapt to the
new environment (Kunasegaran et al., 2016). The intercultural adaptation process is
a person’s adaptation process that can eventually create a feeling of comfort with the
situation in a new environment (Kim, 2001). Adapting to a new place will often take
some time, depending on how quickly an individual adapts. These individuals will
try to adapt to a new social environment where these differences can pose some
problems. Challenges and problems that arise, such as bringing the image and life to
the place of origin, are new experiences this group will face (Kudo & Simkin, 2003).
But the situation may be different for the country that has a different origin compared
to Malaysia. Cultural differences, lifestyles, languages, and other differences require
every migrating person to adapt (Ahmad et al., 2016). The aspect of intercultural
communication provides an opportunity for them to determine the self-behaviour that
has indeed been inculcated in the original culture. Gabel, Dolen and Cerdin (2005)
define intercultural adaptation as the changes individuals undergo to form
relationships with the host community in a country. According to Constantine,
Okazaki and Utsey (2004), intercultural adaptation involves understanding and
incorporating the host culture’s behaviours, values, and beliefs into one’s original
cultural perspective. Whereas according to Kagan and Cohen (1990), intercultural
adaptation is a process that involves several interrelated factors of behavioural,
cognitive, affective and demographic aspects as well as results in various stages of
adjustment from cultural assimilation to cultural transmutation.
This study will use the Intercultural Adaptation Model pioneered by Young
Yun Kim through the Integrative Communication Theory of Cross-Cultural
Adaptation. This theory provides two models to explain how and why people
migrated from a country of origin to a new place change through continuous
experience while interacting with the host environment. First, the Process Model
describes the stress-adaptation-growth dynamic as a dialectical psychological
movement and through a cycle that supports the gradual transformation of an
individual to have better psychological health in the host country environment and
promotes cross-cultural identity orientation own cultural boundaries.
For this study, researchers will use the second model, which is the Structural Model,
which highlights the ability of individuals to communicate according to the cultural
norms and practices of the host country and active involvement in interpersonal
activities and communication with the host country, also serves as the main engine
driving the process of intercultural adjustment. The communication factor explained
through the model is how an individual influences, and is influenced by, the
conditions in the host country environment and the individual’s individual and ethnic
tendencies. In addition, this Intercultural Adaptation Model describes how
individuals adapt their communication with people from different cultures based on
previous experience.
Cultural shock, acculturation and cultural adaptation are among the issues of
intercultural relations that often plague the lives of international students who
migrate to Malaysia to continue their studies. Among the issues of cultural adaptation
include different academic cultures, local cultures that are very contrary to one’s own
culture, stereotypes of the local community, language problems, accommodation and
others that can contribute to depression, dropout and GOT throughout the study
period.
18
Intercultural
Adaptation
Contribution Challenges
Staff Students
Academic
Psychological Physical Social Cultural Adaptation
Adaptation Adaptation Adaptation Adaptation (study
system
CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
This chapter discusses the type of research design, population, and sampling.
Besides, this chapter also discusses the exact planning to do the data collection.
Hence, the data collection, data analysis and data analysis instruments to be used are
also elaborated. The research will revolve around the international post-graduate
students and the management staff in Malaysia’s RU. Interviews will be held
according to the students’ and staffs’ free time. Although most of the interviews will
not be a walk-in interview and has been replaced with the method of online
interviews, we can get a direct answer through the social media interaction, and the
final analysis may take time when the walk-in interviews face some complications
such as change of time or non-cooperation from the respondent
This research has adopted a qualitative research design that involved the
structured and semi-structured based interview questions (Burnard, 1991)which they
will be directed towards the desired results with two option questions (Example: Yes
or No) and the open-ended questions where they will be free to give their own
opinions based on their general knowledge. Questions given will be mainly on their
adaptation process and experiences. This dissertation will allow the data collected to
serve the purpose of gaining perceptions, thoughts, and phenomena to avoid biasness
in the answers given. The type of population of sampling would be non-probability
sampling with quota sampling as the technique (Richards & Morse, 2006). Since this
20
research design is qualitative, interviews are the best instrument to carry out the
collection of data. The interview steps are based on the steps written in the article
Interviewing for Research – Asking Questions (University of Leicester, 2005). While
questions constructed are based on the guidelines from Strategies for Qualitative
Interviews (Harvard Department of Sociology, 2017), starting with how the research
questions and research objectives will be answered if the questions of interviews
were asked to the informants, how they will satisfy the research and finally, the
process of the validation. Furthermore, the crucial part of the data analysis was done
using two combined method colours –coding and thematic network analysis, which
ought to be a more efficient method in analysing data (Gorden, 1998).
Before constructing the data analysis, the first step would be sorting
the themes and sorting the themes; colours are used to differentiate themes. For
example, if we encounter a word or text passage with the same or close suitable with
our research, it can be sorted into the same code from the previous one, and we
highlighted them with the same colour (Stottok et al., 2011). As soon as the coding
step is done, thematic networks will be built in Atlas t.i, based on these colours.
These codes will be sorted into Basic Themes, Organising Themes and Global
Themes to process the textual data into a more convenient image and make them
linked to each other (Attride-stirling, 2001). Qualitative research is often assigned
with grounded theory, case study, historical, and other qualitative approaches
(Weston et al., 2001). This research approach is research regarding phenomenology
that focuses on describing a person’s experiences as they are lived (Braun & Clarke,
2006).
hypothesis stated. This type of research design is chosen because perceptions are
subjective, uniquely defined by each person’s subject view. Hence, the quantitative
research design cannot be chosen because of the minimised answers given in each
survey.
22
The adaptation process, as its name, are a process, a cycle that took some
time to be experienced (Valeeva & Valeeva, 2017). All these interviews were not
conducted face-to-face because of the limitations mentioned in Chapter One.
Guidelines of an effective online interview were extracted from Qualitative Online
Interviews (Salmons, 2015) and Online interviewing with Interpreters in
Humanitarian Contexts (Chiumento et al., 2018). Since many informants live in
different states or areas, interviews were conducted simplified through online
mediums. It uses the Zoom, Google Meet, WebEx application or by putting them on
the telephone line. The interviews will also be easier to transcript since it is either
recorded during the call. Hence, the time set for both researcher and informants will
be synchronised, and it will be easier for both parties to cooperate and have
interviews conducted online.
23
international students for more than five years. Whether it is in faculty or directly on
duty in International Office is not an issue.
The thematic and coding analysis aided by Atlas t.i. as an analysis tool
application is the best choice of efficiently analysing the data from all 12 interviews.
This analysis requires six full phases to be completed and get accurate results. There
is a total of 12 respondents to be interviewed. The six phases are to become familiar
with the data that are going to be collected. Transcription will be done at this phase.
The second phase generates initial codes by doing a) data reduction and b) data
complication. The third phase will be conducted to search the themes. These themes
will be reviewed in the fourth phase. There are two levels in this phase which are
Level 1 and Level 2. The fifth level is to define and name the themes after the review
has been done. The report will be produced as the last steps to complete the phases in
analysing Qualitative Data.
Hence, the thematic network will justify and clarify the categorised keyword in the
colour coding.
Since the qualitative approach was subjectively arranged, data accuracy was
hard to prove because of the terms of the Garbage in, Garbage out (GIGO). GIGO is
the slang term to tell that no matter how precise a program’s logic is arranged and
run, the results will still be fallacious and out of place if the input data is wrongly
submitted (Oosten, 1989). Moreover, since the approach of this research is only a
single method and design, the triangulation method to prove the data accuracy
created for the combined method (Olsen. W, 2004) was certainly not suitable,
although it is the most relevant in this era. Anyhow, the four aspects were taken from
the previous research article’s suggestion. Therefore, this research should be cautious
of the credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability aspects.
27
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