ADAPTASI KEMANDIRIAN DAN KELESTARIAN PRESTASI AKADEMIK PELAJAR ANTARABANGSA UNIVERSITI AWAM MALAYSIA

Abstract

The phenomenon of globalization catalyses the mobilization of international students to pursue higher education abroad. Malaysia is one of the destinations for international students where the advantage is synonymous with the country’s increasingly proactive internationalisation policy in recruiting international students. This initiative was taken to boost the position of Malaysian Higher Learning Institutions in the global league of prestigious education hub ratings. Therefore, the objective of this study is to focus on studying the feedback of the experience of the process of adaptation of international students’ independence which is the key to the arrival of these groups to this country. A qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews which involved 40 in-depth interviews of international students currently studying at four selected public universities. The findings had proven that there is a link between the adaptation of independence and sustainability of the academic performance of first-year students. The factors that have a different impact on the adaptation of international students’ independence are seen in the context of (i) English language as a medium of teaching and learning, (ii) ongoing accreditation, (iii) offering contemporary and added value programmes, (iv) customer satisfaction and service quality assurance and (v) university reputation recognition. The findings discussed in this paper are valuable information not only for prospective international students who wish to further their studies abroad but can also be used as a guideline for the universities’ management in understanding the implications of self-adaptation that has continuity with academic achievement among international students.