Intercultural Communication Affecting Higher Education Development in Malaysia Paper Example

Research proposal topic

Research on Intercultural communication affecting higher education development in Malaysia in globalization: A case study of communication between international students from different culture background

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Introduction

Malaysia is one of the countries which are leading to attracting international students from various part of the world. The education sector of the country has focused on achieving higher education development in globalization following strategic reforms which made the system flexible enough to accommodate students beyond its national boundaries. Higher educational development is a concept treated with great significance and involves helping higher learning institutions to function effectively as learning and teaching communities and centers (Chi & Suthers, 2015). The concept has served in the global domain in which a good number of students prefer studying in other countries other than theirs. However, the aspect of communication among international students appears to create considerable challenges based on the differences in their cultural perspectives. Ghasemy etal. (2018) observed that this is because the students are meeting for their first time, therefore, achieving an overlap in their cultural practices becomes a very difficult task for the international students. Malaysia Universities are admitting many international students in response to the need for globalization in the academic context. Nevertheless, concerning the problems associated with intercultural communication, Malaysia is still struggling to achieve higher education development. This paper documents a research proposal on intercultural communication as a serious form of hindrance higher education development in Malaysia universities.

Research Questions

i). What is the perception of the Malaysian education system towards disparities in intercultural communication among international students?

ii). How is Intercultural communication affecting higher education development in Malaysia in the context of globalization?

iii). What kinds of adjustments are in place to fix the problems in intercultural communication in the universities in Malaysia?

iv). How possible is it that Malaysia will still succeed in its vision towards higher education development now that intercultural communication is a problem in the universities?

Research Objectives

i). to determine how Malaysia perceives the disparities in the intercultural communication among the international students

ii). To investigate the extent to which intercultural communication affect higher education development in Malaysia while trying to achieve globalization

iii). To demonstrate the strategic forms of adjustments suggested by the Malaysian government to fix the problems resulting from disparities in the intercultural communication in the universities

iv). To determine the future of higher education development in Malaysia in the event intercultural communication problem in the universities?

Literature Review

Perceptions of Intercultural Communication in the Malaysian Universities

The Malaysian government has been reluctant to intervene in the issue of intercultural communication in the setting of the higher learning institution. Ghasemy et al. (2018) found out that this implies the issue is hardly treated as a problem since the key mission of the education system is to attract a good number of students to their institutions without the limitation of the national or ethnic constraints. Grapragasem, Krishnan and Mansor (2014) emphasized that in Malaysia, diversity is considered as the key approach towards the achievement of globalization concerning academic context. Consequently, intercultural communication has continued to thrive in the country, as the education department appears to assume the potential challenges that are already threats to the learning of the students.

How Intercultural Communication has Affected Higher Education Development

In spite of the willingness of the Malaysian government to address the issue of intercultural communication among international students, undesirable outcomes continue to occur. Students are continuing to record poor results since it takes them too long and fit in a new cultural perspective accepted in the Malaysian education system (Halim, Abu Bakar & Mohamad, 2018). This implies that the country only emphasizes on becoming a richly land with an intercultural balance among the different races. However, Sarwar and Abdul Wahad (2018) identified that the influx of foreign students in recent years has led to an increase in poor performance in the local Malaysian academic institution among foreign students. The challenges associated with global condition achieved appear to overwhelm the desirable outcomes expected of globalization. Therefore, intercultural communication has adverse effects on higher education development.

Possible ways to Tackle the Problem

The government is attached to the obligation of solving the problem associated with intercultural communication to ensure the outcomes do not deviate significantly from the expectations. This is important as long as the Malaysian Universities are still focused on achieving higher education development with regard to expectations (Sarwari & Abdul Wahab, 2017. The government can promote the speaking of the common language in the country's universities so that the culture among the students is shaped to a common form. This can be possible by making the Malay language official and a compulsory requirement for a student to be enrolled in any university. Interested students can, therefore, take the first few months to learn the language. Taccordint to Wu, Garza and Guzman (2015), the universities can respond to this effectively by offering the Malay language as a bridging course. This implies that all the students will speak a common language. Subsequently, Malaysian universities will be moving towards having nearly the same cultural perspectives. As a result, the issue of intercultural communication may be gradually discouraged.

The future of Higher Education Development in Malaysia

The initial objectives of achieving higher education development in Malaysia may not be realistic based on the current situation resulting from unhealthy intercultural communication. According to Wu, Garza and Guzman (2015), unless the country strives to fix the situation, the efforts towards globalization by academics be impossible since the international will always get poor results. This would imply that others who would be willing to join universities in the country may be discouraged based on the possible academic outcomes (Zhang, 2015). The future, therefore, does not promise the international students and the higher learning institutions possibility of working towards the expectations.

The significance of the Study

The study has a great significance to knowledge. The conclusions from the actual study will be used to inform the society properly regarding embracing learning in the context of the international domain. For instance, if the future means an improvement in the experience of the international students based on their academic journey, students from any country will have a reason to study in Malaysia in their higher learning institutions (Wu, Garza & Guzman, 2015). However, if no measures are put in place, the Malaysian government may not be able to justify why it is striving to accommodate international students in large numbers. The findings and the subsequent implications may set the pace for further embracing learning in the Malaysia universities among the international students.

Methodology

Research design and Approach

The research on the topic will utilize both qualitative and quantitative approaches to research. This will be possible since the study is set to adapt the descriptive research design which will include almost all the elements of effective research design (Archibald, Radil, Zhang & Hanson, 2015). This will make it easy to include all the appropriate strategies of data collection and analysis. Both secondary and primary data will be collected. The survey will be used for primary data collection while published works will provide the secondary alternatives.

Primary Data Collection

Survey as a method of data collection will be important as it allows interaction with the respondents without necessarily interfering with their schedules in the duties. This is because the researcher will have the opportunity to leave the instruments with them so that they fill them when it is most convenient for them (Ponto, 2015). However, the potential challenge will be the possibility in the dishonest responses since the researcher will not be around to intervene where necessary.

Secondary Data Collection

Besides, the primary data collected from individual resource persons, the researcher will also look for the information published in other materials. This may include books on the topics to have proper background information for better understanding (Martins, Cunha & Serra, 2018). Besides, the researcher will consult other information materials like magazines and reports relevant to the topic under study.

Data Analysis

Data analysis will involve the use of the methods associated with both qualitative and quantitative approaches used in the research (McKim, 2016). The qualitative data will involve qualitative evaluation hence proper conclusions are made from the same. For the quantitative data, being of mathematical nature will be analyzed using statistical approaches. (Ozgur, Kleckner & Li, 2015) The researcher will choose the Statistical Package Social Sciences; the software would be appropriate based on its potential to provide intuitive results which are reliable.

References

Archibald, M., Radil, A., Zhang, X., & Hanson, W. (2015). Current Mixed Methods Practices in Qualitative Research: A Content Analysis of Leading Journals. International Journal Of Qualitative Methods, 14(2), 5-33. DOI: 10.1177/160940691501400205

Chi, R., & Suthers, D. (2015). Assessing intercultural communication competence as a relational construct using social network analysis. International Journal Of Intercultural Relations, 48, 108-119. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijintrel.2015.03.011

Ghasemy, M., Hussin, S., Megat Daud, M., Md Nor, M., Ghavifekr, S., & Kenayathulla, H. (2018). Issues in Malaysian Higher Education: A Quantitative Representation of the Top Five Priorities, Values, Challenges, and Solutions From the Viewpoints of Academic Leaders. SAGE Open, 8(1), 215824401875583. DOI: 10.1177/2158244018755839

Ghasemy, M., Hussin, S., Megat Daud, M., Md Nor, M., Ghavifekr, S., & Kenayathulla, H. (2018). Issues in Malaysian Higher Education: A Quantitative Representation of the Top Five Priorities, Values, Challenges, and Solutions From the Viewpoints of Academic Leaders. SAGE Open, 8(1), 215824401875583. DOI: 10.1177/2158244018755839

Grapragasem, S., Krishnan, A., & Mansor, A. (2014). Current Trends in Malaysian Higher Education and the Effect on Education Policy and Practice: An Overview. International Journal Of Higher Education, 3(1). DOI: 10.5430/ijhe.v3n1p85

Halim, H., Abu Bakar, H., & Mohamad, B. (2018). Measuring Multicultural Effectiveness among Self-Initiated Academic Expatriates in Malaysia. Jurnal Komunikasi, Malaysian Journal Of Communication, 34(2), 1-17. DOI: 10.17576/jkmjc-2018-3402-01

Martins, F., Cunha, J., & Serra, F. (2018). Secondary Data in Research - Uses and Opportunities. PODIUM Sport, Leisure And Tourism Review, 7(3), I-IV. DOI: 10.5585/podium.v7i3.316

McKim, C. (2016). The Value of Mixed Methods Research. Journal Of Mixed Methods Research, 11(2), 202-222. DOI: 10.1177/1558689815607096

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