Investigating Mental Health Among Malaysian University Students During Covid-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown have led to an increasing number of mental health issues in Malaysia. The demands of living during the pandemic have caused a rising number of university students to be diagnosed with depression, anxiety, stress and other mental health problems. A survey done by National Health and Morbidity 2015 found that the prevalence of mental health problems among adults in Malaysia has increased from 10.7% in 1996, to 11.2% in 2006, to 29.2% in 2015. Moreover, one in 10 individuals in 2011 to one in five in 2016 cases reported are among Malaysian students. Thus, the study explores the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress symptoms among university students in Malaysia during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study adopted the DASS-21 inventory to measure the mental health of the students during the pandemic COVID-19 that assesses the depression, anxiety and stress symptoms. Data obtained from the 355 Malaysian university students showed that most of the respondents were sometimes feeling depressed by having negative feelings (44.2%)”, and unable to become enthusiastic (44.5%)”, feeling anxious where they were close to panic (33.8%)” and dryness of their mouth (31.5%)”, and feeling stressed where they found themselves getting agitated (40.3%)” and difficult to relax (40.8%)”. The findings may suggest that further research is proposed for the inclusion of successful coping strategies used by the students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research should also develop interventions and preventive strategies to address the mental health of university students.

Study Abroad and Student Exchange Experiences of International Students: The Sociocultural and Psychological Racism Perspective

Malaysian students like to study abroad and experience the international exchanging programmes during their university voyage. Due to the technology and entertainment developments, South Korea is one of the popular education destinations for many international students, particularly Malaysian students. Based on the Sociocultural and Psychological-Racism perspective, this study's purpose focused on describing their challenges, academic experiences, and living experiences in South Korea. The results indicated that Chinese-Malaysian students experienced significant negative experiences, including discrimination based on their place of origin, cultural characteristics and social behaviours, and special background and status as non-traditional students. Although Malaysia and South Korea share similar East Asian practice, all participants regretted their study abroad experiences in South Korea. The findings of this study will contribute to the knowledge about the study abroad experiences of Malaysian students, overseas learning experiences, managerial developments of international students’ services, and the governmental policies for global views for the South Korean communities. Received: 6 August 2021 / Accepted: 7 October 2021 / Published: 3 January 2022

Gamification, Learning, and the Acquisition of 21st Century Skills Amongst Malaysian Law Students

The diversification of pedagogic tools remains essential for a fruitful learning experience among the Gen Z students by embedding technology such as gamification in learning. Recent literature has discussed the acquisition of 21st century skills and the educational challenges generally faced by Asian students due to their cultural traits. Against this background, the findings of this study open reflections relating to the benefit of gamification in acquiring 21st century skills. The objective of this chapter is to identify whether gamification is a suitable pedagogic tool among Malaysian law students in order to support the acquisition of 21st century skills. The respondents are from Year 1 and Year 2 of a three-year Bachelor of Laws degree with the majority being Malaysian students. The data collected showed that gamification helps in the acquisition of 21st century skills. Evidently, it showed that gamification can be a suitable alternative pedagogic tool to support the students to learn skills such as critical thinking, creativity, innovation, leadership, or communication.

Analysis of Learning Motivation and Burnout of Malaysian and Chinese College Students Majoring in Sports in an Educational Psychology Perspective

The purposes are to deepen the understanding of the correlation between learning motivation and learning burnout and thereby stimulate the learning motivation of college students. According to the theory of educational psychology, mechanism of learning motivation, and causes of learning burnout are analyzed. The learning motivation and learning burnout of college students majoring in sports are taken as the breakthrough point. The learning motivation and learning burnout situation of Chinese and Malaysian students majoring in sports are surveyed and compared through questionnaires. In addition, Chinese students majoring in sports are taken as examples to analyze the impact of learning motivation on learning burnout. The correlations between various dimensions are analyzed to determine the impact of learning motivation on learning burnout. The total learning motivation scores of students from the Sport School of Zhengzhou University and the University of Malaya Centre for Sport and Exercise Sciences are 122.3 ± 22.4 and 140.2 ± 23.6, respectively, and their average scores for each question are 3.60 and 4.07, respectively. The total learning burnout scores of students from the Sport School of Zhengzhou University and the University of Malaya Centre for Sport and Exercise Sciences are 58.2 ± 8.95 and 53.6 ± 7.34, respectively. The learning motivation of Malaysian college students majoring in sports is slightly stronger than Chinese students. Compared with Malaysia, the learning burnout of college students majoring in sports in China is extra apparent, mainly exhibited in the two dimensions of depression and a low sense of achievement. The learning motivation and learning burnout of college students majoring in sports are negatively correlated; that is, the stronger the learning motivation, the weaker the learning burnout; on the contrary, the weaker the learning motivation, the more severe the learning burnout. In conclusion, learning burnout of college students can be reduced by correcting and stimulating their learning motivation and improving their learning self-efficacy.

Error Analysis on the Malaysian Students’ Writing for ESL Classroom

English has been regarded as one of the core subjects in the Malaysian Certificate of Education or known as the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM). There has been a concern over the writing components in English language papers at the SPM level. Writing requires students’ competence in syntax, coherence, developing and arranging ideas, mechanics in writing and appropriate use of vocabulary. A concern over students who produce very limited number of words in their essays has resulted in the lack of content to be assessed which then led to low scores. This paper presents an error analysis focusing on the types of errors found in students’ written test scripts to identify the weaknesses of students' writing abilities. The study adopts a qualitative approach where the students’ written assessment texts were collected. A total of 18 upper secondary Year Four students (aged 16 years old) were selected as the research participants. The selection of participants was carried out in a secondary school in one of the states in Malaysia. The students’ written tests were analysed to identify the emerging categories of language use, focusing on language and grammar inaccuracies. It is found that students have the idea on how to write the answers to the task but seem to have difficulties putting the ideas in the correct structure.

Cultural capital and student engagement in extracurricular activities at a Malaysian University

<p>How students perceive education influences their extracurricular engagement at university. In this study, I investigate how Malaysian students perceive the importance of a university education and how this influences their choices about extracurricular voluntary activities. Participants included 21 university students (aged 17-25 years old) studying at a university in East Malaysia. Data collection methods included questionnaires, visual data, semi-structured individual and focus group interviews. The findings reveal that while cultural capital plays a significant role in influencing student perceptions of educational success, other forms of capital are also highly valued in the education system. Academic excellence is emphasized, with families often investing in private tuition and other skills to achieve distinction thus giving students a perceived edge over their competitors. The results also show that social capital has a significant influence on students’ involvement in extracurricular activities while at university. The social capital embedded in friendships functioned as an investment strategy and participants relied on this capital to sustain their interest in community service projects or club activities. They also relied heavily on social capital resources embedded in kinship and religious institutions to obtain information and make decisions regarding future career plans and goals.</p>

Cultural capital and student engagement in extracurricular activities at a Malaysian University

<p>How students perceive education influences their extracurricular engagement at university. In this study, I investigate how Malaysian students perceive the importance of a university education and how this influences their choices about extracurricular voluntary activities. Participants included 21 university students (aged 17-25 years old) studying at a university in East Malaysia. Data collection methods included questionnaires, visual data, semi-structured individual and focus group interviews. The findings reveal that while cultural capital plays a significant role in influencing student perceptions of educational success, other forms of capital are also highly valued in the education system. Academic excellence is emphasized, with families often investing in private tuition and other skills to achieve distinction thus giving students a perceived edge over their competitors. The results also show that social capital has a significant influence on students’ involvement in extracurricular activities while at university. The social capital embedded in friendships functioned as an investment strategy and participants relied on this capital to sustain their interest in community service projects or club activities. They also relied heavily on social capital resources embedded in kinship and religious institutions to obtain information and make decisions regarding future career plans and goals.</p>

Assessing secondary students’ scientific literacy: A comparative study of suburban schools in England and Malaysia

This study sought to assess the level of secondary students’ scientific literacy in suburban schools in Malaysia and England, a research area which to date has not been fully explored in the literature. The study analysed the data using the OECD’s three domain-specific competencies of scientific literacy, namely: i) explain phenomena scientifically, ii) evaluate and design scientific enquiry, and iii) interpret data and evidence scientifically. To assess the level of secondary students’ scientific literacy in these contexts, the study applied the scientific literacy assessment instrument called the ‘Nature of Scientific Literacy Test’ (NOSLiT), first developed by Wenning (2006). The results indicated that the level of scientific literacy of English students was higher than that of Malaysian students across all three domain-specific competencies. Despite the fact that NOSLiT is a systematic and reliable instrument for assessing the level of students’ scientific literacy, the study found that OECD’s three domain-specific competencies of scientific literacy provided better insights into the level of secondary students’ scientific literacy in Malaysian and English suburban schools. It is suggested that future studies should use a qualitative approach to both data collection and analysis to understand the level of students’ scientific literacy in more detail.

READING DIFFICULTIES AMONG MALAYSIAN UNDERGRADUATE ESL LEARNERS: A PRELIMINARY STUDY

Reading deficiency in reading English texts or materials among ESL undergraduate students has been one of the most significant problems in Malaysia. Educators in Malaysia are currently facing the problem as it reflects on their students’ academic performance. This study aims to investigate Malaysian ESL undergraduate students’ reading difficulties in reading English texts. 25 Malaysian students who are taking advanced English courses in a university, were selected to participate in this study. A quantitative method was employed for this study. The questionnaires were designed to fit the purpose of this study. Data analysis was done using SPSS to analyse the data collected. The result shows that students are weak in grasping the main idea when they are reading, having poor vocabulary, lack of reading habit and interest in reading English texts, and are pressured with the lack of time when reading. It can be concluded that reading deficiency affects their academic performance and their English proficiency. In overcoming their difficulties, students must equip themselves with some reading strategies to help them to comprehend the English texts that they are reading.