International student experience in a Malaysian public university: Self-efficacy and socio-cultural adjustment

• Main Authors: Mohd Yusoff, Yusliza, Nadrajah, Shanti
• Other Authors: Mohd Sani, Mohd Azizuddin
• Format: Book Section
• Language: English
• Published: College of Law, Government and International Studies, Universiti Utara Malaysia 2010
• Subjects: LB2300 Higher Education
• Online Access: http://repo.uum.edu.my/2487/1/Dr._Yusliza_-_International_Students_Experience.pdf; http://repo.uum.edu.my/2487/; http://icis.uum.edu.my/
• Institution: Universiti Utara Malaysia

Internalization of higher education is one of the important transformation processes of developing countries towards globalization. Further, globalization and democratization of higher education in Malaysia has raised much interest among educators and researchers to understand this phenomenon. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to survey the adaptation needs of international students within their academic and social communities in Malaysian universities. This study was aimed at investigating the relationship between self-efficacy and socio-cultural adjustment. The sample consisted of 185 (100 females, 85 males) international students in the university. The socio-cultural adjustment and self-efficacy dimensions of university international students were measured using the Socio-Cultural Adjustment Scale (SCAS) developed by Ward and Kennedy (1999) and the General Self-Efficacy Scale (Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1995) respectively. Correlational analysis was employed to analyze data. Self-efficacy was not correlated with all dimensions of socio-cultural adjustment (cultural empathy, impersonal endeavors, and cultural relatedness).