A stranger in a strange land: experiences of adjustment among international postgraduate students in Malaysia
Despite the ongoing globalisation of higher education, few studies have attempted to understand international students' adjustment experiences in non-Western institutions of higher learning. This study employed in depth, semi-structured interviews to explore the adjustment experiences of 10 int...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Western Australian Institute for Educational Research
2019
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| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/80503/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/80503/1/POSTGRAD.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848858912062701568 |
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| author | Dahalan, Dzuhailmi Abdullah, Abdul Lateef Abdullah, Haslinda Ahrari, Seyedali Abdullah Sahimi, Nur Aishah Hamizah Olutokunbo, Adekalu Samuel Turiman, Suandi |
| author_facet | Dahalan, Dzuhailmi Abdullah, Abdul Lateef Abdullah, Haslinda Ahrari, Seyedali Abdullah Sahimi, Nur Aishah Hamizah Olutokunbo, Adekalu Samuel Turiman, Suandi |
| author_sort | Dahalan, Dzuhailmi |
| building | UPM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Despite the ongoing globalisation of higher education, few studies have attempted to understand international students' adjustment experiences in non-Western institutions of higher learning. This study employed in depth, semi-structured interviews to explore the adjustment experiences of 10 international postgraduate students in Malaysia. Three themes and twelve sub-themes emerged from the interviews, including academic adjustment (academic experiences with English language, different teaching and learning approaches, experiences with student support services, and academic support), psychological adjustment (safety and peacefulness, loneliness, anxiety and stress, and homesickness), and sociocultural adjustment (perceived discrimination, language and communication challenges, personal friendships with local students, and culture shock). The theoretical and practical implications are outlined in regard to international students' expectations and experiences of living and studying in Malaysia. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T12:20:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | upm-80503 |
| institution | Universiti Putra Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T12:20:59Z |
| publishDate | 2019 |
| publisher | Western Australian Institute for Educational Research |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | upm-805032021-01-26T20:29:33Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/80503/ A stranger in a strange land: experiences of adjustment among international postgraduate students in Malaysia Dahalan, Dzuhailmi Abdullah, Abdul Lateef Abdullah, Haslinda Ahrari, Seyedali Abdullah Sahimi, Nur Aishah Hamizah Olutokunbo, Adekalu Samuel Turiman, Suandi Despite the ongoing globalisation of higher education, few studies have attempted to understand international students' adjustment experiences in non-Western institutions of higher learning. This study employed in depth, semi-structured interviews to explore the adjustment experiences of 10 international postgraduate students in Malaysia. Three themes and twelve sub-themes emerged from the interviews, including academic adjustment (academic experiences with English language, different teaching and learning approaches, experiences with student support services, and academic support), psychological adjustment (safety and peacefulness, loneliness, anxiety and stress, and homesickness), and sociocultural adjustment (perceived discrimination, language and communication challenges, personal friendships with local students, and culture shock). The theoretical and practical implications are outlined in regard to international students' expectations and experiences of living and studying in Malaysia. Western Australian Institute for Educational Research 2019 Article PeerReviewed text en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/80503/1/POSTGRAD.pdf Dahalan, Dzuhailmi and Abdullah, Abdul Lateef and Abdullah, Haslinda and Ahrari, Seyedali and Abdullah Sahimi, Nur Aishah Hamizah and Olutokunbo, Adekalu Samuel and Turiman, Suandi (2019) A stranger in a strange land: experiences of adjustment among international postgraduate students in Malaysia. Issues in Educational Research, 29 (3). pp. 611-631. ISSN 0313-7155; ESSN: 1837-6290 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334602491 |
| spellingShingle | Dahalan, Dzuhailmi Abdullah, Abdul Lateef Abdullah, Haslinda Ahrari, Seyedali Abdullah Sahimi, Nur Aishah Hamizah Olutokunbo, Adekalu Samuel Turiman, Suandi A stranger in a strange land: experiences of adjustment among international postgraduate students in Malaysia |
| title | A stranger in a strange land: experiences of adjustment among international postgraduate students in Malaysia |
| title_full | A stranger in a strange land: experiences of adjustment among international postgraduate students in Malaysia |
| title_fullStr | A stranger in a strange land: experiences of adjustment among international postgraduate students in Malaysia |
| title_full_unstemmed | A stranger in a strange land: experiences of adjustment among international postgraduate students in Malaysia |
| title_short | A stranger in a strange land: experiences of adjustment among international postgraduate students in Malaysia |
| title_sort | stranger in a strange land: experiences of adjustment among international postgraduate students in malaysia |
| url | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/80503/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/80503/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/80503/1/POSTGRAD.pdf |