Sarjit Kaur

Global, Local, National in the Asia-Pacific

This chapter introduces the themes and chapters of Higher Education in Asia-Pacific: Strategic responses to globalization. It begins with the definition of the Asia-Pacific region—the long arc of coastal nations from Southeast Asia to Japan plus the adjoining nations of the Western Pacific—and a statistical overview of population, economy and education. This chapter then summarizes the main elements in the globalization of higher education and looks at the global, local and national dimensions in turn. Global convergence has changed the context of national systems and individual institutions and is transforming Asia-Pacific higher education as a whole. It brings with it a new set of freedoms and compulsions that affect both local institutions and nation-states and is changing the relationship between them. It also reworks inequalities between nations—and creates both intense pressures for standardization, and scope for strategy-making and distinctive global influence, though only some nations and institutions are using the opportunities that have opened up. Finally, this chapter guides readers into the contributions to the book. Higher Education in Asia-Pacific is organized in four principal sections. Part I contains chapters looking at the Asia-Pacific region in the global context. Part II presents chapters on the global strategies and activities of individual universities in the Asia-Pacific region. In Part III, the longest section of the book, there are chapters on the responses and strategies of Asia-Pacific governments and systems. Part IV includes two chapters on higher education in neighbouring South and West Asian countries. The book’s conclusion follows.

Enhancing Global Competence in Higher Education: Malaysia’s Strategic Initiatives

This chapter outlines Malaysia ’s Strategic Plan which encompasses the dual aims of repositioning higher education for democratization of education for the masses and achieving excellence through strategic internationalization policies. Within the backdrop of increasing global competitiveness, interconnectedness and diversity, it traces higher education in Malaysia and presents critical issues in addressing global competitiveness in the areas of international education and the hub strategy and human capital development with reference to the level of English proficiency among Malaysian graduates and academic staff. It examines policy drivers of the Strategic Plan and analyses the overarching principles governing change in Malaysian higher education which has been strongly characterized by placing an emphasis on key performance indicators and the push for greater efficiency, transparency and accountability. The authors discuss key aspects of the Strategic Plan (2007–2010) that puts forward a number of transformation strategies that aim to reinvigorate Malaysian higher education.

Changing state–university relations: the experiences of Japan and lessons for Malaysia

This article investigates the changing state–university relations in Japan and Malaysia. Its main objective is to identify and examine possible lessons for Malaysia, based on the Japanese experience. Notably, since the late 1970s, Malaysia has been looking towards Japan as a model for socio‐economic development (the ‘look‐east’ Policy) and this article was written with the same underlying thrust. Of particular interest in this article is the Japanese experience with the Incorporation of National Universities in 2004. Malaysia has corporatised all state‐controlled universities since 1998 but has stopped short of implementing the kind of institutional autonomy, which resulted in precarious state–university relations in Japan. Based on the situation in Japan with regard to incorporation of national universities, what steps should Malaysia take in order to develop a higher education system and higher education institutions that are comparable to that of matured higher education systems?

Establishing a Holistic Approach for Postgraduate Supervision

The internationalisation and democratisation of higher education in the twenty-first century has raised myriad issues surrounding postgraduate supervision. Research supervision which was once regarded as a ‘private space’ defining a narrow and intense relationship between an academic and a research student is today viewed as a multidimensional relationship involving a fabric of interwoven experiences which necessitate a more holistic approach to postgraduate research supervision. This paper proposes to put forward a holistic approach to support postgraduate supervision based on the findings derived from a study conducted in two public universities in Malaysia. The study involved a total of 66 Malaysian postgraduate students and 30 supervisors. Data were collected using questionnaires and semi structured interviews. The study investigated aspects such as the roles and responsibilities of supervisors, qualities of the good supervisor, supervisory practices and challenges faced by both parties. Initial findings indicated that there were differences between supervisors’ and supervisees’ expectations of the roles and responsibilities of their supervisors and supervisory practices. Nevertheless, both supervisors and supervisees highlighted similar issues and challenges such as the need for research students to develop competence and confidence in the following skills: academic reading, writing, research and conceptual skills. Postgraduate supervision should be viewed as a facilitative process involving a number of domains and processes that can help student progress their candidature through effective mentoring and providing support for student participation in academic practice. Therefore, based on the findings the proposed holistic approach for postgraduate supervision takes into consideration the tenets laid down by educationists such as Maslow, Rogers, Gardner and Vygotsky alongside the four main domains of the Malaysian National Education Philosophy so that students are cognitively, spiritually, emotionally and physically balanced.

Regional Dynamism and Inequality

In the light of the country and institutional studies in the preceding chapters, this concluding chapter explores the factors that determine the global effectiveness of higher education systems across the Asia-Pacific. Both the regional success stories and the failures have something to teach. Higher education systems are shaped by a combination of factors they do not control and factors within their grasp. The essential conditions include economic resources and development—which sustains the momentum of modernization and so positions higher education at the heart of national (and global) transformation—nation-state policy and regulation, and institutional strategy and leadership. There is considerable scope for agency, for creative strategy making by systems and universities, albeit within resource constraints. The experience of nations in the Asia-Pacific experience suggests that national government is (still) the primary piece in the puzzle. Its spending and orientation have major impacts on the higher education sector. Here it is not enough for government to be focused, it must also be education-savvy and research-savvy. Simply applying bland New Public Management formulas alone is more likely to inhibit capacity building than enhance it. The chapter closes with discussion of the potential for Asia-Pacific regionalization in higher education and research. Can the dynamic East Asian systems become translated into combined effort? Is an Asian Bologna strategy or an Asia-Pacific Research Area possible? And would this kind of development be in the interests of the nations in the region?

Universiti Sains Malaysia: Its Strategic Response to Globalization

This chapter presents the history of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and discusses the strategic responses taken by its leaders in tackling various issues and challenges plaguing the provision of quality higher education, ranging from educational partnerships, international student support, research and innovation to academic cooperation, research collaborations and organizational and support structures. The authors present a synthesized analysis of USM’s past and current initiatives and explicate the range of market-driven as well as community-led initiatives adopted by USM in helping Malaysia and the northern region produce quality human capital development within the current global landscape of diminishing funding provisions for research and development activities. In addition, USM’s role in promoting sustainable higher education activities, as Malaysia ’s first university in the Accelerated Programme for Excellence (APEX), is analysed within the present constraints, realities and pressures facing higher education in the country.

Analysing the Integration of Moral and Cultural Values through ELT Reading Materials in Malaysian ESL Classrooms

This chapter presents the findings of an exploratory study, which examined the integration of moral and cultural values in ELT reading materials in ESL literature classrooms. The study employed a descriptive research design involving 35 TESL teachers, and data were collected using a questionnaire, interviews, and classroom observations. The findings revealed that the ELT materials used were suitable and had various elements of moral values and classroom observations indicated that teachers were successful in highlighting and integrating moral values from the ELT materials. Nevertheless, the understanding and incorporation of cultural awareness left much to be desired. These findings imply ESL teachers need to be better equipped to communicate the small ‘c’ (culture) in ELT materials.

Developing a Framework for Postgraduate Supervision

The twin forces of globalization and internationalization brought about the democratization of education at all levels including postgraduate study. In Malaysia, an initiative referred to as MyBrain15 under the National Higher Education Strategic Plan (NHESP) has been put in place to produce 60,000 postgraduate doctoral graduates by 2023. Despite the significant push by the government for more knowledge and innovative workforce, the success rate of MyBrain15 leaves much to be desired. One of the reasons cited for the high attrition and low completion rates among research postgraduates around the globe has been postgraduate supervision. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a framework for postgraduate supervision. The descriptive study involved 209 postgraduate students and 120 supervisors from two local universities in Malaysia. Data were collected via two questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Based on results obtained from this exploratory study, this paper puts forward a framework for holistic postgraduate supervision based on the principles of heutagogy where all learners should be self-determined and be at the centre of their own learning.

Assessing the Critical Reading Skills of Postgraduate Students: Perspectives of Supervisors and Supervisees

The advent of the Information Age witnessed the democratization and massification of higher education in the twenty-first century all around the globe. Despite the significant increase in postgraduate study, attrition rates have been rather high, whilst graduate completion rates continue to fall. One of the reasons cited has been students’ incompetency to handle postgraduate study due to their limited academic literacy and research skills. Critical reading skills are often viewed as a fundamental pillar for postgraduate study. Therefore, the main aim of this paper was to assess the postgraduate students’ critical reading skills from the perspectives of both students and their supervisors. This descriptive study involved 209 postgraduate students and 121 supervisors from two local public universities in Malaysia. Data were collected using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The findings revealed that there was a significant difference in the assessment of critical reading skills of postgraduate students from the perspectives of supervisors and postgraduate students. Students perceived that they had a higher moderate level of readiness compared to supervisors. Supervisors also felt that students possessed limited readiness in terms of critical reading skills such as questioning and evaluating texts. These results have implications for the need for innovative approaches to advance the critical reading skills of postgraduate students.

Exploring Supervisors’ Perspectives to Enhance Postgraduate Supervision

The advent of the Information Age leading to the democratisation and massification of higher education has led to institutions of higher learning (IHL hereafter) offering more flexible and diverse learning modes that allow adult learners to pursue their studies and upgrade their skills. Researchers note that while IHLs have witnessed a steady increase in the number of postgraduate enrolments, close to 40–50 % of these postgraduates students often leave without completing their doctoral studies. The high attrition rate coupled with the low-completion rate of research students has put a critical demand on IHL to critically examine supervision practices. Therefore, this paper puts forward the findings of an exploratory pilot study which investigated the perceptions of 32 postgraduate supervisors from two local universities in Malaysia. It explored supervisors’ perspectives from a variety of aspects ranging from their roles and responsibilities to supervisory practices and level of support they provide to postgraduate students at various stages of writing a thesis. Data were collected using a questionnaire and semi structured interviews. Initial findings revealed that a majority of the supervisors felt that the main role of a supervisor is to help, coach and keep the students on track so that they can meet the required standards and quality in producing their thesis for examination at the end of their candidature. The supervisors also highlighted that a majority of postgraduate research students not only lacked reading, writing and research skills; but also the ability to take responsibility for and ownership of their work. The implications of the study suggest that postgraduate supervisors need to re-examine their roles in today’s changing landscape of postgraduate supervision.