Chinese Students’ Challenges in Malaysia Proposal

Introduction

Nowadays many Chinese PhD students choose Malaysia as a country to continue their education and there are several reasons for this choice. First of all, Malaysian PhD education programs are compatible with the ones adopted at the most prestigious Universities of the world, in the USA, Europe, and Great Britain. Thus, the degree received at a Malaysian University will be accepted in most countries which opens a wide range of career opportunities for the prospective Doctor of Philosophy. Secondly, a large Chinese diaspora in Malaysia helps students to feel at home and find people to advise them on the most complex issues of their student lives. The fact that the majority of Chinese in Malaysia are well-educated and hold positions of prominence adds to the desire of many Chinese to get PhD degree in Malaysia.

The completion of PhD degree presupposes research and publications and this is an area where Chinese students face numerous challenges. First of all, the education is primarily conducted in English, which poses certain difficulties for Chinese students. Indeed, while the level of communication of Chinese may be brilliant, they may not be aware of numerous scientific lexes used in the publications. This, in its turn, may lead to the wrong choice of key words and words looked for in search engines. Another problem is cultural peculiarities of Malaysia Chinese may not be aware of and possible ways to incorporate cultural component into the research project since it cannot be totally disregarded. Finally, the methodological part of the research may present certain difficulties since with a wide range of possible methods and frameworks Chinese may be at a loss to choose the beat one due to possible cultural and language barriers.

Background of Study

More and more Chinese come to Malaysia in search of quality education as Malaysian PhD degree opens a wide range of careers before the future Doctors of Philosophy. However, pursuing scholarly careers and getting a degree, Chinese students face a lot of challenges in research and publications. The need for quality coaching for Chinese PhD students stems from the fact that they face cultural and language barriers that may prevent them from fully achieving their potential. Moreover, today quality coaching allows to consider Chinese students’ peculiarities and provides guidance through a maze of requirements and options in research that the students face. It has been found out that students who receive quality coaching get better grades and develop higher cognate abilities. Moreover, they are more likely to put their research into practice and see practical implementation of theoretical issues. Coaching has been associated with a higher level of happiness and satisfaction with one’s work as well as attainment wellbeing. With quality coaching in research and publications, Chinese students are able to do highly innovative research projects that make contribution to the scientific knowledge at large.

Purpose of Study

1. To explore and explain China’s Ph.D. students in research and publications in a top university in Malaysia
2. To conceptualize a model of coaching to improve China’s Ph.D. students in research and publications

Research Questions

1. What are the challenges for China’s Ph.D. students in research and publications in a top university in Malaysia?;
2. What are the existing learning needs for Ph.D. students in research and publications in a top university in Malaysia?;
3. What is the coaching model for China’s PhD students in research and publications in a top university in Malaysia?

Methodology

The methodological part is a mixed method case study aimed at answering the three research questions. To determine the challenges Chinese students face as well as their learning needs, a questionnaire will be developed. The first part of the questionnaire will present statements with which students should agree or disagree, while the second part will be in the form of questions to which answers should be given in a sentence form. On the basis of the received answers, an optimal coaching model will be developed to answer the specifics challenges Chinese students face in research and publications. To develop an optimal coaching model, A Multidisciplinary Framework of Instructional Coaching proposed by Kurz at al. will be used specifically designed for the students’ needs in the field of educations (Kurz et al., 2017). The model “identifies 3 key dimensions of instructional coaching that can situate task- and subject-specific coaching models” and is thus applicable to the research and publications studies as well (Kurz et al., 2017, para. 1). Once the optimal coaching model is established, recommendations will be given as to how incorporate it into university activities associated with PhD students research and publications work.

Significance of study

The significance of the study lies with the fact that more and more Chinese students come to Malaysia for educational aims and experience difficulties in research other students do not have or that are less pronounced with other cultures. This leads to inadequate results and grades as well as feeling of frustration and inability to cope. The proposed coaching model will help students to offset these difficulties through quality guidance and advise on the part of mentors. Thus, Chinese students will be able to better develop their cognate abilities as well as put their theoretical breakthrough into practice. Moreover, the proposed coaching model will benefit the institution through educating thoughtful and well-prepared researchers that are likely to make a significant contribution to the scientific knowledge in the future.

Summary

The proposed research work “Leading China’s Ph.D. Students Through a Coaching Model in Research and Publications in a Top Public University in Malaysia” aims to pinpoint challenges Chinese students face doing research at Malaysian Universities as well as to outline the learning needs they have. To do this, a questionnaire will be elaborated that will consist of two parts: questions that presupposes yes/no answers and questions that presuppose sentence format of answering. Once the results are received, a coaching model will be developed based on the Multidisciplinary Framework of Instructional Coaching proposed by Kurz at al. This model will hopefully allow to reduce the challenges and Chinese students in their research work.

References

Kurz, A., Reddy, L. A., & Glover, T. A. (2017). A multidisciplinary framework of instructional coaching. Theory into practice, 56(1), 66-77.