Predictors of cultural adjustment among international students in Malaysia: counseling implications

In the Educational Development Plan 2001 to 2010, the Ministry of Education Malaysia set the ambitious goal of attracting 100,000 international students by 2010 as one of the milestones of turning Malaysia into a center of excellence in higher education. By the end of 2011, Malaysia had indeed managed to attract almost 100,000 foreign students from more than 100 countries. It is time now to move beyond the numbers and consider the quality of the students and the quality of their experiences in Malaysia. The present study focused on the cultural adjustment of foreign students in Malaysia: what challenges they face in adjusting to the host culture? What factors have helped them to cope with those challenges? What implications does this have on the provision of guidance and counseling services in Malaysian universities and colleges? The study draws upon the model of cultural adjustment proposed by Ward, Furnham, and Bochner (2001)

Islamization of human knowledge in theory and practice: achievements, challenges and prospects in the IIUM context

The International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) aims to become a leading international centre of educational excellence which seeks to restore the dynamic and progressive role of the Muslim Ummah in all branches of knowledge and intellectual discourse.Its mission has been crystallized during the period of Professor Mohd Kamal Hassan, its third Rector, as Islamization, Integration, Internationalization and Comprehensive Excellence or commonly known as Triple ICE. This paper deals with the achievements, challenges and prospects in the IIUM context of one of these four missions, namely, Islamization

Islamic theological and spiritual foundations of resilience: implications for counseling and psychotherapy with Muslims

Although spiritual and religious beliefs and practices play a central role in people’s lives and psychological functioning, there have not been enough attempts to study how spiritual and religious beliefs and practices could be operationalized and applied to enhance resilience. This is especially so with regards to the beliefs of Muslims. This lecture is an attempt to analyze the central beliefs and practices of Muslims in order to propose a preventive strategy that can be used in preventive/developmental settings with Muslim clients. In addition to analyzing the teachings embedded in the Qur’an and Hadith, it also considers the contributions early Muslim psychologists like al-Balkhi, Ibn Miskawayh, al-Kindi, Al-Ghazali, Ibn Taymiyyah, and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah

Islamization of contemporary knowledge and reform of education and curriculum

Islamization is normally defined as a process to Islamize in term of faith, belief or worldview and thus it is applied to human beings. In this sense it is similar to the calling to Islam or da’wah. However in the context of our discussion, Islamization is further extended to refer to the process of education, therefore including its philosophy, its curriculum which encompasses objectives, knowledge, methods and assessment. Islamization or da’wah, is a process that began with the mission of the Prophets but in the context of Islam, it began with the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. and his success is well recorded in history and we became part of that evidence. Philosophically, education in the Islamic tradition cannot be separated from the inculcation of faith and the realization of one’s abdship and vicegerency. Rarely did one speak of the term Islamization of education or curriculum. This paper is an attempt to explain this new phenomenon and its necessity. It also attempts to examine the educational reforms that have taken place to achieve the goals of Islamization of education as well as the experience of Islamization at IIUM

The perceptions,practices and challenges of the integration of knowledge amongst the academics of International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM)

International Islamic University of Malaysia’s (IIUM) vision and mission is its commitment to the integration of values in the modern fields of knowledge. Today, Islamization and integration have emerged as niche areas of the IIUM. There are various phases and orientations of the implementation of Islamization of knowledge (IOK) at the IIUM. The study is important as it helps IIUM to identify and monitor the areas of specialization that need to be improved with regards to the Islamic values integration. Thus, the aim of the paper is to investigate the perceptions and practices of IIUM academics in their efforts to do IOK. The study is exploratory in nature and involves focus group discussion (FGD) with six kulliyyahs namely Kulliyyah of Engineering, ICT, Laws (AIKOL),Economics (ENM), IRKHS, and Science. Each FGD lasted between one to two hours, and involved about five to six lecturers from each Kulliyyah. Three broad themes were generated from the data, which are perceptions, practices and challenges of IOK. The general findings of the study reveal that IIUM academics perceive and practice IOK differently according to their background and various specializations. IIUM academics generally perceive IOK as an important endeavor though challenging, yet differ in their views of its success. Meanwhile, the practices of IOK involve content, teaching and learning, materials, research and publication, assessment, and students. IIUM academics face many challenges in implementing IOK such as lack of resources, lack of academic involvement in IOK activities, and lack of Islamic knowledge to integrate technical, scientific and conventional knowledge. The study suggests that with proper and continuous support from the University, IOK could be implemented more effectively

Domestic Violence Subjected to Legal and Cultural Pressure

A society based on patriarchal structure brings lots of discriminations against females in family and society, so different violent relationships appear mainly targeting women as the victims. The domestic violence imposed by the partner of the woman tortures her verbally and physically, captures her to live in a suffering environment or enforces her to leave the original city/country and accepts the condition of being a refugee with all of its risks. In order to reduce the immigration troubles, it is important to consider the origins of violence causing these conditions. There are different sources of domestic violence including cultural, social and legal factors. In this study, three important factors are considered as early-child marriage, gender inequality and insufficient legal and protective systems. In child marriage, the girl undergoes a marital status under her father’s pressure. Gender inequalities increase the rate of violence against women, because they have lower financial, educational and social positions and have to be more dependent on their partners. On the other hand, insufficient protective systems constrain women providing conditions to develop domestic violence. Conducting interview sessions with victims of violence, the abovementioned cases are considered and the data analyzed using a qualitative approach. The output of this study helps counselors in healing process of the victims, highlights the necessity of improving skills for controlling violence and notices the importance of modification of supportive legal systems to prevent committing violence against women. So people are encouraged to make a free-violence society based on human value

Cultural experiences, challenges and coping strategies of Somali refugees in Malaysia: implications for cross-cultural counseling in a plural society

Using the qualitative approach of phenomenology, this study explored the cultural adjustment experiences, challenges, and coping strategies of Somali refugees in Malaysia. Semi-structured interviews were used as the major strategy for data collection. Data were collected from 7 Somali refugees of various genders, ages, and educational backgrounds. Thematic analysis revealed six major areas of concern, that is, financial difficulties, communication barriers, inability to interact with the host community, technological difficulties, security concerns, and difficulties related to food and dress codes. Similarly, four coping skills have been found to be helpful, namely: gathering knowledge about the new culture, having previous cross-cultural experiences, financial support from family, an attitude of tolerance and patience. Support from friends and relatives and being optimistic played a major role. Implications of these findings for the development and organization of counseling services for Somali and other refugees in Malaysia are discussed