Categories of problems among international students in a higher learning institution in Malaysia

Abstract

This study intended to identify the most disturbing categories of problems, most disturbing items in categories and most disturbing items in categories of problems related to demographic specifications (gender and country of origin) among international students at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) international campus. Totally 135 international students were selected using multiple sampling (stratified and systematic sampling). In order to answer the research questions of the study exploratory mixed method (questionnaire and interview) were used. Shafeq Problems Check List (SPCL) was utilized in quantitative approach and semi-structured interview was used in qualitative approach. The collected data was analyzed using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS for Windows v. 15) and statistical techniques (frequency and percentage). Pareto’s Principle was used to identify the most disturbing categories and items in each category of problems. This study was identified 232 items in 11 categories of problems among international students at UTM. The categories of problems comprised health, finance, social and recreational, social psychological relation, personal relationship, marriage, family, moral and religious, adapting to academic work, future career adapting and curriculum and teaching method. The results of the study showed that the most disturbing categories of problems among international students in UTM were Social and Recreational Problems by 19%, and Curriculum and Method of Teaching Problems by 12%. The most disturbing items in categories of problems were also discussed. Recommendations and limitations of the study were also discussed