The Persistence of Southeast Asian Malay Students Studying in Higher Education Institutions Abroad: A Grounded Theory Study

Abstract

This study bridges the gap in the literature by exploring the process of student persistence from the viewpoint of international students, and those from the Southeast Asian (SEA) Malay ethnic group. As one of the largest ethno-religious groups in the world, the SEA Malay culture is quite unique from other Asian cultures. By employing Corbin and Strauss’ (2015) principles of an evolved grounded theory approach to qualitative inquiry, this study discovered emerging concepts and categories that were grounded in data and ultimately created a substantive theory that explained the phenomenon. The following research question was answered: How do Malay students from Southeast Asia persist to degree completion when enrolling in higher education in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand? A purposeful theoretical sample of 28 Malay participants from Brunei were engaged to explore the prevalent problems and challenges they encountered and the strategies they utilized while studying abroad. This study demonstrated that SEA Malay students experienced inherently intertwined challenges and stressors as well as complex emotional processes that affected their persistence levels. The Model of the Persistence of Southeast Asian Malay Students Studying Abroad was constructed as a result of this study. Clear links were established between students’ persistence processes and institutional practices of cultural relevance and cultural responsiveness in explaining the success of SEA Malay students in higher education institutions abroad. Important implications include the creation of innovative and transformative strategies that are culturally relevant and culturally responsive to diverse student populations particularly, the international Malay student group from Southeast Asia. Keywords: Malay students, student persistence, student success