LEAVING THE BIRD’S NEST: THE EXPERIENCE OF MALAYSIAN STUDENTS STUDYING ABROAD

Abstract

Pursuing an education overseas has always been a desirable option for Malaysian students. It provides an opportunity to travel the world, with an extra advantage of gaining credentials from a foreign country, which is strongly assumed to augment their career pathways. Evidently, there are numerous challenges faced by Malaysian students studying abroad. As such, this qualitative study has been conducted to explore their experience in terms of managing their emotions and adjustment to the lifestyle overseas. Six participants who are currently studying abroad were recruited to participate in this study, where in-depth interviews were conducted for the purpose of data collection. Three main themes were generated, E.G. experiences of the new environment when studying abroad, barriers faced when students are studying abroad and coping strategies used by the students in managing their emotions. the findings of this study were discussed and suggestions for future research were given