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The purpose of this empirical study is to examine prospective teachers' international mindedness and intercultural competence, grounded in sociocultural theory. The research aims to understand the factors that foster these traits in prospective teachers and their significance in promoting competence in culturally diverse environments.

The study utilized structured equation modeling with maximum likelihood estimation to analyze data from 425 participants of two higher education institutions. The participants were selected through simple random probability sampling. This methodology allowed the researchers to explore the relationship between international mindedness and intercultural competence in prospective teachers.

The results of the study demonstrated a positive correlation between international mindedness and intercultural competence in prospective teachers. The findings suggest that by cultivating international mindedness, educators can enhance their intercultural competence, thereby fostering more effective interactions in diverse settings.

The present research holds practical implications for teacher education programs and higher education institutions. By understanding how international mindedness impacts intercultural competence, educators can implement targeted interventions and training to nurture these traits among prospective teachers. This can lead to the creation of culturally inclusive learning environments, promoting mutual respect and appreciation of diversity among students.

The originality of this study lies in its investigation of the link between international mindedness and intercultural competence in the context of prospective teachers enrolled in B.Ed. program in higher education institution. By establishing a causal relationship between these traits, the research adds to the understanding of how teachers can be prepared to engage effectively in culturally diverse classrooms. The findings hold value for educators and policymakers seeking to improve teaching practices and foster global citizenship among future educators and their students.

This study, drawing upon affective events theory (AET), examines the relationships between work environment features, work events, affective states and attitudes in the Malaysian academic environment. Specifically, the authors examine the impact of supervisory support and welfare on role conflict, the impact of role conflict on affective states and the impact of affective states on job satisfaction using data collected from the international faculty.

The authors collected data from 152 respondents through an online platform, and given this study's causal predictive-explanatory nature, the authors apply partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) for data analysis. In addition, the authors complement their analysis by examining the nonlinear effects within the model as a robustness check.

From an explanatory perspective, the authors find support for all the hypotheses, implying the applicability of AET in academic contexts. Regarding the predictive perspective, the authors’ model exhibits a high out-of-sample predictive power. Importantly, the robustness check provides additional support for their model.

Given that the international faculty comes from different countries, the authors’ findings suggest that university managers should formulate and implement policies, which encourage and celebrate cultural diversity to increase the international faculty's job satisfaction. Additionally, policies that improve the process of job designs and descriptions need amendments in a way that reduces the role conflict faced by the multicultural faculty which, in turn, leads to negative affect and ultimately to job dissatisfaction.

This article is one of the first research studies focusing on the verification of AET in the context of international higher education. The authors apply the recent evaluative guidelines for a solid and rigorous PLS-SEM analysis and prove that the wandering scholars' emotions matter in achieving desirable organizational outcomes in cross-cultural institutions of higher learning.

Universities in Malaysia, particular public universities, have been tasked not only with the traditional focus on the pursuit of knowledge, but also the important role of nation-building. The purpose of this paper is to explore the nation-building agenda in the development of Malaysian higher education in the globalisation era.

Grounded within the literature of nation-building and globalisation and neoliberalism, the approach of this paper examines the development of higher education in Malaysia across time.

Two particular aspects in the Malaysian higher education that have seen tension and changes emerging from the interaction between globalisation and nation-building are: the medium of instruction and hybridisation in universities.

The paper illustrates the ways in which universities have adapted in terms of the medium of instruction between the Malay language and English, as well as hybridisation that has taken place as a result of globalisation on the local vision, structure and characteristics of Malaysian universities.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate, in general, what are the contemporary external influences that have been dominant in Malaysian universities and what are the major local traditional practices that are also found in these universities.

From the literature review, the paper proposes a conceptual framework to explore hybridity in governance and management, programs and curriculum, teaching and learning, and research and service.

Using the conceptual framework, the paper discusses the Malaysian higher education in terms of Western influence and indigenization of Western models, the background context of Islamic universities and seven possible hybridities compiled from anecdotal evidences.

The conceptual framework and possible hybridities identified in the paper serve to provide the guide to a more systemic empirical investigation to examine the characteristics of Malaysian universities emerging from the interaction between external influence and local cultures. The Malaysian case also potentially contribute in exploring the question, “Are Asian universities different from Western universities?”.

Given the increased emphasis on embedding the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) in the curriculum, research, engagement activities and operations of higher education institutions, this comparative study aims to replicate an earlier international study of Turnaround Leadership for Sustainability in Higher Education (TLSHE) in the unique context of Malaysia and Japan. This paper also presents a case for closer focus on developing Education for Sustainability (EfS) leaders in institutions of higher learning.

This study is a quantitative comparative research. The authors collected data for EfS-related variables from lecturers affiliated with Malaysian and Japanese public and private universities. Building on the data and results from the TLSHE study, this study made a series of within- and between-sample descriptive comparisons from different angles and levels. To generalize the findings, this study used gender and experience outside higher education as control variables and compared the academics from the Malaysian and the Japanese institutions through the path modeling framework.

The comparisons showed that except for two domains, namely, contextual factors influencing EfS leadership and the EfS leadership development approaches, the means of all other domains based on the data collected from the Malaysian sample were the highest, followed by means from the international TLSHE sample, and finally the means from the Japanese sample. This study also observed that transparency, engagement with EfS initiatives at different levels, passion for teaching and learning, and creative and lateral thinking were among the top indicators. The inferential tests revealed significant differences between the academics from Japan and Malaysia as well.

The findings of the analyses can be used to ensure that the selection and development of EfS leaders (in this case, lecturers who may be formal or informal EfS leaders), not just at the central but at the local level in the distinctive context of Japan and Malaysia, focus on what counts and the good ideas embodied in the 17 UN SDGs are actually put into practice. This study has also highlighted the policy implications with respect to the gender and the previous work experience of lecturers outside higher education sector in more detail.

This study compares the perceptions of two samples of academics from Asian countries with the perceptions of the international TLSHE sampled EfS leaders in terms of EfS leadership-related issues and therefore, increases the awareness of academic community in this regard. It also highlights the role of lecturers (e.g. professors) as intellectual academic leaders in achieving SDGs. Moreover, this study shows that lecturers’ gender and previous work experience outside higher education should be considered when developing and implementing policies on EfS leadership.