Skill development for university life in international schools in Hong Kong and Malaysia: A comparative study

The primary objective of this study was to compare the perspectives of teachers and students from international schools in Hong Kong and Malaysia in regard to the development of skills needed for university life. To achieve this objective, a mixed-methods approach was adopted, involving semi-structured in-depth interviews with six teachers (3 from each region) and an online questionnaire completed by 25 students (14 from Hong Kong and 11 from Malaysia). Qualitative data was analysed through content analysis, while quantitative data was analysed using the Five Point Likert Scale and statistical analysis. The findings of this study indicated that teachers place greater importance on General Skills, specifically Academic Skills and Life Skills, in relation to university life, whereas students in Hong Kong and Malaysia place more emphasis on Personal Growth and Social Skills, respectively. Furthermore, the study highlights that Hong Kong students expressed a need to develop survival skills, while Malaysian students expressed a need to develop managements skills. The study also identified time as a significant limitation in skill development and proposed 3 strategies to mitigate this limitation. Overall, the study suggest that certain approaches to skill development in international schools may be needed in addressing the skills deficits that students face.