A conceptual paper on racial integration of multi-ethnic students in Malaysia higher institutions

• Main Authors: Abdul Majid, Noraziela, Hassan, Aminuddin, Che Hassan, Norlizah
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English
• Published: Faculty of Educational Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia 2019
• Online Access: http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/76708/1/GREDUC2019-31.pdf; http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/76708/; http://spel3.upm.edu.my/max/dokumen/GREDUC_GREduc2019_E-proceedings.pdf

Malaysia is created of several ethnic groups, every of that has its own distinctive culture and heritage like language, belief system, tradition and faith. Thus, Malaysians are aware of the importance of national unity and for this reason it has to be nurtured to be truly successful and one of them is through education. The importance of education in bridging the inter-ethnic relations have brought well results in the close relations between ethnic groups in Malaysia. The education system has a strong emphasis on the issue of unity among ethnic groups in Malaysia. The conceptual framework of the relationship between racial integration, democracy outcomes and the mediating factor which is social interactions is presented through four theories as core guidelines in conducting this research. The theories are Schlossberg’s Theory of Transition (1984), contact theory by Allport (1954), Theory of Astin’s Input Output Framework (I-E-O Model) (1991), and last but not least is Langer’s concept of conscious mode of thought (1978). After all, this study aimed to contribute to multi-ethnic players, NGOs, schools and government agencies in planning and taking suitable actions for positive multi-ethnic development.