Willingness to interact with people from different cultures is the most fundamental factor for successful and effective intercultural communication, and also crucial in the simulation of desire for interaction in such context. However, high-level communication apprehension reduces the level of intercultural willingness to communicate, which eventually affects intercultural communication and vice versa. Meanwhile, some scholars argued that a moderate level of communication apprehension will increase intercultural willingness to communicate. Hence, this study started with the investigation of the level of both communication apprehension and intercultural willingness to communicate and ended with the investigation on the relationship between communication apprehension and intercultural willingness to communicate among multicultural undergraduates from five public universities in Malaysia. A total of 450 respondents were recruited to participate in this study. Neuliep and McCroskey’s Intercultural Communication Apprehension scale and Kassing’s Intercultural Willingness to Communicate scale were adopted and modified to assess respondents’ communication apprehension and intercultural willingness to communicate, respectively. Data were coded, entered, and analysed using the IBM SPSS Statistics version 22. Our findings show that all respondents were having a moderate level of communication apprehension which eventually triggered a high level of intercultural willingness to communicate among these respondents. Pearson’s correlation analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between the moderate level of communication apprehension and intercultural willingness to communicate, just like the results documented in the review of the literature. The implications of the findings are discussed at the end of this paper.

Despite the increase in the number of female students in education indicating a reversal in the gender gap, their participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education in Malaysia is still a matter of concern. This study extends empirical explanations for this gender gap and identifies factors influencing high school students’ intentions to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education in Malaysia. The present study aims to develop a framework of female intention to pursue STEM education by examining the impact of five independent variables on STEM self-efficacy and in turn the impact of self-efficacy on intention. The independent variables include attitude towards STEM, self-concept, gender stereotype, motivation, and teacher stereotypes. The study also examines the independent and moderating impact of career outcome expectancy on the relationship between self-efficacy and intention. Data was collected from 211 secondary school female students in Forms 4 and 5, studying at eight secondary schools in two states in Malaysia. The data was analyzed using SmartPLS. The results of the study show that attitude, motivation, and career outcome expectancy are positive and are significant predictors of STEM self-efficacy, whereas gender and teacher stereotypes are the negative predictors. The results of the study also highlight that self-efficacy is a strong predictor of intention to pursue STEM education. These findings of the study would assist policymakers to develop suitable strategies to improve female participation in STEM education in Malaysia.

Despite the alarming trend of increased marriage age in many societies, early marriage is still a serious issue in Bangladesh. The significant numbers of women being married before the age of 18. The study determines young women’s experience and perception of early marriage. Young married women’s perception and experiences were measured using a series of the statement. According to the results, the majority of the participants supported arranged marriage. The results also revealed that early marriage impacts decision making, education, unfulfilled dream, unwanted pregnancies, and marital satisfaction. Given that early marriage is a negative impact, a multidimensional approach is necessary to support and empower disadvantaged women.

The mission to promote national unity has become more strenuous with the decline of intercultural engagement among multicultural students in Malaysian public universities. Underpinned by Anxiety/Uncertainty Management (AUM) theory, this article examines barriers to intercultural communication by integrating ethnocentrism as an additional barrier. Based on a quantitative approach, 449 valid responses were collected from undergraduates from five public universities in Malaysia. Partial-least-squares software (SmartPLS3) was used to test the proposed relationships. The findings reveal that anxiety, uncertainty, and ethnocentrism have a significant negative relationship with intercultural communication.

Purpose Gender disparity is a global phenomenon where females outnumber male participants. It has been observed that males are the early leaver from higher education, thus reflecting a severe concern about social instability. Malaysia is a prominent example where females outnumber males in higher education. In this context, this paper aims to examine the effect of individual, social and financial factors on the higher education self-efficacy of male and female students. It develops a comprehensive understanding of gender-based decision factors in pursuing higher education. Design/methodology/approach The hypothesis was formed based on a comprehensive literature review following the hypothetico-deductive positivist approach. These hypotheses were tested based on a sample of 250 respondents. A multiple regression analysis was deployed to test the relationship between the dependent variable and its predictors. Findings The results suggest that male and female students’ self-efficacy depends on five determinants, i.e. family influence, peer influence, career expectancy outcome, gender roles and institutional factors. Male students tend to be influenced more by these five determinants than females. Additionally, male students with better financial backgrounds are more likely to have higher self-efficacy, whereas gender roles negatively affect male and female students’ self-efficacy for higher education. Research limitations/implications The breakout of COVID-19 resulted in the selection of limited students in Malaysia. Due to restricted movement orders, it was impossible to reach out to the students for data collection. Future research could include a broader area to include multiple other regions of Malaysia. For a broader aspect, the study could be conducted in other areas/countries where the problem of less male participation exists. Practical implications The relationship between higher education self-efficacy is assessed with social, financial and institutional factors for male and female students. It will enable the stakeholders and policymakers to make better decisions in increasing the self-efficacy of students to attain equity in higher education institutions. Social implications The finding of this paper will assist in increasing male participation in higher education institutions to avoid any social instability. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature in understanding the causes of gender gap reversal, focusing on Malaysian higher education institutions. It also provides empirical evidence to look at potential factors that affect the higher education self-efficacy of male and female students.