Multicultural awareness via residential college

Abstract

Research has revealed that living on campus via residential college grants significant impact not only on students' immediate achievement and adjustment to university life but also their long term academic career, personal success and functional member of a multiethnic society. It is believed that by attending and living on-campus in a residential college, students learn and experience new things. In line with that this study which is part of a larger scale research on language and social cohesion in the formation of national identity funded by University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) would try to examine the role of residential college in enhancing multicultural awareness which is very important in a multiethnic society. A total of 382 students from various ethnic backgrounds staying in residential colleges in UKM participated in this study through responding to a set of self administered questionnaire. Findings of the study illustrate that students benefit significantly from education that takes place within a diverse setting. Moreover, they encounter and learn from others who have backgrounds and characteristics very different from their own. Further analyses and the implications of the study will also be discussed. © Medwell Journals, 2012.