An exploratory study for investigating the critical success factors for cloud migration in the Saudi Arabian higher education context

This study aims to investigate Malaysia’s Institutes of Teacher Education (ITE) students’ knowledge on sustainability toward environmentallysustainable behaviour (ESB).The model adapted is based on Hines, Hungerford and Tomera’s Environmental Responsible Behaviour Model which was established since 1987.The nature of this study was descriptive, and the data were collected using cross-sectional survey. A total of 425 participants responded to a questionnaire developed for this study. Several procedure was carried out in order to assess the validity and reliability of the questionnaire using PLS-SEM.The study revealed that the Malaysian Higher Education students showed a high level of knowledge of sustainability action skills, knowledge of sustainability strategies and knowledge of sustainability issues toward ESB and the environment. Findings associated with students’ gender, age, ethnicity, field of study and academic program were also reported and discussed.First, the participating students came from Institutions of Teacher Education. Although this institution is a major teacher training centre in the nation, further studies should include samples from other public and private institutions. Second, this study did not examine the correlation among the three main components: knowledge of sustainability action skills, knowledge of sustainability strategies and knowledge of sustainability issues.Limited studies have been conducted in Malaysia on ITE although the institutionsare supporting ESD through the Sustainable ITE program. Therefore, this study is exploring the critical success factors of knowledge on sustainability action skills, knowledge on sustainability strategies and knowledge on sustainability issues on environmentally sustainable behaviour ofteacher candidate students in Malaysia. In addition, past studies have recommended to investigate and look into the environmentally sustainablebehaviour among the younger generations, especially those with higher education levels, especially because inevitably, they are agents of change, and also they will be affected by the environmental issues that are caused by the current human activities. This paper also providesvaluable insights that foster a much better understanding in regards to the role of Institutions of Teacher Education (ITE) in assisting sustainable development, addressingthe important key issues to be considered in education system.

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Prioritised challenges and critical success factors for delivering quality education in Malaysian private higher education institutions

Quality Assurance in Education ◽

10.1108/qae-11-2018-0122 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 27 (4) ◽

pp. 465-492

Author(s):

Azilah Anis ◽

Rafikul Islam

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Hierarchical Model ◽

Critical Success Factors ◽

Success Factors ◽

Higher Education Institutions ◽

Quality Education ◽

Private Higher Education ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Content Type ◽

Critical Success

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a hierarchical model to rank the challenges faced by the private Malaysian higher education institutions (HEIs) in the provision of quality education and subsequently their corresponding critical success factors (CSFs) to address those challenges. Design/methodology/approach A sequential mix method was adopted in this study. Semi-structured interviews with 29 participants were initially conducted to identify the challenges and CSFs. This was followed by a questionnaire survey involving 158 respondents to prioritise the identified findings. Thematic analysis was conducted in the qualitative stage, uncovering the challenges and their corresponding CSFs. Data for both stages were accumulated from internal and external stakeholders of Malaysian private HEIs. Finally, the four stages of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) were applied to rank the challenges and CSFs. Findings The qualitative stage identified eight challenges, i.e. “academics”, “facilities”, “students”, “programmes and curriculum”, “competition”, “accreditation”, “finance” and “research” together with their corresponding CSFs. The AHP enables the ranking of these challenges. “Finance” has been found to be the most crucial challenge and “high competency in managing the institution’s finance” as the most important CSF to address this challenge. Research limitations/implications As the study restricted its focus on Malaysian private HEIs, the results may not be generalised for public HEIs and foreign private HEIs operating in Malaysia. Originality/value The hierarchical model developed in this study is deemed important for implementation to resolve the prioritised challenges. It spells out the specific areas in which the resources of Malaysian private HEIs need to be prudently disbursed and properly managed.

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