Perception and prevalence of bullying in Malaysian higher education: A multifaceted analysis

Abstract

The escalating incidence of bullying cases within Malaysian higher education institutions underscores a disconcerting trend that arises from the confluence of academic pressures, financial strains, relational intricacies, and identity conflicts among students. This unsettling phenomenon engenders not only physical harm and emotional distress but, alarmingly, fatalities as well. In response, the imperative to curtail this deleterious spread through preemptive measures has prompted institutions to engage in student surveys. This research endeavors to illuminate the panorama of bullying perceptions prevailing among students within selected Malaysian higher education institutions. Employing a comprehensive analytical framework encompassing descriptive statistics, crosstabulation, independent samples t-test, and one-way ANOVA, this study scrutinizes the multifaceted dynamics underpinning bullying trends. Employing a combination of convenience sampling and online survey techniques, a cohort of 561 participants was garnered from four distinct higher learning establishments: Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Universiti Sultan Azlan Shah (USAS), and University of Malaya (UM). The outcomes of this investigation delineate a landscape in which bullying remains a persistent concern within the selected higher education institutions. Of particular significance is the perceptual contrast exhibited by bullies as compared to their peers, with the former demonstrating higher levels of support for bullying behavior. Consequently, institutional administrations are impelled to undertake comprehensive initiatives to comprehensively catalog instances of bullying, spanning both psychological and physical manifestations. These findings underscore the gravity of the issue and underscore the urgency for institutions to adopt proactive strategies to mitigate bullying, thereby cultivating environments conducive to holistic student well-being and nurturing scholastic excellence.