A patriotic citizen is one of the qualities of a good citizen. To be patriotic, it requires the individual to understand the meaning and purpose of being a citizen and aware of moral and nationalistic duties for the country. There were some concerns about the purpose and meaning of youth as citizens of Malaysia when mass media and past studies often highlight the low spirit of patriotism among the youth in Malaysia. How they view their meaning and purpose as a citizen of Malaysia? This study aims to describe the meaning and purpose in life among public university students as citizens of Malaysia. The study was conducted among ten selected public university students in Malaysia through a descriptive quantitative methodology. The finding shows that the majority of the students have a high level of meaning and purpose in life. By having a positive virtues about life meaning and purpose, the study concludes that Malaysian university students have the quality of being good citizens.
Abbott, J. P., & Franks, O. S. (2007). Malaysia at fifty: Conflicting definitions of citizenship. Asian Affairs, 38(3), 337-356.
Pakeer, A. S. M., Sulhairil, H. H. S., Fuad, M. O., Ashraf, M. C. J. Y., & Hudrus, H. (2011). Patriotism dilemma among Malaysian youth: Between strategy and reality. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 2(16).219-227
Araujo, U. F. D., Arantes, V. A., Klein, A. M., & Grandino, P. J. (2014). Youth purpose and life goals of students engaged in community and social activities. Revista Internacional d'Humanitats, 119-128.
Fazwan, A. F., & Azrina, H. (2011). Civic education in an emerging democracy: Students' experiences in Malaysia's Projek Warga. Asian Social Science, 7(3), 154.
Bailen, N. H., Green, L. M., & Thompson, R. J. (2019). Understanding emotion in adolescents: A review of emotional frequency, intensity, instability, and clarity. Emotion Review, 11(1), 63-73.
Balakrishnan, V. (2010). The development of moral education In Malaysia. Journal of Educators & Education/Jurnal Pendidik dan Pendidikan, 25.
Bee, P. T., Banu, N. M. N., & Zuraini, J. (2018). Moral values and good citizens in a multi-ethnic society: A content analysis of moral education textbooks in Malaysia. The Journal of Social Studies Research, 42(2), 119-134.
Bronk, K. C. (2005). Portraits of purpose: A study examining the ways a sense of purpose contributes to positive youth development. PhD Thesis. Stanford University.
Bronk, K.C., Hill, P. L., Lapsley, D. K., Talib, T. L., & Finch, H. (2009). Purpose, hope, and life satisfaction in three age groups. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(6), 500-510.
Cogan, J., & Derricott, R. (2014). Citizenship for the 21st century: An international perspective on education. Routledge.
Crumbaugh, J. C., & Maholick, L. T. (1964). An experimental study in existentialism: The psychometric approach to Frankl's concept of noogenic neurosis. Journal of clinical psychology, 20(2), 200-207.
Daniels, T. P. (2013). Building cultural nationalism in Malaysia: Identity, representation and citizenship. Routledge.
Davies, G., Klaassen, D., & Längle, A. (2014). Purpose in life test. In Alex Michalos (eds.) Encyclopedia of quality of life and well-being research, 5238–5243. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_23
Denters, B., Gabriel, O., & Torcal, M. (2007). Norms of good citizenship (112-132). Routledge. In Van Deth, J. W., Montero, J. R., & Westholm, A. (Eds.). Citizenship and involvement in European democracies: A comparative analysis (17). Routledge.
Dere, I. (2019). Metaphoric perceptions of prospective social studies teachers towards the concept of 'good citizen'. Online Submission, 20(1), 457-480.
Duffy, S. (2017) The value of citizenship. Research and Practice in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 4(1), 26-34.
Dufton, B. D., & Perlman, D. (1986). The association between religiosity and the purpose-in-life test: Does it reflect purpose or satisfaction?. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 14(1), 42-48.
Dynneson, T. L. (1989). An exploratory survey of four groups of 1987 graduating seniors' perceptions pertaining to (1) the qualities of a good citizen,(2) the sources of citizenship influence, and (3) the contributions of social studies courses and programs of study to citizenship development.
Frankl, V. E. (1953). Logos and existence in psychotherapy. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 7(1), 8-15.
Frankl, V. E. (1954). “The Concept of man in psychotherapy” in Proceedings of the Royal Society and Medicine, 47, 975 – 980.
Frankl, V. E. (1985). Man's search for meaning. Simon and Schuster.
Graber, A. V. (2004). Method of choice in ecumenical pastoral psychology. Lima (Ohio): Windham Hall Press.
Horst, C., Erdal, M. B., & Jdid, N. (2020). The “good citizen”: Asserting and contesting norms of participation and belonging in Oslo. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 43(16), 76-95.
Hung, R. (2010). In search of affective citizenship: From the pragmatist-phenomenological perspective. Policy futures in Education, 8(5), 488-498.
Hutzell, R. R., & Peterson, T. J. (1986). Use of the life purpose questionnaire with an alcoholic population. International Journal of the Addictions, 21(1), 51-57.
Ibrahim, A. B. (2008). The building of a nation and ideas of nationhood: Citizenship education in Malaysia. In D. L. Grossman, W. O. Lee & K. J. Kennedy (Eds.), Citizenship curriculum in Asia and the Pacific, (127-146). The University of Hong Kong: Springer.
Ikuenobe, P. (2010). Citizenship and patriotism. Public Affairs Quarterly, 24(4), 297-318.
Ishida, R. (2008). Correlations between purpose in life (ikigai) and state anxiety in schizoid temperament with considerations of early life, youth, and adulthood experiences. Acta Medica et Biologica, 56(1), 27.
Kanwal, P. K. (2017). Role of spirituality and type of relationship in the positive mood of older adults (Master Philosophy Thesis). The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
Kennedy, K. J. (2019). Civic and citizenship education in volatile times: Preparing students for citizenship in the 21st century. Springer.
Kennedy, K. J., & Kuang, X. (2021). Predictors of Asian adolescents’ democratic understanding. In Treviño E., Carrasco D., Claes E., Kennedy K.J. (eds). Good citizenship for the next generation, 171-19. IEA Research for Education (A Series of In-depth Analyses Based on Data of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), 12. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-75746-5_10
Ku Hasnita, K. S. (2007). Pemupukan semangat patriotisme melalui proses sosialisasi politik. JATI, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 12, 135-136.
Ku Hasnita K. S., & Haizam M. N., (2009). Semangat patriotisme dalam kalangan mahasiswa bukan Melayu di institut pengajian tinggi sekitar Lembah Kelang. Akademika (75), 85-100.
Lerner, R. M., Alberts, A. E., Anderson, P. M., & Dowling, E. M. (2006). On making humans human: Spirituality and the promotion of positive youth development. The handbook of spiritual development in childhood and adolescence, 60-72.
Lerner, R. M., Roeser, R. W., & Phelps, E. E. (2008). Positive youth development and spirituality: From theory to research. Templeton Foundation Press.
Li, H., & Tan, C. (2017). Chinese teachers’ perceptions of the ‘good citizen’: A personally-responsible citizen. Journal of Moral Education, 46(1), 34-45.
Molasso, W. R. (2006). Exploring Frankl's purpose in life with college students. Journal of College and Character, 7(1), 1-10.
Morgan, J., & Farsides, T. (2009). Measuring meaning in life. Journal of Happiness Studies, 10, 197-294. DOI 10.1007/s10902-007-9075-0.
Morris, P., & Cogan, J. (2001). A comparative overview: Civic education across six societies. International Journal of Educational Research, 35, 109-123.
Ayuni, M. M., & Anitawati, M. (2016). Characteristics and level of nationalism among Malaysian youth. Journal of Media and Information Warfare, 8, 156-193.
Nurdin, S. E. (2017). Civic Education Policies: The Effect on University Students Spirit of Nationalism and Patriotism. Citizenship, Social, and Economic Education, 16(1), 69-82. https://doi.org/10.1177/2047173416688039
Pammett, J. H. (2009). Participation and the good citizen. In activating the citizen (197-213). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Park, N., Park, M., & Peterson, C. (2010). When is the search for meaning related to life satisfaction?. Applied Psychology. Health and Well?Being, 2(1), 1-13.
Pfund, G. N., Bono, T. J., & Hill, P. L. (2020). A higher goal during higher education: The power of purpose in life during university. Translational Issues in Psychological Science, 6(2), 97–106.
Pizzolato, J. E., Brown, E. L., & Kanny, M. A. (2011). Purpose plus: Supporting youth purpose, control, and academic achievement. New directions for youth development, 2011(132), 75-88.
Print, M. (2000). Civics and values in the Asia?Pacific region. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 20, 7-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/0218879000200102
Pruysers, S., Blais, J., & Chen, P. G. (2019). Who makes a good citizen? The role of personality. Personality and Individual Differences, 146, 99-104.
Pykett, J., Saward, M., & Schaefer, A. (2010). Framing the good citizen. The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 12(4), 523-538.
Schulenberg, S. E., Schnetzer, L. W., & Buchanan, E. M. (2011). The purpose in life test-short form: development and psychometric support. Journal of Happiness Studies, 12(5), 861-876.
Shek, D. T. (2013). Meaning in life and psychological well-being: An empirical study using the Chinese version of the Purpose in Life Questionnaire. The Journal of genetic psychology, 153(2), 185-200. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221325.1992.10753712
Hasnah, S. B., Abdul Razaq, A., Abdul Razaq, A., & Mahzan, M. A. A. (2015). Patriotism: Issues and challenges in Malaysia. In International conference on current issues in education (116-120).
Steger, M. F., Frazier, P., Oishi, S., & Kaler, M. (2006). The meaning in life questionnaire: assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life. Journal of counseling psychology, 53(1), 80.
Subaryana, S. (2016). Building the positive self-concept through patriotism. Dinamika Jurnal Ilmiah Pendidikan Dasar, 8(1).
Ting, H. (2013). Multiculturalism and citizenship—the Malaysian experience. In Globalization and social transformation in the Asia-Pacific (pp. 115-131). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Villalobos, C., Morel, M. J., & Treviño, E. (2021). What Is a “good citizen”? a systematic literature Review. Good Citizenship for the Next Generation, 13-32.
Westheimer, J., & Kahne, J. (2004). Educating the “good” citizen: Political choices and pedagogical goals. PS. Political Science & Politics, 37(2), 241-247.
Young, I. M. (1989). Polity and group difference: A critique of the ideal of universal citizenship. Ethics, 99(2), 250-274.
In-Text Citation: (Adnan et al., 2021)
To Cite this Article: Adnan, Z. H., Razak, R. R. A., Samsu, K. H. K., Fee, L. Y., Muhammad, Z., & Marjuni, A. S. (2021). A Study of Meaning and Purpose as a Citizen among Public University Students in Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(19), 394–404.
Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s)
Published by Knowledge Words Publications (www.kwpublications.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
