Higher Education Reform from the Perspective of Educational Leadership in the Post Covid-19 Era: A Comparative Study between China and Malaysia

Abstract

As a worldwide emergency, COVID-19 had a significant impact on education in China and Malaysia, prompting reforms in higher education institutions (HEI) in those countries. These are reflected through online education management and resources. Educational Leadership refers to things and activities related to leadership and change, as manifested by the Deans, and the administrative members of HEI and the HEI’s culture. As a result of the reforms pursuant to COVID-19, reforms in the educational leadership were also observed. China and Malaysia are both Asian countries that play vital roles in the region and demonstrated significant responses in the Covid-19 era. Higher education reforms are, thus, evident within the two countries. Employing interviews as a data collection method and thematic analysis to analyze the data, this study found several similarities and differences between these countries in terms of their higher education reforms, particularly in terms of educational leadership.