Academic and Social Integration and Psychosocial Safety Climate as Factors of Student Persistence among Malaysian Reserve Officer Training Unit Cadets

Abstract

The Reserve Officer Training Unit (ROTU), the Malaysian Armed Forces’ main source of reserve military officers, recruits undergraduate students enrolled at public universities across Malaysia. Student persistence in this three-year programme is crucial to ensure that they are qualified and commissioned as reserve military officers. However, recent data indicates an increasing trend in students’ non-persistence, which will have severe negative impacts in the long term if left unaddressed. To mitigate this issue, this conceptual paper highlights the academic and social integration as well as the psychosocial safety climate of enlisted ROTU cadets as important factors that develop their persistence. The key contribution of this paper is its identification of the key factors of student persistence, which could assist the MAF and policy makers in enhancing their retention strategy. In addition, this paper provides essential groundwork for future research on student persistence and reserve military officer training in Malaysia.