Discovering how lower grade university students spend their free time with media: The generation y scenario / Azniza Ahmad Zaini, Nor Aziah Abd Kadir and Mohd Zahid Laton

This study was conducted to discover how lower grade students of Generation Y at one higher education institution in the East Coast Malaysia spend their free time with media. It is crucial for educators and parents to understand the role of media in young people’s lives as media is among the most powerful forces in the young people’s lives today. Media is also able to influence the activities that Generation Y students are engaged in during their free time because they are born in the digital age. The respondents for the study were lower grade students from a public university in Malaysia. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to the respondents and the sample was obtained using a non-probability sampling technique. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results from this study are hoped to provide educators and parents with valuable information on the impact of media on youths, specifically the lower grade students at higher education institution

Assessing the acceptance of UiTM Pahang users towards the implementation of blended learning approach / Azniza Ahmad Zaini...[et.al.]

This paper discusses the initial investigation on the factors that influence the acceptance of both lecturers and students of the implementation of Blended Learning (BL) approach in Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Pahang. Blended learning, also known as semi-attendance based learning, offers flexibility of learning and utilizes the technologies in education. About 30% of the total courses of the various programs in UiTM need to be conducted online by June 2013. However, some of the lecturers were afraid that the students would refuse to participate in online learning and some of them lack IT skills so that they might need extra time to prepare their lecture notes online. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 86 final year students of Diploma in Computer Science registered for the programming course and 67students of Diploma in Banking registered for the Malaysian economy course during the June-October 2013 Semester to assess their acceptance of the new approach. At the same time, 53 lecturers from various faculties at UiTM Pahang were also involved in the survey using convenience sampling method and the data were then analysed using descriptive statistics. The users’ perception on i-Learn Portal usage for the BL method, as well as the benefits of implementing Blended Learning approach in their teaching and learning process were also identified. The findings reveal that the students could adapt with the BL approach since most of the students were computer and Internet literate and were gradually adapting to the mixed approaches in assessments. Most of the students also agreed that the implementation of Blended Learning should be continued corresponding with the development of technology, but there were some suggestions on the improvement of the Learning Management System (LMS) portal to achieve the benefits that Blended Learning offers either in physical or virtual classrooms. On the other hand, the findings show that majority of the lecturers do accept the implementation of blended learning mode in their teaching and learning process although they are not ready to do so

Investigating students’ perception towards economics education / Azniza Ahmad Zaini, Roslilee Abdul Halim and Zulkifli Ab. Ghani Hilmi

This paper investigates the perception and attitudes of non-business major students in Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) towards economics education and their relationship on students’ academic performance. One of the key performance indicators in the academic programme of the university is to achieve less than twenty percent failures in all subjects offered. A four-semester examination results revealed that students constantly obtained high failure rate in two economics introductory subjects. Using students taking these two economics courses as respondents, dimensions of attitudes towards economics education were identified through the use of an exploratory factor analysis. Four factors were extracted from a 26-item questionnaire identified as ‘Value’, ‘Difficulty’, ‘Cognitive’ and ‘Affective’. Cronbach’s Alpha for the four factors was acceptable. The findings suggested that there was no significant difference between male and female students on the four dimensions of attitude even though the achievement of female students’ was higher than males. Students who did not perform were found to have a more negative attitude on the four dimensions of attitude compared to those who performed. Regression of the final exam scores on the four latent variables obtained from the factor analysis revealed that subject difficulty and gender, taken together, were significantly associated with students’ achievement

INDIGENOUS PARENTS’ PERCEPTION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF FORMAL EDUCATION IN MALAYSIA

Background and Purpose: Parents play a crucial role in children's educational attainment. Their perception influences their action in giving better formal education to their children. However, the scenario is different for the Indigenous community in Malaysia where formal education is deemed least important and there is a huge gap for Indigenous education attainment compared to the stream population. This paper aims to elucidate the parent perception of formal education effectiveness among the Indigenous community or Orang Asli (in the Malay language) in Terengganu, Malaysia.   Methodology: The research using qualitative methods involved three Indigenous villages in the state of Terengganu. Data were collected through interviews, focus group discussions and observation. The informants consisted of Indigenous parents, teachers and the officers of the Department of Orang Asli Development (JAKOA).   Findings: Results showed that parents' perceptions are generally stereotyped and unable to stimulate students’ interest. The common problem in teaching and learning is related to parents’ educational background, socioeconomic background, expectations, marital age, surrounding condition and awareness.   Contributions: This study has given the real picture of Indigenous parents' perceptions toward formal education. The implications of Indigenous parents’ education problems are significantly associated with degrading interest among students in education, issues of attendance and students' academic performance.   Keywords: Orang Asli, formal education, academic attainment, parent’s perception, Terengganu.   Cite as: Mohd Noor, M. I., Abdullah, M. F., Tedong, P. A., Ahmad Zaini, A., Abd Kadir, N. A., & Abdullah, M. T. (2023). Indigenous parents’ perception of the effectiveness of formal education in Malaysia. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 8(1), 384-405. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol8iss1pp384-40