Focus Group Interview as a Means to Determine School Effectiveness Indicators / Sueb Ibrahim ...[et al.]

The growth of interest in school effectiveness has been striking and is gaining momentum. Similarly in Malaysia, school effectiveness has become a dominant theme in contemporary educational reform and development. Thus, the growing concern about educational reform has resulted in a wide variety of school effectiveness interventions, initiatives and strategies. Although school effectiveness has become the central focus in most schools, there is still a strong need to determine the constructs or dimensions that are suitable to measure school effectiveness in Malaysian secondary schools. In this study, a focus group interview consisting of eight selected excellent and senior school principals were conducted. The findings from the focus group interview indicated 5 indicators for school effectiveness which comprised academic performance, school programme, organizational effectiveness, learning environment and school achievement. The findings also indicated 15sub-indicators for school effectiveness consisting of curriculum, public exam, student assessment, academic programme, co-curriculum programme, student development, resource management, technology advancement, data and information management, teaching and learning, community relation, staff professional development,, award and recognition, innovation and niche are

A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK: MANAGERIAL DECISION MAKING STYLES AND ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS AMONG DEANS OF MALAYSIAN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES

Scholars in the area of management agree that decision making is both central and fundamental to any organization. This is because the quality of decisions made would influence the effectiveness of the managers and consequently, affect the success of the whole organization. Indeed, this also happens in the educational management setting. Drawing from an ongoing doctoral research which looked at the relationship between managerial decision making styles and organizational effectiveness among deans of Malaysian public universities, this article discusses the formulation of a conceptual framework. The framework put forward in this paper is based on both literature and a study investigating the relationship between managerial decision making styles and organizational effectiveness among deans of Malaysian public universities. Second, the paper also attempts to discuss the possible research issues that could justify the development of the conceptual framework of the topic. Literature reveals that there are potential links pointing to the relationships between the variables. However, as to date there is little empirical scholarly research conducted in the educational management and leadership setting concerning the variables discussed in this study. Keywords: Decision making styles, decision making skills, organizational effectiveness, deans

The dichotomization of objective and subjective outcome measures of academic performance in an online learning environment

Purpose – Various recent studies are perplexed with the situation if subjective measures such as perceptions of learning reflect knowledge gains and whether they can be used as a surrogate for evidence of actual learning in an online learning environment. Due to a rising trend in current research studies interpreting perceptions of learning compared to actual learning as a measure of success, this study investigates the dichotomous measures of objective and subjective measures of academic performance in an online learning environment with selected predicted variables. This is followed by an investigation on the effect of online learning on students’ academic performance prior to and during the Covid environment. Methodology – This cross-sectional study employed a correlation design for the purpose of data collection among 382 university students. The dependent variable of study comprised objective measures of CGPA scores while the subjective measures was based on a composite score from perceived items in a questionnaire. The predictive independent variables included, i) satisfaction towards online learning, ii) online learning self-efficacy, iii) social interactive engagement in online learning, and iv) online learning environment. Findings – The findings showed an extremely weak and nonsignificant relationship between actual academic performance (GPA) and perceived academic performance in an online learning environment. A statistically significant increase was notable in students’ academic performance through GPA scores before and during Covid-19 academic semester and this increase was prevalent among low and intermediate achievers. Apart from environment, all other predictors were significant predictors of perceived academic performance. Engagement was a predictor for the subjective measure of CGPA scores. Significance – Subjective measures data should not be considered as knowledge gain, and it should be used cautiously as a surrogate for evidence of actual learning. Educational research studies should be designed using more objective measures of learning rather than subjective measures in isolation as dependent variable. This should be seen as a caveat by policymakers in decision-making to practise consciousness in terms of judgemental modes employed in measurement and to exercise caution in collecting, analysing, and interpreting subjective data

The impact of satisfaction, and autonomous learning strategies use on scholastic achievement during Covid-19 confinement in Malaysia

The purpose of this study is twofold. Firstly, this study seeks to better understand students' learning experience, through scholastic achievement and secondly, this study analyses students' use of autonomous learning strategies, namely satisfaction, self-efficacy, social interactive engagement and study engagement in digital learning amidst the Covid-19 lockdown. While Malaysia grapples with a growing number of Covid-19 cases, the underlying toll of the pandemic has hit the youth hard with many mental health concerns and this has affected their learning. The nurturing of autonomous learning strategies especially during the Covid-19 confinement is critically needed to assist this vulnerable group. Although there is a plethora of studies given students' use of autonomous learning strategies towards scholastic achievement during the Covid-19 lockdown internationally, studies in the Asia region are still rudimentary. This study investigated 316 university students from targeted universities in Malaysia. Responses were gathered from an online survey. Data were analysed using Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), a second-generation multivariate statistical approach to assess the outer model and inner model that displays the relationships between the constructs. The results of this case study reported that student interactive engagement (β = 0.348, t = 5.45) and study environment (β = 0.314, t = 4.81) have a significant impact on students' scholastic achievement during the lockdown. Remarkably, new insights are uncovered in this paper revealing no relationship between self-efficacy and satisfaction with students’ scholastic achievement. Possible explanations surrounding why satisfaction and self-efficacy were suppressed by the lockdown are discussed. The outcomes of this study provide key insights that may assist students to condition their minds to use autonomous learning strategies in digital learning to enhance their scholastic achievement

Managerial Decision Styles of Deans: A Case Study of a Malaysian Public University

It is often said that decision making style (DMS) is reflective of leadership style. Numerous studies in the area of Management and Leadership indicate that DMS is a key factor that contributes to the success of both managers and their organizational performance. Using the Decision Making Styles Inventory (DMSI) developed by Rowe and Boulgarides (1992), this paper examines the managerial DMS ofdeans in one of the Malaysian public universities. The scores derived from the DMS were categorized into four decision styles, namely directive, behavioural, analytical and conceptual. The findings revealed that a majority of the deans adopted at least one very dominant or dominant DMS, i mainly behavioural DMS, along with one or two back-up decision styles. Nevertheless, the overall individual results further revealed that the deans possessed more than one style implying that they have considerable flexibility in their managerial DMS and are able to change their decision styles from one situation to another with little difficulty