Challenges to parental involvement in children’s education at a primary school: a rasch analysis

Literature has evidenced the positive significant role of parental involvement in children’s personality development and education. However, research on parental involvement in children’s education is sparse in rural areas, especially among ethnic minorities in China. Hence, a research project was conducted to examine the level of parental involvement and its role in influencing children’s academic achievement in these areas; and to identify the challenges to parental involvement. This paper aimed to identify the challenges to parental involvement using the cross-sectional survey design. The parents’ of Grades Three and Four school children were selected to answer a questionnaire on parental involvement. The items on challenges to parental involvement were analyzed using the Rasch Measurement Model (Winsteps software program, version 4.1.0). The Rasch analyses revealed that the research instrument met the measurement requirements. Parents’ low proficiency in the Chinese language and the complexity of the school subjects were the biggest challenges to parental involvement. This research has provided useful information to parents, teachers, school administration and policy makers. Further research could be conducted using more items and larger samples from other school grades. Qualitative research is recommended to obtain more in-depth information on parental involvement in general, and the challenges in particular

English for University Sharia Students: Theory and Practices

English is the global language of today. It is expansively used as a means of communication for academic and non-academic purposes. Sharia students, with their broad knowledge of religion, can use the English language for the sake of Islam like in Da’wah, via all available media or face-to-face encounters. They would be able to do so effectively provided they are highly proficient in English. Therefore, a project is being conducted to construct a course framework in English for University Sharia students. This paper is allocated to present the theoretical foundations for these courses based on the Islamic perspective, status of the English language, and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) approach. The analytical content analysis was utilized to achieve the study objectives. The analysis showed that Islam urges Muslims to learn foreign languages in addition to the Arabic language for various reasons including Da’wah. There is a need for Sharia graduates who have deep knowledge in religion to elevate their English proficiency to a high level. Thus, designing specific English language courses, which are related to the students’ interests, specialization, and future professions, may facilitate their learning the English Language. It could also be a source of their motivation and encouragement to improve their English proficiency. Further quantitative and qualitative researches are recommended to framework English courses for University Sharia students. This research may contribute to the development of Islamic English curriculum for Muslim students at other education levels

Malnutrition and its association with functional, cognitive and psychological status among Palestinian older adults in long-term care houses

Older adults often suffer from psychological, functional and health-related diseases. Literature has documented the relationship between, malnutrition with adverse health outcomes. This study aims to examine the relationship between malnutrition with the cognitive, functional and psychological status of older adults living in long-term care houses. The study employed a cross-sectional approach in which 99 participants were included from seven nursing homes in six different cities across the West Bank, Palestine. The nutritional status of older adults was assessed using anthropometric measurements and meal patterns. Malnutrition risk was assessed using Mini Nutritional Assessment; the cognitive function using Mini Mental Status Examination; the functional status using the Activity of Daily Living. Results: A total of 99 participants (45.5%) men and (54.5%) women were included in the final data analysis. The results revealed 47% of the participants were at risk of malnutrition, while 23% were malnourished. Variables that were significantly associated with malnutrition; male gender, higher score of depressive symptoms, and impaired cognitive function, p < .05 using chi square test. However, number of meals and hours of overnight fasting were not associated with being malnourished. Greater dependency level was associated with high risk of malnutrition, p < .05 using One Way ANOVA test. Conclusion: Risk of malnutrition was common among the study sample, and it was associated with impaired cognitive, psychological and functional status. Hence, there is a need to provide older adults living in long-term care houses with health programs to enhance their overall health and decrease the level of dependency. These findings are important to design educational programs targeting the stakeholders in the long-term care facilities to improve the residents' nutritional and functional status

الترغيب والترهيب في قصة لقمان: دروس تربوية مختارة Targeeb and Tarheeb in Surah Luqman: Selected Educational Implications

يُعد الترغيب والترغيب من الأساليب القرآنية المميزة في مخاطبة النفس الانسانية بطريقة الثواب والعقاب. ويكون الترغيب في جنس الطاعات وأنواعها، والترهيب بذكر الوعيد بالعذاب والعقوبات على جنس المعاصي والذنوب. وهذا يشكل دافعا كبيرا للإقبال على كل ما هو نافع والابتعاد عن كل ما هو ضار، سواء كان هذا النفع أو الضرر حاصلاً للنفس أو المجتمع. ويُعد الترغيب والترهيب من الأساليب التربوية الناجحة في أي عصر بشرط أن يكون المضمون التربوي سويًّا. ولهذه الأساليب ( الترغيب والترهيب) أغراضها وطرقها وأقسامها وصيغها الخاصة والتي تحفل بها العديد من مشاهد القصص القرأنية التي تهدف إلى إحداث نوع من التغيير الفردي والجماعي، وصولاً إلى إحداث تغيير إيجابي شامل على كافة المستويات، منها الاعتفادي والفكري والنفسي والاقتصادي والاجتماعي والسياسي. يهدف هذا البحث إلى تحليل مشاهد قصة لقمان التي استخدمت أسلوب الترغيب والترهيب و استخلاص الدروس التربوية منها باتباع المنهج التحليلي (التفسيري). وتبين أن القصة حملت بين ثنايا كلماتها آداب العلاقة مع الله ثم مع المحيط القريب (الوالدين) إلى آداب العلاقة مع الآخرين، والصفات الحسنة وطيب السجايا، وعمل الخير ونشر الفضيلة وذلك بالترغبيب في الإيمان وطلب الحكمة والشكر لصاحب النعمة و إظهار الخير والتنويه بفاعله و استخدام لغة الوعظ الرفيق اللين واتّباع الاسلوب والخطاب الحسن في الدعوة والعمل بكل أصناف المعروف صَغُرت أم كبرت والاخلاص في القول والعمل واستشعار مراقبة الله سبحانه وتعالى، وعٌزِّزَ هذا بالترهيب من مصير من لايطبق أمر الله سبحانه وتعالى. فقصة لقمان على قلة عدد آياتها، قد جمعت أصول الشريعة وهي: الاعتقاد والاعمال وأدب المعاملة وأدب النفس. لذلك على المربي أن يتحلى بالإيحابية في الحياة والصدق في المعاملات والعلاقات والاعتدال والثبات على المبدأ والسلوك بالقدوة؛ وهي من الامور الاساسية التي لا غنى عنها في حياة كل إنسان

Second language speaking anxiety among Malaysian postgraduate students at a Faculty of education

This study examined the level of L2 speaking anxiety among school teachers undertaking a master’s degree at the International Islamic University Malaysia and sought to determine if the anxiety level would differ by gender, school location and teaching subject. A convenience sample of 290 teachers completed a 12-item survey on L2 speaking anxiety adapted from Nazir et al. (2014). The survey data were analyzed using the Rasch measurement modeling for polytomous data, independent samples t-test and one-way ANOVA. Overall, the respondents did not show high levels of speaking anxiety, (Mean -.89 logits). Most were largely worried about being able to express themselves effectively in English (-.66 logits), making mistakes in speaking (-.31 logits), and how lecturers would react to their mistakes (-.38 logits). The sample’s speaking anxiety scores were found to differ signifcantly by teaching subject, while no statistically signifcant differences were observed in regard to gender and school location. The results imply that the teachers need to be helped in terms of confronting the factors that cause them to be anxious about speaking in English. In terms of research, in-depth qualitative studies need to be undertaken to further understand the nature of L2 speaking anxiety among schoolteachers, while quantitative studies with larger samples are recommended to uncover underlying factors of speaking anxiet

Are Secondary School Students Motivated to Learn Islamic Education?

The main aim for Islamic Education is to produce a ‘good man’ in all his personality aspects. This study aims to determine the level of secondary school students’ motivation in learning Islamic Education subject, and to examine the factors influencing their motivation using the cross-sectional survey design. The study sample consisted of (170) students selected from an Islamic school in Malaysia using a nonrandom, quota sampling procedure to answer a 32-item questionnaire. The items measured four constructs: Students’ Motivation (SM), Parental Influence (PI), Teaching Pedagogy (TP) and Teachers’ Morality (TM) using a 5-point Likert scale. Descriptive statistics (Frequencies, Percentages, Means and Standard Deviations) and Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were used to analyze the collected data. The results show that students’ motivation in learning Islamic Education subject is quite high. The Islamic Education subject is important for students as it helps them appreciate and improve their life. Moreover, there were significantly positive relationships between the three factors (i.e. Parental Influence (PI), Teachers’ Morality (TM), Teaching Pedagogy (TP) ) and Students’ Motivation (SM). It is recommended that teachers of Islamic Education should use more interactive teaching methods to further motivate students to learn Islamic Education and be able to apply the contents in their life. There is a need for more quantitative research to be conducted on larger samples and using other statistical techniques. Qualitative research is also needed to get more in-depth information on students’ motivation in learning Islamic Education

Spiritual Intelligence (SI) in the eyes of Muslim academicians: a qualitative exploratory study

Spiritual intelligence (SI) has various definitions. However, most research has maintained that spiritual intelligence is concerned with the integration of the inner life of mind and spirit with the outer life. It is important for a human being to have a balance between the inner self and the outer life to carry on with their life in the society. Spiritual intelligence and its components have not been thoroughly investigated from Islamic perspective. Hence, this study aims to explore views of Muslim academicians on the concept of spiritual intelligence, its components and inclusion in Muslim education. The qualitative exploratory study used open-ended interviews of two academicians for collecting data. The interviewees were purposefully selected from an Islamic university in Malaysia and they had religious and psychological backgrounds and more than fifteen-year experience in the field of Usulu Eddin (Theological Teaching). In addition, they also had published articles on Spiritual Intelligence in various reputed journals. The thematic analysis of their interviews showed that SI has no distinctive definition and components determined by the Muslim scholars. The respondents have stressed that the SI definitions and components should be based on the main sources of Islamic education (i.e. Quran and Sunnah) and approaches of human personality development. Moreover, they clarified that the Western perspective on IS differs from Islamic perspective. They suggest to include SI in Muslim education system to enhance students’ spirituality. Further qualitative and quantitative studies are recommended to be carried out in order to have a better understanding of SI

Exploring the relationship between writing apprehension and writing performance: a qualitative study

Writing skill is seen as a cornerstone of university students’ success in both academic and career life. This qualitative study was conducted to further explore the teachers’ and students’ perceptions on the relationship between writing apprehension and writing performance, contributing factors of writing apprehension, and strategies to reduce writing apprehension. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to get more in-depth information from two respondents: one experienced instructor of teaching writing at the Centre for Languages and Pre-University Academic Development (CELPAD), International Islamic University Malaysia, and another, a graduate student who was reported to having a high level of writing apprehension using Daly and Miller’s (1975) questionnaire on writing apprehension. Thematic analysis approach was used for data analysis. Both respondents were convinced that writing apprehension has a negative influence on students’ writing performance; the sources of contributing factors could be students, instructors, and teaching learning setting; and writing apprehension could be reduced through suggested strategies. It is recommended that instructors should be more aware of students’ problems in the writing skill