An Exploratory Study on the Reasons and Preferences of Six Malaysian Students on the Video Games Played

The purpose of this study was to explore the reasons why six Malaysian students from upper secondary school are playing video games, types of games and the features preferred. A qualitative method was being used in the study. Purposive sampling was conducted in selecting the students. The findings indicated that students played video games for a great range of reasons. Different students play for different reasons. Some shared common reasons and preferences. A few findings were very specific and never mentioned before in previous researches. However, more research needs to be undertaken in order to address the diversity of students with a bigger sample and different methodology

Exploring Perceptions of Parents on Head Teachers’ Financial Management Skills in Public Primary Schools in Tanzania

The purpose of this study was to examine the observations of parents on head teachers’ financial management skills in public primary schools in Tanzania. The study was guided by three research questions and used qualitative method, with a case study as a strategy. Interviews were used to collected data about head teachers’ management of financial resources in public primary schools in Tanzania. Findings from the interviews revealed that head teachers are insufficiency of significant financial management skills. Both participants demonstrated that the current disbursement procedure is necessary for school effectiveness. However, findings also revealed uncertainty and sustainability of the funding mechanisms given the current environment of financing primary education. The findings of this study are important for policy makers. Keywords: Public primary schools, financing schools, financing financial management skills, head teacher

Writing narrative essays using e-book writing software: analyses of students’ digital written works

This study explores the utilization of e-book writing software as a tool for process-based writing approach to enhance the learning of ESL writing among the pre-service teachers. The study adopted a qualitative research design which was conducted using document analysis technique on digital written works of six pre-service teachers in one Institute of Teacher Education Malaysia (ITEM). The pre- service teachers were introduced to narrative essay format and i-Spring Pro 6.2 software to produce e-books. The data gathered (i.e., pre-service teachers’ digital written works) were analyzed using predetermined (i.e., a priori) codes. As induced from the findings, the utilization of e-book writing software as a tool for process-based writing approach is found to enhance the learning of ESL writing among the pre-service teachers, which is evident from their improved accuracy of genre and message,fulfillment of task requirements, use of grammar, spelling, and punctuation, originality, coherence and organization, and use of multimedia in text presentation. These positive results indicate that the utilization of e-book writing software as a tool for process-based writing approach in writing narrative essay type is beneficial to expose pre-service teachers to a more meaningful, fun, and engaging way of learning and practicing ESL writing

Exploring Beliefs and Practices among Teachers to Elevate Creativity Level of Preschool Children

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of teacher’s beliefs on creativity construction practices of preschool children in class, explore and understand the beliefs of preschool teachers on the concept of creativity, observe actual practices of preschool teachers in the classroom and identify the factors that may influence teachers' practices in the classroom. This exploratory study adopted the use of qualitative method of inquiry to provide an in-depth understanding of the area being investigated. Interview and observation of four preschool teachers were purposively selected from two government schools were used to collected data. Findings revealed that all the teachers in this study expressed their views that creativity is something related to art works. The teachers’ beliefs about how best to facilitate children’s creativity can be divided into three categories; (a) Teaching methods, (b) Classroom environment and (c) Characteristic of the teachers. The findings also reveal varieties of constraining factors which influence teachers’ classroom practices in promoting creativity for the preschool children. The implication of the findings are that further research need to conduct to identify the value in promoting creativity for children through an effective approach. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n22p45

Proses pemahaman daripada perspektif metakognitif dalam kalangan pelajar universiti

Comprehending text would be the major aim in a reading process. For students at tertiary levels, the ability to comprehend is normally associated with their field of study. By applying critical and analytical thinking, students would normally have various perspectives about the application of metacognition in reading. Some students face difficulty in developing comprehension while reading text and they also find it difficult to apply specific reading strategy. This study is conducted to examine the perspective of university students about text comprehension using a qualitative research approach. Eight students enrolled in the bachelor in education programme participate in this study. Data was obtained through interviews, document analysis, and classroom observation. The findings indicate that students have various meta-cognition perspectives in interpreting comprehension ability of a text. The difference in perspective is also influenced by the reading strategies used, the level of text difficulty, type of text and students’ perception of the text read

Perspectives of learning science effectively: comparison between Western Australian teachers and Malaysian teachers

Malaysia hopes to be a developed country which is driven by the industrial and agricultural sectors by the year 2020. This aspiration is guided by Vision 2020 and in order to achieve this, the manpower of the country must be developed and furnished with strong technological, mathematical, and science backgrounds as early as the primary level. It is important to note that effective learning influences the attitude of the students towards science, and if Malaysia is to develop in accordance with Vision 2020, this issue must be addressed. In developed countries like Australia, the learning of science is developed humanistically to attract students to science. The learning of science in Australia involves materials, environments, and activities which encourage students to actively participate in the class. Therefore, it is important to investigate teachers’ perspectives towards students’ learning as teachers are facilitators of learning. This paper discusses the findings of a qualitative study that was carried out to compare the perspectives of primary science teachers from Malaysia and from Western Australia, with the focus on five research questions. The first question is “what are the teachers’ perspectives of learning science?”, whereas the second, third and fourth are, “what are the teachers’ perspectives of effective teaching methods, the importance of teaching aids and implementing science process skills in the learning of science?” and the fifth question is, “how to assess the progress of the students in learning science?” The participants of the study were twelve primary science teachers from Western Australia and from Malaysia, respectively. The data collection approaches employed included open-ended questions, non-participant observation techniques, and document collection. The findings indicated that there are four types of teachers’ perspectives of learning science, three perspectives of the implementation of science process skills in learning science, and five methods in assessing students’ progress in learning science

Investigating and improving classroom activities to enhance Japanese language learning

The importance of foreign languages is evident particularly as nation building is highly dependent on the transfer of foreign technology. Japanese Language is considered to be a difficult foreign language to learn among the foreign languages because of its complicated writing system. Teaching the writing system within a constant time period is a challenge in the institute of higher education. In order to inform my teaching and to improvise my teaching of Hiragana, an action research has been carried out to explore how I made the participants learn Hiragana. Reflection on the lessons has been done critically on my teaching styles. Students learning style has been examined to inform the teaching style. Consequently, using Japanese input to enforce the reading and writing of Hiragana has been taken as an action to address the problem. Results showed that majority of the participants have demonstrated a significant improvement. However, there were a few students who were unable to improve their Hiragana ability. Reflection need to been done to address the problem in the next cycle

Understanding food insecurity among public university students

This article aims to understand food insecurity among public university students. The informants were four university students (two males and two females), all of whom were selected purposively. Face-to-face interviews were conducted in accordance with an interview protocol so that the required information may be collected properly. This was crucial to ascertain and comprehend the contributing factors, coping strategies and consequences of such food insecurities. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. In addition to that, thematic analysis was applied to identify the codes used to form themes. The conclusive findings showed that the sudden closure of cafeterias, financial problems, lack of personal transportation, low quality of food and time constraints were among the factors contributing to food insecurities. Coping strategies were applied to combat these, including purchasing food outside campus grounds, forcing down dissatisfying cafeteria and mini-mart meals, storing foodstuff, reducing meal portions, choosing cheaper foods, opting for cleaner cafeterias, requesting outside food from friends and skipping meals completely. Consequently, there were dire effects, such as anxiety, lack of energy, inability to focus during classes and falling ill. Therefore, the Malaysian Ministry of Education as well as the university authorities themselves should be made aware of the food insecurity problems faced by university students. Further study in the future with a larger number of students involved is recommended

Constructing an organized and coherent text: how discourse markers are viewed by Iranian post-graduate students?

The purpose of this study is to explore how five Iranian post-graduate students view discourse markers (DMs) and if there is any distinction between what is expressed in the interview and their writing samples. A qualitative method is being employed in the study. Purposive sampling is conducted in selecting the students. The findings indicate that all informants are fully aware of applying DMs in their writing but they do not have sufficient knowledge for the proper use and choosing appropriate ones. The findings are very specific and never mentioned in the previous research studies. However, more research needs to be undertaken in order to address the diversity of students with a bigger sample and various methodology

The relationship between language learning autonomy extent and learning styles in Malaysian context

Little research has been done to investigate the relationship between autonomy and learning styles. This paper presents research findings that address the relationship of language learning autonomy with learning styles in eastern context. Data from 360 Form 6 students at Selangor, Malaysia were analyzed by descriptive statistics and Pearson Product-Moment. In addition, stepwise regression procedures were applied to explore the highest to the least contribution of different learning styles to language learning autonomy. The obtained quantitative results indicated that most Malaysian students are auditory learners. Besides, correlational analyses determined that students’ language learning autonomy was significantly and positively related to each learning styles, except individual and group learning styles. Surprisingly, the highest contribution of learning styles to autonomy belonged to auditory and visual learning styles, suggesting that having auditory or visual learning styles do not necessarily limit students’ autonomy extent