Comparing Employability Skills of Technical and Vocational Education Students of Thailand and Malaysia: A Case Study of International Industrial Work-Integrated Learning

This study focused on a comparison of technical and vocational education (TVE) students' employability skills in Thailand, a newly industrialized country and ranked 61st out of 148 countries worldwide on the quality of graduates’ skillsets, and Malaysia, a top-ranked country in the group of upper-middle income countries in terms of graduates’ skillsets (6th). Thirty mentors were asked to assess 90 Thai and 83 Malaysian students who completed international work-integrated learning (WIL) programs in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, using a questionnaire that addressed 16 main aspects of measuring employability skills. The findings indicated that most of the Malaysian students had better employability skills than Thai students and there were no significant differences in employability skills between male and female students in both countries.  The regression model of quality of work indicated that ‘ability to learn and apply knowledge’, ‘judgment and decision making’, ‘discipline and adaptability to a formal organization’, ‘ethics and morality’ and ‘quantity of work’ had a positive effect on ‘quality of work’. This study suggested that, in order to effectively prepare students for professional work and careers in ever-changing workplaces, TVE institutions should carefully assess the quality of the WIL environment, especially international WIL. The reflection of mentors in the workplace provided useful information for TVE institutions to develop effective WIL program to boost students’ qualities and may give insight into how students are likely to receive sustainable employment development to building a more sustainable society through the skills and knowledge of their students

The effectiveness of work-integrated learning in developing student work skills: a case study of Thailand

Research indicates that work-integrated learning (WIL) experiences enable students to develop both generic and work skills as well as helping students identify their future academic and career directions. This study used pre- and post-survey instruments to evaluate the effectiveness of a WIL placement to develop work skills of students in different academic programs of a university in Thailand. This research was based on an Australian work skills development framework model. The analyses of the pre- and post-survey results on 584 co-op students indicated notable changes in student work skills performance after entering the workplace. The program difference in work skills is significant between the groups when ANCOVA test was applied using pretest-placement as covariates. The positive learning gains suggest that WIL enables students to acquire confidence, building work skills particularly in "initiative/motivation to engage", and attain the ability to self-reflect on whether they have contributed to improved productivity in the workplace

La evidencia del liderazgo pedagógico de directores, jefes de estudios y profesorado desde la perspectiva de las partes interesadas

This paper analyzes the evidence of pedagogical leadership from the perspective of the main actors. The methodology was quantitative, through a cross-sectional study with a questionnaire. In this study, carried out in Spain, 2,184 participants evaluated the leadership of principals, directors of studies and teachers. The results, which are analyzed and discussed, show differences in the perceived evidence of leadership dimensions among actors, with higher scores for principals and directors of studies. Considering the type of the center, differences were found for the group of principals and teachers in some pedagogical leadership dimensions.Este artículo analiza la percepción de los principales actores educativos sobre la evidencia del liderazgo pedagógico. Se empleó una metodología cuantitativa, a través de un estudio transversal con cuestionario. Participaron 2.184 informantes para evaluar el liderazgo de directores, jefes de estudios y profesorado, en un estudio contextualizado en España. Los resultados, que se analizan y discuten, muestran diferencias en la evidencia percibida de las dimensiones del liderazgo entre agentes, con puntuaciones más altas para directores y jefes de estudios. Considerando la titularidad del centro se encontraron diferencias para directores y profesorado en algunas dimensiones

The relationship between paternal education, self-esteem, resilience, future orientation, and career aspirations.

Career aspirations are considered to be one of the most important motivation variables in the study of psychology and career development, as well as being connected to an individual's career-related goals, intentions or options. The aims of this study were: (a) to develop and validate a model for predicting career aspirations, and (b) to investigate direct and indirect links between paternal education, self-esteem, resilience, future orientation, and career aspirations of university students. The participants were 445 students from two universities in Thailand. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that the factor structure of four measurement models presented in the study was suitable and compatible. To achieve the intended research objectives, the empirical data were analyzed using structural equation modeling with decomposition analysis of total effects in direct and indirect effects. Results showed that paternal education, resilience, and future orientation have significant direct effects on students' career aspirations, while self-esteem has an indirect effect. This suggests that self-esteem can help students develop their resilience, as well as promoting their development of a positive future orientation, which also helps foster a higher level of career aspiration. These results can be fundamental to supporting the continued use of the structural equation model in future research on career development

CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING IN THAILAND AND LATVIA

Aim. The article examines the characteristics of learning English in students from different cultural backgrounds – Thailand and Latvia. We aimed to gain empirical evidence of how the cultural background influences student leisure time English language learning habits and their English language learning anxiety. Concept and Methods. In the study two questionnaires were used: leisure time use of reading and writing activities in English (RWA), and English language learning anxiety scale (ELLAS). RWA included five areas of leisure time use of reading and writing activities:  using Internet or e-mail, writing regularly, reading regularly, watching TV or movies, and having checker; ELLAS consisted of four subscales - Communication Anxiety, Fear of Negative Evaluation, Test Anxiety, and English Classroom anxiety. The participants in the study were 95 undergraduate sports science program students from Thailand and Latvia – Thai students were 50, and 45 students represented Latvia. The research was carried out in two stages, first one being a pilot study. Results and Conclusions. The results showed that Thai and Latvian students showed more similarities in their leisure time use of reading and writing activities in English than differences: they often watched movies and TV, but rarely were reading and writing to improve their English. Latvian students spent more time watching TV, movies, reading regularly, using Internet or e-mail than Thai students (p < .01 and .05). Both Thai and Latvian students experienced moderately elevated communication anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, test anxiety, and English classroom anxiety. However, Thai students had higher anxiety than Latvian students in all aspects of ELLAS (independent samples t-test, statistically significant level of .01).

Improving Professional Skills of Pre-Service Teachers Using Online Training: Applying Work-Integrated Learning Approaches through a Quasi-Experimental Study

Preparing preservice teachers for professional engagement is important for teacher education and has received much attention over the past decades. Therefore, finding effective training and coaching to improve the professional skills of preservice teachers (PSTs) is of great importance. This study developed a proactive online training program (POTP) based on a model of work-integrated learning (WIL) activities and teacher education. The objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of the POTP in improving PSTs&rsquo; professional skills. The participants consisted of 83 PSTs in an education program from two universities in Thailand. This study comprises three phases: phase I, the development of the POTP; phase II, a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest design; and phase III, a focus group discussion. The findings demonstrated that PSTs in the group in which the POTP was implemented exhibited increased professional skill development compared to the PSTs in the control group, i.e., without the POTP. Analysis from the focus group confirmed that participants gained knowledge and satisfying online tools, and they were found to have better skills. They also revealed that the POTP not only improved professional skills but also enhanced the inspiration and confidence of the PSTs and supported their life and career goals and preparation. Therefore, educators, practitioners, and policymakers involved in pedagogical content knowledge development in teacher education programs can apply the POTP and assessment models proposed in this work to develop essential soft skills for PSTs and to better prepare them for their careers as teachers in the 21st-century digital era

Public transport promotion policy on campus: evidence from Suranaree University in Thailand

This study aims to determine factors affecting quality of public transport service and public transport demand for students. The findings will be a tool to develop a policy promoting public and sustainable transportation. Applying second order confirmatory factor analysis, the study found that the most important factor on bus service quality was convenience, followed by service planning and bus network. The most important factors affecting the intention to increase bus usage were attitude, personal norm, and a lack of private vehicle. All three factors presented a positive effect on the intention to increase bus usage. A Factor with a negative impact was perceived behavior control of increasing bus usage. Socioeconomic factors, namely hometown, sex, and academic year did not have a direct influence on the intention to increase bus usage, but have an indirect effect through vehicle ownership. The study results could be used to establish an efficient policy to increase bus ridership

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Risky behaviours modified model results.

Risky behaviours modified model results.</p

Model results for risky behaviors (unsafe actions).

Model results for risky behaviors (unsafe actions).</p