Meeting the Needs of the Stakeholders: Qualifications for Graduates of Teacher Training and Education

The impact of globalization on teacher education is unprecedented. Changing in the global education landscape has transform the theory-practice nexus in teacher education. Another revolution is needed to transform educational system and prepare graduates for the 21st century realities.  Drawing on the perspectives of the stakeholders and focusing on digital learners are pertinent to bring teacher education onto a higher level of excellence.  In the new millennium, education must focus on the whole child – morally, intellectually, physically, socially and aesthetically.  In meeting the needs of the stakeholders, authentic learning, multi-literacies, innovative thinking and research-based improvements are keys to the 21st century teacher education model.  Authentic learning typically focuses on real-world, complex problems and their solution using role-play exercises, problem-based activities, case studies, and participation in virtual communities of practice. The learning environments are inherently multidisciplinary, thus, authentic learning could be a dynamic tool to enhance learning and to provide opportunities for students to engage in higher-order thinking and active learning.  Leading high performing teacher education system is also critical. Educational leaders need to focus on seeking new innovative models of teacher education, pedagogy and learning, and support services. World-class teacher education program could attract best students. In order to raise teachers and students’ competencies and standards, it is not enough to declare high performing schools; it is critical to develop thinking and well-rounded students who are the future high performing thinkers and innovators.  For the innovation culture to flourish, granting flexibility and autonomy is a way of moving forward.  To gain international recognition, the development of transnational standards for teacher education and training with a multidisciplinary and innovative orientation is critical.  Hence, a country needs a dynamic and resilient teacher education framework or a roadmap for producing quality teachers in the context of sustainable development

Green and Sustainable Development for TVET in Asia

Green paradigm is emerging in Asia. In order to achieve sustainability, embracing green paradigm is critical. The growing significance of sustainability is having a major impact on business, industry, and society as a whole. Hence, preparing the future workforce for the coming green economy is a challenging task for many Asian countries especially in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in the post-2015 agenda. As a ground work, transforming TVET in Asia to meet the challenges of the green economy for the purpose of sustainability should begin now. The aim of this paper is to map the sustainable development in terms of green mindset, lifestyle, economy, education, training, employability and sustainability in selected Asian countries. A country's quantum leap or leap-frogging in sustainable economy is dependent of its transformation of human resources especially in TVET sector. Thus, TVET should be transformed to fit the requirements of the sustainable green paradigm. The results posit the country's policies, best practices, and challenges toward green economy in order to achieve sustainable development. Finally, the implication of green paradigm on TVET system in selected countries in the Asia Pacific will be discussed

Independent learning of English literature students: learning from an Iranian experience

Independent learning is imperative for it can facilitate significant and faster development of a nation’s human resource. Over the last two decades, more active roles are given to language learners and independent learning is taking momentum in the area of language learning. This study sought to investigate independent learning among university students of the Shiraz University majoring in English Literature at the department of Foreign Languages and Linguistics. Analysis of variance and t-test for independent samples were conducted to compare independent learning among students with different learning backgrounds. It was found that professional status influenced students’ independent learning in favour of those students who had an occupation. However, other learner variables did not have such an impact on students’ independent learning. This finding might be instructive for Malaysia’s institutions specializing in English and other foreign languages

Undergraduate students perception on K-economy and globalisation: a case study in a Malaysian public university

A critical challenge that faces post-modern society is to attain full employment and sustain economic growth in the global economy. The future of Malaysia’s competitiveness depends on the knowledge and skills of its workforce. With the advent of K-economy and globalisation, the need for a strong human capital has never been so critical. Literature has shown that several Asia Pacific countries, including Malaysia, have spent relatively low percentage of their GDP on ICT infrastructure and R&D. As a result, there is a low percentage of skilled and knowledge workers (K-workers) in the population such as the scientists, engineers and ICT specialists. In addition, the level of innovative R&D is also low among these countries which resulted in few numbers of technopreneurs and entrepreneurs. Further, the percentage of graduates who are unable to secure proper jobs posed a challenge to the nation. Thus, the education and training system has to gear itself to meet the demands of the new economy. The purpose of this study was to examine critically the educational experience of students in a higher learning institution in terms of their educational readiness to meet and adapt to the paradigm shift brought about by globalisation and the K-economy

KEBERKESANAN PROGRAM KEDAP KPM DAN KEDAP JAKOA DARI PERSPEKTIF PENGURUSAN PROGRAM: SATU PERBANDINGAN

The study aims at evaluating the effectiveness of non-formal education for adults aborigines in Malaysia which includes ‘the adult Classes For Parents of Aborigines Students and Indigenous’ Programme (KEDAP KPM) organised by the Ministry of Education and Adult Classes of Aborigines Indigenous (KEDAP JAKOA) organised by Department of Aborigines Development Malaysia. The study adopted the programme analysis approach where the data were gathered through questionnaires. The respondents for KEDAP KPM consisted of 136 people representing the administrator and the respondents representing KEDAP JAKOA were 36 administrators. All respondents were selected using random sampling. The data of the study were analysed using the SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) 19.0 and the data acquired from the unstructured questionnaires were analysed using the domain analysis. The findings of the study unveiled that the administrator of the programme, students and teachers agree that the programmes were conducted efficiently with the min value score between 3.68 -5.00. However, based on the one way ANOVA Test, 2 out of 4 null hypotheses were rejected. The Pearson Correlation Test showed that the input aspect of the programme such as the planning, curriculum, and teacher’s training, facilities, information sharing and financial sources together with the output aspect such as the teaching process, teaching and learning method have significant impact to the outcome aspect of the programme. On the other hand, the Double Regression Analysis discovered that the teaching process, the student centred teaching method, planning and implementation, teacher’s training and financial sources are the determinant factors to the outcome aspect of KEDAP KPM outcome. The determinants for the development of outcome aspect for KEDAP JAKOA programme consist of curriculum aspect and the student centered learning method

Membangunkan instrumen kepimpinan dalam sistem pendidikan teknik dan vokasional: penggunaan teknik Delphi Terubah Suai

Makalah ini bertujuan untuk mendapatkan pengesahan kesepakatan pakar terhadap keperluan instrumen Kepimpinan Instruksional Berinovatif. Keperluan instrumen ini adalah untuk meningkatkan profesionalisme pentadbir terhadap konteks pendidikan teknikal dan vokasional. Teknik yang digunakan dalam membangunkan instrumen keperluan kepimpinan ini adalah teknik Delphi Terubah Suai. Teknik ini digunakan untuk mendapatkan kesepakatan bersama pakar dalam membangunkan item-item kepimpinan. Pembangunan instrumen telah dilakukan oleh sebelas orang pakar yang mempunyai kepakaran, pengalaman dan pengetahuan dalam bidang kepimpinan dan pendidikan teknik dan vokasional. Makalah ini menyediakan contoh untuk mendapatkan nilai julat antara kuartil (JAK) dengan menggunakan teknik Delphi Terubah Suai yang telah dilakukan pada pusingan kedua hingga kesepakatan tercapai. Nilai JAK merupakan nilai yang diperoleh daripada soal selidik yang telah dilengkapkan oleh pakar untuk mendapatkan nilai kesepakatan terhadap item konstruk dan telah dianalisis menggunakan Microsoft Excel

Delphi Technique: Enhancing Research in Technical and Vocational Education

Empirical studies conducted within the Technical and Vocational Education (TVE) discipline in Malaysia tends to give greater emphasis to quantitative data collection techniques. Aware of the potential usefulness of combination of techniques, this paper discusses the application of the Delphi technique where qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques are used to reach useful results. The Delphi technique provides the opportunity for researchers to gather input from participants without requiring them to work face-to-face. Often, the process is used to find consensus among experts who have differing views and perspectives. The Delphi technique enables group problem-solving using an iterative process of problem definition, discussion, feedback, and revisions.This paper discusses the basics of the Delphi techniques, its application potential, the selection of expert panels and the means on how consensus can be reached among the participants using examples from our past research using the technique. &nbsp

Membangun modal insan Orang Asli: kajian peranan dan penentuan matlamat pendidikan dalam kalangan ibu bapa masyarakat Orang Asli di Kuantan, Pahang

Tujuan kajian ini adalah untuk meninjau peranan ibu bapa murid Orang Asli dalam menentukan matlamat pendidikan anak-anak lalu meningkatkan pencapaian akademik. Dalam kajian kes ini, data diperolehi daripada dua orang ibu dan dua orang bapa murid Orang Asli sebagai peserta kajian. Instrumen yang digunakan ialah protokol temu bual dan senarai semak pemerhatian sebagai alat mengumpul data. Temu bual secara mendalam dan pemerhatian dilakukan untuk mendapatkan data kritikal daripada ibu bapa. Data temubual telah dianalisis dan dikategori mengikut tema-tema yang muncul. Triangulasi telah dijalankan terhadap data temubual dan pemerhatian untuk menentukan kesahan dan kebolehpercayaan dapatan kajian. Dapatan utama kajian menunjukkan bahawa ibu bapa Orang Asli mempunyai aspirasi dan matlamat untuk anak-anak mereka. Mereka juga mengatakan bahawa mereka terlibat dalam aktiviti-aktiviti pendidikan di sekolah serta telah mengambil tindakan bagi memastikan anakanak berjaya dalam pendidikan. Ini menunjukkan ibu bapa yang mempunyai matlamat pendidikan yang jelas untuk anak-anak adalah penting bagi meningkatkan pencapaian akademik serta mengurangkan kadar ketidakhadiran anakanak ke sekolah dan seterusnya dapat mengurangkan keciciran

Evaluation of Project-Based Learning at a Polytechnic in Malaysia: an Input Aspect Evaluation Research

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Project-Based Learning in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the Polytechnic in Malaysia. This study was designed with Context, Input, Process and Product (CIPP) model. Project-Based Learning is a different approach than the traditional learning in the sense that it is a student-centered learning approach based on the principles of constructivism. However, this present paper focused on the input aspect with comparing students’ and supervisor’ perspective. The input dimension assesses the module and supervisor’s readiness. This study involved a random sample of 118 students and 43 supervisors in the Mechanical Engineering Department in Polytechnic Kota Bharu Malaysia. The instrument used in this study were a set of questionnaire. The study found that both the students and supervisors agreed that Project-Based Learning approach is appropriate for the final project course J5012. In addition, both groups of respondents believed that the supervisors possesed adequate technical knowledge and implemented supervisory duties effectively. Nevertheless, students perceived the module content was hard to understand

Project-Based Learning Evaluation from Students’ and Supervisors’ Perspectives: A Qualitative Research at Polytechnic Malaysia

The purpose of this case study was to evaluate the Project-Based Learning that was  implemented at the Mechanical Engineering Department in a polytechnic in Malaysia. One kind of constructivism, Project-Based Learning was introduced into the Malaysian polytechnics curriculum regarding to result creative and innovative human resources. This study involved a random sample of 118 students and 43 supervisors in the Mechanical Engineering Department. The study found that both the students and supervisors agreed that Project-Based Learning approach is appropriate for the final project course J5012. In addition, both groups of respondents believed that the supervisors possesed adequate technical knowledge and implemented supervisory duties effectively. Nevertheless, students perceived the module content was hard to understand. The students barely agreed that the machines and equipments at the polytechnic were appropriate for the project. Positively, Polytechnic Kota Bharu should introduce a formal course of Project-Based Learning to the polytechnic system in Malaysia