A Systematic Review on the Challenges and Pathways for the Integration of Open Education and Vocational Education in China

[EN] The integration of open education and vocational education is not merely a pivotal political initiative but also holds substantial theoretical and practical significance. To conduct this research as a systematic review, data were extracted from prominent Chinese databases like CNKI, Wanfang Data, and VIP Information, adhering to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 checklist. This ensured a meticulous and comprehensive analysis of systematic review. Synthesizing and scrutinizing findings from the final selection of 124 articles spanning 2013 to 2023, the research underscored the challenges hindering the fusion of open education and vocational education and some factors to develop pathways for its facilitation. The findings reveal that the ineffective construction and integration of educational resources, differences in components of the education system and inadequate integration management mechanism face significant challenges. Also,research findings indicate that the integration of open education and vocational education in China can occur through proposed critical pathways , such as teachers' development, major and curriculum construction, educational resources, learning outcomes and qualifications, among others. Additionally, these research findings are poised to better provide critical direction for advancing the integration of open education and vocational education in future endeavors. Jiangsu Province Lifelong Education Research entitled ‘Research on the Integration Development Path of Open Education and Vocational Education from the Perspective of Symbiosis Theory’ (Project No. 22SZJC031)Yang, Y.; Sattar Rasul, M.; Omar, M. (2024). A Systematic Review on the Challenges and Pathways for the Integration of Open Education and Vocational Education in China. Multidisciplinary Journal for Education, Social and Technological Sciences. 11(1):72-98. https://doi.org/10.4995/muse.2024.20863729811

A Bibliometric Analysis of Publications on University-Industry Collaboration Using VOSviewer and R-biblioshiny

[EN] This bibliometric analysis studied the development trends, publication and citation counts, research themes and trends, and international cooperation models related to university-industry collaboration from 1970 to 2023. Firstly, using a broader set of search terms related to university-industry collaboration, we conducted a comprehensive search of the global literature from 1970 to 2023 in the Web of Science (WoS) database. Secondly, based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, we ultimately selected 592 articles for analysis. Subsequently, we used VOSviewer and R-biblioshiny as analytical tools to extract and analyze relevant data from the selected articles. The study identified the most influential institutions, journals, authors, and countries in this field. Additionally, based on keyword co-occurrence analysis, research related to university-industry collaboration is distributed across five clusters: (1) innovation and technology transfer, (2) internships and work experience, (3) cooperative education and learning outcomes, (4) collaboration models and partnerships, and (5) collaboration barriers, challenges, and sustainability. Recent research has focused on themes such as technology transfer, barriers, benefits, and the motivations driving collaboration.Universiti Kebangsaan MalaysiaGuofang, Z.; Rasul, MS.; Omar, M. (2024). A Bibliometric Analysis of Publications on University-Industry Collaboration Using VOSviewer and R-biblioshiny. Multidisciplinary Journal for Education, Social and Technological Sciences. 11(2):26-50. https://doi.org/10.4995/muse.2024.21167265011

Penggunaan aplikasi augmented reality dalam topik litar asas elektronik

Penggunaan aplikasi Augmented Reality dalam bidang pendidikan semakin mendapat perhatian disebabkan oleh potensi teknologi ini dalam menjadikan proses pembelajaran lebih mudah difahami dan menarik perhatian pelajar. Teknologi ini juga semakin dikenali dan digunakan dalam kalangan guru dan pensyarah bagi memudahkan mereka menyampaikan maklumat dengan lebih berkesan. Justeru, kajian ini dijalankan bagi mengenalpasti persepsi pensyarah mengenai penggunaan aplikasi Augmented Reality dalam pengajaran topik litar asas elektronik. Kajian ini menggunakan kaedah kuantitatif dimana pengkaji menggunakan soal selidik bagi mendapatkan persepsi pensyarah yang mengajar topik litar asas elektronik. Hasil dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa pensyarah memberikan pandangan yang positif terhadap penggunaaan aplikasi Augmented Reality. Justeru, perlunya lebih penekanan dan pendedahan mengenai aplikasi Augmented Reality dalam kalangan pensyarah dan tenaga pengajar

CHALLENGES AND GENDER DIFFERENCES IN IMPLEMENTING GAMIFICATION APPROACH AMONG VOCATIONAL COLLEGE LECTURERS IN MALAYSIA

Background and Purpose: Gamification is a teaching and learning approach that is gaining popularity among teachers as a way to make classroom learning more enjoyable and engaging with the use of rewards to celebrate accomplishments. With the rise of online learning in Malaysian educational institutions, gamification is viewed as an interactive method of teaching and learning. Due to the fact that limited studies have been conducted to investigate the challenges in implementing gamification approaches among vocational instructors, it is the aim of this paper; therefore, to examine the challenges.   Methodology: This study employed a quantitative research method. The respondents include 55 vocational lecturers from several vocational colleges in Malaysia. A set of questionnaires was used to examine the challenges faced by the lecturers in the implementation of gamification at their institutions. Four constructs were used to differentiate the differences of the challenges, which include support, access, competency, and applicability. Data collected from this study were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean score and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (independent sample t-test) to identify the differences between gender.   Findings: The findings of this study indicated that the majority of vocational lecturers have moderate challenges when implementing gamification approaches in their teaching and learning based on the findings related to the constructs. In addition, it was found that there were no significant gender differences in terms of the difficulties associated with implementing gamification approaches. This study also showed that most vocational lecturers have the potential to apply gamification in their teaching based on their high competencies with adequate support and enough access given to them.   Contributions: The findings of the study can contribute to vocational lecturers to promote gamification approach during the learning process to increase students’ motivation.     Keywords: Gamification, gender, challenges, approach, vocational.   Cite as: Marlissa, O., Dayana Farzeeha, A., & Fathiyah, M. K. (2023). Challenges and gender differences in implementing gamification approach among vocational college lecturers in Malaysia. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 8(2), 123-140. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol8iss2pp123-14

Application of virtual learning environment in the teaching of engineering drawing to enhance students' mental rotation skills

Virtual learning environment seems to transform education process in a more flexible way as compared to other modes of learning and have great potential in ensuring successful learning. This study investigates the effectiveness of virtual learning environment in teaching engineering drawing in order to enhance mental rotation skills. A quasi- experimental design study was used involving engineering students in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. The intervention group in this study was exposed to virtual learning environment courseware. Students in this study were given a pre-test before the intervention and a post-test prior to the intervention. The result of this research indicates that there are significant improvements in the mental rotation skills of the students who were being exposed to the virtual learning environment. This study also investigates the gender differences in visualization skills. Thus, this study shows that using courseware in the teaching of engineering drawing can act as a catalyst in enhancing productivity and quality of engineering drawing. As a result, students are capable of enhancing their visualization skills which is vital in engineering drawing

Self-development teaching module

The new transformation of technical and vocational education has led to changes in the aspect of facilities, curriculum and teaching materials being used in Vocational Colleges. Nowadays, the teaching and learning process at Vocational Colleges is based on module. Due to the absence of standard academic module, novice teachers are required to develop modules for the purpose of teaching and learning and this scenario has created many problems. Novice teachers lack the skills to develop or produce teaching notes. Furthermore, they depend too much on handouts or textbooks given by the Ministry of Education as their teaching resources and students exercises. Some teachers take the initiative to utilise the internet as to avoid the need to produce own materials. Therefore, this effort was carried out in view of the strong demand for the development of modules, particularly for Vocational Colleges in order to overcome the issue of lack of standardized teaching materials for technical and vocational subjects taught at the colleges. In addition, the task provided students with the exposure and experiences in developing teaching modules which should give them many advantages as future teachers. Hence, applying the development of teaching module in the assignments of undergraduate education students can enhance their skills in developing modules which is useful especially for those who will be teaching at Vocational Colleges. Consequently, the integration of developing self-development teaching modules as part of the assignments for Faculty of Education undergraduate students has given them the skills they need to become competent technical and vocational teachers

Exploration and verification of fourth industrial revolution generic skills attributes for entry-level civil engineers

The fourth industrial revolution (4IR) requires the workforce to be equipped with new skills when existing skills need to be upgraded or improved because they are no longer in line with technological advancement in 4IR. Thus, it is crucial to determine what the new skills or 4IR skills are that can help the future workforce obtain a job after graduation. This study aimed to explore and verify the attributes of nine 4IR generic skills (GS4IR) for entry-level civil engineers in Malaysia by using a qualitative approach. An interview session was conducted with five senior engineers in the civil engineering (CE) field and three experts (two engineers in CE and one lecturer in CE faculty) for reliability data verification. The interview data were analyzed using coding analysis and presented in a matrix table. The results show 76 items identified as attributes of nine GS4IR constructs. Next, the verification of the constructs and attributes of GS4IR was obtained from Fleiss Kappa's reliability analysis to determine the overall approval index. The results of the analysis revealed an overall Kappa coefficient value of 0.61, which indicates a good level of agreement. The findings of this study consist of 58 attributes for nine constructs of GS4IR approved after the inter-rater reliability among the experts. The findings from this study are beneficial for the development of a framework of 4IR generic skills for civil engineering graduates as guidance to instill new skills in producing future engineers

Effect of virtual environment courseware in learning engineering drawing

Technology is a product and outcome of engineering and science. It is also application of knowledge of humans by manipulating and modifying nature to meet their needs. These changes can be achieved by transforming and improving the usage of tools, materials and techniques which have their effect on humans and other living creatures as well. Today’s technology would not be the same as yesterday and would not be better than tomorrow. Every single day, there will be some improvement on technology which most likely affected on engineering industries (Raymond and Albert, 2009). Thus, the requirement of the industries on engineering graduates constantly changes. Possessing technical skills solely is not enough for engineers in the workforce where most of them using trial and error technique that seem to be effective in the industry (Colwell, 2010). Employers or industries are not only seeking those who are technically skilled but also possess non-technical skills as well, thus making them marketable graduates (Low, 2006; Lee, 2003; Woodward, Sendall, and Ceccucci, 2010).This requirement does not mean that the technical skills are not important, but non-technical skills are additional skills required by engineering graduates for 21st century skills of engineers. To become an engineer is not difficult, but to be a competent and professional engineer is a tough endeavor. In order to become one, Hasna (2008) reported that engineers must contend with endless societal and technological transformation due to the rapid development. In today’s modern world, industries need to compete with each other in order to survive in the global market. Thus, employers are seeking graduates who are able to work immediately after being hired (Azami et al., 2009), and of course, they still require some training before they can perform the job. Nevertheless, the training is not very time consuming and the employers do not need to spend a large sum of money for the training program. In addition, an undergraduate degree status without equipped skills is not the main requirement to get hire. Instead, industries are hiring graduates who have concrete knowledge for both skills since they require a shorter period for training to become effective and efficient engineers (Walther and Radcliffe, 2007). On the other hand, engineering professional body, Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) had come out with a list of 10 generic skill attributes which become a guideline to every engineering graduate in Malaysia in order to produce better and competitive engineers. According to Kolmos, (2009), the solution for the new requirement of skills of undergraduates in engineering education is by implementing problem-based learning (PBL) or project-based learning (PjBL). Both methods emphasizes on student-centered learning and negate traditional approach which is more teacher driven. PjBL and PBL show favourable characteristics which provide motivation and are suitable for the development of non-technical skills. Nevertheless, these two approaches of learning is confusing and people misjudge both methods to be the same thing. The fact is, as the name is different, so is the method. As for PjBL, it is likely to be correlated with engineering and science field, whereas PBL is also implemented in those fields, but is originated from medical and other professional preparatory training (Chakravarthi and Haleagrahara, 2010). This statement is supported by Perez et al. (2010), which stated that PjBL was established in the engineering field to provide experience for engineering students, which is able to promote life-long learning and cognitive abilities. Furthermore, project works are able to retain students in engineering program (Richardson et al., 1998) and able to improve their motivation to learn future material (McKenzie, Pelliccione and Parker, 2008). Perceptions of industries toward engineering graduates nowadays do not meet their expectation. Graduates produced by the universities do not possess and meet the requirement of the industries because they lack skills especially non-technical skills such as communication, problem solving, leadership and team working (Nair and Patil, 2008). As the world is moving forward, gaps between expectations and perceptions can be wider if universities use the same approach in teaching. Such problem can be perceived from the perspective of engineers in the industries towards engineering education which asserted that engineering education should put more emphasis on communication skills, leadership and management skills and must put a lot of effort in order to nurture interest towards engineering profession among undergraduates (Mustafa et al., 2008). Kamsah (2004) in his research stated that current engineering graduates are not deficient in technical capability or their knowledge but they are deficient in their soft skills which are important for them to work collaboratively and to use their technical abilities. PjBL seems the best method for engineering education in teaching and learning nowadays, and it is proven that it is effective to develop skills among engineering graduates. The purpose of this study is to investigate effectiveness of PjBL in engineering education at higher institution level in Malaysia. The research project was developed to investigate the use of PjBL on student’s satisfaction and the effectiveness of this teaching and learning method in order to increase student’s non-technical skills

Gamification in vocational teaching and learning: perception and readiness among lecturers

Sustainable economic growth and socioeconomic stability can be achieved through technical and vocational education (TVET). Improving TVET education can help empower students to play a significant role in achieving sustainable growth in their country. Teaching and learning in TVET institutions need to be reformed to achieve the international standard and increase students' understanding and motivation. Recently, gamification appears to be an emerging trend in education due to its conviction that it can support learning and motivate students. Thus, this study aims to identify vocational lecturers' perceptions and readiness to implement gamification in their teaching and learning. The findings have shown a high mean score in lecturers' perception and a moderate mean score in their readiness to implement the gamification approach in their teaching and learning. The findings from this study show that vocational teachers need to be trained and ready to use this method in their teaching and learning as a way to deal with the post-pandemic era, where teaching and learning should be more interactive by using the right technology

Penerokaan spesifikasi kemahiran generik 4IR bagi graduan kejuruteraan awam berdasarkan perspektif daripada industri

Gelombang teknologi baharu yang dikenali sebagai revolusi perindustrian 4.0 (4IR) diiringi dengan penggunaan robotik dan pengautomasian menyebabkan perubahan terhadap permintaan tenaga buruh dan bidang pekerjaan. Profesion jurutera awam merupakan salah satu daripada 53 bidang pekerjaaan kritikal bagi membangunkan ekonomi negara dalam mendepani arus cabaran 4IR. Namun begitu, peratusan bilangan jurutera awam baharu yang diterima bekerja masih lagi rendah disebabkan oleh faktor ketidaksepadanan kemahiran generik sekaligus menyebabkan masalah pengangguran dalam kalangan graduan kejuruteraan awam (KA) masih lagi berlaku. Oleh itu, kajian ini dilaksanakan untuk meneroka spesifikasi yang terperinci mengenai kemahiran generik 4IR (KG4IR) bagi graduan kejuruteraan awam berdasarkan perspektif daripada pihak industri kejuruteraan awam. Kajian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif melalui temu bual semi berstruktur atas talian terhadap lima orang pakar bidang KA berdasarkan protokol temu bual. Dapatan temu bual dianalisis menggunakan sistem kod untuk mengeluarkan kategori dan tema bagi membentuk spesifikasi KG4IR. Hasil analisis mendapati bahawa sembilan tema KG4IR telah diperolehi iaitu kemahiran komunikasi, penyelesaian masalah, kepimpinan, kepintaran emosi, kreativiti, pemikiran kritikal, kebolehsuaian, digital dan pengurusan bersama perincian daripada kategori untuk membentuk spesifikasi KG4IR yang sesuai bagi graduan KA. Melalui spesifikasi KG4IR yang terperinci ini, ianya dapat dijadikan panduan bagi penerapan KG4IR oleh pihak pemegang taruh (IPT, pihak industri) untuk menghasilkan graduan kalis masa hadapan yang mampu bekerja dalam suasana pekerjaan 4IR selari dengan inspirasi Kerangka Pendidikan Tinggi 4.0 oleh Kementerian Pengajian Tinggi Malaysia.