Domestic Labor Sharing and Preference for Son: Children's Perspective

The main aim of this study was to find out through the perception of children whether there is a significant association between the sharing of domestic labor and preference for sons between fathers and mothers. This study used a cluster sampling method to select 1982 secondary students from Malaysia to answer questionnaires. The results showed significant associations between the preference for sons and the sharing of domestic labor between fathers and mothers in the perception of children. These significant associations could still be found after logistic regression controlling for some background factors. In the light of the continuing prevalence of preference for sons in some Asian countries, it is suggested that more studies are needed to examine the possible influence of preference on culture in different areas

Challenges of refugee teachers in Malaysian community-based learning centers

Because Malaysia is not a signatory to the 1951 RefugeeConvention, the children of refugees living in Malaysia are deprived of any formal education. Children are taught mostly by the refugees themselves, many of whom are volunteers. Most of the community-based learning centers, which encounter many academic and management problems, are also sustained by the refugees. This qualitative study aims to apply the framework of resources and demands theory to explore the work demands encountered by these refugees’ teachers and whether they have enough resources to meet the demands, as the learning centers are self-supported or supported by non-governmental organizations. This study collected data using the focus group method, recruiting participants through purposive sampling. Participants were organized into eight groups, each with seven volunteer participants, and open-ended questions were used for the participants to fully express their views and experiences. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The result showed that participants are burdened by academic and administrative tasks, lack of resources, poor infrastructure, and self-incompetence. The findings of the study proposed that more non-government organizations, local communities, and other stakeholders provide expertise and financial assistance to these community-based learning centers as education is the human right of each child. Karena Malaysia bukan merupakan penandatangan Konvensi Pengungsi 1951, hak anak-anak pengungsi untuk mendapat pendidikan resmi telah menjadi sebuah masalah yang tidak begitu diperhatikan. Kebanyakan anak-anak ini diajar oleh guru yang terdiri dari para pengungsi yang bekerja sebagai sukarelawan. Pusat pembelajaran berbasis komunitas dikelola dan dikendalikan oleh pengungsi sering menghadapi pelbagai isu dari segi akademik dan manajemen. Studi pendekatan kualitatif ini menggunakan teori sumber daya dan permintaan sebagai kerangka kajian untuk mengetahui apa saja tuntutan pekerjaan yang dihadapi guru pengungsi dan apakah mereka memiliki sumber daya yang cukup untuk menghadapi tuntutan tersebut, karena pusat pembelajaran bersifat swadaya atau didukung oleh Lembaga Swadaya Masyarakat (LSM). Sumber pembelajaran yang tersedia perlu dikaji supaya cukup menampung serta memenuhi permintaan kerja. Pengumpulan data menggunakan metode focus group dan partisipan direkrut melalui purposive sampling. Partisipan dikumpulkan ke delapan kelompok, masing-masing kelompok terdiri dari tujuh partisipan sukarelawan. Pertanyaan terbuka (open-ended questions) digunakan untuk mendapat pandangan serta pengalaman berkaitan isu yang dikaji. Data dianalisis menggunakan teknik analisis tematik. Hasil temuan menunjukkan bahwa para guru memikul beban yang berat dalam menjalankan tugas akademik serta administrasi. Mereka juga menghadapi isu kurangnya sumber daya, keadaan infrastruktur yang serba kekurangan serta keyakinan diri dalam kompetensi mengajar. Temuan studi ini mengusulkan agar lebih banyak LSM, masyarakat setempat, dan pemangku kepentingan lain menyumbangkan keahlian dan bantuan keuangan pada pusat-pusat pembelajaran tersebut karena pendidikan adalah hak asasi manusia bagi setiap anak-anak

English teachers’ perceptions of project-based language learning in secondary schools in Ningbo China

The perceptions of language teachers on project-based language learning (PBLL) is important as negative perceptions will affect the adoption and promotion of PBLL in a particular English learning context. The educational culture of basic English education in mainland China is teacher, classroom, textbook and examination-oriented which is opposite to the principles of conducting PBLL, which may cause negative perceptions among language teachers of PBLL. Therefore, this study adopts a mixed methods approach in the investigation of English teachers’ perceptions of PBLL in 9 secondary schools in Ningbo China. A questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews were employed to gather the relevant data from 265 English teachers. The results of data indicate that: (1) PBLL can be promoted in secondary schools in Ningbo further due to the positive perceptions of PBLL of most of English teachers, but it is proper for English teachers to take PBLL as a supplement to the traditional classroom instruction in English; (2) the educational culture may affect the perceptions of language teachers of PBLL to some extent, but it is not a determinant factor; (3) the social environment factor may affect language teachers’ perceptions of PBLL, such as the economic development and the English education quality of a district

Domestic Labor Sharing and Preference for Son: Children's Perspective

The main aim of this study was to find out through the perception of children whether there is a significant association between the sharing of domestic labor and preference for sons between fathers and mothers. This study used a cluster sampling method to select 1982 secondary students from Malaysia to answer questionnaires. The results showed significant associations between the preference for sons and the sharing of domestic labor between fathers and mothers in the perception of children. These significant associations could still be found after logistic regression controlling for some background factors. In the light of the continuing prevalence of preference for sons in some Asian countries, it is suggested that more studies are needed to examine the possible influence of preference on culture in different areas

Domestic Labor Sharing and Preference for Son: Children's Perspective

The main aim of this study was to find out through the perception of children whether there is a significant association between the sharing of domestic labor and preference for sons between fathers and mothers. This study used a cluster sampling method to select 1982 secondary students from Malaysia to answer questionnaires. The results showed significant associations between the preference for sons and the sharing of domestic labor between fathers and mothers in the perception of children. These significant associations could still be found after logistic regression controlling for some background factors. In the light of the continuing prevalence of preference for sons in some Asian countries, it is suggested that more studies are needed to examine the possible influence of preference on culture in different areas

Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses of the Short Grit Scale (Grit-S) for Malaysian Undergraduate Students

The 8-item Short Grit Scale (Grit-S; Duckworth & Quinn, 2009) is a measure of the two aspects of grit: consistency of interests and perseverance of effort. While the majority of the past studies supported the two-factor model, some found cultural differences. Two studies were carried out to test the factor structure of the Grit-S in a sample of Malaysian undergraduate students (total N = 1109). Exploratory factor analysis (Study 1) revealed two factors. Item 2 for perseverance subscale was removed due to unsatisfactory factor loading. Further analysis of the seven items supported the two-factor model. Confirmatory factor analyses (Study 2) supported the superiority of the two correlated-factor model with 7 items. Moreover, the consistency and perseverance scores showed acceptable internal consistency. The current research contributes to the literature by lending further support to the theoretical two-factor structure of the Grit-S and revealing potential cultural differences in the items. Future studies are thus recommended to address these cultural differences and confirm the usability of the 7-item Grit-S in the Malaysian context