Kepelbagaian Pelajar dan Sekolah: Satu Kajian Kes di Negeri Pahang

Kepelbagaian pelajar ialah asas untuk menginklusifkan sekolah supaya keperluan semua pelajar dapat diberi layanan untuk mengoptimumkan pembelajaran mereka. Kajian ini adalah bertujuan untuk melihat perspektif pelajar terhadap kepelbagaian sekolah. Domain dari School Directory Inventory (Gottfredson & Jones 2001) digunakan. Kepelbagaian sekolah dari aspek pelajar adalah merujuk kepada faktor jantina, kaum, kawasan tempat tinggal dan pendapatan keluarga. Metodologi yang digunakan adalah kaedah tinjauan dengan menggunakan kaedah soal selidik. Kajian ini adalah merupakan satu kajian kes yang melibatkan seramai 335 orang pelajar dari daerah Temerloh, Maran, dan Kuantan di negeri Pahang. Data dianalisis menggunakan SPSS (Statiscal Package For The Social Science Versi 15) menggunakan kaedah deskriptif dan inferensi iaitu min, ujian-t dan ANOVA. Melalui kajian rintis yang dilakukan di dapati kebolehpercayaan alat kajian berdasarkan Cronbach Alfa adalah di tahap yang tinggi iaitu 0.803. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan tahap min perspektif pelajar terhadap kepelbagaian sekolah adalah di tahap yang sederhana iaitu 2.70. Analisis ujian-t pula menunjukkan terdapat perbezaan signifikan di bawah aras 0.5 bagi perspektif pelajar terhadap kepelbagaian sekolah berdasarkan jantina dan kaum. Berdasarkan analisis Anova, perspektif pelajar terhadap kepelbagaian sekolah berdasarkan kaum, pendapatan keluarga dan kawasan tempat tinggal menunjukkan perbezaan signifikan. Situasi ini menunjukkan latar belakang pelajar mempunyai hubungan terhadap tahap penerimaan kepelbagaian sekolah. Implikasi kajian menunjukkan pelbagai pihak khususnya Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia seharusnya berusaha untuk meningkatkan tahap penerimaan kepelbagaian sekolah dalam kalangan pelajar bagi menjamin kualiti pendidikan bagi semua rakyat Malaysia tanpa mengira latar belakang dan keupayaan pelajar ke arah slogan “Satu Malaysia

Adolescent learning support: relationship with burnout and achievement

This study primarily aimed to determine the effects of burnout as an intermediary link between student achievement and learning support on boys and girls and to ascertain the direct and indirect effects of learning support on student achievement. Study participants were adolescents aged 12 to 17 years (male N = 1170 and female N = 1189). Results indicated that both models produced between boys and girls were equal. Burnout emerged as an intermediary link between student achievement and learning support. Exhaustion and inadequacy of male students exhibited a significant relationship between the intermediary support of teachers, peers, and parents. The inadequacy of female students was also a significant intermediary. In terms of the direct effect, peer support significantly contributed to the student achievement of boys and girls. Moreover, burnout influenced student achievement. Based on the findings, this study recommended that the students must be taught to adapt themselves to teaching, learning, and academic achievement, thereby improve engagement and reduce burnout

Vocational Education and Skills Training for Indigenous Community in Malaysia

This paper discusses the participation of Indigenous community in the field of Technical and Vocational education (TVE) and in the specialized programs in Skills Training Institutions (STI) in Malaysia. Marginalization of Indigenous youth in terms of education and employment in Malaysia is critical and needs to be addressed.  High unemployment among the Orang Asli youth may be attributed to their lack of proper skills required by the employers.  Thus, vocational training is needed to ensure the competitiveness of these people in the era of globalization to live a more comfortable life and have a better socio-economic status (SES). This paper also deliberates on the developmental history of TVE, the aims and the objectives of its implementation in the education system. Apart from these, the training and skills programs for the Indigenous youth who are drop-outs and have completed schooling were also discussed. This paper also presents the conclusion and recommendations to improve the participation of Indigenous community in the TVE and STI. If the recommendations are taken positively by the relevant authorities in-charge of the Indigenous people, the future of Indigenous youth will be brighter because it will improve their employment prospects and enhance their social mobility and status. Keywords: technical and vocational education, skills training, indigenous people, Malaysi

Effective higher educational practices - A survey of student engagement

The quest for excellence in teaching and learning in higher education is a world-wide concern. Universities and colleges have responded to the challenge for higher quality in instruction by looking closely at the nature of the typical teaching and learning environment. It is concurred that the quality of undergraduate education largely depends on the quality of teaching provided by faculty. This paper reports on a research project that seek to obtain information about the undergraduate educational experience at a university. In particular, the study focuses on the extent to which undergraduate students engage in good educational practices. An instrument is administered to random samples of final year students to identify the level of student engagement and aspects of the undergraduate experience that could he improved. Findings revealed that the students perceived their campus environment as supportive of their academic needs. They also reported adequate levels of academic challenge and participation in enriching experiences. Nevertheless, students reported lower levels of interaction with faculty members and in active and collaborative learning. Results from the study point to the need for institutional improvement efforts in order to transform undergraduate experience into more holistic and engaging learning environments

Learning support and academic achievement among Malaysian adolescents: the mediating role of student engagement

The aim of this study was to examine the associations between learning support, student engagement and academic achievement among adolescents. We also examined the extent to which affective, behavioural and cognitive engagement play a mediating role in students’ perceived learning support from parents, teachers and peers, and contribute to their academic achievement. Malaysian adolescents (aged 12–17 years, N = 2359) completed a self-administered questionnaire based on an adapted version of the Student Engagement And Learning Support Scale. Item and factor analyses were performed to ensure appropriate psychometric properties of the scales. Pearson correlation analysis identified the relationship between variables and structural equation modelling was conducted to identify the role of student engagement as a mediator between learning support and academic achievement. The study provides empirical support for the hypothesis that perceptions of learning support influence adolescents’ affective, behavioural and cognitive engagement in school in different ways, which in turn influences their academic achievement. Cognitive engagement seemed to be the best predictor of academic achievement and the strongest mediator for all three types of learning support. Behavioural engagement was negatively associated with academic achievement, and affective engagement did not have a direct relationship with academic achievement, although it contributed indirectly through cognitive and behavioural engagement. The results of this study provide a basis for policy makers to initiate prevention and intervention programs for increasing the quality of parent–child, teacher–student and peer–peer relationships which ultimately could lead to improved academic competence and outcomes

Profil pemprosesan kognitif pelajar pintar cerdas akademik di sekolah menengah

Academically talented students were defined as students who exhibited talent in academic fields at a particular stage of development. Thirty-three academically talented students from a secondary school in the state of Selangor were involved in the study. These students had achieved grade A in all subjects sat for in a national standardized examination, the Lower Secondary Assessment (Penilaian Menengah Rendah-PMR). An adapted version of an instrument, the Cognitive Assessment System was used to measure the students’ cognitive processing namely; Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, and Successive. Multi dimensional scaling analysis was carried out on the data to reveal two prototypes of academically talented student in cognitive processing. Those who scored highly in Attention also scored highly in Successive. However, their scores in Planning and Simultaneous processes were low. Another prototype of academically talented students scored low in Attention and Successive processing. Nevertheless, their scores in Planning and Simultaneous were high. These findings propose to suggest two types of cognitive processing mechanisms among academically talented students. The first type of mechanism utilized Attention and Successive cognitive processing, when their Planning and Simultaneous cognitive processing were low. The second type of mechanism utilized Planning and Simultaneous processing when their Attention and Successive cognitive processing were low

A Study of the Learning Styles of Malaysian Students

This study examines the learning style of students at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. A translated version of the Grasha-Riechmann Learning Style Inventory was distributed to students in pure science, social science and professional courses. Results indicated that students from different fields of study varied very slightly but not significantly in their learning style. The male students showed a slightly higher inclination towards Independence and Avoidance learning styles while female students were found to be slightly more Participative and Competitive. It was found that Collaborative and Competitive learning styles were dominant among UKM students and that Collaborative, Dependent and Participative styles were associated with academic performance. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of university teaching and learning to accommodate different learning style of students in order to meet the objectives and vision of the national university

The IEP: Are Malaysian Teachers Ready?

AbstractIn announcing UNICEF's Education Programmes in Malaysia, the Ministry of Education Malaysia (KPM) launched the Leaving No Child Behind; Individual Education Plan for Children with Special Needs Project in 2010. Although the policy is in place, its implementation has been slow and problematic. Previous studies have indicated that factors such as teacher attitudes, lack of training and knowledge, lack of parent support and time constraint serve as impediments to the actual implementation of IEP in schools. The purpose of this study is to examine the perceived role of those involved in IEP process and its implementation. Fourteen teachers, a head teacher and three parents were interviewed. Results of the interviews support earlier studies. The teachers indicated that while the IEP is important and useful, they need more guidance on how to develop a good IEP. They also reported that they lack support from school management and parents; and that preparing an IEP involves a lot of paper work and is time consuming. The study implies that it is essential that teachers are provided training and support to facilitate the acquisition of skills in order to provide services for children with different types of disabilities or special needs

Prestasi akademik mengikut gender

This article addresses gender differences in academic performance within the Malaysian education system. Secondary data on public examination results over a period of five years (1996-2000) were analysed and a questionnaire was administered on 3,000 secondary school students and 1,118 teachers. The student questionnaire explored students’ style of learning, their study skills and feelings toward teachers and school in general; whereas the teacher questionnaire explored teacher perceptions towards male and female students’ learning style,and their interpretation and implementation of the curriculum. National examination results at all levels (UPSR, PMR and SPM) in 1996-2000 shows that girls perform better than boys across almost all school subjects. The nature of these differences was examined and some of the underlying factors behind these differential achievements were discussed. It has been found that girls seem to do better on sustained tasks that require memorising unambiguous facts and rules while boys are more responsive to open-ended tasks, which are related to practical and realistic situations. Result of the study also shows that girls possess positive characteristics that contribute to better academic performance compared to boys. An analysis of the approaches towards creating a context for achievement of both girls and boys is offered, with a focus on pedagogical and socio-cultural strategies

Gender and Educational Performance: The Malaysian Perspective

AbstractNational Examination results at ages 12, 15 and 17 in 1996-2000 have shown that girls perform better than boys across almost all school subjects and enrolments of male and female students at university levels have also shown that the percentage of female students has increased from 50 in 1996 to 56 in 1999. It has been found that girls seem to do better on sustained tasks that require memorising abstract, unambiguous facts and rules while boys are more responsive to open-ended tasks which are related to practical and realistic situations that require them to think for themselves