Malaysian Education Research Articles

Funds of Knowledge of the Semai Orang Asli Children in Science Learning: A Needs Analysis

Malaysia always strives to provide high-performance education for its citizens by emphasising on the principle of equality that prioritises quality education for every child. However, the performance of Orang Asli (indigenous) children in science education is still lagging far behind as a result of their difficulty in understanding scientific concepts of science which they feel are foreign to their culture. Thus, a needs analysis study was conducted to identify the science topics that are the most difficult for primary school year five Semai Orang Asli children to understand and the elements of funds of knowledge (FOK) that can be applied in science teaching for these difficult topics. This needs analysis was conducted using survey research design with interview method. The study sample comprised three students and four teachers in an Orang Asli school in the district of Slim River, Perak. The needs analysis found that Electricity is the most difficult topic to be taught to and understood by the Orang Asli children. In addition, the findings also showed that the elements of FOK of the Orang Asli such as family values, hobbies, parents’ occupation, language, religion, tradition and school’s co-curricular activities can be applied in science teaching to bring the science concepts that are considered difficult into their lives. In conclusion, the FOK elements identified from the needs analysis are expected to be able to help educators and researchers design science teaching that is more equitable in upholding the principles of equity in education in Malaysia.

Embracing Big Data in Medical Education in Malaysia: Overcoming Challenges and Seizing Opportunities

Embracing Big Data in Medical Education in Malaysia: Overcoming Challenges and Seizing Opportunities

Komunikasi Antarabudaya Pelarian Rohingya di Malaysia: Peranan Pekerjaan dan Pendidikan dalam Akulturasi dan Integrasi

Intercultural adaptation is a process of adjustment that involves communication between individuals and the host environment. This process occurs as long as there is "interaction" with the host environment. In Malaysia, the Rohingyas are the largest refugee population as of May 2023. This population migrated forcibly and experienced intercultural adaptation upon their arrival in Malaysia. Malaysia is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol. Moreover, Malaysia does not have a specific legal or administrative framework to regulate the status and rights of refugees in this country. This makes it difficult for them to get job opportunities and access to education. This study aims to delve into the intercultural adaptation experiences of Rohingya refugees in accessing employment and education in Malaysia; and applying Ager and Strang’s (2008) conceptual framework of integration. A total of 15 male Rohingya refugees residing in Klang Valley were interviewed. Data analysis found that the experience of Rohingya refugees in Malaysia in accessing employment and education is indeed challenging. Although they are having difficulties securing a job, they are able to support themselves, their families, and send money to family members abroad. In addition, employment also acts as a platform for them to learn Bahasa Melayu through communication at the workplace. Despite facing challenges in accessing education, they are still hoping their children will receive proper education. This study also found that employment and education are crucial to support intercultural communication especially related to acculturation and integration of Rohingya refugees in Malaysia. Keywords: Rohingya refugees, employment, education, acculturation, integration.

The Philosophical Analysis of the Future of Islamic Higher Education in Indonesia-Malaysia Facing Megatrend 2045

In the era of megatrends, educational institutions must continue to make improvements, refinements, and changes in accordance with developments in order to maintain the quality of education and its existence, including Islamic higher education institutions. Therefore, this study aims to analyze philosophically the future of Islamic higher education in Indonesia and Malaysia facing Megatrend 2045. The method used is a descriptive-qualitative type of literature research with content analysis techniques. The results of the study show that ontologically, Islamic higher education in Indonesia-Malaysia needs to proactively respond to the megatrends of globalization, technological advancements, demographic changes, and sustainability. Emphasis should be place to maintain and develop a vision and mission based on pure and universal Islamic teachings while still contributing to the development of society and progress. In the realm of epistemology, Islamic higher education in Indonesia-Malaysia must continue to update learning and teaching methodologies in accordance with developments in science and technology, and axiologically, Islamic higher education in Indonesia-Malaysia must continue to promote moderate Islamic values. It can be concluded, a philosophical analysis provides a deeper understanding of the role, challenges, and strategies of Islamic higher education to maintain its existence and how Islamic teachings can make a significant contribution to facing future challenges.

Media Sosial sebagai Pendekatan Alternatif Pendidikan Pencegahan Dadah di Malaysia

Malaysia is a country rapidly developing in line with the development of world technology but is still plagued by drug abuse and drug addiction, especially among the youth. The results are very worrying and have a negative impact on users and threaten families, communities and the country and reflect the effectiveness of existing drug awareness, treatment and rehabilitation programs. Therefore, efforts to improve knowledge and information delivery on drug prevention education need to be reviewed and implemented holistically. This study examines the effectiveness of drug prevention media materials from the perspective of drug addicts and the National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK). The purposive sampling method is used to focus on a specific target audience to achieve the study's objectives. This research uses a mixed-method approach that combines quantitative and qualitative. All research data were obtained from 200 drug addict respondents from four Rehabilitation Centers surveyed through a questionnaire and 100 informants of AADK staff through a semi-structured questionnaire. The study's findings show that the effectiveness of publicity materials related to education (M=2.39, SD=.884) and drug prevention (M=2.26, SD=.674) in Malaysia is low. The study also shows that delivering drug prevention education messages through social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube is very important and effective. In the effort to provide preventive education messages, the production of short videos, compact messages, illustrations, and interesting music and graphics is seen to have a positive impact on the target group. Keywords: Social media, education and prevention, drugs, youth, Malaysia.

Modularizing an Acting Imagination Activity for Malaysian Secondary School Theatre Activities

The primary aim of this study was to develop an Acting Imagination Activity Module that can effectively augment cognitive capabilities within the context of secondary school theatre co-curricular activities. The development of this activity module is grounded in the incorporation of imagination techniques developed from Stella Adler's Acting Theory, Constructivism Theory, and Richey and Klein's DDR Model. The assessment of the module's usability is carried out over two cycles, applying the Delphi Method. The findings obtained from the needs analysis and literature review suggest a dearth of specialized modules and reference materials employed for theatre co-curricular activities, particularly in the context of acting in Malaysian secondary schools. Moreover, the primary objective of developing and implementing this activity module was to augment students' cognitive capacities, in accordance with the National Education Philosophy and Student Aspirations. The objective of this research was to develop an Acting Imagination Activity Module that prioritizes the utilization of imagination techniques to augment the cognitive capacities of pupils and evaluate the applicability of the Acting Imagination Activity Module as a tool for overseeing theatre co-curricular activities in secondary schools within the context of Malaysia. The incorporation of theatrical elements into educational settings was expected to have a positive impact on the cognitive capacities of students, consequently promoting the cultivation of comprehensive human resources. The goal of this strategy was to foster critical thinking, creativity, innovation, and strong student ambitions, in accordance with the goals outlined in the Malaysian Education Development Plan 2013-2025.

PROMOTING GRIT AND RESILIENCE AMONG MALAYSIAN B40 STUDENTS FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

Students from B40 families do not really perform well in Malaysian education. In school, they are not motivated, and even when they get into university, some drop out or are expelled from tertiary education. The graduates from the B40 income group are among those who are in the statistics of unemployment. To overcome the problem, it is suggested that the B40 students be equipped with grit and resilience, a construct in educational and psychological field. It is important for university graduates to have a high level of grit in themselves so that they will be more motivated and sustainable in pursuing their academic success and later not easily give up during job hunting. The Ministry of Higher Education has also outlined resilience (grit) as one of the nine Malaysian future-proof skill sets that need to be learned and practiced by Malaysian graduates to face the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). By using a desk-based research approach, this paper aimed to discuss the importance of grit and resilience in education and how the two traits can be applied in Malaysian Education. Grit and resilience can be enhanced among B40 students through self-regulated learning and concerted efforts by parents, schools and the government.

MEASURING KEY DETERMINANT FACTORS OF RESPONSIBLE ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOR AMONG SECONDARY PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA

The environment is very important to sustain the prosperity of the nation, society, and human beings. Negligence to protect the environment will result in great catastrophes by causing natural disasters to plague mankind. Environmental education has been regarded as a strategic solution to overcome challenging environmental issues. there is no specific subject on environmental education in the Malaysian school syllabus which led to poor public awareness, lack of understanding, and exposure to environmental issues and knowledge. Hence, this study is conducted to measure the level of environmental literacy among secondary school students in Putrajaya, Malaysia. Descriptive research design and correlation were used in this study. Instruments for Environmental Attitude Inventory (EAI) comprises a scale of 1-5 ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree and was distributed to 120 from four students who were selected using simple random sampling. The finding shows that the value of the Adjusted R square is 0.260, which indicates that the factor-independent variables (knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes) only contributed to 26% of the influencing dependent variable (responsible environmental behavior). This value is more appropriate for determining the actual value in a population with a small sample size. Coefficients multiple linear regressions show that the value of t=0.358 shows knowledge does not influence responsible behavior while the most dominant is attitude. It is hoped that the findings from this research will contribute to environmental education in Malaysia.

CABARAN GURU PENGAJARAN PENDIDIKAN ISLAM KURIKULUM STANDARD SEKOLAH MENENGAH (KSSM)

Standard Secondary School Curriculum (KSSM) is the beginning of changes to improve the quality of education in the country comparable to developed countries. It is designed based on six pillars namely Communication; Spirituality, Attitudes and Values; Humanity; Self appearance; Physical and Aesthetic Development; and Science and Technology. At the same time, it is to realize the agenda of the Second Wave, the Malaysian Education Development Plan (PPPM) 2016 to 2020 by emphasizing holistic student development. This writing aims to see the challenges of Islamic Education Teachers (GPIs) in dealing with learning and facilitation (PdPc) through the new KSSM curriculum and the follow-up actions implemented to address these challenges as a solution. Based on the literature review method, the researcher refers to the highlights of the literature as a primary source to strengthen the views and ideas presented in this writing. As a result of the findings, the author found that among the challenges of GPI are GPI's competence in knowledge and mastery of KSSM's Basic Content Curriculum, teaching practices based on traditional methods to student-centered, student differences in terms of existing knowledge, interest, motivation and learning style, and implementation of century learning 21 (PAK-21). The author's hope through this writing can provide guidance to GPI to improve teaching strategies in accordance with changes in the era of globalization in addition to this learning process can build students who are holistic and ready to face competition.

THE LEVEL OF STUDENT OUTCOME AMONG ASNAF FAMILIES THROUGH THE SCHOOL TRANSFORMATION PROGRAM

The TS25 program is an initiative by the Ministry of Education Malaysia aimed at improving the quality of school education and student outcome in line with the Six Student Aspirations in the Malaysia Education Development Plan 2013-2025. This study aims to explore the level of student development among asnaf families through the TS25 program, which is a government initiative aimed at improving the quality of education by 2025. The study was conducted using a quantitative research method, employing document analysis and questionnaires. The respondents in this study were (n=58) teachers and (n=30) students from asnaf families. The analysis results of the knowledge, co-curricular, and character/spiritual aspects indicate that students are beginning to understand the importance of learning and developing life skills needed to face future challenges. They also develop positive attitudes towards education and have higher hopes for their future. Through the TS25 program, students have higher expectations for their future. This study contributes significantly to the improvement of education quality and the development of students from asnaf families.

Art Education Influences Towards Children's Cognitive and Psychology Development

Art education is one of the subjects that helps to develop and build artistic skills through drawing activities, producing crafts, music, dance and so on. Art Education in Malaysia is divided into visual arts, music, and dance. This study aimed to discover how art education affects children's cognitive and psychological development and its importance to learning. The study was conducted on 80 respondents consisting of parents, teachers, and early childhood education students living around the Kuantan district. In addition, this study uses qualitatively through the survey method using a questionnaire as a research instrument. Findings and analysis of the study were obtained descriptively through SPSS analysis to see the frequency, percentage, standard deviation, and mean value. So, it can be concluded that Art education significantly influences children's learning and cognitive and psychological development.

The Development of a Parental Relationship and Iterative Involvement Model (PRII-M) for Early Childhood Education in Malaysia

The Development of a Parental Relationship and Iterative Involvement Model (PRII-M) for Early Childhood Education in Malaysia

Elemen Kemahiran Berfikir Aras Tinggi (KBAT) dalam Pengajaran Guru Pendidikan Islam: Analisis Literatur Sistematik (SLR) (Elements of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTs) in Islamic Education Teachers Teaching: Systematic Literature Review (SLR))

The element of higher order thinking skills (HOTs) in Islamic Education is important in contributing to the effectiveness of teaching and facilitation (PdPc) to students' appreciation of knowledge. Meanwhile, the teacher as the main implementing agent in applying HOTs elements. Therefore, this study aims to identify the elements that contribute to HOTs in the Teaching of Islamic Education Teachers. This study is a descriptive study using systematic literature review (SLR) method of qualitative. The main source of this study is through highlights of previous work obtained from the Google Scholar online database analyzed based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyzes (PRISMA). The findings of the study show that the factors that affect the teaching of Islamic education is able to build HOTs is attitude, readiness, knowledge, skills and formulate. These findings are important to the field of education in Malaysia whether teachers, administrators, State Education Department, Ministry of Education Malaysia (MOE) in evaluating the HOTs curriculum from time to time, especially in the field of Islamic education

Digital Pedagogy Policy in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Malaysia: Fuzzy Delphi Approach

Digital platforms are oneof thetechnology adoptionthat is beginning to be used in most vocational colleges today. Services provided through digital platforms are an alternative to conventional methods. However, the use of digital platforms nowadays, among users consisting of vocational college students in Malaysia is still at a less than satisfactory level. Previous studies also focused a lot on the use and acceptance of technology platforms among users in schools only but not in vocational colleges (VC). The aim of the research is to determine the experts’ consensus on the objective of the digital pedagogy policy for Technical Education and Vocational Training (TVET) students especially in vocational colleges which is currently under development. Vocational colleges is one of the Technical Education and Vocational Training (TVET) institutions in Malaysia that offers certificate level and skill diploma education to high school students. Therefore, it is important to identify the policy that will be used. The Fuzzy Delphi Technique (FDT) was used in this research. Ten experts were chosen by utilizing the purposive sampling method. Analysis of the data was using the Triangular Fuzzy Number and Defuzzification process. The findings showed 100% consensus was achieved by the experts for objectives 1 and 3, and 90% consensus was achieved by the experts for objective 2. All of the experts agreed on the elements in the objectives of the digital pedagogy policy for TVET students. Further development of this policy hopefully will help the teachers in improving their knowledge of digital pedagogy and increase their competency pedagogy in order to produce skills oriented workforce among TVET students in Malaysia. Therefore, the results of this study are expected to be used to strengthen the development of e-learning models in the future to help students and educators to use digital platforms in vocational colleges in particular.

How Comprehensive Sexuality Education is Implemented and Perceived in Malaysia: A Systematic Review

The implementation of comprehensive sexual education in Malaysia is fraught with challenges despite existing policies mandating its inclusion. Consequently, Malaysian youth lack adequate knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to sexual health. This systematic study endeavors to explore how comprehensive SE is implemented in Malaysia as perceived by parents, school teachers, and university students and to recommend potential solutions to enhance the effective delivery of comprehensive sexual education in Malaysia. The PRISMA Statement is used in the review process. A total of four articles that meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria were collected from four databases. One study examined the parents’ perception of SE. One study focused on Islamic teachers’ attitudes toward SE and two studies discussed the perceptions and attitudes toward SE among university students. Enhancing sexual education in Malaysia requires a comprehensive approach including the misconception on the impact of sex education, curriculum revision, the readiness of the trained teachers or trainers, lack of family and parental involvement as well as lack of multidisciplinary collaboration. Experts from various stakeholders are encouraged to collaborate effectively in harmonizing the subject in ensuring that it can be recognized as comprehensive sexual education and subsequently improve the sexual health of its citizens.

PENDIDIKAN DAN PENYELIDIKAN SEBAGAI ASAS KEPIMPINAN ISLAM: SATU SOROTAN

Leadership is the source of all human journeys related to life. The rise and fall of a civilization or nation can refer to the leadership pattern that leads a community group at a certain period. The fact is, the birth of leadership in one generation is different from another generation and is greatly influenced by the education system that is applied to the generation in question. Education is always changing according to the current needs of a generation. Therefore, education should always develop in a better direction for the survival of a generation. Next, educational progress cannot be innovated except through creative and viable research efforts. This article covers the main concepts related to Islamic-based leadership covering research and education. While the scope of the study is confined, that is in the context of education and research in Malaysia.

EXAMINING THE INFLUENCE OF INTERACTION ON STUDENT SATISFACTION VIA FLOW EXPERIENCE AMONG DISTANCE LEARNERS IN MALAYSIA

Lifelong learning has emerged as a global priority in the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015 - 2025 for addressing many challenges of sustainable development. Meanwhile, in an online setting, learners have fewer possibilities to interact with higher education institutions. There have been several studies related to interaction, flow, and student satisfaction. Nevertheless, it is relevant to western countries and traditional students. This study intended to assess how different kinds of interaction (between learners, course materials, instructors, and other learners) influenced student satisfaction among Malaysian distance learners. Moore’s Transactional Distance Theory (1989), which explains how people interact, is a key part of the research framework for this study. The current research involved 270 respondents that conform to the inclusion criteria, and SPSS was used to analyze the hypotheses. Organization and instructor may use the results in embracing a user-friendly educational experience with versatile virtual professional assistance, which is crucial for rigorous online courses. For that reason, this study will provide an overview and opportunities to communicate, cooperate, and gain input for social reinforcement.

Peranan Haji Hassan Ismail dalam Pengajian Tahfiz al-Quran di Malaysia

The Tahfiz al-Quran education in Malaysia is experiencing growth and has become a preferred choice among the Malaysian community. Officially introduced in 1966 by YAM Tengku Abdul Rahman, Tahfiz education began with the appointment of Dato' Haji Mohd Noor bin Ibrahim as the first principal at Maahad Tahfiz al-Quran Wal Qiraat. Dato' Haji Mohd Noor Ibrahim served as the principal for two years, from 1966 to 1968, before assuming the position of Mufti of Kelantan. Subsequently, Haji Hassan bin Ismail assumed the role of principal at Maahad Tahfiz al-Quran from 1970 to 1978. During his nearly eight years as principal, Haji Hassan Ismail continued the ideology of Dato' Haji Mohd Noor bin Ibrahim in Tahfiz Education and implemented his own strategies. However, the contributions of Haji Hassan Ismail have not been adequately discussed in academic discourse or written works compared to Dato' Haji Mohd Noor bin Ibrahim. Therefore, this study aims to shed light on Haji Hassan Ismail's role in the field of al-Quran, particularly in Tahfiz al-Quran education. The qualitative method was employed, utilizing interviews as a research instrument. The findings reveal that Haji Hassan Ismail played a significant role in Tahfiz al-Quran education based on his experiences as the principal of Maahad Tahfiz al-Quran wal Qiraat. This study aims to rectify the lack of scholarly attention given to Haji Hassan Ismail's contributions and highlight his valuable role in the development of Tahfiz education.

Problem-based learning module of organic insecticide for the aborigine students in Malaysia

<span lang="EN-US">Problem-based learning (PBL) is a teaching model that uses real-world problems to lead students toward the learning objective of a course. It has been widely adopted in Malaysian education. However, PBL module for aboriginal people is scarce. This study aimed to provide suitable PBL activities in learning environmental problems by developing a PBL teaching module for the aborigine community and accessing its suitability. In this study, data was collected through an online validation form that was given to four validators, all of them have science or chemistry education backgrounds. The online questionnaires collected were further analyzed to investigate their responses to the module. The result has shown positive feedback (95.83%) as the responses are very encouraging. All respondents give approbation to the objectives of the module which are clearly stated and are parallel with the content. Many of them also strongly agree that the PBL model and the language used are suitable in this module. There is no doubt that PBL is a valuable tool to teach chemistry to improve students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills effectively.</span>

Assessing Students’ Perception towards Lecturer’s Online Teaching of Al-Ghazali’s Dialogue: English Communication using TPACK Framework

The COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia catalyses HEIs to fully utilise technology in teaching and learning, indirectly supporting one of the major shifts of the Malaysia Education Blueprint (Higher Education). Regardless, the readiness of lecturers in terms of their knowledge to teach online effectively is necessary to be investigated to enhance students’ learning and ensure the quality of online learning is at par with traditional learning during the pandemic, as the full adoption of online learning is a new norm in education. This study assesses students’ perception of applying the Technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) framework in teaching Al-Ghazali’s Dialogue: English Communication by lecturers in their online teaching. A quantitative approach and a correlational research design were conducted, and data were collected from 445 UPNM undergraduates through a questionnaire and then analysed using SPSS Version 25.0. The finding reveals that lecturers have a high level of content knowledge to provide relevant issues in selected case studies for students to evaluate critically in line with the course learning outcomes (CLO) outlined by this course. However, lecturers need to be more competent in resolving their technical problems instantly when dealing with digital platform compatibility issues. Additionally, the effectiveness of online teaching can be determined using student achievement as the indicator. These findings support the TPACK framework to describe the lecturers’ technology integration, and it assists lecturers in improving their knowledge. The study implies that a high level of lecturers’ TPACK creates quality online learning and enhances student achievement.