Malaysian School Students Research Articles

English For Science and Technology (EST): Learning and Teaching Strategies for High School Students in Malaysia

Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA) 2015 which highlighted Global Rating on Education Quality reported that Malaysia was ranked in the 52nd placing out of 72 countries in assessing students’ ability in Science and Mathematics using English language (OED, 2016). This implies that Malaysian students need to improve further on science and technology development. Therefore, this study looked into the learning strategies and problems students face in learning English for Science and Technology (EST) subject and the teaching strategies employed by the teachers. A total of 150 Form Four students from three selected schools were taken as samples for this study. Data was collected using questionnaires. The researchers conducted a structured interview with 27 students from three schools (in Kedah, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan). In order to triangulate the data, the researchers also carried out a classroom observation on the Form Four classes from each of the three states and analysed 30 sample scripts of EST report writing to look at the types of language problems made by students. The study applied a mixed method of quantitative and qualitative. Findings from the 150 students’ Likert-scale questionnaires were analysed using a One-Sample T-Test. The responses from the 27 students’ interviews were transcribed and analysed using content analysis. The observations carried out in the selected Form Four classes were transcribed in a narrative written report. Overall, the study depicts that the majority of the students face language problems in learning EST. Students were found to be lacking in applying appropriate learning strategies, and teachers still control EST classrooms. Through the findings, this study suggests that a comprehensive and effective learning and teaching strategy, also known as CALLA (Cognitive and Academic Language Learning Approach), will help students elevate their comprehension and application to understand scientific knowledge in a second language effectively.

Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis for Disposition Levels of Computational Thinking Instrument Among Secondary School Students

<p style="text-align:justify">Computational thinking (CT) is a method for solving complex problems, but also gives people an inventive inspiration to adapt to our smart and changing society. Globally it has been considered as vital abilities for solving genuine issues successfully and efficiently in the 21st century. Recent studies have revealed that the nurture of CT mainly centered on measuring the technical skill. There is a lack of conceptualization and instruments that cogitate on CT disposition and attitudes. This study attends to these limitations by developing an instrument to measure CT concerning dispositions and attitudes. The instruments' validity and reliability testing were performed with the participation from secondary school students in Malaysia. The internal consistency reliability, standardized residual variance, construct validity and composite reliability were examined. The result revealed that the instrument validity was confirmed after removing items. The reliability and validity of the instrument have been verified. The findings established that all constructs are useful for assessing the disposition of computer science students. The implications for psychometric assessment were evident in terms of giving empirical evidence to corroborate theory-based constructs and also validating items' quality to appropriately represent the measurement.</p>

Speaking Skills Enhancement through Digital Storytelling among Primary School Students in Malaysia

Speaking skills can be considered a key measure of success in learning a language. Learning Tamil, as an elective language in Malaysian National Primary schools, is extremely difficult for beginners compared to students in National Type Tamil Primary Schools in Malaysia. The aim of the research is to apply digital storytelling as a pedagogical approach in speaking classes in national primary schools with a view to promote Tamil speaking abilities of children. A collaborative quasi-experimental action research design was adopted to measure the efficacy of digital storytelling in enhancing students’ Tamil speaking skills. Action research was conducted with thirteen 2nd standard students aged between 7 and 8 years old, in a national primary school, in Pasir Gudang district, Johor, on a pilot project. The Tamil digital storytelling modules were developed in a mobile application with pre-and post-test survey tools and the respective class teachers were trained on the module to work with children in a regular classroom setting. The results showed that significant improvements were observed in students' comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency elements of the speaking skills after their participation in the digital storytelling sessions. As a result, the study suggests that digital storytelling may be an effective pedagogical approach to enhance students’ speaking abilities in the classroom and beyond to improve the students’ mother-tongue as second-language learning in schools.

Language Learning Strategy Used among Secondary School ESL Students

The role of English as a Second Language in Malaysia has prompted ESL learners to explore multi techniques and strategies in learning. However, popular strategies applied by secondary students in Malaysia are not much known. Hence, this study aims to identify the language learning strategies employed by successful language learners among secondary school students in Malaysia. This research employs a survey research design that encompasses the strategy inventory for Language Learning (SILL) It includes the six strategies proposed by (Oxford, 1989). About 38 secondary school students from different states were selected through a purposive sampling technique to answer the survey for the data collection. For the finding, it is revealed that the secondary school students use metacognitive strategies the most, followed by cognitive and memory strategies, which are considered the least used among learning learners. As a result, even though all the three strategies are being employed in their language learning process, it appears that the metacognitive strategy is the one that stands out the most thus confirming its interrelations with successful language learners. Therefore, the language learners strategies practised among secondary school varies from metacognitive as the most preferable one, followed by cognitive, and lastly memory strategies hence reflecting their proficiency level as good language learners.

Stop bullying! Does gender influence bullying and bully victims?

The problem and the aims of the study. Every student should not be afraid to go to school because of harassment and parents should not be worried that their children will be bullied while at school. This study aimed to examine whether gender influences Malaysian school students of being bullies or bully victims. Research methods. The design of a cross sectional survey using a questionnaire for the data collection process to identify the influence between the study variables was conducted. Dependent study variables consisted of bullies (physical, verbal, anti-social & cyber) and bully victims (physical, verbal, anti-social & cyber). While the independent variable was gender (male & female). A total of 700 samples were involved in this study consisting of students aged 13, 14 and 16 years (students aged 15 and 17 years were not involved in the study as they were national examination candidates). A set of questionnaires containing 61 items measuring four constructs of bullying (physical, verbal, anti-social & cyber) as well as 60 items measuring four constructs of bully victims. The sample consisted of 349 males (49.9%) and 351 females (50.1%). Results. Independent t-test analysis as a whole showed that there was a significant difference in the tendency to be a bully among students based on gender, t (689) = 2.69, p <.05. Data showed male students were more likely to be bullies than female students. The finding of an independent sample t-test showed that there was no significant difference in the tendency to be a bully victim among students based on gender t(689) = 1.23, p > .05. However, there was a tendency to become bully victims among students based on gender for the categories of physical bullying (p <.05, p = .000) and cyber bullying (p <.05, p = .015). In conclusion students' tendency to become bullies and bully victims can occur among male or female students. Every individual should have the right to be free from being oppressed or deliberately humiliated either in school or in society.

Sexual and reproductive health knowledge among primary school students in Malaysia

BACKGROUND:There is limited research on sexual and reproductive health (SRH) knowledge level among very young adolescents aged between 10 and 14 years. Policy makers and educators are unable to address very young adolescents’ SRH needs without proper understanding of their SRH knowledge. Thus, the objective of this study is to explore very young adolescents’ SRH knowledge level and the influences of demographic variables on the respondents’ SRH knowledge level in Malaysian primary schools.MATERIALS AND METHODS:This cross-sectional study involved 617 primary five students who were recruited through multistage sampling method from the state of Johor, Malaysia. A self-administered questionnaire (Cronbach's α = 0.81) which comprised of 38 items related to puberty, HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases, prevention of child sexual abuse and reproductive systems and reproduction was used. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was applied to examine the association between demographic variables and student's SRH knowledge.RESULTS:Based on the results, 28.5% of the respondents had unsatisfactory level of SRH knowledge. Among the four dimensions, the respondents had more knowledge on prevention of child sexual abuse but displayed poorer knowledge on HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases topic. The findings indicated female (odd ratio [OR] = 1.464) and Indian respondents (OR = 3.208) are more likely to exhibit poor SRH knowledge which suggested demographic factors exert some extent of influence on primary school children's SRH knowledge.CONCLUSION:The findings provide useful insights for the policy makers and educators seeking to improve the comprehensiveness of culturally accepted sexuality education which are essential in promoting young adolescents’ well-being.

Remote Learning Amidst the Pandemic: Measuring the Relationships of Internet Usage and Cybersecurity Awareness of Primary School Students in Malaysia

Remote Learning Amidst the Pandemic: Measuring the Relationships of Internet Usage and Cybersecurity Awareness of Primary School Students in Malaysia

A Study of Written Noun Pattern Sequences among Secondary School Students in Malaysia

The following research work aimed to investigate the language change of learners through their usage of noun pattern in order to identify which words occur with which patterns and then create a repertoire of the three learners’ particular ways of using them. In order to do so, like previous studies, the study relied on the theoretical framework of Hunston’s Pattern Grammar Approach (1997) and the conceptual framework of Larsen-Freeman’s Complexity Theory (2006). This mixed method study adopted a longitudinal research approach into Chau (2015) students’ data to observe the commonly occurred noun pattern sequences within their writing tasks over three years. This helped to understand the changes on the noun pattern about language learning by associating meaning production via noun pattern sequences. Data collection and analysis method was adopted from Tashakkori & Teddlie, 2010. The codification of noun patterns were done quantitatively and then its frequency was quantified. The five nouns have been identified from the analysis at keyness cut-off of 25 via Keywords Extractor followed by a codification of noun pattern sequences done via the framework by Collins Cobuild English Dictionary and Francis et al. (1998). The result of the analysis shows that students do follow noun patterns yet they also tend to produce structures in their very unique ways. Likewise, the repetition of pattern over the years observed in learners suggests language could be both regressing and progressing simultaneously, unlike the developmental leader metaphor applied in most educational settings. In other words, the study suggests that students should be acquainted with patterns instead of words in isolation because their association with different words makes them a natural accompaniment to a lexical approach. This paves the way for unorthodox scoring or marking system, shifting the focus from error analysis to meaningful production of language.

PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACTS OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC TOWARDS MALAYSIA’S SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

The COVID-19 pandemic has been spreading all across the globe since December 2019. The pandemic has brought a threat by not only risking peoples’ lives but also impacting society’s mental well-being. This research aimed to discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the psychological health of secondary school students in Malaysia who were expected to sit for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination in 2020 but it got postponed due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. The objectives of the proposed research revolve around the idea of investigating the underlying causes affecting these students’ mental well-being and identifying any coping mechanisms used to overcome this issue. A total of 137 respondents took part in completing the online survey from the period of February 16th to 21st 2021. Results indicated that 59.6% of the respondents are being psychologically impacted by the current pandemic, followed by 32.7% of the respondents who mentioned they somehow are being psychologically impacted, and 7.7% stating that the COVID-19 has not impacted them psychologically at all. A variety of external stressors led to a finding in the Generalised Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GAD-7) that respondents were asked to respond to, indicating that 37.6% of respondents had extreme anxiety, 28.8% had moderate anxiety, 20.0% had mild anxiety, and 5.6% & had normal mental well-being. It is highly suggested that the mental health of secondary school students needs to be monitored by the respective authorities to achieve a quality education among the students.Keywords: Coronavirus, pandemic, students’ mental well-being, mental health, education, online distance learning

Examining the STEM-Science Achievement Test (SSAT) Using Rasch Dichotomous Measurement Model

The main purpose of this study is to develop a valid and reliable instrument to measure the STEM-Science achievement of primary school students in Malaysia. Six Year 4 Science topics (Scientific Skills, Life Processes of Human, Properties of Materials, Measurement, Solar System, Importance of Technologies in Life) and Six Year 5 Science topics (Rules and Regulation in Science Lab, Life Processes of Plants, Acids and alkali, Electricity, Earth and Space Science, Technology and Sustainable Life) have been included in the development of the STEM-Science Achievement Test (SSAT). 226 Year 4 and 226 Year 5 primary school students in Sabah responded to the developed instrument to test their STEM-Science knowledge. The Rasch dichotomous measurement model approach was used to evaluate the validity and reliability of the SSAT. The validity assessed the Point-Measure Correlation (PTMEA CORR), Principal Component Analysis of Residuals (PCAR), as well as Infit and Outfit Mean Squares (MNSQ). In terms of reliability, Cronbach’s alpha, item reliability, and item separation index were analysed. The analysis results revealed the presence of unidimensionality for both objective and subjective items. For objective items, the reported values for Cronbach’s Alpha are .81 and .83; item reliability are .95 and .95; item separation are 4.21 and 4.25 for Year 4 and Year 5 students, respectively. Standardised residual correlations for Year 4 and Year 5 subjective items also showed satisfactory values. The assessment using Rasch measurement model has proven that SSAT is a valid and reliable instrument to measure Malaysian primary students’ STEM-Science-related knowledge.

Issues of Reading Habits Among Malaysian Students: School and Home Perceptions

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to analyze issues of reading habits among school students in Malaysia. This study used a qualitative method by conducting semi-structured interviews with school leaders, teachers, and parents in urban and rural areas. Sample selection used the purposive sampling method. Criteria in selecting study participants were position, teaching experience, background related to students' reading habits, and willingness to participate in this study. The findings of this study were analyzed using thematic methods. The analysis of the issues in urban areas resulted in five (5) themes for urban areas, while there were nine (9) themes for rural areas. These themes have been arranged according to the priority of the issue. The themes of issues faced in urban areas consist of (i) Students' Attitudes and Reading Awareness, (ii) Current Reading Programs Need to Be Improved, (iii) Changes in Reading Styles and Technological Developments, (iv) Aspects of Students' Environment That Do Not Support Reading Habits and (v) No Specific Time Allocation for Reading Activities. The results of the analysis of the findings of the study with participants in rural areas consist of (i) Lack of Family Support, (ii) No facilities, (iii) Students' Attitudes and Reading Awareness, (iv) Lack of Interesting Resources and Reading Materials, (v) Limited Reading Resources, (vi) Lack of Teacher Training on Reading Practice Skills, (vii) Aspects of Students' Environment That Do Not Support Reading Habits, (viii) Current Reading Program Need Improvement, (ix) No Clear Guidelines or Profile. The results of this study can serve as a reference, especially at the stakeholder level, such as for the District Education Office, School Administrators, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) as well as for policymakers who may utilize the findings of this study to identify and improve the community and students in Malaysia as a reading community.

Mental health and truancy among high school students in Malaysia: A comparison between ethnic minority groups

Mental disorders are common in school-going students and have been evidenced to cause truancy. However, a little is understood about the relationship between severe mental health symptoms and truancy in the ethnic minorities. The present study explores mental health factors associated with truancy among high school students in Malaysia with a focus on those who are from the ethnic minority groups. Nationally representative data with a large sample size (n = 8794) are used for secondary analyses. Mental health symptoms, as well as demographic and lifestyle characteristics are used as explanatory variables. Logistic regressions stratified by ethnicity are conducted to compare the odds of truancy in the ethnic minority groups. There are positive relationships between the likelihood of truancy and severe symptoms of anxiety and depression, suicidal ideation, grade level, males, having single parents, rural locality, smoking, drinking, and use of illicit drugs. These relationships vary across ethnic minority groups. Our study casts light on the important relationship between mental health symptoms and the decisions of ethnic minority students to play truant. Our findings could provide policy makers with a better understanding of which types of students are more or less likely to be truant. Thereby, a more effective intervention measure directed towards reducing truancy among the ethnic minority students can be formulated.

Development of English Speaking Skills Through Task-Based Learning Among Primary School Students in Malaysia

Effective teaching and learning activities are required to provide language learners with chances to develop communicative competence. In 2000, the Malaysian Ministry of Education introduced a program entitled “Literacy and Numeracy Screening” (LINUS) to enhance learners’ language proficiency. Despite the existence of this program, research shows that students in Malaysia face difficulties in developing English speaking abilities. This study, therefore, focuses on the application of task-based learning, particularly under the LINUS program. Specifically, the study aims to explore primary school pupils’ English speaking achievements and determine the extent of their improvements after learning through the task-based approach. This study employed a quasi-experimental method in which English-speaking tests (pre-test and post-test) were used as data-gathering instruments. The data were collected from a sample of 30 first-year primary school pupils at a national primary school using purposive sampling. The findings showed that as most of the pupils scored higher marks in the post-test compared to the pre-test. Further analysis revealed that task-based learning under the LINUS program enhances pupils’ English speaking achievement significantly. The task-based learning approach provides learners with chances to interact with peers and teachers to develop self-confidence, which in turn, helps them acquire language skills. It was envisaged that this study could provide English instructors, particularly primary school teachers, with valuable insights into the development of a more creative approach to teaching English speaking subjects through task-based learning under the LINUS program.

Calcium and iron intakes of adolescents in Malaysia and their relationships with body mass index (BMI): Findings from the Adolescent Nutrition Survey 2017

Introduction: Adolescent health is a priority considering they represent the future generation. Data from the Adolescent Nutrition Survey 2017 were analysed to determine the prevalence of micronutrient inadequacy, particularly calcium and iron, and the relationship with body mass index (BMI) among Malaysian secondary school students. Methods: This cross-sectional study included students aged 13 to 17 years old studying at public and private schools. Twenty-four hours dietary recall via face-to-face interview was conducted by trained nutritionists to obtain data on dietary intake. For nutritional status, BMI-for-age z-score (BAZ) was analysed using WHO Anthroplus software. Results: From 999 respondents, 449 were boys and 550 were girls. Overall findings indicated that both boys and girls had inadequate intakes of calcium and iron in their daily diet. Mean intakes of calcium (695.7±463.2 mg/day) and iron (23.4±21.0 mg/day) were higher among boys aged 16 to 17 years old. Mean intake of iron were higher among the older age groups. Majority of the respondents (boys: 94%; girls: 97%) did not meet the recommended nutrient intake (RNI) for calcium and more than half (boys: 50%; girl: 80%) did not achieve the RNI for iron. Current findings also found significant positive but weak correlations between calcium (r=0.112, p=0.001) and iron (r=0.084, p=0.008) intakes with BMI-for-age. Conclusion: BMI-for-age was related to calcium and iron intakes among secondary school students in Malaysia. Thus, intervention strategies should focus on early screening and nutrition education on food choices of high calcium and high iron contents, including iron supplementation programmes, if needed.

The Effect of Collaborative Strategic Reading on ESL Students’ Reading Comprehension Through Online Teaching

The purpose of this study are to investigate the effect of Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) on the reading comprehension of ESL secondary school students through online teaching and to find out the ESL secondary school students’ perceptions of the Collaborative Strategic Reading approach in online teaching. Ten secondary school students in Malaysia participated in this study. This study adopted an experimental design which is pre-test and post-test with a control group and an interview. In the experimental group, the students were taught using CSR while the students in the control group were taught in the traditional way. The result indicated that CSR had a positive effect on ESL secondary school students’ reading comprehension. However, the statistical analysis did not show that CSR significantly improve reading comprehension of the students compared with the traditional teacher-centered approach. The results of interview further proved that all students held a positive attitude towards CSR approach. Some suggestions for future research to further validate the effectiveness of CSR are also provided.

IDENTIFYING THE MENTAL STRESS OF MALAY STUDENTS WHO EXPERIENCING HYSTERIA PHENOMENON USING KRAEPELIN TEST

Hysteria is a symptom of emotional distress and mental illness that is prevalent among teenage girls. It happens a lot in schools during class. Hysteria frequently starts with one student and then spreads to other pupils, sometimes as many as 20-50 at a time. Its strange symptoms include uncontrollable screaming, struggle, crying for no apparent cause, speaking incoherently, and body paralysis. Many elements that create hysteria have been recognized in previous studies on the subject by psychologists, psychiatrists, and physicians from an alternative Islamic perspective. Hysteria can be influenced by cultural elements as well as personal values and beliefs. Psychologists feel that the patient's mental stress is the main cause of hysteria. One way for these patients to express themselves is through hysteria. Hysteria, according to psychiatrists, can be caused by intense emotional stress resulting from long-standing, unsolved, and unspoken emotional issues. The purpose of this study is to identify the mental stress of Malay students thus involved in hysteria by using the Kraepelin test. The Uchida-Kraepelin (U-K) test is a simple mathematic that requires intense concentration and effort and has been used as a tool to induce mental stress. This test used to identify mental stress among Malay students who attacked by hysteria. Hysteria is a social problem, which always occurs among school students in Malaysia. 10 hard hysteria students from four different schools were selected for this research. Mental stress status was assessed using the Kraepelin test. The state of mental speed reflects the state after they involved in hysteria. 10 students between the ages of 13 and17 from four different schools participated.

Hubungan Persekitaran Sekolah dan Guru dengan Amalan Akhlak Murid Sekolah Menengah Malaysia

This article examines the moral practice of secondary school students in Malaysia and their perception towards the school environment and the teachers of Islamic education. This article is part of the findings of a study that has used the survey as a method of data collection. The questionnaires were distributed to the students in the form four and lower six of secondary schools in Malaysia. They were selected based on the of multi stages cluster sampling. A total of 3 ,262 students were involved in answering the questionnaires. SPSS software has been used to analyze the data. It can be concluded that, the Islamic practice of Muslim students in secondary schools is categorized as ‘a high level of religious practice’ and their perception on school environment and Islamic education teachers also is high. This study also shows that there is a significant correlation between the Islamic moral practices of students and their perceptions of the school environment, and between Islamic education teachers.

Big Five Personality Traits as Predictors of Systems Thinking Ability of Upper Secondary School Students

Developing system thinking skills among secondary school students has been set as an educational goal for years. The emerging properties of a system have recently been influenced by the characteristics of each student. Thus, this study examines the Big Five personality traits as predictors of Malaysian school students‘ systems thinking. Quantitative data was obtained using a standardized questionnaire with established scales (the Goldberg’ International Personality Item Pool and the Systems Thinking Scale) from 196 upper secondary school students. The results indicate that personality traits affect secondary students‘ system thinking, and almost thirty percent of the variation in the Malaysian system thinking skill can be elucidated by its sub-domains. Although agreeableness has superior impacts on systems thinking, extraversion seems to have less importance on their systems thinking. The results also reveal the negative association between extraversion and neuroticism and systems thinking. We conclude that certain personality traits can improve systems thinking and promote students’ ability to solve complex problems. The implications of these findings for the enhancement of systems thinking among school students are discussed.

Road Safety Education Courseware: A Study of Satisfaction and Learning Performance among Primary School Students in Malaysia

<p class="Default">There is a significant increase in road accident statistics in Malaysia and this reflects the culture formed among users related to road safety. In developing a positive road safety culture, road safety education should be introduced from an early age. The effort by the Ministry of Education Malaysia in implementing road safety education in primary schools since 2007 is a wise move towards the formation of that culture. As the road system becomes busier and more complex, children need to be educated with sufficient knowledge and skills to cope with increasingly challenging road situations. This paper introduced the ROSE courseware which incorporates multimedia, AR and VR technologies for the purpose of assisting teachers and students to understand and acquire skills related to road safety. A study was conducted among 30 primary school students in using the ROSE courseware for road safety education. The study provides an insight into the relationship between perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and enjoyment and students’ satisfaction in using the ROSE courseware utilising Pearson correlation and regression analyses. Regression analysis resultsindicate the significant relationships between perceived usefulness and enjoyment and students’ satisfaction in using the ROSE courseware. However, the relationship between perceived ease of use and satisfaction is notsignificant.Using paired sample t-test, this study also looked at the students' learning performance due to the intervention of the ROSE courseware for RSE. The outcomes showed that the mean scoredifference between the pre-test and post-test is significant. By using the ROSE courseware, thestudents gained significantly higher level of road safety knowledge which indicates that the learning performance among the participants has been enhanced through the implementation of the ROSE courseware.</p>

Islamic Self-Identity Formation Through Language Learning: A Study of Religious Secondary School Students in Malaysia

Self-identity formation becomes increasingly challenging for students as they are exposed to different norms in the school environment. Education, language, and religion are crucial in the process of self-identity formation. Therefore, this study aims to explore how English language learning and the school environment influence Islamic self-identity formation among students in selected religious secondary schools in Terengganu, Malaysia. The study employed a qualitative approach in which 90 religious secondary school students in the State of Terengganu were selected using a purposive sampling technique. Focus group interviews were used as a data-gathering instrument. The students were divided across different sessions to ease the process of data collection. The data were transcribed and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. The study found that English language learning does not influence the students’ Islamic self-identity formation negatively. Instead, certain morals such as respect, self-esteem, and cooperation, are instilled in the students’ self-identity. This study provides evidence on the students’ ability to construct Islamic self-identity despite the challenges of second language learning.