Schools In Sarawak Research Articles

Exploring Distributed Leadership and Teacher Efficacy in TS25 Primary Schools, Sarawak

The Malaysian Education Development Plan (PPPM) 2013-2025 Wave 3, spearheaded by the Ministry of Education Malaysia, is geared towards enhancing the nation's education system. This initiative prioritizes elevating educational standards and delivering a comprehensive education to equip students for their future careers. A key focus of this plan is fostering a culture of peer leadership among educators to drive professional excellence. Consequently, this study aims to examine the correlation between distributed leadership and teachers’ efficacy in TS25 primary schools in Sarawak. Data collection involved the use of two instruments: Distributed Leadership Inventory (DLI) and the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES). Through stratified random sampling, 254 teachers from TS25 primary schools in the Sarikei district of Sarawak, Malaysia, participated in the study. Analysis reveals a generally positive perception of distributed leadership practices among teachers in these schools. Additionally, while most teachers perceive a moderate level of efficacy, smaller proportions demonstrate either low or high levels of efficacy. The findings from linear regression analysis indicate that distributed leadership significantly predicts teachers' efficacy in TS25 Primary Schools in Sarawak. In summary, this study underscores the significance of distributed leadership in shaping teacher efficacy and school outcomes, emphasizing the importance of collaboration, trust, and positive organizational climates. It underscores the necessity for policymakers, educators, and professional development providers to collaborate in promoting distributed leadership principles and empowering teachers to excel in their roles. This collaboration is crucial for ensuring the delivery of the highest quality education to all students.

Enhancing Reading Comprehension in Young Learners: A Study on The Effectiveness of The Graphic Novel “The Wizard of Oz”

The purpose of this research was to assess the impact of using graphic novels for enriching reading comprehension among Year 6 upper primary pupils. The study involved 14 Year 6 pupils from a rural primary school in Sarawak as participants. Employing a mixed-methodology approach, the investigation focused on the effectiveness of the graphic novel "The Wizard of Oz" in enhancing reading comprehension for Year 6 pupils. Instruments such as pre-tests, post-tests, and questionnaires were utilized to gather comprehensive data. Preliminary findings indicate a positive impact on reading comprehension, supported by the significant increase in the post-test scores. The pupils' responses, gathered through questionnaires, provide valuable insights into their perceptions of the effectiveness of graphic novels in improving their reading comprehension skills.

Development of Missionary School in Sarawak 1840-1960

Development of Missionary School in Sarawak 1840-1960

THE INTEGRATION OF 5E INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING AND GROUP INVESTIGATION MODEL: ITS EFFECTS ON LEVEL FOUR SCIENCE PROCESS SKILLS OF FORM FOUR STUDENTS

Studies found that the mastery of Level-4 Science Process Skills (L4SPS) among secondary school students is still relatively weak. Thus, the purpose of this research was to determine the effects of 5E Inquiry-based Learning and Group Investigation (I5E-GI) model on the five constructs of L4SPS, namely Identifying Manipulated, Responding, and Constant Variables, Forming Hypotheses, Making Observations, Making Inferences, and Defining Operationally. A teaching and learning (TL) module was developed to guide teachers in implementing the I5E-GI method for the five L4SPS constructs. The L4SPS Test Instrument was constructed to measure the level of L4SPS mastery at the end of intervention. The quasi-experimental research design was conducted on 180 Form Four students taking Core Science subjects. A total of three groups were assigned, namely i) 5E Inquiry-based Learning and Group Investigation method (I5E-GI, n = 60), ii) 5E Inquiry-based Learning method (5E, n= 60), and iii) Traditional Learning (TR, n = 60) in an urban secondary school in Sarawak, Malaysia. Data were analyzed using the inferential statistical tests of MANOVA, MANCOVA, ANCOVA, and effect size. The results showed that there was a statistically significant effect across the three groups of TL methods. There is a statistically significant effect of the I5E-GI method compared to the 5E and TR methods on the five L4SPS constructs. As for the effect size, the I5E-GI method provides a more significant effect size than the 5E and TR learning methods. Overall, the findings prove that the I5E-GI method has positive implications for the mastery of L4SPS among Form Four students. Keywords: 5E inquiry-based learning, Form Four students, Group Investigation, level-4 science process skills

The Implementation of Dual Language Programme by Non-Option Teachers Among Rural Schools in Sarawak: To What Extend is the Efficiency

The Implementation of Dual Language Programme by Non-Option Teachers Among Rural Schools in Sarawak: To What Extend is the Efficiency

Language Learning Strategies Used by ESL Learners in Primary Schools in Sarawak to Enhance Reading Skill

Language Learning Strategies Used by ESL Learners in Primary Schools in Sarawak to Enhance Reading Skill

Teachers’ Followership Behaviours and Principals’ Leadership Effectiveness in Malaysian Public Secondary Schools: A Case Study in Sarawak Southern Region

Improving leadership effectiveness in schools is a crucial priority across organizations. However, ineffective attempts to enhance leadership effectiveness often led to wasted resources and fail to improve student performance. These failures are typically attributed to an excessive focus on leaders while neglecting other organizational factors, including followers. Unfortunately, few studies have examined the impact of followership on leadership effectiveness in schools. This study aimed to investigate the followership behaviors of teachers and the leadership effectiveness of principals in Malaysian public secondary schools, using a follower-centric approach. The study employed a quantitative survey method, utilizing Google Forms to collect data. Respondents were selected from five public secondary schools in Sarawak's Southern Region through purposive sampling. A total of 108 valid questionnaires were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 27.0 statistical software. The findings indicated that teachers exhibited high levels of followership behaviors, including Assuming Responsibility, Serving, Taking Moral Action, and Participating In Transformation. However, their levels of Challenge were only moderate. Additionally, teachers reported that their principals demonstrated all five components of effective leadership: Modeling the Way, Inspire A Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, And Encourage the Heart, at a high level. These findings provide valuable insights for academics and practitioners interested in understanding how followership actions can contribute to the success of leadership development efforts. The study contributes significantly to the field of educational leadership and management by exploring the emerging concept of educational followership. It serves as a reliable reference for those seeking to enhance leadership effectiveness in schools, offering new perspectives in this area of research.

ESL Vocabulary Teaching Strategies Used by Primary School Teachers in Sarawak

The core component in any language is its vocabulary and vocabulary instruction lays the framework for pupils to retrieve words successfully in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The application of various techniques will encourage a more comprehensive and well-rounded method for teaching vocabulary. The goal of this study is to investigate the strategies employed by ESL teachers to teach vocabulary in primary schools through quantitative research design. The questionnaire was adapted from a study by AI Ameri (2013), where 16 items were selected, refined and used in this study to gather data from 30 primary school teachers teaching English in Sarawak. The data collected were analysed descriptively and the findings indicated that teachers use a variety of different techniques in the classroom rather than concentrating solely on one. Based on the results, the top three strategies used by teacher to teach vocabulary to their pupils are through group discussions or presentations, using actual objects or pictures and teaching pupils to infer a word's meaning from context. Hence, this study gave the researcher some understanding of the vocabulary teaching strategies utilised by teachers particularly in primary schools in Sarawak.

Exploring Language Learning Strategies in Enhancing Writing Skills Employed by Secondary School Successful Learners

Language learners require different strategies in language learning including in specific skills that they want to be good at. However, acquiring a language skill could pose some major challenges to some learners. In relation to that, this study aims to identify the most and least popular language learning strategies used in writing by secondary school successful learners. Purposive sampling was used in selecting 40 high English proficient students as the respondents from an urban secondary school in Sarawak. The Young Learners’ Language Strategy Use Survey by Cohen and Oxford (1990) was adopted which was further analysed by using a descriptive analysis method. It was found out that 31 participants preferred reading what they wrote to see if it is good enough as the most popular language learning strategy in writing. Meanwhile, the least popular language learning strategy selected by the participants is using words from their own language but adding new endings to those words. With advancement of technology used specifically for education, it is recommended that schools to provide electronic tools or gadgets to help students make their skill learnt all the way into their writing activities. It is hoped that this study will provide some meaningful insights to the language learning strategies used among successful learners to enhance their writing skills especially for the betterment of English language teaching and learning.

Hots Questions and Narrative Writing Ability of Lower Primary Pupils in a Vernacular School

Narrative writing is a skill given emphasis by the Ministry of Education (MoE) through the specific Content Standards (CS) and Learning Standards (LS) stipulated in the Curriculum Standard and Assessment Document (DSKP) and aligned to the Common European Framework of References (CEFR) scales. However, lower primary pupils; particularly in urban areas still struggle to produce narrative writings that show quality. This paper presents and discusses an Exploratory Case Study on the use of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) questions to improve pupils’ narrative writing skills. The study involved 6 purposively chosen lower primary pupils in a vernacular school in Sarawak. Data were collected through classroom interactions, WhatsApp interviews and document analysis. This was to ensure the validity and reliability of the data. Findings of the students’ interview responses indicated that they felt the HOTS questions helped improve their narrative writing as evident in the analysis of their writing tests. Discussions on the findings imply pedagogical, theoretical and policy implications relevant to the Malaysian education and students aspirations outlined in the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013-2025. Meanwhile, areas for further research can focus on the effectiveness of HOTS on improving other language skills and competency.

Development of Missionary Schools in Sarawak 1840-1960

Development of Missionary Schools in Sarawak 1840-1960

Goal content and attitudes toward physical activity among primary school students during COVID-19 conditional movement control order

This study examined primary school students’ goal content and attitudes toward physical activity during COVID-19 Conditional Movement Control Order . The participants were 312 students comprising 149 males and 163 females aged 11 and 12 years old from 3 primary schools in Sarawak, Malaysia. Participants were administered the Malay version of the Goal Content for Exercise Questionnaire Malay version (GCEQ; Chai et al., 2019) and Malay version of the Attitudes toward Physical Activity Scale (M-APAS; Jeswenny, 2019). The independent sample t-test revealed that there was a significant difference between gender for goal content in social affiliation, t(310) = -2.18, p = 0.030, and age groups for skill development, t(310) = 2.35, p = 0.019. In addition, there was a significant difference in learning for attitudes between gender, p = 0.034, and age groups, p = 0.035. Pearson correlation revealed a significant positive correlation between goal content variables and attitude variables ranging from a very weak correlation (r = 0.13, p = 0.05) to moderate correlation (r = 0.57, p = 0.01). These results suggest that sustainable interventions that integrate goal content and attitudes can improve long-lasting positive participation towards physical activity and promote a healthy attitude towards healthy living.

TEACHING STRATEGIES TO TEACH HEARING-IMPAIRED STUDENTS AT SPECIAL EDUCATION SCHOOL IN SARAWAK, MALAYSIA

Whatever teaching strategies adopted by the teacher, it has to be the one best suited for a specific target group of students, even if it will be a tall order for hearing-impaired students who have language and communication problems. With different hearing-impaired student abilities, the teacher is very much challenged and must be equipped with skills in order to successfully teach and accommodate the needs of all the students. A qualitative study was done in a special education school in Sarawak, Malaysia. Five teachers participated in the structured interview to answer the three objectives of this study. The objectives are to identify the teaching strategies used to teach hearing-impaired students, to determine the reasons for the choice of teaching strategies used to teach hearing-impaired students and to identify challenges in teaching hearing-impaired students. The study shows that there is lack of communication competence among students and also a lack of teaching competency to teach hearing-impaired students by the teachers. The teachers also expressed their worries about the social, academic, and emotional challenges that the students face.

Using Pick and Speak Board Game to Enhance Pupils’ Speaking Skill

English as a Second Language emerges as an essential language to acquire and impacts most of the education system. The scenario also requires our young learners to master the language to polish their interpersonal and communication skills to prepare them for a developing nation. This research aims to study whether using the Pick and Speak board game can help enhance speaking skills among primary school pupils. The research applied quasi-experimental research to obtain data. 67 Year 3 pupils from four suburban schools in Sarawak were identified as the research sample. The researchers grouped them into high achievers, intermediate and low achievers. Pupils were given questionnaires to get their feedback to support the data finding from the pre-test and post-test. With the aid of this board game intervention, pupils are expected to construct sentences using present continuous tense and describe their daily routines orally. The study indicated that using Pick and Speak board game impacts pupils' speaking performance, especially in vocabulary and pronunciation, followed by grammar and fluency aspects during the learning process. The researchers hoped that this board game innovation would benefit both the teachers and young learners as the alternative teaching aid to teach and develop their speaking skills with grammatical errors free. Most importantly, the Pick and Speak board game offers an effective way of improving teaching efficiency, encouraging the element of collaborative and competition in a non-threatening environment.

Students’ Vocabulary Learning Strategies of Discovery and Consolidation in Malaysian Primary School English Language Classrooms

A good grasp of vocabulary enables language learners to articulate, comprehend and communicate ideas and concepts effectively. For learners whose first language is not English, mastering vocabulary knowledge in terms of the breadth and depth is challenging and needs to start at a young age through the use of various strategies. The lack of English language vocabulary knowledge would demotivate learners and even result in abandoning efforts to learn the language. Therefore, it is important that learners know and are able to use five strategies, which include determination, social, cognitive, memory, and metacognitive strategies to learn vocabulary. Determination and social strategies are in the discovery category, while social cognitive, memory, and metacognitive strategies are in the consolidation category. This study aims to determine the vocabulary learning strategies used by 132 Year Five primary school English language students in two urban National Type Chinese schools in Sarawak. It investigated the strategies these learners used, how frequently they used them, and their reasons for preferring particular strategies. Data were collected from two classrooms at each school through the use of questionnaire and individual interview. Questionnaire results were analysed descriptively in terms of mean scores and standard deviation while interview responses were coded, categorised and analysed using thematic analysis. The findings suggest that while the students employed moderate use of all the five strategies, cognitive strategies which involved mechanical approaches were the most used while social strategies were not used by all students.

Language Learning Strategies Used for Reading Skill by Pupils in Selected Rural Schools in Sarawak

Rural schools in Malaysia strive to progress on par with their counterparts in urban schools despite their differences. Pupils learning in the rural schools may not experience a similar level of exposure to English as the pupils in the urban schools. It is seen essential to understand the learning process experienced by pupils in rural schools to progress in learning. Language learning strategies are a crucial element in the learning process and action that aid the use and acquisition of language. It is hypothesized that one factor influencing the development of reading skills was the pupils' learning strategies. This study aims to examine the learning strategies used among rural primary school pupils in developing their reading skills. In this study, quantitative research design was administered through the use of survey. The data was collected through questionnaires of Young Learners’ Language Strategy Use Survey by Andrew D. Cohen and Rebecca L. Oxford (2002). Four selected schools are situated in the rural areas of four districts in Sarawak. The data collected were analyzed quantitatively. The major finding of this study resulted in the two highest percentages of preferred language learning strategies by the pupils in the selected rural schools namely the affective strategy and the cognitive strategy. The findings will be able to benefit the educators by giving new insights on appropriate reading strategies that would impact optimally as well as improving the pupils’ learning progress awareness concerning reading skill. This reflects on the current teaching of English reading skills and what can be done to give a more impactful reading outcome. On this basis, consideration of the types of reading materials, reading tasks and readers’ aspects should be taken into account when designing reading lessons.

Exploring Informal Learning Opportunities via YouTube Kids among Children During COVID-19

Education has been greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Children are becoming restless and stressed upon adjusting to emergent learning. An online platform that can regulate informal learning opportunities and entertainment for children during the worldwide crisis is needed. This need points towards the potential use of YouTube Kids (YTK); the app is age-appropriate and it offers popular videos with diverse contents. Studies have focused on the safety of YTK, but none has explored how young users could navigate their informal learning through the app. Fifty respondents aged 11 to 12 from a rural school in Sarawak, Malaysia participated in this study. Employing a mixed-methods research design, the study incorporated an online questionnaire and semi-structured group interviews as research instruments. Findings indicated distinctive features concerning the safety and multimodality of YTK. These features make YTK a great informal learning tool for children during present worldwide pandemic.
 
 Received: 25 January 2021 / Accepted: 24 March 2021 / Published: 10 May 2021

Year 6 Pupils' Language Learning Strategies in Learning English Grammar

Language rules, otherwise known as grammar, play an important role in determining the accuracy of a message delivered verbally and non-verbally. Some learners gain new language easily while others may face difficulties. The different pace in their language acquisition may be attributed to the different learning strategies that they adopted. Past research has revealed how learners acquired their grammar knowledge, but little has been related to specific Language Learning Strategies (LLS). Thus, in this study, the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) Version 7.0 by Oxford (1990) was utilized to identify, analyze, and explore the LLS commonly used by the learners in the Year 6 class of a primary school in Sarawak in learning English grammar. A survey consisting of 30 questions with a Likert scale of 1 to 5 was administered to 30 pupils who were selected through purposive sampling. The pupils were all living in suburban areas and that put them in a homogenous group. The data was obtained through in-class questionnaires and SPSS Version 25 was used to analyze the mean of each strategy. The results of the study uncovered that cognitive strategy is the most used LLS while memory strategy is the least used LLS by the Year 6 pupils of a primary school in Sarawak in learning English grammar.

The Development and Validation of Science Achievement Test

Academic achievement is often regarded as a determinant of academic success. One of the most common assessment tools to evaluate the student achievement is through a well set achievement test. The main objective of the study was to develop and validate an achievement test in Science for senior secondary school students of grade 10. A Science Achievement Test (SAT) was developed by an excellent teacher in science subject based on Malaysia Science Curriculum Specification. The SAT consists of 50 multiple choice questions, which include the all 8 chapters in grade 10 science. The SAT had been validated by experts and analysed to check the difficulty index (p) and discrimination index (d), internal consistency reliability. Data were obtained from a purposive sampling of 50 students in a pilot study carried out in a secondary school in Sarawak, Malaysia. Based on the difficulty index, there are 12 easy items, 33 moderate items and 5 difficult items. 7 items found to be poor items and needed to be modified or removed due to the poor discriminating power. The reliability of SAT based on KR20 and Split half method showed the coefficient of 0.862 and 0.851 respectively. From the study, the SAT was a valid and reliable tool for measuring the students achievement in science. Keywords: Science achievement test, validity, reliability, difficulty index, discriminant index DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-20-12 Publication date: July 31 st 2020

Enhancing Malaysian Primary Pupils’ Vocabulary Skills using Pocable Game and Pear Deck

The importance of teaching English as a second language has been given emphasis as stated in the Malaysian Education Blueprint (2013-2025). Previous studies had proven that it was extremely draining to teach vocabulary to pupils using conventional chalk and talk methods. Pupils were demotivated and they could not remember the words learned. Hence, this research was carried out to enhance and encourage pupils to learn vocabularies. Pocable is a form of game-based learning and is initiated based on the concept taken from two popular games known as “Scrabble Board Game” and “Chinese Play Card Game”. Pear Deck was incorporated as an interactive online platform used to engage pupils in individual and social learning. In this quasi-experimental research, pre-test, post-test, and survey questionnaire were applied to collect data from 40 Year Four pupils of four rural schools in Sarawak ranging from Subis and Bintulu districts. The data collected were analysed descriptively. The findings of the research showed that majority of the respondents had improvements in their vocabulary skills and 4C’s (cooperation and collaboration, communication, creative and critical thinking skills) and 1V (value). They were also encouraged to learn more vocabularies. This research had also shone some light on the potential use of Pocable Game as ESL learners had better memory retention of the vocabularies learned. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.6.9