Malaysian Secondary School Students Research Articles

Moral Emotion and Moral Identity on Moral Judgement Maturity Among Malaysian Secondary School Students

In preparation for the challenges of the real world and life after school, moral judgement stands as a pivotal skill among Malaysian secondary school students. Understanding the moral motivating factors contributing to the development of moral judgement maturity is imperative. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the relationships between moral motivation components—specifically, moral emotion (guilt and shame) and moral identity—and moral judgement among Malaysian secondary school students. A sample of 393 students (170 males, 223 females; M age = 16 years) from Selangor state participated in the study. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was utilised to analyse the predictive associations between these constructs. The findings revealed positive correlations among moral emotion, moral identity, and moral judgement. Notably, both guilt and shame, as well as moral identity, were found to be significantly related to students' moral judgement maturity. These results suggest that the tendency for experiencing guilt and shame, along with a heightened moral identity, play pivotal roles in shaping the moral judgement maturity of secondary school students, potentially fostering their moral development. This study contributes valuable insights into the mechanisms linking emotions and identity to moral judgement maturity, offering significant implications for the field of moral psychology.

Secondary Students’ Awareness on Renewable Energy: A Comparison Between Malaysia and Oman

This study responds to the critical imperative of strengthening renewable energy (RE) education and fostering sustainable development awareness among secondary school students in Malaysia and Oman. It investigates the feasibility of using the mobile learning module named "MyREL" to enhance students' understanding, awareness, and interest for RE and sustainable development. The research findings underscore significant improvements in students' knowledge levels post-implementation of the "MyREL" module, with a more substantial increase observed in Oman. Developed content within "MyREL" plays a pivotal role in enhancing students' awareness of RE and climate issues, addressing the initial low levels of awareness in both countries. Notably, the study reveals a remarkable boost in students' interest in pursuing higher education and careers in the RE sector, highlighting the module's effectiveness in nurturing interest. While acknowledging study limitations, such as a small sample size and a brief intervention period, the research encourages future exploration to refine content, employ diverse teaching strategies, and conduct long-term assessments for knowledge and interest retention. Ultimately, this feasibility study underscores the significance of technology-enhanced learning, exemplified by "MyREL," in advancing RE literacy and advancing global efforts to combat climate change while facilitating the transition to cleaner energy sources

Exploring The Landscape of Food Safety Knowledge and Practice among Malaysian Secondary School Students

Exploring The Landscape of Food Safety Knowledge and Practice among Malaysian Secondary School Students

Knowledge and Attitudes of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination among Secondary School Students in Selangor, Malaysia

Cervical cancer is a significant cause of female mortality in Malaysia, primarily linked to Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection. To address this, the Malaysian government launched a HPV vaccination program targeting secondary school students. This study aimed to investigate the level of knowledge and attitude toward HPV vaccination and its association with demographics as a determinant among Malaysian secondary school students. A survey study using random sampling was conducted for 182 secondary school students in Selangor between the aged 13-17 years old. A validated questionnaire was used to collect data on demographics, knowledge, and attitudes toward HPV vaccination. The students demonstrated moderate knowledge (M=3.75, SD=.85) and generally positive attitudes (M=3.48, SD=3.57) towards HPV vaccination. Gender (χ2=6.39, p=.011), ethnicity (χ2=6.57, p=.037), religion (χ2=15.51, p=.004), and age (χ2=12.61, p=.013) were statistically significant factors affecting knowledge. Gender (χ2=8.44, p=.004) and family income (χ2=11.63, p=.040) significantly influenced attitudes. The Malaysian national HPV immunisation program has been effective, but improvements are needed. These include adopting a gender-neutral approach, educating parents to foster positive attitudes, and promoting acceptance of HPV vaccination. Strategies like introducing sexual education and collaboration with the Ministry of Health School Health Unit (UKS) are vital for enhancing public awareness and understanding of HPV vaccination.

UTILISING GOOGLE CLASSROOM TO DEVELOP LINGUISTIC ACCURACY IN WRITING AMONG ESL LEARNERS

In the era of globalisation, the education system in Malaysia has undergone multiple drastic changes from time to time. A different education strategy is essential to impact students' success positively. In the Malaysian education system, Google Classroom replaced VLE-Frog to enhance teaching and learning in Malaysian schools. Technology has gained importance in all stages of education, and Google Classroom is one such tool that is free and has gained popularity quickly. The spread of COVID-19 has affected multiple sectors, including Malaysia's education sector. The decision to close schools during the Movement Control Order (MCO) has caused a severe problem for the learning environment. Therefore, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has taken proactive steps to solve this problem. Most schools carried out online teaching during this period. Teaching and learning recently emphasised online platforms, where Google Classroom is the primary application used in the Malaysian education system. As a teaching aid, Google Classroom can make learning more meaningful and effective. Therefore, this research investigates Google Classroom's effectiveness in developing linguistic accuracy in writing among ESL learners. Findings conclude that Google Classroom is a practical application to enhance linguistic accuracy in writing. Google Classroom is expected to be an essential application for learning English among Malaysian secondary school students. Currently, students have accepted using Google Classroom as a new learning norm. The positive outcomes observed in terms of linguistic accuracy suggest that Google Classroom has the potential to revolutionize the field of ESL education. However, it is essential to acknowledge that effective implementation requires thoughtful pedagogical strategies and ongoing teacher professional development. Additionally, digital access and technological literacy should be considered to ensure equitable educational opportunities for all ESL learners.

Investigating Financial Literacy Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Malaysian Secondary School Students

Youths are more likely to achieve financial independence and prevent intergenerational poverty with adequate knowledge about finance management. Adequate financial literacy is pertinent to enhance financial knowledge, behaviours, and overall well-being in managing finance from a young. This study aims to assess the financial knowledge, attitude, and practice among 150 high school urban students aged 13 to 17 years. The participants (N=150) completed an online survey questionnaire. The financial knowledge was assessed with 20 knowledge-based questions and 15 attitude and practice-based questions respectively using the Likert scale. Data was analysed using the chi-square test and median value. Results show a significant association between financial knowledge and financial literacy. The higher secondary students had higher scores in the three variables due to the exposure to financial literacy subjects, parental support, and peer influence in financial practices. Financial literacy was also associated with the age of the study population. The study shows that there is a need to implement a formalised curriculum to increase financial literacy among secondary students to have a more robust and positive implication on the students’ financial practices for the future. The study is significant in creating awareness and empowering the students with the necessary financial literacy skills.

Prevalence and predictors of social anxiety disorders among Malaysian secondary school students during the COVID-19 pandemic: Exploring the influence of internet gaming disorder and impulsivity.

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of social anxiety disorder (SAD) among Malaysian secondary school students during the COVID-19 pandemic and to explore its correlations with demographic variables, impulsivity behavior, and internet gaming disorder (IGD). A total of 1574 participants from 12 government secondary schools across five Malaysian states, comprising 569 males and 1005 females, completed an online questionnaire containing validated Malay versions of the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, and Internet Gaming Disorder Scale - Short Form. The findings revealed a notable SAD prevalence rate of 40.53% among Malaysian adolescents. Logistic regression analysis unveiled significant associations between SAD and factors such as attention impulsiveness (OR = 2.58, p < .001), motor impulsiveness (OR = 1.47, p = .03), female gender (OR = 2, p < .001), Malay ethnicity, and IGD (OR = 1.08, p < .001). In conclusion, this study provides valuable insights into the extent of social anxiety experienced by Malaysian secondary school students during the pandemic, shedding light on the demographic and psychosocial factors linked to its emergence. Furthermore, the research underscores a robust link between IGD and SAD, emphasizing the need for comprehensive interventions addressing both issues concurrently. By recognizing the multifaceted nature of these associations, future interventions can be tailored to provide holistic support for adolescents' mental well-being.

Enhancing Reading Comprehension for Underprivileged Malaysian ESL Secondary School Students: A Module Development

This research aims to develop a reading comprehension module to enhance the reading skills of underprivileged Malaysian ESL secondary school students. The study employs a quantitative approach consisting of a needs analysis, module development, expert evaluation, and field testing. The needs analysis phase involves identifying the specific requirements of students in terms of reading comprehension. The developed modules integrate six diverse reading comprehension activities, including reading aloud, answering comprehension questions, matching activities, filling in the blanks, categorising materials and solving puzzles based on reading texts. The materials used for module development are sourced from Malaysian English school textbooks. The expert evaluation stage involves the participation of four experienced teachers who complete a module content evaluation questionnaire and a module design validity assessment questionnaire. Their valuable insights and feedback contribute to refining and improving the modules. Adjustments and revisions are made based on the received feedback. The final phase of the research involves testing the developed modules with a sample of 30 underprivileged students from a secondary school in Klang, Selangor, Malaysia. Pre and post-tests are administered to measure the student’s reading comprehension skills before and after module implementation. This research seeks to address the educational needs of underprivileged Malaysian secondary school students by providing them with targeted reading comprehension modules. The findings from this study have the potential to inform educational practices and contribute to the development of tailored interventions aimed at improving reading comprehension skills among underprivileged students in Malaysia.

Exploratory Factors and Reliability Analysis of Active Learning Techniques Instruments to Assess Business Subjects of Secondary School Students in Malaysia

&lt;p style="text-align:justify"&gt;Active learning (AL) techniques invite students to participate actively, either physically or mentally, in the learning process so that they can change their behavior efficiently to achieve great achievement. Still, there is insufficient knowledge concerning the dimensions of AL techniques for business subjects of secondary school students in Malaysia. Thus, the research’s goal is to assist in the determination of the instruments’ reliability to measure the AL techniques measurement scale for business subjects’ students using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) as well as reliability analysis. Moreover, this research conducted a self-administered survey among secondary school students who have taken business subjects as their elective subjects. From secondary schools in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, 123 respondents were randomly chosen for the sample. To measure the AL constructs, the study retained 30 items developed because no items have been omitted since the factor loading turned out higher than the 0.50 cut-off point and was used as a tool for data collection. Essentially, this research empirically validates the dimension which helps lead to AL techniques in business subjects that are improved, and the findings are particularly beneficial to secondary school students in Malaysia.&lt;/p&gt;

Review of Physical Education Curriculum Design for Primary and Secondary School Students in Malaysia for the Purpose of Health Promotion in the Past Ten Years

Among both primary and secondary school students, physical education (PE) plays a critical role in encouraging pupils to take responsibility for their own health on multiple levels. This narrative literature review focuses on examining the design of the PE curriculum for health promotion within the Malaysian context over the past decade. Employing a narrative literature review approach, a total of 118 articles were scrutinized from an initial pool of 157. This comprehensive analysis aimed to uncover key variables influencing PE curriculum design and its role in health promotion. The review identified critical variables shaping health promotion through PE. Curriculum content, teaching methods, teacher training, professional development, stakeholder involvement, and health promotion outcomes were all included. The evaluation emphasized how important it is to have curriculums that are based on evidence, to use effective teaching methods, and to give teachers chances to improve their skills. These factors emerged as essential contributors to promoting health among students. Furthermore, the study highlighted the importance of involving various stakeholders in the curriculum design process and emphasized the necessity of evaluating health promotion outcomes. There is a clear need for further investigations into the intricate relationships between these variables and health promotion outcomes. Additionally, it suggests the formulation of comprehensive policy guidelines and standards for PE within the Malaysian educational system. In conclusion, this literature evaluation may help practice and policymakers create effective PE programs. Malaysia may improve student health through physical education by using evidence-based curriculum design, teacher training, and stakeholder interaction.

The influence of gender on STEM career choice: A partial least squares analysis

Students’ participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is still one of the most critical worldwide educational challenges despite efforts to promote STEM. Debates about gender disparities in STEM careers also remain perpetual. Early documented literature suggested shifts in students’ STEM choices were due to students’ significant others, media exposure and attitude. Therefore, the first aim of this paper was to examine the direct and indirect relationships in a proposed model, and analyze the mediating roles of media exposure and students’ attitude in the relationship between subjective norms and STEM career choice intention. The second aim was to analyze the moderating role of students’ gender. Respondents of this study were 806 secondary school students in Malaysia. Based on the results from partial least squares structural equation modeling, (i) subjective norms had both direct and indirect influence on students’ career choice intention in STEM, (ii) media exposure and students’ attitude were significant mediators between subjective norms and career choice intention in STEM, and (iii) gender moderated the influence of subjective norms on media exposure. The findings drawn from this study provide insights into the design and development of STEM initiatives for parents, teachers, and peers by considering the importance of the media, students’ attitude, and gender. Recommendations for policy and practice enhancements were suggested for future research directions to support STEM interventions in Malaysia.

The Impact of Implementing Quizizz on Developing Vocabulary Skills in Language Learning Among Malaysian Secondary School Students in Rural Areas

Gamification of education Technology definitely plays a significant part in English Language Teaching (ELT). Nowadays, Quizizz is one of the popular game-based learning that is frequently applied in education especially in language learning lesson. This study investigates the impact of implementing Quizizz, a gamified online learning platform, on the development of vocabulary skills among Malaysian Secondary School Students in rural areas. The current study comprised 33 participants, all of them were from three secondary students with mixed ability proficiency from SMK Desa Kencana in Lahad Datu. Pre- and post-test assessments measure the development of vocabulary skills. The study aims to determine whether Quizizz have a significant positive impact to the development of the students' vocabulary skills. Additionally, students' perceptions of Quizizz as a learning tool are explored through quantitative data using questionnaire. The results of the paired t-test analysis and the difference in mean scores suggested a significant rise in students' vocabulary achievement. Furthermore, according to the questionnaire findings, pupils have a positive perception towards the implementation of Quizizz in language learning. The findings contribute insight into the potential benefits and limitations of applying Quizizz for vocabulary skill development, providing insights into the practicality of utilising technology-enhanced learning approaches in rural education situations. Overall, the findings of this study have significance for educators, policymakers, and curriculum designers looking for new ways to improve language learning outcomes in rural secondary schools.

Fueling Ambitions: The Dynamic Interplay of Personality, Cognitive, and Self-Efficacy in Fostering STEM Interest among Malaysian Secondary School Students

STEM education is an important element in today's education, especially in the career field of the future, making expertise in STEM a priority in the career market. Together with the development of science and technology, which is within the framework of the industrial revolution 4.0, STEM makes education a priority for society and the country. However, the declining participation of STEM education makes it difficult to implement some policies and strategies set by the government. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of psychological education in the areas of personality, cognition and self-efficacy on STEM career interest of students. This study can add value to the elements of psychological education and open a new dimension to increase students' interest and inclination towards the field of STEM education in school.

Charting the Course: STEM Interest Career Survey among Secondary School Students in Malaysia

Charting the Course: STEM Interest Career Survey among Secondary School Students in Malaysia

Родительское участие и академическая успеваемость старшеклассников во время действия приказа о контроле за перемещением граждан в период COVID-19

&lt;p&gt;Parents and children have been affected by the COVID-19 Movement Control Order (MCO). Parental involvement is often linked to children&amp;rsquo;s academic performance. This study first examined the link between parental involvement and children&amp;rsquo;s academic performance during the MCO. Next, it examined the differences in academic performance before and during the MCO. Malaysian secondary school students (&lt;em&gt;N&lt;/em&gt;=130, 61.6% female) aged 16-17 (&lt;em&gt;M&lt;/em&gt;=16.42, &lt;em&gt;SD&lt;/em&gt;=0.4967) responded to questions about their parents&amp;rsquo; involvement from before and during the MCO and completed the Inventory of Parental Influence. Exam grades from before and after the MCO were also collected. The results revealed a low to moderate positive correlation (&lt;em&gt;r &lt;/em&gt;= 0.291,&lt;em&gt; p&lt;/em&gt;&amp;lt;0.05) between parental involvement in three areas (discussions, home care, and communication) and academic performance. During the MCO, students&amp;rsquo; perception of parental involvement at home increased, &lt;em&gt;t&lt;/em&gt;(129)-5.82, &lt;em&gt;p&amp;lt;.&lt;/em&gt;05). However, there was also a significant decrease in students&amp;rsquo; academic performance during the MCO when compared to before the MCO, &lt;em&gt;t&lt;/em&gt;(123) = 2.058, &lt;em&gt;p&lt;/em&gt;&amp;lt;0.05. Implications and future research recommendations are suggested.&lt;/p&gt;

Methodology of National Health and Morbidity Study (NHMS): Adolescent Health, Malaysia 2022

Introduction: In Malaysia, the adolescent health studies conducted in 2012 and 2017 revealed an increasing trend of adolescent health risk behaviours and protective factors. This current study aims to determine health risk behaviours and protective factors among adolescents in the country. Methods: The current nationwide cross-sectional study of Malaysian secondary school students used multistage stratified sampling to select 240 nationally representative schools. This study was conducted from June to July 2022 among the students in forms 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 in all Malaysian states by 34 data collection teams. A validated self-administered questionnaire was used, similar to those used in the NHMS 2012 and NHMS 2017. The quality control was done twice, once at the field level and once at the central level. Sample weighting and analysis were conducted using SPSS statistical software version 28.0. Results: A total of 239 schools out of 240 schools took part in the study (response rate, 99.6%) and total of 33,523 students were involved in this study (response rate, 89.4%). In terms of ethnicity, the highest number of students who participated in the study were Malay (63.0%), followed by Chinese (18.1%) and Indian (6.0 %). While the distribution of sex and form among the students were almost the same. Conclusion: To obtain an accurate representation of the nation's adolescent population for this study, samples from public and private schools that are governed by the Ministries of Education and Rural and Regional Development were deemed to be the most reliable. Keywords: Adolescent - NHMS - Methodology - Malaysia

Exploring the influence of student leadership on self-resilience for national secondary school students in Malaysia

&lt;span lang="EN-US"&gt;Students are the backbone to future leadership and the catalyst for the success of a country. Hence, student leadership with high self-resilience should be shaped and built as early as possible. Student leaders with low self-resilience will portray negative feelings and not able to play a full role. To identify student leadership practices and their relationship with national secondary school students’ resilience in the eastern zone states of Malaysia, this quantitative survey study used questionnaires adapted from the inventory of student leadership practices (S-LPI) to measure the dimensions of student leadership on 394 students selected through cluster random sampling while a self-resilience questionnaire was used to measure students’ level of self-resilience. Using the statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 26 for descriptive data and partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM 3) for inferential statistics, the results showed that the dimensions of inspire a shared vision, challenge a processes and enable to act were dimensions of student leadership practices that had significantly affected self-resilience while student leadership practices with flexible, orderly self-resilience and prioritizing social relationships in organizations were factors for shaping future leaders.&lt;/span&gt;

Effect of Self-Hypnosis on Test Anxiety among Secondary School Students in Malaysia

ABSTRACT Test anxiety comprises cognitive, physiological, and behavioral reactions due to anxiety about failure or a lower academic performance score on an exam or evaluation. This study examined the effect of self-hypnosis on reducing test anxiety among upper secondary school students using a quantitative methodology with a pre-experimental design. The prevalence of test anxiety was measured using the Friedben Test Anxiety Scale (FTAS) and students’ demographic data were collected. Twenty-two 16-year-old students with moderate to high test anxiety were selected for a self-hypnosis intervention over a period of 5 weeks. The FTAS questionnaire was administered 4 times: at baseline, 3rd week, 5th week, and at follow-up (3 weeks after the intervention). Students’ test anxiety differences were statistically significant across 4 time points. Self-hypnosis intervention decreased students’ overall test anxiety scores and in the 3 constructs: social, cognitive, and tenseness. The outcomes indicate that self-hypnosis training can help students cope with test anxiety and should be further explored for managing test anxiety in school settings.

Integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics project-based learning for physics learning from neuroscience perspectives.

For many students, learning physics is difficult because of its abstractness. To help students to learn physics, we have developed the Integrated Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Projects Based Learning (STEM-PjBL) method based on principles from neuroscience. We believe that incorporating principles from educational neuroscience would help students learn better. This paper describes our experiments of implementing the integrated STEM-PjBL Module in physics, i.e., classical mechanics, to secondary school students in Malaysia and South Korea. The study consists of two groups of students: the experiment group, 77 in total, comprising those who have undergone the integrated STEM-PjBL, and the control group, again 77 in total, who experienced the traditional approach. The Colorado Learning Attitudes Science Survey (CLASS) was conducted for the two groups on students' beliefs about physics and learning physics before and after the implementation. The paired sample t-test from the pre-survey and post-survey shows that the integrated STEM-PjBL group has a more positive shift in belief about physics and learning physics than the traditional group. The results of the independent samples t-test for students' beliefs about physics and learning physics, compared with the post-survey between the experimental group and the traditional group for both Malaysian and Korean perspectives, show that the experimental group has a higher mean compared to the traditional group. This paper explains why the integrated STEM-PjBL has improved students' beliefs about physics and learning physics, from the neuroscience education perspective. Finally, the paper concludes with guidelines for teachers who wish to implement the integrated STEM-PjBL in the classroom.

THE POWER OF SPOKEN LANGUAGE: UNDERSTANDING COMMUNICATION APPREHENSION AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE ANXIETY AMONG THAI-SPEAKING MINORITY STUDENTS IN MALAYSIAN NATIONAL SCHOOLS

Communication apprehension refers to the feeling of anxiety or fear that individuals experience when they need to communicate with others. In the context of foreign language learning, communication apprehension can have significant implications on learners' abilities to learn, use, and acquire the language effectively, yet studies on it as one of the key components contributing to anxiety in language learning especially among minority learners are still scarce. This study examines communication apprehension as one of the four components recognised to spark anxiety in foreign language learning. The focus was directed at a group of Thai-speaking Malaysian secondary school students, who are always addressed as the minority ethnic groups in this country. As a minority race, it is believed that this population may have unique experiences and challenges in learning English as a foreign language, which have not been extensively studied before. The findings contribute to the existing literature by examining foreign language anxiety from the perspective of minority Thai-speaking students, identifying anxiety-inducing situations, and offering recommendations for educational interventions to address communication apprehension. It was found that these students were uncomfortable or anxious in a variety of situations when speaking in English mainly when participating in impromptu tasks. The findings contribute to the identification of specific situations that can trigger anxiety and hinder language learning progress among them. It is hoped that this knowledge can guide educators in designing appropriate instructional approaches and creating a supportive classroom environment. Therefore, educators are recommended to offer more attention to the special needs of learners who struggle with communication anxiety by developing a friendly and secure learning environment where these students can confidently practise their ways of interacting. This is important to help them build confidence and self-esteem and thus alleviate unnecessary anxieties.