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English is widely used in the working environment globally. In Malaysia, many employers have English courses which relate to their job requirements. This is to help employees to become more competent, fluent, and confident in communicating in English while working. Besides academic qualifications, employers pay great attention to employees' English communication skills. This paper explores to what extent the Oral Communication Skill (OCS) Module for a training program can help improve Malaysian working adults' confidence levels in terms of fluency. It proposes that the activities in the OCS module are needed so that employees can speak fluently and, as a result, build their level of confidence. Three working adults were selected to use the module for 12 weeks. Their performances, interview responses, and reflective journal entries were recorded and analysed. The findings reported a growth in the participants' confidence as a result of increased fluency, the awareness of the need to reflect on their speaking performances and to have appropriate English preparation as a key element before delivering oral presentations.

This study starts with two questions: why is the literacy of 15-year-old Indonesian students low, and how does this compare with other countries? This study aimed to examine the literacy policies in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia and discuss the strategic policies to improve literacy in each country. The qualitative comparative research method was employed to acquire a comprehensive understanding of the literacy policies in these three countries. According to the findings, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia each have distinct literacy policy trends. The context of each country's education system and language affects the government's literacy policies: Singapore emphasises industrialisation; Malaysia refers to its multi-ethnic life; Indonesia reflects the 2013 curriculum. Meanwhile, the National Library Board (NLB; Singapore), the Malaysian National Literacy Agency (Malaysia), the Language and Book Development Agency, as well as the Archive and Library Agency (Indonesia) contribute to the implementation and commitment of these literacy policies. As part of their programme implementation, each institution has a literacy activity.

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.

As COVID-19 took hold, online learning became the norm as universities and classrooms worldwide were forced to close their doors. Education institute closures impacted more than 1.2 billion students across 186 countries as of April 2020. This pandemic, too, has shifted our Malaysian education sector as well. Academicians and students are adopting online learning via open and distance learning platforms. Education 5.0 is the revolution of human intelligence and cognitive computing. When the world is moving towards this, the major challenge one will face is the challenges in this digitalisation era, the challenges on cyber security and the risk associated with it. This study uses a digital learning platform to examine the cyber security awareness among UiTM Terengganu Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences students. The study is significant to focus on the weakness and to educate the students about being cyber victims. The data was collected using a set of questionnaires among 110 students. Numbers and statistics from open-ended and closed-ended questions helped obtain data. Descriptive analysis shows that many students have awareness and knowledge of cyber security, cyber-attack, and cyberbullying.

Purpose: Succession planning is an emerging area for research in higher education institutions worldwide; however, literature is scarce in the context of developing countries like Malaysia. The factors that have an influence on the execution of succession planning in public universities are the primary goal that has been set for achieving the study's goal. Moreover, the development of leadership in institutions has been taken by adopting formal succession planning. This study aims to be explore the factors that can contribute to the successful execution of the plan, particularly in higher education institutions in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach: The study employed the qualitative approach. The registrars have been selected by using purposive sampling technique for face-to-face interviews from five public research universities of Malaysia. The in-depth data can be collected at research universities as they are old and comprehensive universities of Malaysia. The data were analysed through thematic analysis. Findings: The number of factors that have been revealed through the findings are as follows--organisational culture, the support of top-level management, the strategic plan, the reward, the champion from top-level management and the budget. Further, the public universities of Malaysia required ensuring that all employees were aware of succession plan initiatives taken by institutions, although the system was challenged by not taking these factors into account. Originality/value: The primary data have been collected to provide the insight regarding opportunities and challenges encountered in the implementation of succession planning in Malaysian public universities.

Purpose: This study aims to explore how the integration of augmented reality (AR) filters into English as a second language (ESL) can enhance speaking fluency teaching. The study sheds light on how AR filter can be best implemented in speaking fluency teaching by the innovative opportunities to transform language learning experiences. In this study, ESL teachers' perceptions and experiences with AR filters in speaking fluency instructions were examined through qualitative research method. Design/methodology/approach: This study is an evaluation stage study within a bigger study which utilized design and developmental research (DDR) approach. In this third phase of DDR which is the evaluation phase, this study involved semi-structured interviews with six ESL teachers from six different public secondary school settings. Thematic analysis was conducted on the interview transcripts. Findings: Data analysis revealed several key findings regarding the utilization of AR filters in ESL speaking fluency teaching. Firstly, participants reported that AR filters can be best used in various educational settings. Secondly, AR filters were found to provide supports for various students' levels. Thirdly, participants identified that AR filters can be best used to cater students with diverse learning styles. Research limitations/implications: The work aims to help ESL educators in using AR filters in their speaking fluency teaching. The limitation of this study is that it includes only the experience of teachers from a public secondary school setting without taking into consideration other secondary institutions such as ESL teachers from private schools or boarding schools. The generalizability of our findings may be affected due to our reliance on self-reported data from a small sample size. Practical implications: The implications of these findings for ESL pedagogy and teacher professional development are discussed. By incorporating AR filters into ESL speaking fluency instruction, educators can create speaking fluency teaching in various settings such as formal and informal settings. Furthermore, ESL teachers may immerse students in environments that cater to the diverse language learners' styles and language levels through the use of AR filter. Overall, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of the potential of AR filters to transform ESL teaching and learning practices, paving the way for future innovations in language education. Originality/value: Available studies exploring AR in English teaching exist, but very limited of those utilized markerless AR, in the form of AR filters with speaking fluency teaching. Also, this paper focused on teachers' experience with AR filters in contrast to students' experience in public secondary school settings.

This study was conducted to examine the effects of the socio-scientific issue (SSI) approach assisted by the future thinking map (FTM) on five constructs of future thinking, namely (i) understanding the current situation, (ii) identifying the trends, (iii) analyzing the relevant drivers, (iv) synthesizing the possibilities or needs of the future and (v) choosing with the justification of the desired future. The future-thinking test instrument was developed to measure the level of future thinking. A quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test control group design was employed. A total of 255 form four students (age 16) from three randomly selected rural secondary schools in Tawau District, Malaysia were assigned to (i) SSI-FTM (n = 85), (ii) SSI (n = 85), and (iii) conventional (CV, n = 85) teaching and learning (TL) strategies. The results of the MANCOVA analysis showed that there was a statistically significant effect across all three groups of TL strategies. The ANCOVA analysis showed that there was a statistically significant effect of the SSI-FTM TL strategies compared to the SSI and CV TL strategies on the five future thinking constructs. The quasi-experimental study proves that the SSI-FTM TL strategy is effective in nurturing future thinking among form four students in science lessons.

The main purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between cardiovascular endurance and mental toughness among football players of Academy Mokhtar Dahari (AMD). Twenty players were selected as respondents. Data were collected using Yo-Yo test level 1 and Mental Emotional Bodily Toughness (MeBTough) Questionnaires (Mark, 2008). This study showed that cardiovascular endurance parameters were good (M=2064.00, SD=251.45), while mental toughness measures appeared moderate (M=126.55, SD=15.10). Moreover, this study has indicated no significant relationship between cardiovascular endurance and mental toughness (r=0.38, p>0.05). Analyze showed that a 10-week athlete's training does not significantly influence the relationship between cardiovascular endurance and mental toughness even if the athletes have attained high cardiovascular endurance. The result showed that the duration of the training, experience, and effort to enhance both physiological and psychological skills needed to improve mental toughness among sports players.

Preparing students with knowledge and expertise in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is vital in meeting the demand for digital age career opportunities. Nevertheless, there is sparse research on teachers' views of student preparedness and teachers' knowledge of STEM in classroom instruction. The present study examines secondary school teachers' perceptions of STEM pedagogical content knowledge (STEMPCK). An online survey was administered to 66 Malaysian secondary school teachers through Google Forms to determine their perspectives of STEMPCK. Data were collected and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics Version 20.0. The descriptive analysis showed that the selected teachers highly agreed on the pedagogical knowledge and knowledge of 21st century skill components of STEMPCK. However, the non-parametric analysis showed no significant mean differences in STEMPCK scores based on gender, educational qualification, and teaching experience. The study's implications suggest that teachers in these fields should be equipped with the necessary knowledge to be more confident in implementing STEM teaching in their respective schools.

Counselling practicum is essential to hone the skills and competencies needed. One competency to be had by the prospective counsellors is mind skills, which are metacognition skills to manage their thoughts to give adaptive responses and performance. This study aims to identify the effect of mind skills training on prospective counsellors' performance. This study used a correlation research design to measure 50 prospective counsellors' performance. The data result showed the variance of the mind skills and counselling performance scores. The Pearson analysis results showed significant correlations. Linear regression analysis showed that the mind skills had an effect and contributed to 12.5% of the prospective counsellors' performance. The results showed that the mind skills (rules, perceptions, self-talk, visual images, explanation and expectations) had their role and function in leading counsellors on their best performance. The implication of these results for prospective counsellors' education could include the mind skills training on the practicum course.

The development of a QR code as a barcode label contains information about the item to which it is attached. However, information on QR code development in engineering science laboratories is still limited. The aim of this research is to design the QR code lab manual for laboratory work in polytechnics engineering science course. In addition, the students' views in construct of easiness of use, usefulness and enjoyment using the QR code are also investigated. The QR code lab manual involved seven steps of development under the engagement theory in teaching and learning. Learning materials are embedded into the QR code within 1 sheet of an A4 size card. A total of 64 students were chosen using purposive sampling. Data from survey questionnaires revealed that the respondents have a high level for all the constructs. It has been suggested that students perceived the QR code lab manual developed as a useful tool that is easier to use in the future. This QR code lab manual allows educators to connect the traditional teaching style and provide students with a more genuine and unforgettable educational experiences. Future studies should consider a different experiment with the new design for QR codes with additional constructs and a variety of perspectives.

Purpose: Online learning is an essential platform to support varying learning conditions, anytime and anywhere. It helps connect online communities regardless of one's geographical location and time zone. During the COVID-19 outbreak in Malaysia, the use of online learning platforms has become a crucial option for accomplishing learning objectives. During this challenging time, universities have been looking for suitable solutions to address issues regarding the online learning process. This paper discusses the challenges in online learning, as well as the importance of collaborative learning activities during the Movement Control Order (MCO). Challenges in emotion and changes of routine among students have been detected during the MCO imposed by the government of Malaysia. Methodology: An exploratory sequential approach was carried out in this study to obtain students' feedback in terms of their emotions and routine changes during the outbreak of COVID-19 and the subsequent implementation of the MCO. Convenience sampling was used for this research, and in order to obtain feedback on online learning during the MCO an online interview was conducted with 42 students from the Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA branch in the state of Kelantan. The feedback items were recorded and transcribed in Excel format. Next, sentiment analysis was carried out using Rapidminer software. Findings: The results showed that higher education institutions or universities had to play their part in providing a virtual learning environment as convenient as possible during the Movement Control Order period. The results also showed that educators had to ensure the success of online learning by maintaining the motivation of their students Significance: The findings in this study can also benefit educators and higher education institutions or universities in executing suitable teaching and learning plans during the COVID-19 outbreak.

A limited number of studies indicate that organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) have the potential to contribute to organizational and individual performance. Educators who have positive behaviours such as helping behaviour can help facilitate the learning process. With the spread of COVID19 pandemic which has led to the growth of online learning, OCBs among educators is needed in facilitating students' learning process. This study was conducted to examine the practice of OCB among lecturers from an institution of higher learning who are currently using online learning as the platform of teaching. Based on the input obtained from 136 students, the results found that lecturers are indeed showing high levels of OCB. These students have reported a total of forty behaviours classified as OCB among lecturers. In terms of implications, lecturers' OCB are seen to be able to support the online learning process which is a new method for most students.

Teaching and learning process is constantly transforming due to the ever-increasing globalization. In the educational sector the use of information and communication technology (ICT) is constantly changing due to the increasing trend in globalization. This has resulted in the change and transformation the facet of education in this 21st century. The various usage of technologies and other forms of learning materials that have been extensively used has created a medium where students able to be interactive because it is learner centred, and the environment of online learning is more open and flexible. However, several studies showed that students prefer traditional classroom more because they would prefer face-to-face communication with their instructor. Thus, this study intends to explore the perspective of learning listening and speaking using online among L2 learners. A total number of 102 university students at UiTM Perak Branch took part in this study. They were instructed to answer a set of questionnaires which was created using google document. From the findings the students reported that they do see the benefits of online learning. In addition, they found learning through this interactive medium as interesting and provide them space to progress at their own pace in learning. However, this does not portray students' eagerness in which may be due to several factors. This study is hoped to able to highlight the positive aspects of using online as an alternative to the traditional way of teaching listening and speaking.

Higher Education (HE) plays an active role in nation building by developing and transforming the human capital holistically. This lifelong endeavour is by no means smooth sailing as HEs have to face many challenges. One prominent challenge is of university ranking, which is highly Westernized and exceedingly quantitative. "Creatical thinking" and "Asianization" concepts were thus forged in formulating "ASIANur", an Asian university ranking. The justifications for ASIANur are based on Asian countries' strength in relation to their economic, demographic, strength of HE as well as the emerging systematizing and standardizing of research disseminations. The possibility of Asian Higher Education Century is strengthen when ASIANur is materialised.

It is the teacher's responsibility in paying serious attention on highlighting the 21st century way of learning in transforming the education system, focusing on equipping students with communication skills, critical thinking, and collaboration skills. This 21st century learning requires suitable teaching aids to achieve the learning objectives. Online game-based learning is considered as one of the new methods, which is capable of raising students' engagement and active learning. This study aimed to obtain the pre-university students' perception on the usage of Kahoot! in enhancing their engagement and active learning in the Biology classroom. In addition, this study also aimed to identify the dominant factors that encourage students to engage in learning and facilitating sessions in order to enhance students' active learning. A quantitative research methodology using survey was implemented in this study. A total of 100 students from pre-university colleges at the northern Malaysia were involved as the sample of this study. The data were analyzed using the SPSS 24.0 to obtain descriptive analysis as well as inferential analysis. The findings indicated that the students believed that Kahoot! can attract them to participate in learning sessions and enhance the students' active learning. Students also agreed that the dominant factors that it motivates them to engage in learning and facilitate sessions, as there is a good interaction and communication between partners and teachers. Hence the findings of this study are expected to encourage teachers especially in pre-university level to integrate the usage of online game approaches such as Kahoot! in Biology subjects to enhance the students' engagement and active learning. This is in line with the needs of the current pedagogy that further stimulates the atmosphere of active learning in the classroom leading towards the revolution industry 4.0 and the 21st century learning.

This work sets out to examine the validity and reliability of the Mathematical Modeling Attitude Scale (MMAS), a instrument measuring teachers' attitude towards mathematical modeling. A cross-sectional survey research was utilised to describe the validity and reliability of the MMAS. The population of the present study focused on Malaysian mathematics teacher in primary and secondary schools (N = 171) and this was achieved using convenience sampling. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Rasch analysis were utilised in analysing the data in the present work. EFA revealed that the data from the teachers had a four-factor structure: constructivism, relevance and real-life, understanding and motivation and interest. The CFA confirmed that the model fit indices established the four-factor structure of the first- and second-order model. Although the Rasch analysis generally supported the finding of EFA and CFA, there was still room for improvement in terms of the rating scale and DIF criterion.

The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of project on children's attitude toward environmental balance. This study is a qualitative study using a holistic single case study design involving "compost cases", at a kindergarten in Perak, Malaysia. The participants consisted of a focus group of 18 children and an educator. The data was obtained through triangulation results from unstructured interview, observation, and unofficial documents such as children notebooks, sketches, and pictures of investigative activities. The findings showed that the children understand the negative impact of using chemicals on Earth. The finding also showed that children able to give suggestions on producing compost, burying food scraps in the soil and use the compost dining set for banquet to deal with waste management problems. In addition, the finding showed that children able to classify waste materials which is easily decompose for compost production. The finding also showed that activities project able to develop entrepreneurial attitudes in children to sell the product produced. The valuable experience through observation and hands-on activities from early childhood will help the continuity of learning process throughout their lives.

Delphi method which is a technique and structured approach used to review and collect opinions of a group of experts, has its own weaknesses. The Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM), derived from modifications of Delphi Method introduced by Kaufman and Gupta in 1988, is considered by many researchers as more superior in providing evidence of human linguistic system (which is the signature of Delphi Technique). In this paper, FDM was used to assess the key components and contents of an instructional module based on multiple intelligences (MI-Based Instructional Module). This development phase is part of a project to develop a MI-Based Instructional Module for 4 years old preschool children in Malaysia. This phase involves the views of 10 experts who are experienced in teaching preschool children and have deep knowledge in early childhood education. It is a rigorous statistical analysis to validate the validity of abstract concept of the MI-Based Instructional Module. Experts are required to validate the key components and contents of the MI-Based Instructional Module which include themes, sub-themes based on Bloom's taxonomy, learning objectives, learning activities based on higher order thinking skills, multiple intelligence component and assessment for learning using seven-point linguistic before converting into triangular fuzzy numbers (TFNs). The validity of these key components and contents to make up the instructional module for 4 years old preschool children is very crucial to provide good learning experiences for learners that could enhance their innate potential; thus, FDM was used to provide evidence of validity of the instructional module. This article presents the results of the experts' views and the appropriateness of FDM as a tool to provide information about the validity of a MI-Based Instructional Module.

The visualization concept and multimedia is commonly used in designing various learning methods in education. However, less study was conducted for Fundamental of Computer Science (FCS) subjects especially in STEM education approach. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the content of design learning module for the subject of secondary two-topic Algorithms. The study uses a qualitative approach by interviewing five experts with related educational background to validate the content of the module. The findings show positive responses from those experts regarding applied visualization and multimedia suggesting some modifications be done for teaching and learning environment in the future. In conclusion, this study conclusively improvises design learning module for FCS subject by enhancing STEM education aligned with the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025.

The need to investigate the communication skills of specific participants usually arises upon demand from the stakeholders, including the employers, passengers, clients and others. The common reasons for stakeholders to consult course developers or language practitioners regarding developing a specific purpose course include poor language proficiency and lack of professional communication skills amongst personnel whose jobs require efficient communication. The needs analysis (NA) method is often used to explore the necessary communication skills at the workplace, including business, medical and aviation. In aviation, the aviation English program content is based on the stakeholders? communication requirements. Having said that, there are two main objectives of this study. Firstly, this study aims to investigate the importance of English as a medium for communication amongst AVM personnel serving in local and foreign-based companies within Malaysia. Secondly, it aims to determine the spoken and written communication activities that aviation management personnel are frequently involved in the aviation industry. Based on the findings, the NA revealed that the English language is vital in developing professional communication skills among AVM trainees as they require English proficiency for speaking and writing activities.

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) related to occupational work or termed as WMSDs are the most common health issues that are experienced by many workers. Either due to the human errors or inconvenient and faulty workplaces, this illness has caused both employers and employees great economic losses. However, when observing the prevalence of MSDs among motorcyclists, again the focus was put among those that use motorcycles during their duties making it very much work-related. For example, police riders, postal delivery workers, and currently food delivery services. But how about those non-occupational motorcyclists or commuting workers or students that only use their motorcycle to commute to work, riding to class or weekend-motorcyclists going for prolonged motorcycle rides? Upon this matter, it became the motivation of this study to look into the possibilities of MSDs prevalence especially related to muscle fatigue among these groups of motorcyclists based on a survey and indoor prolonged motorcycle riding simulations that were conducted earlier. This includes how education and proper training could help them to reduce the risk of experiencing MSDs. Outcomes of this study suggested several other MSD issues that are possible to take place involving other body regions and establishing a prolonged riding guideline could educate them to be more aware of this issue. These possible MSDs were found to not being highlighted in work-related MSDs literature with respect to motorcyclists and very few detailed guidelines are available to educate motorcyclists for a much safer prolonged riding which provide gaps for further investigation and validation.

Entrepreneurship activities have been promoted in Malaysian universities through entrepreneurship education, mainly with the aim to minimize youth unemployment rate in Malaysia. The effort may have been hindered due to many reasons that may explain the lack of effectiveness of entrepreneurship education found in previous studies. The present study was conducted to identify the challenges of involvement in entrepreneurship activities among a group of undergraduates from a public university in Malaysia. Qualitative data was collected from three males and seven female undergraduates who were selected to participate in semi-structured interviews. They were asked to provide insights on their lives as students who participated in entrepreneurship activities under the entrepreneurship center in the university they attended. Information gathered in the interviews was then analyzed using thematic analysis. There were two major themes found in this study which are external challenges and personal challenges. The findings are expected to provide insight on the key challenges faced by students as a result of their involvement in entrepreneurship activities. It could also contribute to the efforts to improve entrepreneurship education in Malaysia, and in turn inform the development of programs to develop interventions that improve entrepreneurship activities in higher learning institutions.

The workforce of today and tomorrow, particularly graduates are likely to experience more challenges as the availability of permanent jobs are getting sparse. This is partly due to automatisation as well as technological development. However, with automatisation and technological development, new types of occupations have emerged, mainly related to freelance, short term contracts and part time. These kinds of employment are known as Gig Economy, a term made popular during the 2008 -- 2009 economic crisis. To prepare undergraduates for their future occupations, it is vital to embed the aspects of gig economy in the syllabus. Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), an entity that has been entrusted to train bumiputera undergraduates and graduates have taken some notions of gig economy, theoretical as well as practice in the teaching and learning process. Nonetheless, more is still needed to strengthen the implementation of gig economy in higher institutions to align it with the nation's Shared Prosperity Vision 2030.

The study examines the personal, social, and organizational barriers facing women in university leadership positions in South Asia, building on the cases of Malaysia and Bangladesh. We discussed the topic through the lens of interactionist feminist theory. Semi-structured interviews with 20 female deans from 12 public universities in Malaysia and Bangladesh were conducted, followed by two focus group discussions with eight female deans. The results reveal that personal barriers such as family duties, lack of technological knowledge, interest in taking leadership positions, spousal support and poor time management, and lack of spousal support represented the major barriers for female deans in Bangladesh. Lack of interest in deanship was found to compound the underrepresentation of women in dean roles. The participants identified fewer socio-cultural barriers faced by Malaysian female deans, while Bangladeshi participants met major issues. The organizational barriers for female deans in public universities were reported. The findings hold significant organizational and policy implications.

Purpose: This study aimed to explore the technostress effects on the students' expectancy in their academic performance. Three main factors were used as predictors, namely techno-complexity (TC), techno-insecurity (TIS) and techno-overload (TO), to measure the students' performance expectancy via the mediating effects of student satisfaction (SS). Design/methodology/approach: A total of 234 survey-based online questionnaires were filled by students from Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM). Based on the data, the hypothetical model was tested statistically using the Partial Least Square--Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), specifically the Smart Partial Least Square (SmartPLS) version 3.3.2. Findings: The results indicated that SS mediated the relationship between TC, TIS and performance expectancy. Nevertheless, the two predictors (TC and TIS) negatively affected SS, whereas SS positively affected the performance expectancy. The findings further revealed that reducing TC and TIS could increase SS and their expectancy to achieve better academic performance. Practical implications: This study proposed that higher learning institutions provide an innovative and user-friendly platform for the online learning environment. Consequently, this improvement could increase SS with the online learning experience and motivate them to expect better academic achievement. Originality/value: This study also contributed to the existing literature by building and testing a technostress model and articulating the inter-relations between SS and performance expectancy.

This study is an exploratory study designed to: (a) examine the current scenario and content of the Craft section in the Visual Art syllabus, (b) measure the preparedness of art teachers in teaching art among multicultural students and (c) identify the challenges that pre-service art teachers face in teaching multicultural art education. The Purposive Sampling method was employed where four (4) pre-service art teachers from the Art Education department from the Education Faculty of Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia were chosen to be involved in the study. The data were collected via interview; hence, the research method for this study is predominantly qualitative in nature. Analyses of the data are explained based on the answers provided to the research questions.

Teacher is an important factor swaying students' achievement. The success of an educational entity reflects the quality of the teachers engaged. Teacher factor is identified as one of the main obstacles to the Arabic education. Assessment process of the teachers' quality would help those concerned identify the weakness before preventive and remedial actions being taken. This study intends to identify the features of quality for Arabic teachers agreed by students and teachers as the first step in a continuous assessment of the teachers' quality. The respondents of the qualitative approach are 9 excellent Arabic teachers and 90 students from SMKA throughout Malaysia. The qualitative data are analyzed through descriptive and comparative methods using the Atlas.ti. installer. The finding of this study regarding the experiences of excellent Arabic teachers shows that there are 17 GBA quality characteristics that are seen in 4 categories, i.e. 1) Personality, 2) Assessment and Feedback, 3) Class and Student Management, and 4) Teaching and Learning (T&L). The outcome also uncovers types of similarity and difference in determining the teachers' quality based on teacher and student perspective. The teachers are found as leaning to more comprehensive assessment compared to the students who prioritize the quality of a good teacher-student relationship.

The intention of this paper is to examine the applicability factors on the implementation of Performance Based Funding (PBF) mechanism in Malaysian public universities. Three applicability drivers examined in this study are consisting of government objectives, level of understanding and autonomy. Survey questionnaires were distributed to all Dean and Deputy Dean of the faculty of all 20 public universities in Malaysia. This study investigated the drivers of PBF mechanisms for Malaysian public universities. By filling the research gap, this study can serve and provide the Malaysian Government with valuable understanding with regard to the views of public universities on the implementation of PBF. This study also assessed the applicability of the implementation of PBF that may serve as a reference or guideline to the Federal Government in developing PBF and applying higher education funding policies. This study can also function as a reference guide to other nations, especially amongst developing nations considering PBF programs. The findings from the quantitative data showed that government objectives, level of understanding and autonomy have significant and positive relationships with PBF mechanism implementation. Consistent with previous studies, government objective has proven to have a significant relationship with the PBF mechanism implementation where it usually acts as a strategic planning by the government to align the institutional objectives with government objectives.

Malaysia has undergone various transformations in education since its independence in 1957. The work environment plays an important role in teacher adaptation, so this study aimed to identify the differences in the level of teacher adaptation to change in Malaysian education policy in National Secondary Schools (SMK) and Government Funded Religious Schools (SABK). This quantitative research which used a simple random sampling technique was conducted at the randomly selected National Secondary Schools (SMK) and the Government Funded Religious Schools in the state of Kelantan. A total of 300 samples were involved in answering the distributed questionnaire which was an adaptation of Samale (2016) built on the Measure of Adaptive Performance (MAP) instrument by Lillard et al. (2012) and the Individual Adaptability Theory (I-ADAPT) instrument by Ployhart and Bliese (2006). The findings showed that the level of teachers' adaptation was high and there was no difference in the level of adaptation between SMK and SABK teachers. It is hoped that the results of this study can be used as a reference specifically to school administrators and the education ministry towards improving teachers' adaptation to a very high level. This is important because teachers are the leading implementers of education policy in schools and individuals who can fulfil the aspiration of the Ministry of Education to place education in Malaysia on par with the world-class system.

This study investigates the role of national culture in succession planning. Higher education institutions ought to learn from corporate succession planning practices; nevertheless, succession planning principles must be adapted as needed to meet the unique needs of each institution. Studies of the influence of culture on succession planning in higher education institutions have not yet revealed the specific impact of national culture on succession planning. We use Hofstede's national culture dimensions, which are power distance, collectivism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance and long-term orientation. Data were gathered from five universities in Malaysia, and were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Our findings show that the national culture of university employees influences succession planning. This study contributes to existing understanding of factors affecting succession planning, points towards further research, helps practitioners by demonstrating the importance of taking national culture into account and indicates the importance of implementing succession planning in public universities in Malaysia.

Among the initiatives to provide effective all-encompassing learning experience is by including internship or industrial training programmes for undergraduates. While it is expected to equip students with important work-related skills, it too could result in negative impacts if it is not being properly managed. This article presents the findings of a study which identified issues and challenges faced by Psychology undergraduates in Malaysia while completing their industrial training. Using qualitative research design, the study gathered information from nine participants who responded to standardized open-ended interviews. 11 major themes, categorised in three different issues and challenges have been identified, namely departmental-related, workplace/organisational-related and personal-related matters. The findings are expected to help scope the underlying issues and challenges of industrial training programme in local universities. The findings can inform the context of each problem which can be further understood and acknowledged by university officials, useful for them to design necessary interventions such as workshops to discuss the ways to improve industrial training system for university students.

This study aims to investigate the attitudes of non-Arabic students towards reading short stories in Arabic at universities in Malaysia, with a focus on three variables: the students' university, gender, and mother tongue. A mixed-methods approach was employed, using a questionnaire and semi-structured focus group discussion with 58 participants. The study found that the students had positive attitudes toward reading short stories. There were no statistically significant differences between the participants' attitudes based on type of university, gender, and mother tongue. With respect to the types of short stories students prefer, comic stories were read most frequently by students. Finally, students also found it very encouraging and supporting to use short stories to enhance their Arabic language skills. The study concludes with some recommendations for further research.

Scientific research on dyslexia has taken place for the past 50 years during which time arguments on brain deficiency have created tensions between education and cognitive neuroscience researchers. However, clinical research on dyslexia through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has finally revealed that a dyslexic's brain works differently. The findings have finally brought in a new synergy between research in education and cognitive neuroscience and empirically supported the neurodiversity movement. Recently, neurodiversity has been used as a framework for specific learning difficulties (SpLD) justice and to support dyslexia in inclusive education. This qualitative study was conducted to understand the Malaysian mainstream primary school teachers' beliefs about SpLD and the current framework for Malaysian literacy support programme. The data collection is through social media focus group discussion and individual instant messaging interviews with forty-one teachers. The findings reveal that the current programme is built on theories of remediation and that the teachers have exhibited good levels of understanding of remediation, but not yet understand neurodiversity. It makes recommendations with regard to teacher professional development.

Individuals learn in different ways using several learning styles, but lecturers may not always share material and learning experiences that match students' learning preferences. Mismatches between learning and teaching styles can lead to disappointment with students are taking, and lead to underperformance among them. The aim of this study is to identify the learning styles of the students enrolled in Universiti Malaysia Pahang who were registered in Programming Technique course and to investigate the relationship between students' learning styles and teachers' teaching styles. Five lecturers and 251 students were involved in the study as participants and. Data from students were collected using Leonard, Enid's VAK Learning Style Survey. Meanwhile, the teaching styles of the lecturers were identified using Grasha and Reichmann's Teaching Style Survey. The findings revealed that majority of the student's preferred visual learning style. The result also shows that the lecturers' teaching styles give an impact towards the students' academic performance. From this study, we can conclude that teaching styles have significant impacts on students' learning styles and academic performances.

Flipped learning has become a strategic approach for educators to implement a technological-based learning environment. In line with the Malaysia Education Blueprint, more and more educational institutions adopt flipped learning into their establishment in a vision to achieve students' maximum potential. With a focus on technology, flipped learning is often linked with strategic management, excellent performance as well as the positive impact on instructors and students' skill. The implementation of flipped learning is a way to introduce different teaching and learning ideas that can develop an active classroom. The concept is to have a balance between education and advanced technology. This paper aims to review the three research elements, which are the level of participants involved in this study, the instruments, and disciplines done by 19 researchers on the flipped learning approach. Findings show that most of the studies have significant results in the implementation of the flipped learning approach. Conclusively, flipped learning is a well-rounded approach where it can be applied in any level of education regardless of the discipline. However, longitudinal studies can be performed in order to see the long-term effects of the flipped learning approach.

Higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) mathematical problem-solving was first introduced in the Form-3 assessment (PT3) in 2014. However, to date, there have been no studies of students' ability to solve the mathematical problems in this assessment. Therefore, this study investigated the emerging patterns and problems of HOTS mathematical problem-solving in the PT3. This investigation was a case study and classified under a qualitative research approach. Oral reporting (i.e. thinking aloud protocol) was used to obtain the data. The participants were 10 Form-3 students who were candidates for PT3 in 2015. They were students in a secondary school in a district in Johor Bahru. The results show that students who successfully solved the HOTS mathematical problems produced the same process starting with understanding, followed by phases of planning, implementation, and ending with the final answer. The students who failed to answer the HOTS mathematics questions produced a solution pattern starting with understanding followed by planning and implementation. Based on the patterns, this study also identified the problems that emerged in every step of the HOTS mathematical problems-solving processes and discusses how they could be overcome and improved.

Managing education and research during pandemics has increased in importance since the onset of epidemics such as avian flu, SARS and now COVID-19. Successful management in times of crisis ensures business continuity and institutional survival, making preparedness preceding an impending pandemic essential. Institutions of higher education (IHEs) must maintain balance between academic continuity and preventing morbidity during a pandemic crisis. To date, however, no general pandemic preparedness frameworks exist for IHEs. The aim of this paper is to report on the development of a Haddon matrix framework for IHE pandemic preparedness based on a scoping literature review of past IHE responses including pre-, during and post-pandemic phases. First, a review of previous global responses by IHEs during past pandemics was carried out. The review findings were then collated into a new IHE-centric Haddon matrix for pandemic preparedness. The content of the matrix is then illustrated through the documented responses of Malaysian universities during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The resulting IHE Haddon matrix can be used by universities as a general guide to identify preparedness gaps and intervention opportunities for business continuity during pandemics.

The intention of this paper is to discuss the rationale for Malaysian public universities to implement Performance Based Funding (PBF) mechanism. Here, the funding mechanisms are systems based on allocating a proportion of education budgets relative to specific performance measures such as course completion, credit attainment, and degree completion, instead of allocating funding entirely based on enrolment alone. The implementation of PBF mechanisms has recently become a topic of heated debate in the education sector worldwide which has also increased the interest of researchers and policymakers to work on it. Since almost no study has looked into the applicability of PBF in Malaysia with the aims to contribute knowledge and fill the gap in the current research. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to answer the objective of this study. The positive functions of qualitative research methodology are to show that it can assist the researcher in obtaining in-depth information and to understand the subjective experience of the respondents. Thus, in this procedure, semi-structured interviews were adopted and targeted to obtain information regarding the applicability of the PBF mechanism from the budgeting and financial aspects. Participants who encompassed in semi-structured interviews were the senior officer from the Bursar Office of selected universities. The findings from the qualitative data showed that PBF mechanism is suitable to be implemented at Malaysian public universities. However, there were several issues that the government needs to be addressed before the PBF mechanism can be successfully implemented.

Studies have shown that various factors (the role of formal education, informal education, and community) contribute to the lack of participation in STEM and STEM careers. This research aimed to understand the multi pathways of factors contributing to the interest in STEM careers (STEM careers in physical sciences and STEM careers in life sciences). This research was a survey research which administered a questionnaire randomly to 1485 secondary school students (14 years of age). Data analysis was based on the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach using Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) to test the hypothesized model. A model containing five constructs, namely environmental factors (learning experiences, media, social influences), self-efficacy in science, technology, engineering and mathematics respectively, perceptions of STEM careers and interest in physical sciences and life sciences STEM careers was proposed in this research. The results show that students' interest in life sciences based careers is influence by their self-efficacy and perceptions of the career. Meanwhile, students' interest in physical sciences based careers is influence only by their self-efficacy and not influence by their perceptions of the career. The need to improve students' self-efficacy through STEM learning experiences is imperative to ensure continued interest in STEM careers.

This paper reports findings of a study that assesses the measures taken by universities in selected South East Asian countries when developing the competencies of students from other countries. This is to address the internationalization thrust of higher education (HE) that constitutes the participation of international students and academics in HE-related activities. Specifically, this study assesses whether the academic programs (a) suit students' diverse backgrounds; and (b) address the cultural background from where the international students come from. Four participants from four different countries participated in this study. Two were HE academic leaders, researcher, and university leader; one was HE researcher and academic; while another was an academic. The data were collected through online in-depth interviewing conducted via email. The results revealed that majority of them perceived that cultural background was not addressed in the academic programs. However, certain courses in the HE institutions did address the host countries' cultural beliefs and traditions. The findings are discussed in the context of higher education institution to enlighten universities and higher education authorities on the appropriate method to design curriculum in universities hosting international students.

The Mathematics students who perform truth-seeking process upon solving mathematical problems were unique. Therefore, the study deems it necessary to know students' mental structure and mechanism so that they can make the right decision by performing truth-seeking. However, no research has delved into the mental structures and mechanisms of Mathematics students, who tend to grapple with truth-seeking processes extensively. This study was explorative qualitative because the aims to describe the types of mental structure and mechanism of Mathematics students upon the truth-seeking process in solving mathematical problems. The research subjects are four Mathematics students at the University of Jember who perform truth-seeking and can communicate fluently when performing think-aloud. Their responses in the answer sheets drove the determination of research subjects' tendency in truth-seeking. Afterward, the results of think-aloud and taskbased interview were put under analysis, so as to determine the types of mental structure and mechanism. The research findings have indicated that (1) all mental structures have been constructed by all research subjects and (2) two types of mental mechanism are evident among the subjects, including the process of interiorization coupled with coordination and another process encompassing interiorization, coordination, and reversal.

Pro-environmental behaviour is imperative to promote sustainable management and consumption of energy in the fight against climate change. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) has been widely used to explain and predict behaviour in a multitude of behavioural domains including pro-environmental behaviour. However, the TPB does not prioritise the influence of knowledge and habits on pro-environmental behaviour. Past studies also confirmed the influence of cultural factors in predicting environmental intent and behaviour, which were not covered by TPB. Considering that Malaysia is a multicultural country, on top of the environmental education factors, cognitive competencies, and affective factors, the influence of values that contribute to the pro-environmental intention behaviour on energy conservation has also to be considered. Hence, this study employed Fuzzy Delphi Method to determine the indicators explaining the effects of educational and psychological factors on pro-environmental behaviour. It was hypothesized that educational factors, cognitive competencies and affective factors influence secondary students' pro-environmental behaviour on energy conservation. The students' cultural viewpoint was also proposed as the regulating effect on their energy conservation behaviour. A total of 25 experts were selected to validate the questionnaire developed. The items/constructs developed were environmental factors (formal, non-formal and informal educations), cognitive factors, affective factors (attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control and civic values) and environmental conservation behaviour. The value construct, which comprised of values of empathy, respect, cooperation, responsibility, justice, equality, integrity, and altruism. Majority of the items/constructs were accepted by the experts. This reflects that the items/constructs developed were relevant to the study as the experts agreed with these items/constructs.

This paper reported the quality of life (QoL) of 260 Malaysian parents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and factors which influencing it. About half of these parents reported to having good QoL. The factors identified in the double ABCX model showed that perceived social support and sense of coherence (SOC) were mediated by coping strategies and had a positive direct and indirect effect on parents' QoL. These findings reiterate the importance of social support, coping skills, and strong SOC reflection skills in influencing the QoL of parents with ASD child. We therefore suggest parents to utilize the widely available social and organization supports to gain good QoL, which is also important for the wellbeing of their child.

Board games have become one of the useful tools in teaching and learning. Many instructors and educators have chosen to use board games to enhance the way of delivering course contents. A board game will help students understand the education concept quickly and get involved in experiential learning, where students can manage and solve problems in an actual situation. This study will focus on the evaluation of a board game, namely Global Zakat Game (GZG) as a Zakat edutainment tool among users at various levels of learning institutions in Malaysia. The respondents were purposively selected among a Malaysian national competition in using Global Zakat Game (GZG) organized at Islamic Science University of Malaysia (USIM) on 8 November 2017. A questionnaire was distributed among 235 participants from various levels of learning institutions during the national event to evaluate the practical use of GZG as a Zakat edutainment tool in increasing their comprehension and understanding on Zakat theories and concepts. The result indicated that the use of GZG as a Zakat edutainment tool has a positive impact on users and players as it helps them to learn more about Zakat theories and concepts between high (4.65) and moderate high (3.95) mean scores. Most of the respondents mentioned that they enjoyed playing GZG as it involves experiential learning. It also can be used as an edutainment tool for learners and society at all ages.