UMT Education Review (UER)

Best Practices for Promoting Teachers’ Professional Development in Malaysia

2020-01-30T14:13:01+01:00

Cluster schools in Malaysia were formed to employ best teachers to achieve educational outcomes corresponding to the 4th industrial revolution (IR). This study examines the best practices of promoting teachers’ professional development prevalent among principals of cluster secondary schools in Malaysia. The Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale (PIMRS) was used as the data collection instrument. A diverse sample of 871 respondents belonging to both genders, different ethnicities and types of schools, and having various designations at schools was drawn randomly using cluster sampling. The researcher employed descriptive statistical procedures involving frequency count and percentage distribution as the means to analyze the collected data. The use of such data is a standard practice in Malaysia which is employed to plan professional development among principals of cluster secondary schools. The study indicated that the best practice of developing teacher professionalism among principals of cluster secondary schools in Malaysia according to principals’ and teachers’ perceptions was ‘setting aside time at faculty meetings for teachers to share ideas about instruction or information from in-service activities.’ The findings will effectively assist the process of promoting a positive school learning climate among the principals and teachers of secondary schools in Malaysia in the wake of meeting the goals of National Philosophy of Education, Vision 2020 and the aspirations of the Malaysia Education Development Plan 2013-2025 in the era of IR 4. Other school principals may use the outcomes of this research to facilitate and improve students’ academic performance in their respective schools and join hands in the collective effort of raising the work force capable of meeting national goals at par with international standards.

Professional Life Stressors Among Teaching Faculty at Tertiary Level

2020-01-30T14:20:44+01:00

This study was designed to examine the professional life stressors among teaching faculty at tertiary level. The major objectives of the study were the identification of professional life stressors among teachers at tertiary level, finding the differences between life stressors of male and female teachers at tertiary level, and suggesting them some plausible ways to cope with stressors in their daily routine. The current study was descriptive in nature. The population of the study comprised all the teachers teaching at the department of social sciences in 13 public sector universities of Islamabad. Cluster sampling technique was used to draw 200 representatives from the population of four universities. The study concluded that both lifestyle stressors and professional stressors were meaningful for the faculty teaching in the universities of Islamabad. However, professional stress was higher than lifestyle stress among teachers. Career development was the major stressor for teachers teaching at tertiary level. Organizational climate and organizational discipline were also perceived as major sources of stress for teachers at tertiary level. Female teachers of tertiary level had higher levels of stress as compared to male teachers. Relationships at work were least stressful for the faculty teaching in the universities of Islamabad. Based upon the findings of the study, it is recommended that facilities such as equal opportunities of training, quality training and counseling may be provided to teachers by their institutions for their career development and organizations may improve their communication and overall management.

Does Information Technology Experience Matter?

2020-01-30T14:13:04+01:00

The research was conducted using a survey research design following the guidelines of Research Advisor (2007). The study examined the school principals’ perceptions about satisfaction and dissatisfaction with teacher performance regarding student development. Student development was dealt with as a comprehensive construct implying teacher efforts for academic achievement and personality development of students. The respondents comprised 300 principals of senior secondary schools in Kaduna State. Questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection. The data collected were analyzed using simple frequencies and by calculating the mean and standard deviation. One Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was applied to test the research hypotheses. All null hypotheses were rejected and research hypotheses were accepted concluding that there were significant differences between the perceptions of principals regarding teacher performance. The most interesting results were about teachers’ experience; principals expressed more satisfaction with highly experienced (more than 10 years) and less experienced teachers (less than 5 years) as compared to the middle group (5-10 years). These findings initiate a serious debate about whether or not teacher experience matters. Whereas the stakeholders of secondary school education are baptized upon to guarantee that senior teachers are better performers and most eligible for leadership roles, the findings suggest that young teachers can also impress their principals by their performance and are equally eligible for leadership roles to work for holistic student development.

Teachers’ Multidimensional Attitude Towards Inclusive Education

2020-01-30T14:13:05+01:00

Inclusion in education is essential for educating students with special needs. The basic pillars of inclusive education are teachers who play a key role in the social acceptance of special children and provide them social support without any distinction. It is crucial for all teachers in inclusive education to welcome special students and provide them with equal educational opportunities and environment. The current research aimed to investigate the affective, cognitive and behavioral aspects of teachers’ attitudes within the domain of inclusive education regarding physical, social and curricular inclusion using the Multidimensional Attitudes Towards Inclusive Education Scale (MATIES) developed by Mahat (2008) and their effects on special children’s learning. It was hypothesized that general education teachers who deal with mainstream students have more negative attitudes towards inclusive education as compared to special education teachers. A sample of 280 teachers was drawn from the primary and secondary inclusive schools of Punjab (Pakistan). The results were processed via SPSS-21. The study brings forward the measurement of teachers’ multidimensional attitudes towards inclusive education.

Effects of Pedagogical Leadership on The Student Achievements at Secondary Level

2020-01-30T14:13:07+01:00

This research was conducted to examine the influential role of pedagogical leadership in the secondary schools of Lahore, Pakistan. The central premise of this research was to ascertain the effects of pedagogical leadership on the life achievements of students at secondary level which they carried up to the college. The main focus was how school principals and teachers play their role as pedagogical leaders to prepare students for academic achievements and life achievements. A quantitative survey was held to conduct this study. Data was collected from student of intermediate enrolled in different colleges in the arts, science and commerce programs of the Higher Secondary School Certificate by Lahore Board, Pakistan. Six public and private colleges of Lahore (male and female) which enroll students with high academic achievements were targeted. Data was collected from 600 students using cluster sampling and each targeted college was taken as a cluster. Descriptive and inferential analyses were used to determine the relationships among various constructs of pedagogical leadership of secondary school teachers and principals used for inculcating lifelong learning skills in students and promoting the self-efficacy beliefs of achievement. The study concludes that pedagogic leadership roles played by principals and teachers are of equal importance; however, pedagogic leadership provided by principals is more effective in supportive and managerial roles. On the other hand, teachers’ pedagogic leadership is realized in their professional commitment exhibited in everyday teaching and learning. The study also identifies certain gaps in the achievement of 21st century life skills of students which are vital for survival and sustainability in the current era.