Lawrence Mundia

Comparison of Brunei Preservice Student Teachers’ Attitudes to Inclusive Education and Specific Disabilities: Implications for Teacher Education

ABSTRACT The authors investigated and compared Brunei trainee teachers’ attitudes to specific disabilities and students with high support needs. The random sample consisted of 89 participants of both genders on 2 teacher education programs. Data were collected using a 3-part self-report instrument constructed by the researchers. Overall, the participants supported inclusion but were not in favor of accommodating students with sensory, mental, challenging behaviors, and multiple disabilities. Such students tend to have high support needs. Moreover, there were no significant differences in attitudes to inclusion and specific disabilities between the genders and types of programs. Future teacher training programs should develop and foster more positive attitudes toward the integration of students with less favorable disabilities and high support needs.

Policy Changes in Brunei Teacher Education: Implications for the Selection of Trainee Teachers

Abstract To improve quality, teacher education programs in Brunei were recently eliminated at the undergraduate level and changed to master of teaching degree courses. Prospective teachers are required to obtain content-rich initial degrees prior to applying for teacher training. This study argues that the high entry qualification to teaching may, in itself, not guarantee teacher effectiveness. This study was to determine if those in teacher training were good candidates for long and effective teaching careers.

Understanding pre‐service teachers’ construct of disability: a metacognitive process

This study identified pre‐service teachers’ understanding of disability as it relates to students they might teach and people they might meet in public, and determined the development of their understanding. Participants’ voices were elicited through semi‐structured interviews. Themes uncovered included: (a) many people with disabilities were ‘hidden away’; (b) participants were afraid of people with disabilities; (c) participants lacked self‐efficacy in teaching people with disabilities; (d) participants believed that people with disabilities lacked the ability to learn the same syllabus as typical students; and (e) participants also felt people with disabilities belonged and had rights in society. Conclusions drawn include the fact that in this Asian context, having a close relative with a disability did not presume that the participants would have a positive outlook on people with disabilities. Furthermore, there is a need for acceptance of people with disabilities in daily life activities, including in schools and other recreational activities.

Social desirability, non‐response bias and reliability in a long self‐report measure: illustrations from the MMPI‐2 administered to Brunei student teachers

The survey investigated the problems of social desirability (SD), non‐response bias (NRB) and reliability in the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory – Revised (MMPI‐2) self‐report inventory administered to Brunei student teachers. Bruneians scored higher on all the validity scales than the normative US sample, thereby threatening the internal validity of the study. Of the three validity scales that assess various forms of SD, only the F scale was reliable and its mean score was in the clinical range. In addition, seven of the ten clinical scales had poor reliability. Although Brunei males scored much higher on the K scale than females, both mean scores were below the critical region. Protocols for two respondents with many missing values indicated that the study’s external validity was vulnerable to NRB effects. Altogether SD, NRB and low reliability had potential to undermine and depress the overall validity of the MMPI‐2 and caution the value of using it ‘as is’ in Brunei.

The Suitability of the EPQ-R Short Scale for Counselling Brunei Student Teachers when Administered in English and Malay Languages.

The study investigated the psychometric properties of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire – Revised (EPQ‐R) Short Scale administered to two groups of Brunei trainee teachers of both genders taking psychology courses in English (117 students) and Malay (106 students). The extraversion scale had the most problematic items. Both administrations produced means and standard deviations comparable to the norms in the technical manual. All the scales, except P (psychoticism), had satisfactory levels of alpha reliability and validity (discriminant and construct) on both versions. In addition factor analysis correctly assigned some of the items to their respective scales on both versions. No statistically significant gender difference in performance on both scales was obtained. Findings suggest that the instrument was suitable for use with Brunei student teachers with tertiary‐level education when technical terms were clarified and reasonable administration time was given.

Coping Behavior of International Late Adolescent Students in Selected Australian Educational Institutions

Using the Adolescent Coping Scale, ACS (Frydenberg & Lewis, 1993) we surveyed 45 randomly selected foreign adolescents in Australian schools. The coping strategies used most by the participants were: focus on solving the problem; seeking relaxing diversions; focusing on the positive; seeking social support; worry; seeking to belong; investing in close friends; wishful thinking; and keep to self (Table 4). With regard to coping styles, the most widely used was the productive coping followed by non-productive coping while the least used style was reference to others (Table 4). In terms of both genders the four coping strategies used most often were: work hard to achieve; seeking relaxing diversions; focus on solving the problem; and focus on the positive (Table 5). The most noticeable gender difference was the use of the physical recreation coping strategy in which male students engaged more (Fig 1). The usage of four coping strategies (solving problem; work hard; focus on positive; and social support) was higher for students who have been away from family more than once as compared to those who have been away once only while the usage of seeking relaxing diversions was higher for the first timers (Table 6). No significant differences were obtained on the sample’s performance on the ACS subscales by gender (Table 7), frequency of leaving own country (Table 8), country of origin (Table 9), and length of stay in Australia (Table 11). However, foundation students scored significantly higher on the reference to others variable than their secondary school peers (Table 10). We recommended counseling for students with high support needs and further large-scale mixed-methods research to gain additional insights.

Relationship Between Mental Health and Teaching

Good mental health is an index of psychological well-being desirable for all people including student teachers. To prevent and protect children from exposure to teachers with poor mental health, trainee teachers should be screened for psychological well-being. Using the Revised Symptoms Checklist, the survey assessed the mental health of Brunei trainee teachers and explored the extent to which the profiles were useful in structuring teacher education and addressing potential future problems. Males scored higher and were significantly different from their female counterparts on six primary factors (Obsessive-Compulsive, Interpersonal Sensitivity, Depression, Anxiety, Hostility, and Phobia) and two summary indices (Global Severity Index and Positive Symptom Total). In addition, four primary factors (Obsessive-Compulsive, Depression, Anxiety, and Paranoid Ideation) contributed significantly to global psychological distress. The primary factors and summary indices correlated negatively with achievement test scores. Moreover, multiple regression analysis subsequently confirmed them to be poor predictors of academic success. Overall, the findings suggested that these assessments could sensitize trainees to mental well-being issues, aid efforts to counsel vulnerable and at-risk students, and assist in promoting mental health among student teachers. Future mixed-methods research is recommended.

Early childhood education in Swaziland and Brunei Darussalam: goals, achievements and challenges

Early childhood care and education is an important stage in preparing children for primary schooling. Research indicates that participation in this phase has beneficial effects on later schooling particularly at the primary school level. Early diagnosis of special educational needs and intervention are essential in this stage if a child is to effectively function at primary school level and other later cycles. Unfortunately the sector is beset with a number of problems such as poor quality, low access, inadequate training of teachers, assessment problems, high pupil/teacher ratios, insufficient funding and lack of strong commitment from the public. The system needs to be more inclusive and made part of the overall education‐for‐all objectives in each country to benefit more children. The study discusses these advantages and disadvantages with respect to Swaziland and Brunei Darussalam.

Recidivism in Brunei Inmates â Estimating the Rates and PredictingReoffending

The survey investigated the recidivism problem in a random sample of Brunei prisoners (N = 64) representing both genders. Overall, there were more recidivists than firsttime offenders on all the three major crimes (theft, drugs, and sex offenses). The relapse cases were overrepresented in the 36-40 age-group. Offending and re-offending occurred almost at the same rate in married and non-married inmates. Both groups cited the need to support dependent relatives as one of the main reasons for stealing. Four variables (interpersonal-sensitivity, lifestyle, parents’ marital status, and obsessive-compulsive disorder) were significantly related to recidivism, all at p<0.05 level. Of these, the best predictor of recidivism was interpersonal-sensitivity (OR = 1.199; 95% CI for OR = 1.028 - 1.398; p<0.05). Inmates who scored high on the interpersonalsensitivity variable (lack of sensitivity when dealing with other people) were 1.2 times more likely to reoffend and be re-imprisoned upon release. Sex offenses were 28 times more likely to be repeated by perpetrators upon release. The likelihood of drug and stealing offenses to recurr was 10.9 and 7.4 times respectively. Preventive, community-based, and in-prison interventions were recommended to address the convicts’ recidivism, labeling, stigma, and discrimination problems to facilitate reintegration. Large-scale mixed-methods research was suggested to gain additional insights and solutions.

Coping and Help-Seeking Strategies Used by Students on the Intensive Foundation Program at the University of Brunei Darussalam:

Human resource development is one of the major goals of Brunei’s current development plan to be achieved under Wawasan 2035 policy. The University of Brunei Darussalam’s foundation program aims to increase students’ access to higher education among disadvantaged and underrepresented groups. The present field survey investigated how the coping strategies and help-seeking behaviors of 146 (103 females and 43 males) Brunei foundation students would assist. Participants from government secondary schools scored significantly higher on the productive coping and reference to others coping styles than peers from private schools. Main effective predictors of achievement included productive coping, referencing to others, and using resources (library, Internet, peers, lecturers, and self-efficacy). Two-way interactions of the male gender with the library, Internet, lecturers, peers, and self-efficacy would help improve men’s achievement. The interaction of Internet and nonproductive coping also predicted achievement. Interventions for vulnerable and at-risk students were recommended to increase the success rate.