Simin Ghavifekr

Factors affecting use of e-learning platform (SPeCTRUM) among University students in Malaysia

Guided by the current need in equipping young minds with the 21st century skills, integration of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in education has changed the way of teaching and learning takes place in educational institutions. The need of fast delivery of knowledge and information, whenever and wherever, has been the catalyst to the growth of e-learning worldwide. In Malaysia, e-learning has been pioneered by the private universities and has been adopted in most universities ever since. In the setting of a research university in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia , a quantitative design was conducted to investigate the factors affecting the usage of e-Learning platform so called SPeCTRUM by the students. Total of 110 respondents consist of undergraduate and postgraduate students from Faculty of Education have been selected randomly to participate in this research. Findings indicate that the co-participatory activities are one the main factors in the motivation of using SPeCTRUM. It was also found that demographic factors of the participants also played a key role in the rate of usage for the e-learning platform.

Issues in Malaysian Higher Education: A Quantitative Representation of the Top Five Priorities, Values, Challenges, and Solutions From the Viewpoints of Academic Leaders

This qualitative inquiry aims at identifying the main issues in Malaysian higher education (HE) system and its sectors from the perspectives of Malaysian academic leaders. For this purpose, four open-ended questions were distributed among 2,786 academic leaders in 25 universities. More than 235 completed questionnaires were collected, containing nearly 4,500 records of priorities, values, challenges, and solutions. Through a quantitative content analysis approach, the records were categorized using the software package ATLAS.ti 7. This resulted to the emergence of 112 categories. Using SPSS 23, the top five categories with maximum frequencies of records were focused for further evaluation. The comparison of the issues in Malaysian HE and its sectors revealed that some of issues were common in all the sectors. In addition, the examination of these categories of data did result to the classification of them into five major categories namely Academic Core Activities, Change and Leadership, Management, Relationships, and Work Values.

Determining the Key Capacities of Effective Leaders in Malaysian Public and Private Focused Universities

The study was undertaken to identify the essential leadership capabilities and managerial competencies as the key leadership performance drivers in Malaysian focused universities. To collect data, the previously developed scales of capabilities, competencies, and leadership performance in the context of Malaysian Higher Education (HE) were distributed among the leaders in seven public focused and 12 private focused universities. In total, 172 completed surveys were collected among which 94 had been filled out by the leaders in Malaysian public focused and 78 had been completed by leaders in private focused universities. The data were screened and SmartPLS 3 was employed to analyze the data. Also, Finite Mixture Partial Least Squares (FIMIX-PLS) segmentation and Importance–Performance Map Analysis (IPMA) were run to extend the results. The outcome of FIMIX-PLS didn’t reveal unobserved heterogeneity within the data and, through IPMA, change-oriented capability was identified as the main improvement area to be addressed by management activities. Moreover, the implications of the findings were discussed and future directions were recommended.

CHANGE ORIENTATION AND ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE: EXPERIENCE FROM MALAYSIAN PRIMARY SCHOOLS

The aim of this study is to find the relationships that exist between change orientation and school organizational climate. This study also seeks to find the level of practice for the aspects in change orientation and school climate. The research samples for this quantitative research were taken from 246 teachers from national primary schools in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The data were collected using the combination of two questionnaires namely Faculty Change Orientation Scale (FCOS) and the Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire for Elementary Schools (OCDQ-RE). The data were then analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics to test the research hypotheses. Findings indicate that the practice level of all three dimensions (faculty openness to change, principal openness to change and community press for change) in change orientation are high. Meanwhile, the practice level of five dimensions (supportive principal behaviour, directive principal behaviour, restrictive principal behaviour, collegial teacher behaviour and intimate teacher behaviour) in school climate are moderate and the other one dimension, (disengaged teacher behaviour) is low. In addition, the Multiple Linear Regression analysis showed one of the dimensions in change orientation (community press for change) has a significant relationship with school climate. Implication of the study shows that pressure for change from community outside school have direct impact on school climate. However, the aspect of support from school heads and intimate relationship among teachers need to be improvised as these are important dimensions that contribute to positive school climate. Some recommendations from this study are; to establish and maintain positive community relations, increase of school heads’ support for teachers and to have strategic management approach in dealing with educational changes in schools

LEADERSHIP AND STAFF ORGANIZATIONAL CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOUR IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS: A QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS

Department of Educational Management, Planning and Policy, Faculty of Education, University of Malaya, MALAYSIA. Corresponding Author: Department of Educational Management, Planning and Policy, Faculty of Education, University of Malaya. Email: adebayo_saheed@siswa.um.edu. my ABSTRACT Higher education institutions are known for producing skilled manpower needed to attain sustainable and holistic development. These institutions cannot achieve their predetermined goals without effective leadership. Leadership is an important factor in an organization. Academic leaders are pivot of change in any higher education institution. As a change agent, the success and failure of the system depend on academic leaders. Their belief and judgment about themselves, attitude towards change and policy tell in every aspect of education system. Therefore, this study examined the impact of leadership self-efficacy and change oriented behaviour on staff organizational citizenship behaviour in higher education institutions. It adopted a quantitative research design. A questionnaire consisting of 40 items was used to gather information from 420 respondents who were randomly selected across 10 different public higher education institutions in Lagos State, Nigeria. Structural Equation Modelling(SEM) was used in analysing the data collected in this study. The findings show that leadership self-efficacy, change oriented behaviour and change policy impact significantly on staff organizational citizenship behaviour. In order to improve staff organizational citizenship behaviour and performance in higher education institutions, academic leaders must display a high self-efficacy, be open to innovation, ensure effective communication and adopt friendly policy that will stimulate staff. If all these are put in place, higher education institutions will be able to achieve their set goals and respond positively to the needs of different stakeholders.

Ethical leadership and change: A qualitative comparative case study in selected Malaysian transformed schools

Leaders’ ethical behaviours and conducts are prerequisites for an effective change. The purpose of this qualitative comparative case study was to explore ethical leadership practices in selected transformed schools from Selangor, Malaysia. Two schools (a primary school and a secondary school) were selected as study sites. Data were collected through interviews, observations, and document reviews. Interviews were conducted with 28 participants including school heads (2), school administrators (3 + 3 = 6) and schoolteachers (10 + 10 = 20) selected from both schools using purposive sampling. The constant comparative analysis method was used to analyse the data. Analysis revealed demonstration of friendly and trusting relationships, openness to school members, professional commitment, acting as role model, and warranting ethically appropriate conducts as important ethical leadership practices. This study has value for policy and practice pertaining to school transformation; the implications, strengths and limitations of the study and recommendations for future research have been discussed as well.

IMPACT OF STRESS ON ACADEMIC STAFF: IMPLICATION FOR HIGHER EDUCATION MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP

Stress influences staff performance as well as attainment of organizational goals. Members of academic staff in higher education institutions in Nigeria undergo a lot of stress when discharging their daily responsibilities. Their stress range from teaching, learning to other nonteaching responsibilities which have great influence on staff commitment and effectiveness in teaching and learning activities within the university system. This study therefore explores the impact of stress on academic staff performance in Nigerian universities. It adopted a qualitative approach in exploring the impact of stress factors on academic staff in Nigerian universities. A total of 10 academic staff members were randomly selected from 10 public universities in both Northern and South-Western Nigeria for this study. The findings of this study revealed that academic staffs in Nigerian universities are going through academic, administrative, job-related, student-imposed, social and psychological stress. In order to reduce academic staff stress and improve performance in Nigerian universities, school administrators, policy makers and Ministry of Education need to provide an enabling environment for academic staff, increase teachers’ motivation, support them in achieving their set goals and facilitate their job satisfaction.

Parent Teacher Association (PTA) Responses to Changing Educational Policy: A Malaysian Experience

This study aims to explore on how PTA members’ respond to a changing educational policy. Data were collected through interviews with selected PTA members from two secondary schools in Kedah, Malaysia. In total, six participants were involved in this qualitative study. Data analysis was carried out through analytic categories based on hermeneutics philosophy. The findings indicate that the PTA members believed that implementation of a new educational policy is only related to school, it was also believed that some challenges emerged at school as a result of the implementation of the policy and they provide ways that can assist the school to implement the new educational policy. The findings are essential to the Ministry of Education in involving parent in the implementation of a policy as it was stated that “one of the targets of the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013–2025 is to engage every PTA to provide input on how the school can make the national curriculum more relevant to the needs of the local community” (Ministry of Education 2012).

LEADERSHIP DIMENSIONS AND CREATIVITY TRAITS OF ISLAMIC SCHOOLS PRINCIPALS: A QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS

This study explores leadership dimensions and creativity traits of the principals in the Islamic schools in Jordan. Moreover, the implications of leadership behavior and practices and creativity traits in an Islamic educational setting are discussed in this paper. Data were collected using quantitative research method. Leadership practices were measured using combination of the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI-Self and LPIObserver), and self-developed items on the Islamic component. Creativity traits were measured using the Creativity Self-Perception Questionnaire and the Creativity Teacher Observation Questionnaire. Findings of the study revealed that principals of the Islamic schools in Jordan demonstrated positive leadership behavior in all the dimensions studied. They were also found to be creative, as they were perceived to possess all the creativity traits, both by the principals themselves as well as by the teachers. The study also found a significant correlation between the leadership dimensions and the creativity traits of principals. The results of this study indicate that the more principals demonstrated positive leadership behavior, the more creative they were

DESIGNING STRUCTURED DISCUSSION FORUM FOR ADULT LEARNERS THROUGH E-COLLABORATIVE ENVIRONMENT

E-collaborative environment is one of the key learning medium based on the potential functions provided in support of the learning process, specifically for the part-time adult learners. Therefore, designing for the best use of structured discussion interactive forum is the key to maximize the learning process with more flexibility. The main purpose of this paper was to develop and evaluate the diskusiMAYA platform, as an interactive forum for adult learners outside of the formal classroom. Using ADIIE Model as the framework for this study, several phases were involved in process of designing the diskusiMAYA platform including analysis phase, design phase, integration phase, implementation phase and evaluation phase. Through the diskusiMAYA platform, the log report for detailed information through field research that can record students’ interaction and learning outcomes were used. Results show that there are several categories of discussions can be considered as the result of the interaction in e-collaborative learning environment through contribution of knowledge in the diskusiMAYA platform including; i) academic, ii) non-academic, iii) in the group, and iv) question and answer. All these discussion types were considered in designing the in diskusiMAYA platform as an effective tool to support the participation of adult learners. In addition, i) the students’ participation through a collaborative process and collaborative stage in e-collaborative environment; ii) the use of e-collaborative environment by students and iii) the relationship between the level of participation at the level of student activity also will be discussed in this paper. Keywords : e- collaborative environment, e-learning, interactive forum, Adult Learning, diskusiMAYA, ADIIE Model.