THE EFFECTIVENESS OF RATIONAL EMOTIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY (REBT) MODULE ON DELINQUENT ADOLESCENTS’ DEPRESSION IN TUNAS BAKTI SCHOOL

Delinquent adolescents with depressive disorder have a higher number than the general adolescent population. Depression is associated with negative behavior and moral misconduct that can endanger themselves and society. Thus, this study aims to identify the effectiveness of the Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT) module in overcoming depression among delinquent adolescents. This study involved a total of 100 adolescents age between 15 to 20 who were detained under the juvenile justice system at Sekolah Tunas Bakti (STB), Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. All respondents were selected using simple random sampling and divided into two groups, namely the treatment group (n = 50) who received therapy using the REBT module, and the control group (n = 50) who were not given the same therapy. ANCOVA repeated measure was used to identify the significant changes in depression score between groups. The results of the analysis showed that there were significant differences between groups. Adolescents who were received therapy using the REBT module showed lower depression scores than adolescents from the control group. This study provides an important finding as an alternative intervention therapy to be used by the therapists and the trainers at the juvenile rehabilitation center in promoting adolescents’ positive emotions.

INFLUENCE OF ATTACHMENT STYLES ON ESTABLISHMENT OF ADOLESCENTS’ SELF ESTEEM AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM BLENDED FAMILIES IN KIAMBU COUNTY

Attachment styles adopted by parents are essential in development of adolescent psychosocial wellbeing. This phenomenon is more profound in blended families where there are multiple relationships that can lead to many challenges. However, with appropriate attachment styles adopted by step parents such challenges can be mitigated. The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of attachment styles on adolescents’ self-esteem among secondary school students from blended family in Kiambu County, Kenya. Attachment theory by Bowlby guided this study. The study adopted a mixed method approach, descriptive causal effect design and pragmatic paradigm to guide the study. Multi-stage sampling method and inclusive /exclusive criteria were used. Firstly the study adopted survey method as the sampling technique because the total population of adolescents that came from blended families was unknown. Simple random sampling was used to select 9 schools and also determine the 5 classes to be sampled in each of these schools. The 5 classes had a population of 55 students each. A short questionnaire with demographic data of students was issued to all the students (2475) in a bid to elicit the adolescents from the said classes that came from blended families in the 9 schools. A total number of 208 adolescents from blended families in the 9 schools was elicited and this was considered a sufficient sample size. In addition, simple random sampling was used to sample 24 respondents to form 4 focus groups while purposive sampling was used to sample 4 counsellors from 9 schools for in-depth interview. Data was collected using questionnaires, counsellors’ interview schedule and focus group discussions. Inventory for Parent and Peer Attachment Scale and Rosenberg Scales were used as measuring tools. Data was analysed through descriptive statistics, statistical assumption tests, correlation tests- T- test and ANOVA analysis while qualitative data was analysed by use of narrative analysis. Findings were presented in form of tables while interview data was presented in narrative form. Permission to conduct the study was obtained from the National Council for Science and Technology, the Kiambu County Government, Ethical approval was sought from accredited IERC (Institutional Ethics Review Committee) as well as a written informed consent from the school administration. Results indicated that attachment styles adopted by step parents influence the establishment of adolescent self- esteem. The study will benefit Ministry of Education, counsellors, parents, families and society.

PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS AND SUPPORT DEMAND OF SOCIAL WORKERS DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN VIETNAM

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a strong impact on all aspects of social life, on the spiritual life of all social classes, thereby giving rise to the need for mental health care and support. This study was conducted on 171 social workers in public social institutions in Vietnam to investigate their psychological stress, influencing factors as well as their need for psychological support. Through using the DASS-42 scale and the scale designed by the research team, the survey results showed that 95.3% have psychological stress at different levels: 14% have mild stress, 32.7 % moderate, 37.4% severe, 11.1% very severe. The factors: job characteristics, working conditions, professional capacity, fear of disease and psychological support can explain 42.7% of the psychological stress of social workers. 39.8% of social workers said they needed psychological support. Organizations and societies need to pay attention to and deploy psychological support activities to take care of mental health in general and psychological stress in particular for social workers.

INFLUENCE OF ATTACHMENT STYLES ON ESTABLISHMENT OF ADOLESCENTS’ IDENTITY AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM BLENDED FAMILIES IN KIAMBU COUNTY

Parents adopt different attachment styles in parenting their children. This phenomenon is more profound in blended families where there are many relationships that can lead to many problems. However, with appropriate attachment styles adopted by step parents such challenges can be mitigated. The purpose of this study was to examine influence of attachment styles on establishment of adolescents’ identity among secondary school students from blended family in Kiambu County, Kenya. Attachment theory by Bowlby guided this study. The study adopted a mixed method approach, descriptive causal effect design and pragmatic paradigm to guide the study. Multi-stage sampling method and inclusive /exclusive criteria were used. To begin with, the study adopted survey method as the sampling technique because the total population of adolescents that came from blended families was unknown. Simple random sampling was used to select 9 schools and also determine the 5 classes to be sampled in each of these schools. The 5 classes had a population of 55 students each. A short questionnaire with demographic data of students was issued to all the students (2475) in a bid to elicit the adolescents from the said classes that came from blended families in the 9 schools. A total number of 208 adolescents from blended families in the 9 schools was elicited and this was considered a sufficient sample size. In addition, simple random sampling was used to sample 24 respondents to form 4 focus groups while purposive sampling was used to sample 4 counsellors from 9 schools for in-depth interview. Data was collected using questionnaires, counsellors’ interview schedule and focus group discussions. Inventory for Parent and Peer Attachment Scale and Identity Style Inventory were used as measuring tools. Data was analysed through descriptive statistics, statistical assumption tests, correlation tests- T- test, and MANCOVA analysis while qualitative data was analysed by use of narrative analysis. Findings were presented in form of tables while interview data was presented in narrative form. Permission to conduct the study was obtained from the National Council for Science and Technology, the Kiambu County Government, Ethical approval was sought from accredited IERC (Institutional Ethics Review Committee) as well as a written informed consent from the school administration. Results indicated that attachment styles adopted by step parents influence the establishment of adolescent informational, commitment and diffuse avoidant identity styles but not normative identity style. The study will benefit Ministry of Education, counsellors, parents, families and society.

TALENT MANAGEMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION: A CRITICAL REVIEW

This study aimed to articulate the critical issues related to talent management (TM). A critical literature review was performed to discuss the significance of TM in universities and its role in aligning higher education with industrial labour requirements. Relevant literature was obtained from an extensive search of human resource journals indexed with Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, EBSCO Information Services, ProQuest, and Emerald Insight databases. The findings revealed that TM supported the competitiveness and learning outcomes in the education sector. Furthermore, this study forwarded a novel conceptual framework for integrating higher education with industrial human capital needs. Based on the results, it is recommended that the integration of TM systems in universities and organisations can ensure the university graduates address the industry needs. Therefore, collaborative planning for talent supply management models in universities and industries is vital for developing academic TM systems that align with the extensive national economic, political, and social systems.

BIOGRAPHY ANALYSIS OF MUHAMMAD UTHMAN EL-MUHAMMADY FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF BRONFENBRENNER'S ECOLOGICAL THEORY

Muhammad Uthman el-Muhammady known as a thought figure in Malaysia. His life background is filled with a variety of life hues with an academic background. His thoughts highlighted the teachings of the Sunnah wal Jamaah. He also loudly opposed thoughts that were contrary to the beliefs of Ahli Sunnah wal Jamaah, so that he considered to be an extremist. His personality became a charm in the world of thought in Malaysia through his fluency in English and argument. This study is based on Ecological Theory. Biography of Muhammad Uthman el-Muhammady from the perspective of ecological theory pioneered by Urie Bronfenbrenner (1979, 1986) shows that the formation of personality and character of this leading figure began at the microsystem level. The results of the study show how the background of Muhammad Uthman el-Muhammady who was educated by his late father in prioritizing knowledge from an early age has shaped his personality, which made him a revered figure in public because of his knowledge. His life pattern should be emulated by all types of society in shaping and creating an extraordinary personality.

DEVELOPMENT A CONTENT MODEL OF TEACHING ARABIC IN MASSIVE OPEN ONLINE COURSES (MOOC) AT HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

Online learning systems are viewed as a potentially significant platform for learning and teaching (T&L) process during the Covid-19 pandemic that has spread worldwide since December 2019. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) is one of popular online learning platforms used around the world and has gain attention among lecturers nowadays in higher education institutions (HEIs). Due to its features, many institutions as well as in Malaysia started to develop MOOC as learning and teaching platform especially for Arabic language. However, problems that are often faced by Arabic language lecturers are less confident in producing aspects of multimedia teaching content. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to develop the content model of teaching Arabic in MOOC using Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) technique. A total of 14 elements identified by the agreement of 7 experts for the content model of Arabic MOOC which was generated through ISM software. Based on the findings, there are two most important elements; the element of determine topics, objectives, and learning outcomes for students to understand better the purpose of learning and element of ensure course materials use the appropriate type of writing for students' understanding while this model ends with the element of providing comment space to encouraged interaction among learners and lecturers. It is hoped that the study could be a reference and suggestion to Arabic lecturers in using the MOOC as a teaching platform while increase the effectiveness of MOOC implementation in Malaysian higher education institutions.

THE NEED FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP AWARENESS TO BECOME AN ENTREPRENEUR! A CASE STUDY ON EMPOWERMENT OF ENTREPRENEURIAL ATTRIBUTES OF STUDENTS FROM A PRIVATE INSTITUTION OF HIGHER LEARNING

The entrepreneurial element has now emerged as one of the important pillars in designing appropriate attributes and structures of the academic curriculum covering varied disciplines in all fields of studies in Malaysia’s higher education institutions. This study was conducted in Perlis’s Islamic University College (KUIPs) campus aimed at understanding these attributes and the entrepreneurship cultural awareness of students’ in initiating and identifying appropriate entrepreneurial activities before completing their studies. The study was qualitative in nature involving a group of 20 students randomly chosen from four (4) faculties in KUIPs. Students were interviewed using instant message routes because of the restrictions imposed by authorities in addressing concerns a rising from the COVID 19 pandemic, where face-to-face interviews were disallowed due to health and security factors. The objectives of this study were 1) What are the factors that encourage students to become entrepreneurs on campus? and 2) What are the constraints facing students in becoming entrepreneurs on campus? The results of the study found that there were 3 main factors attributing to students’ keen interest to venture into entrepreneurial activities in KUIPs, namely a) keen interest to initiate own business and aspiring to be an entrepreneur after graduation, b) meeting students’ basic needs (social entrepreneurship), and c) able to earn extra income to defray living and study expenses. There were 3 constraints discovered in becoming entrepreneurs, namely a) Capital, b) Suitable Location, and c) Business Skills to start entrepreneurial activities (entrepreneurial knowledge/skills). The results of this study are most beneficial to those involved in the management of entrepreneurial affairs of students, students themselves, and lastly for the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences in KUIPs (in understanding the current attributes and constraints), there by enabling the faculty to design appropriate entrepreneurship programs and activities in order to nurture and create entrepreneurship cultural awareness for future students.

THE SKILLS OF WRITING ANSWERS TO KBAT LITERARY TEXTS USING THE METHOD OF DRILLING QUESTIONS FOR UPPER SECONDARY STUDENTS IN MAAHAD KAWALAN

The Bahasa Melayu question paper is divided into two papers ( Paper 1 and Paper 2), with both papers require written essay responses. The literature section is the part of the questions that students are required to answer in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) exam. There are 13 marks awarded for 4 questions, two of them are questions in the form of KBAT. The aim of this study was to improve secondary school students' skills in writing KBAT answers using drill method. In addition, the researchers compared students' responses to four parts of the questions in the literature section of Bahasa Melayu Paper 2 (1103/2) before and after the drilling method. This study used a qualitative approach in the form of a case study (document analysis). In data collection, 5 classes in Maahad Control were subjected to pre-test and post-test. The study revealed that the pre-test scores of 10 students randomly taken from 5 classes, 3 of them were at the weak level and 7 students were at intermediate level. However, after 6 drilling sessions, the researcher found that the performance of the students improved in the post-test. 2 students reached an intermediate level and 8 students reached a good level in answering literature questions. This proves that students trained with drill method mastered the techniques of answer writing due to the influence of answer discussion which highlights the key words in each question. Meanwhile, teachers still need to guide students on punctuation and the use of appropriate cohesive devices in each part of the answer.

INFLUENCE OF PARENTAL INCOME AND ENCOURAGEMENT ON ACADEMIC SELF-EFFICACY AND ACHIEVEMENT AMONG MALAYSIAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Parents play an important role in shaping the academic achievement of their children. This study aimed to investigate the association between parental factors and university students’ academic self-efficacy and academic achievement, and the correlation between academic self-efficacy and the academic achievement of university students within the context of Malaysia. The cross-sectional study recruited participants using an online questionnaire, which included demographic information such as age, current education status, current working status, Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) and parents’ monthly income, the Parental Encouragement Scale (PES), and Academic Self-efficacy (ASE) Scale. A total of 196 participants responded to the survey. The results of the Pearson’s correlation showed that parental encouragement was positively correlated with academic self-efficacy (r (196)=.144, p=.044), whilst academic self-efficacy was positively correlated with CGPA (r (196) = .241, p=.001). The multiple linear regression model showed that part-time working status (β=-.184, p=.008) and academic self-efficacy (β=.252, p<.001) were significantly associated with CGPA. Parents should be encouraged and trained to develop academic self-efficacy in their children.