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International Journal of Education and Pedagogy (IJEAP) eISSN: 2682-8464 [Vol. 2 No. 4 December 2020]

Journal website: http://myjms.mohe.gov.my/index.php/ijeap

EXPLORING MALAYSIAN POLYTECHNIC LECTURERS’

READINESS IN PROMOTING SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING: AN INSTITUTIONAL CASE STUDY

Nur Hidayah Zainul1* and Nyanaambigai Rajanthran2

1 2 General Studies Department, Politeknik Seberang Perai, Pulau Pinang, MALAYSIA

*Corresponding author: dayahz@psp.edu.my Article Information:

Article history:

Received date : 2 December 2020 Revised date : 8 December 2020 Accepted date : 14 December 2020 Published date : 25 December 2020 To cite this document:

Zainul, N., & Rajanthran, N. (2020).

EXPLORING MALAYSIAN POLYTECHNIC LECTURERS’

READINESS IN PROMOTING SELF- DIRECTED LEARNING: AN

INSTITUTIONAL CASE STUDY. International Journal Of Education And Pedagogy, 2(4), 252- 261.

Abstract: Materialising the 21st century classroom aspiration during the pandemic era is a real challenge for many educators. Incorporating technology in their everyday online lesson will not be a guarantee of achieving it but what actually matters is the learning experiences and opportunities created in the platform. A key concern here is whether the lecturers are aware of the change and ready to embrace the 21st century education especially through online learning. The current study aims to explore the readiness of lecturers in promoting self-directed learning being one of the aspects of 21st century education, through online learning. The findings reported that most of the lecturers are gearing towards the 21st century education particularly in promoting self-directed learning. Some recommendations were drawn from the findings to help the lecturers to embrace the 21st century education.

Keywords: self-directed learning, readiness, polytechnic lecturers.

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1. Introduction

When the Covid-19 pandemic struck Malaysia badly, the government had resorted to closing down all the non-essential sectors including schools and education institutions. Malaysian polytechnic was also affected by the sudden movement which had forced all of its students who were in the middle of on-going semester to cope with online learning especially in terms of students’ lesson and assessment. Everyone in the system especially the lecturers and the students had put their most effort in overcoming the hurdles in order to get everything done. It was such a challenging experience for some as they faced major setbacks going through with online learning especially the internet connection which was rather poor in many places in the country. Everyone was not mentally and physically ready and prepared for such situation to take place. Thus many of them opted for easier option that was available for them to carry out the lesson and assessment such as the use of WhatsApp, YouTube and other social media platforms during the Movement Control Order (MCO) to complete the semester.

Now that Malaysian polytechnic is about to open its door for the new semester to begin, many especially the lecturers are still wondering how the students are doing in preparing themselves for semi or fully online learning which will be taking place in the coming semester. The lecturers may be in better situation as they are allowed to be in the institution with enough equipment and acceptable internet connection. This is however will not be the case for the students since only some of them will be in the campus when the semester begins. Having to work on the classes and assignments on their own at home requires a sense of responsibility towards their own learning which is one the keys to achieving the 21st century classroom aspiration besides having appropriate technical support to keep them going.

2. Literature Review

The term self-directed learning was first introduced by Knowles (1975) and defined as ‘a process in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others, in diagnosing their learning needs, formulating learning goals, identifying human and material resources for learning, choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies and evaluating learning outcomes’. The learners are responsible for the planning as well as the process of learning itself. Conradie (2014) noted that in self-directed learning there are three actions to be focused on which include planning, implementing and evaluating the learning.

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Six competencies required for self-directed learners were proposed by Patterson (2002) namely self-assessment of learning gaps, evaluation of self and others, reflection, information management, critical thinking and critical appraisal.

Table 1: Patterson’s Competencies for Self-Directed Learning (2002)

Competencies Skills

Self-Assessment of Learning Gap Assessing knowledge gaps

Learning about ambiguity in expectations Exploring learning styles

Evaluation of Self and Others Evaluating

Reflection Reflecting

Information Management Searching Filling

Critical Thinking Purposeful and goal-directed thinking Critical Appraisal Discriminating

2.1 Problem Statement

As for the student, being at home means there will be no face to face guidance and support from the lecturers as well as friends. Self-reliable is put to test as the learners have only themselves to rely on most of the time. Thus, the lecturer plays a vital role in designing an appropriate self- directed lesson for the learners in this situation. This emphasizes the needs to examine lecturers’

readiness for online learning specifically in this aspect as this allows the lecturers to plan and design better online materials and courses that can help maximize learning experiences (Hung et al, 2010). Knowing the level of readiness helps the lecturers gear their lesson planning towards a direction that can benefit the majority. A proper planned lesson may increase the success rate and help the students to make the most out of online learning (Yu & Richardson, 2015).

3. Method

This study employed a survey method to measure the lecturers’ readiness in promoting self- directed learning from one of the polytechnics in Malaysia. Purposive sampling technique was used to collect the data for this research. A survey questionnaire for measuring 21st century Teaching and Learning was used.

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3.1 Materials

The questionnaire used for the purpose of this study was adapted from the work of Hixson, Ravitz, and Whisman (2012), who modified previous work of Innovative Teaching and Learning Study (Shear, Novais, Means, Gallagher, & Langworthy,2010) and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation (2010). Table 1 shows the 21st century teaching and learning framework developed by Hixson, Ravitz, and Whisman (2012)

Table 2: 21st Century Teaching and Learning Framework by Hixson, Ravitz, and Whisman (2012)

Skills Definition

Critical thinking skills Refers to students being able to analyze complex problems, investigate questions for which there are no clear-cut answers, evaluate different points of view or sources of information, and draw appropriate conclusions based on evidence and reasoning.

Collaboration skills Refers to students being able to work together to solve problems or answer questions, to work effectively and respectfully in teams to accomplish a common goal and to assume shared responsibility for completing a task.

Communication skills Refers to students being able to organize their thoughts, data, and findings; and share these effectively through a variety of media, as well as orally and in writing

Creativity and innovation skills

Refers to students being able to generate and refine solutions to complex problems or tasks based on synthesis, analysis, and then combining or presenting what they have learned in new and original ways.

Self-direction skills Refers to students being able to take responsibility for their learning by identifying topics to pursue and processes for their own learning, and being able to review their own work and respond to feedback

Global connection Refers to students being able to understand global, geopolitical issues including awareness of geography, culture, language, history, and literature from other countries Local connection Refers to students being able to apply what they have learned to local contexts and

community issues.

Using technology as a tool for learning

Refers to students being able to manage their learning and produce products using appropriate information and communication technologies.

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3.1.1 Samples

The samples used for this research were lecturers from a Polytechnic in the Northern Region Malaysia. A total of 32 respondents participated in this research. Table 3 shows the lecturers’

demographic profile. Of the lecturer who participated in the survey, 75% were female and 25%

were male. More than half of the lecturers’ possessed a Masters degree (56.25%). As for the teaching experiences, the lecturers have been teaching between 4 – 30 years with a big majority having taught for 6 – 15 years (59.37%).

Table 3: Demographic profiles

Frequency Percentage (%)

Gender Female 24 75

Male 8 25

Total 32 100

Qualification Bachelor’s Degree

14 43.75

Master’s Degree 18 56.25

PhD - -

Total 32 100

Years of Teaching Experiences

Less than 1 year - -

1-5 years 1 3.13

6-10 years 10 31.25

11-15 years 9 28.12

16-20 years 5 15.62

21-25 years 3 9.38

26 – 30 years 4 12.5

Total 32 100

Course Taught English 16 50

Islamic Education

16 50

Total 32 100

3.1.2 Site

A polytechnic in the Malaysian Northern Region was selected to carry out this study. This particular institution was chosen as purposive sampling technique was employed to gather the data for the study in order to measure the lecturers’ readiness in promoting self-directed learning.

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3.1.3 Procedures

This study addressed the learning skills of 21st century education in which one of them is the promotion of self-direction skills. The questionnaire consisted of three sections; first was related to the respondents’ demographic profile and the second section focused on the respondents’

frequency of practicing each skill while the third section looked at the respondents’ awareness of having taught and assessed each skill. The questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 32 respondents who are lecturers of the General Studies Department from a Polytechnic in the Northern Region Malaysia.

3.2 Measurement

A survey questionnaire adapted from the work of Hixson, Ravitz, and Whisman (2012) were used as a mean to collect data for this study. The raw data collected were analysed using SPSS to get mean score and standard deviation. The readiness of lecturers was measured with 10 items in a set of questionnaires. A 5-point Likert scale (1= “Almost Never”, 2 = “A few times a semester”, 3=

“1 – 3 times per month”, 4= “1 – 3 times per week”, and 5= “Almost daily” was used to assess the lecturers’ frequency of using each skill and a 5-point Likert scale (1= “Not Really”, 2 = “To a minor extent”, 3= “To a moderate extent, 4= “To a great extent”, and 5= “To a very great extent”

was used to assess the lecturers’ awareness of having taught and assessed each skill.

3.3 Data Analysis

A descriptive data analysis was performed for this study using SPSS whereby the mean score and standard deviation were calculated in order to find out the polytechnic lecturers’ readiness in promoting self-directed learning.

3.3.1 Validity and Reliability

A questionnaire adapted from the work of Hixson, Ravitz, and Whisman (2012) which was modified from the previous work of Innovative Teaching and Learning Study (Shear, Novais, Means, Gallagher, & Langworthy,2010) and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation (2010) was used for in this study. The questionnaire demonstrated a strong reliability (standardized alpha

> .90, inter-item correlation >.58).

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4. Results and Discussion

4.1 Lecturers’ frequency of using each skill

The second part of the questionnaire asks the frequency of using the 5-6 practices related to each skill. A 5-point Likert scale (1= “Almost Never”, 2 = “A few times a semester”, 3= “1 – 3 times per month”, 4= “1 – 3 times per week”, and 5= “Almost daily” was used to assess the items.

Table 4: Lecturers’ frequency of using each skill Self-direction

skills

Mean Standard Deviation (SD) 1a) Take initiative when confronted with a difficult problem or question 3.37 .955

1b) Choose their own topics of learning or questions to pursue 3.26 1.147 1c) Plan the steps they will take to accomplish a complex task 3.42 .902 1d) Choose for themselves what examples to study or resources to use 3.42 .902 1e)Monitor their own progress towards completion of a complex task and

modify their work accordingly

3.58 .838 1f) Use specific criteria to assess the quality of their work before it is

completed

3.37 .895 1g) Use peer, teacher or expert feedback to revise their work 3.00 1.202

The finding shows that, the lecturers preferred to create lesson in a way that requires learners to monitor their own progress towards completion of a complex task and modify their work accordingly (M= 3.58). This was followed by asking the learners to plan the steps they will take to accomplish a complex task as well as to choose their own topics of learning or questions to pursue (M= 3.42). The least used method in addressing self-directed learning is asking the learners to use peer, teacher or expert feedback to revise their work (M=3.00).

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4.2 Lecturers’ awareness of having taught and assessed each skill

The third part of the questionnaire looked at the respondents’ awareness of having taught and assessed each skill. A 5-point Likert scale (1= “Not Really”, 2 = “To a minor extent”, 3= “To a moderate extent, 4= “To a great extent”, and 5= “To a very great extent” was used to assess the items.

Table 5: Lecturers’ awareness of having taught and assessed each skill Self-direction

skills

Mean Standard Deviation (SD) 1a) I have tried to develop students’ self-direction skills 3.47 1.073

1b) Most students have learned self-direction skills while in my class 3.16 1.015 1c) I have been able to effectively assess students’ self-direction skills 3.21 .918

Table 5 shows the lecturers’ awareness of having taught or assessed the skill in their teaching and learning process. The overall findings show that the lecturers have taught and assessed self- direction skills in their teaching and learning process. The results also implie that the lecturers are ready to promote self-directed learning in their online lesson using the most frequently addressed method that is to make learners to monitor their own progress towards completion of a complex task and modify their work accordingly.

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5. Conclusion

The study explored Malaysian polytechnic lecturers’ readiness in promoting self-directed learning.

The results suggest that the lecturers have employed the self-direction skills in their teaching and learning process. This is crucial especially when the lesson is carried out online where the learners have to be responsible of their own learning and less guidance received from the lecturers compared to the learning process in normal classroom.

6. Acknowledgement

We are grateful to receive help and moral support from a number of people throughout our research from the initial stage until this paper is published. First and foremost, we would like to thank Almighty God for His grace and blessings in making this research a success. We would also like to express our sincere gratitude and appreciation to our colleagues for taking their time to answer the questionnaire distributed as without their help we may never have been able to complete our research. Last but not least, we would like to extend our sincere gratitude to our husbands who supported us emotionally and financially in completing this paper.

References

Ahmad, Syahrul Ahmar & Yoke, Soo & Yunos, Rahimah & Mohd Amin, Juyati. (2019). Exploring Lecturers’ Readiness for 21st Century Education in Malaysian Higher Learning Institutions.

1. 15-29. 10.33422/EJTE.2019.10.27.

Applied Educational Systems, I. (2019). What Are 21st Century Skills? [online]

Aeseducation.com. Available at: https://www.aeseducation.com/career-readiness/what-are- 21st-century-skills [Accessed 10 Nov. 2019].

Bernard, R. M., Brauer, A., Abrami, P. C., & Surkes, M. (2004). The development of a questionnaire for predicting online learning achievement. Distance education, 25(1), 31-47.

Chai, C. S., & Kong, S.-C. (2017). Professional learning for 21st century education. Journal of Computers in Education, 4(1), 1–4.

Conradie, P. W. (2014). Supporting self-directed learning by connectivism and personal learning environments. International Journal of Information and Education Technology, 4(3), 254.

Dray, B. J., Lowenthal, P. R., Miszkiewicz, M. J., Ruiz‐Primo, M. A., & Marczynski, K. (2011).

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Hixson,N.K., Ravitz, J., & Whisman, A.(2012). Extended professional development in project- based learning: Impacts on 21st century teaching and student achievement.Charleston, WV:

West Virginia Department of Education, Division of Teaching and Learn-ing, Office of Research.

Hung, M. L., Chou, C., Chen, C. H., & Own, Z. Y. (2010). Learner readiness for online learning:

Scale development and student perceptions. Computers & Education, 55(3), 1080-1090.

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Knowles, M. S. (1975). Self-Directed Learning: A Guide for Learners and Teachers. Toronto, ON: The Adult Education Company.

Patterson, C., Crooks, D., & Lunyk-Child, O. (2002). A New Perspective on Competencies for Self-Directed Learning. Journal of Nursing Education,41(1), 25-31.

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