Conference Agenda

Abstract:

The Malaysian education system is in a transition from face-to-face classroom learning to e- learning. E-learning is fast becoming a common method of acquiring knowledge in a local and global environment. Nevertheless, given the inherent complexity of schools, instability during this on-going Covid-19 pandemic and increasing demands on students’ thinking skills, there is a growing importance attached to embed the e-learning in schools. As the frontliners during the recent Covid-19 pandemic the aspiration to arm the students with the 21st-century learning skills thereupon the systems aspirations in the Malaysia Education Blueprint (MEB) could be materialised became more prominent. Global research suggests that current Covid-19 crisis would change the relationship between teachers and their students within the e-learning platform. Current research, however, are largely focused on the expansion of higher order thinking skills and to-date, studies on the relationship of teachers' instructional leadership practices, students’ thinking skills and their attitude to e-learning are scarce. Thus, this study investigates the levels of students’ thinking styles and their attitudes towards e-learning. In this survey study, the data of this non- experimental design’s study will be collected by using three on-line questionnaires. The instruments use in this research are: (1) Teachers' Instructional Measurement Rating Scale (TIMRS) adapted from PIMRS (2) The Yan Piaw Creative Critical Styles Test (also known as YCREATIVE-CRITICALS) for measuring students’ creative and tcritical thinking skills and the last instrument is (3) Students’ Attitude Towards E-learning (SeTeL) to ascertain students’ attitude towards e- learning. Data will be analysed quantitatively using structural equation Modelling (SEM). The findings of the study will serve as an indicator for teachers in secondary schools to determine if instructional leadership is the best leadership style in increasing students' thinking styles and attitude toward e-learning. The study's findings would be useful for related educational institutions and bodies in developing teachers' leadership by encouraging the development of a more structured leadership curriculum for school teachers in general and sharing the implementation with other secondary schools across the country.

Besides, the expected outcome of this is study, which is to capture the instructional leadership practices among teachers in particular, that would contribute to school improvements. In other words, the findings would contribute to upskilling educational leaders who, at their best, would shape a wholistic future thinkers and leaders. The significance of the study is the contribution to instructional leadership practices enacted by the secondary school teachers and its contribution to the implementation of Higher Order Thinking Skills and e-learning among students in educational organisation within the purview of the Ministry Of Education. Finally, the findings of the study can be used as a reference in enhancing Malaysian secondary students’ thinking styles and their attitude towards e-learning for school effectiveness and improvement.

Keywords: Teachers' Instructional Leadership,Thinking styles, Attitude towards e-Learning, School Effectiveness and Improvement, Covid-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic had a far-reaching effect on how children, young people, parents and teachers experience, and engage with, teaching, learning, schools and the education system. Many argue that the pandemic’s effects, which compounded the already present impacts of the 2008/09 financial crisis, climate change, the fourth industrial revolution and widespread polarisation, will be felt by young people well beyond the immediate crisis. Any exploration of the future of teaching, learning and education must factor in the interconnected challenges that these learning communities navigate if “the disconnect between decision making in complex systems and the lived experiences of people affected by those decisions” is to be closed (Scharmer 2018, p.140). Against this backdrop, this paper explores how a diversity of perspectives may be engaged through research-practice collaboration in reimagining the future of education.  

Nine out of ten young people in the world live in low- and middle-resource countries. This paper focuses on the experiences of young people, as well as the school communities they are part of, in the South African context, particularly in the Western Cape province and outlines aspects of an emergent, multi-level research-practice collaboration with four ordinary, fee-paying, public schools, two primary and two secondary schools, in the Metro East District of the Western Cape Education Department in the first half of the 2023 school year (January – June). 

The mode of delivery of the intervention at the core of the collaboration varied across the schools as the approach was adapted to fit each site’s contextual constraints and opportunities. However, a shared objective across the schools was to ensure that the intervention was offered to as many English-speaking Grade 7 or 9 students as possible and that the mode of delivery was organised to be as inclusive as possible.  

The intervention was developed as an embedded activity, with all schools opting to have it run during the school day, and as such the school leaders and staff were essential collaborators. The groups that participated in the intervention were guided through a series of exercises and activities that prompt individual, and collaborative reflection on their identity, how they see themselves as learners, their experiences of learning and the ways they make sense of, and engage with, learning spaces. 

Beyond merely recounting the narrative of a social researcher’s collaboration with two primary and two secondary schools this paper highlights key reflections about the potential of multi-level research-practice collaborations to foster enabling spaces for collaborative knowledge and value creation within schools, with a particular focus on the potential of collaboration with young people.

There has been an increase in the past few decades in the number of international migrants worldwide. Critical crises such as political instability, economic uncertainty, and safety contribute, as seen in recent events in Afghanistan, Ukraine, Haiti, and in the Americas. Migration politics remains contentious in the United States, especially with undocumented immigrants. There are over 10.5 million undocumented immigrants (Krogstad et al, 2019). This population has remained steady since 2008 with the majority from Mexico, however, there is an increasing number from Asian and Central American countries (Capps et al, 2020).

The politics of the US has shaped educational policies, practices, experiences, and post-secondary trajectories of undocumented students. These children have the right to attend a public school in the U.S. until twelfth grade, so schools have the responsibility to provide protected spaces for them (Gonzales, 2011). Fear of deportation, family separation and immigration raids on communities also impact schooling (Ee & Gándara, 2019). Research indicates that undocumented status of children and/or their parent is associated with higher levels of anxiety and depression during adolescence and fewer years of schooling (Yoshikawa et al, 2013), decreases in academic achievement, and bullying (Bellows, 2019; Nienhusser & Oshio, 2019). School leaders, administrators, and educators must understand immigration policies and its impact on students’ lives (Dabach, 2015), families and communities, and develop an awareness for advocacy (Mangual Figueroa, 2017).

Principals’ awareness of the impact legal status has on children and families may lead to decision making processes and practices that create cultures of belonging and care in schools (Jaffe-Walter et al, 2019) and assist with access to resources such as for university or legal counsel (Jefferies, 2014). Without administrative supports, students may feel worried and unsafe to discuss immigration status (Kam, et. al, 2018). Therefore, necessitated is collective leadership that consists of various personnel, including educators and parents, with relevant expertise for problem solving and collaboration (Leithwood & Mascall, 2008).

This study explored the lived and educational experiences of undocumented students at the intersection of public education and immigration policy. The research questions were: 1. How do undocumented students address challenges in educational contexts? 2. What are the contextual dynamics that contribute to the barriers experienced and how are these addressed? In this qualitative study, participants were recent high school graduates who are undocumented and/or lived in mixed status families. Information was garnered from these data sources: recorded semi-structured interviews, content analysis of related documents, and journal reflections. Thematic analysis yielded the following themes, 1. Relations of power and trust, 2. Mechanisms of equity and inclusion 3. Empowerment of educators and students. Each of these themes were discussed within the extant research and through the frameworks of collective leadership and culturally responsive and sustaining practices. It is important to understand how politics, policies and practices shape the experiences and postsecondary trajectories of undocumented students. This multifaceted analysis at the intersection of immigration policy and education praxis unearths inquiries to be addressed for educational research in relation to interrogation of systems and structures whereupon injustice functions.