Ethnic diversity and the nation state: from centralization in the age of nationalism to decentralization amidst globalization

The cause of conflict in multiethnic and multi-religious societies is not diversity in and of itself. Rather, it is one’s attitude towards diversity. Do we share political power and economic development with the regions and minority communities? Do we recognize the cultural identities of the minorities? This requires that the nation-state building process be imagined in more inclusive civic territorial lines rather than exclusive ethnic-genealogical lines. With the above as a backdrop, the article explores nation-state building and the related pursuit of economic growth in Malaysia and some parts of Southeast Asia. The article ends with a call for decentralizing power and resources, and for more research on local level governance and democracy.     

Singapore: Review of Educational Events in 1994 and 1995

The period under review, 1994-1995, is best regarded as one of consolidation with some fine-tuning following the adoption of a range of educational initiatives in the preceding three years. As reported in the earlier two reviews in 1992 and 1993 (in the Singapore Journal of Education), some of these initiatives stemmed from the recommendations of the report entitled Improving Primary School Education (1991). Refinements made to other aspects of the education system were also announced in the period under review. All these refinements principally ensure that the central aim of the education system continues to be achieved.     

Solving ill-structured problems in asynchronous online discussions: built-in scaffolds vs. no scaffolds

Solving ill-structured problems is regarded as an important learning outcome in education as it allows learners to apply theories learnt into real practice. An asynchronous online discussion, with extended time for reflection, is an appropriate learning environment to engage learners in solving ill-structured problems. However, scaffolds may be needed to support learners in the online discussions. This study explores the effect of online scaffolds in supporting a group of graduate students' ill-structured problem-solving processes in asynchronous online discussions. The results of this study showed that the use of the online scaffolds did not lead to a significant difference in the number of ill-structured problem-solving processes. Further analysis revealed that wrong selection of message labels and under-usage of sentence openers affected the results of this study. Improvements for online scaffolds include having more precise message labels and sentence openers based on Socratic questioning approach.     

Peer-feedback and revision process in a wiki mediated collaborative writing

This study investigated the use of a wiki for collaborative writing among primary levels five (P5) and six (P6) students (n = 119) in a Chinese primary school in Hong Kong where English is taught as a second language (L2). Three classes of students and their English subject teachers participated in a three-month English language writing programme using a wiki. Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed from activities recorded in the wiki system, including posted edits and comments, students’ group writings and student and teacher interviews. The wiki page history revealed information on the types of revisions that occurred, showing that different types of feedback elicited actual revisions, which may have resulted in better group writing. Findings from the study may shed light on how wikis can help provide support for students’ collaborative writing process with wikis, and how peer-feedback can influence this process.     

Cognitive and metacognitive learning strategies among Arabic language students

This study investigates cognitive and metacognitive strategies in learning oral Arabic among students at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia. The concept of these strategies was derived from the self-regulated learning framework, which consists of five components, namely rehearsal, elaboration, organization, critical thinking, and metacognitive strategies. The purposes of this study are to investigate the level of cognitive and metacognitive strategies used (1) among UiTM students; (2) between students with different prior experiences, namely, some of them had an experience of 5 years in learning Arabic in secondary school (abbreviated by SWE) and some of them did not have any experience at all (abbreviated by SNE); (3) between students of different gender; and (4) between students with the interaction of different gender and prior experience. The sample of this study consists of 183 students and employs a questionnaire adapted from the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). The study revealed that (1) all UiTM students used cognitive and metacognitive strategies at a moderate level; (2) SWE scored significantly higher than SNE in all five components of cognitive and metacognitive strategies; (3) females scored significantly higher than males in rehearsal, organization, and metacognitive strategies; and (4) there were no statistically significant differences noted in all components between students with the interaction of prior experience and gender. This study had some classroom implications. It suggested that some improvement and changes in learning oral Arabic should be made in terms of selecting learning materials, implementing oral Arabic activities, and learning tasks, which will stimulate the use of all strategies, as well as conducting proficiency tests instead of achievement tests. Students should also be exposed to the learning techniques which used all these strategies extensively and collaborative activities may be carried out among students with mixed prior experience and gender.     

电子资源管理的挑战及管理策略的实践

面对快速增长的电子资源和电子学习等环境的转变,高校图书馆必须在整体管理和发展的策略上积极配合。在电子资源方面,需要发展新的管理模式,作长远规划管理。文章主要分享香港中文大学图书馆如何面对电子资源的挑战及实践管理策略的经验。     

Lifelong learning and learning to learn: An enabler of new voices for the new times

Over the last two decades, there have been numerous attempts to review and re-examine whether conventional learning and teaching approaches are still useful or relevant. Lifelong learning institutions have grown in number and scope, and now fulfil a significant function in bridging the gap between what traditional formal education systems provide and what the rapidly changing labour market requires. Lifelong learning is a mode of seamless learning, whereby informal and experiential learning acquired in various settings can be converted to recognised learning, thereby helping to systematise the various learning experiences into knowledge formation, knowledge building and knowledge creation. This paper analyses certain features of the 21st century such as the knowledge economy, diversity and plurality, and equity. Communities now need to provide more opportunities for everyone to learn for their individual needs, especially when societal changes are happening at a fast pace and in an unpredictable manner. Anticipatory learning for the unknown will become a significant agenda of teaching and learning in the new times, and thus, the availability of lifelong learning opportunities will be essential for preparing citizens of the new times to meet the changing needs that confront them.     

Use of Self-Service Holds in Maine Public Libraries

This study investigated self-service holds in Maine’s public libraries. Survey data were collected to assess the trend, evaluate patron privacy, and associate implementation with the director’s level of education. The results show that the four libraries with self-service holds breach patron privacy by connecting personally identifiable information with the item requested. This group was not large enough to correlate with the level of education. The results also reveal that some libraries considered implementation but did not because of privacy concerns. The findings invite further investigation into the connections among public library practice and ethics, professional education, and US law.     

Effects of video-based flipped class instruction on subject reading motivation

Video-based flipped class instruction can strengthen the learning motivation of students. The effectiveness of flipped class instruction on teaching effectiveness and subject satisfaction has been evaluated previously. The present study aims to examine the impact of two aspects of subject reading motivation. A total of 100 secondary school students were recruited from 4 classes of 25 students (ie, video-based flipped Mathematics class, traditional Mathematics class, video-based flipped Liberal Studies (LS) class and traditional LS class) in two local secondary schools. The same teachers taught both the traditional and video-based flipped classes in their subject. The students filled in questionnaires which measured: motivation for general reading; motivation for subject reading; academic subject satisfaction and perceived teaching effectiveness of the teachers. Analysis of covariance controlling for motivation for general reading revealed that students in the flipped classes reported significantly lower motivation for subject reading including reading curiosity, reading importance and reading compliance (t (1,98) = 10.52, p < 0.001; t (1,98) = 7.68, p < 0.001; t (1,98) = 20.39, p < 0.001, respectively). However, students in the flipped classes reported significantly higher satisfaction and teaching effectiveness than those in the traditional classes (t (1,98) = −15.61. p < 0.001; t (1,98) = −11.98, p <0.001, respectively). A partial correlation controlling for motivation for general reading indicated that motivation for subject reading was negatively associated with academic subject satisfaction and perceived teaching effectiveness of teachers (rs ranged from −0.51 to −0.62, p < 0.001). Video-based flipped class instruction was not only related to increased academic subject satisfaction and teaching effectiveness but also associated with lower motivation for subject reading. These findings suggest that video-based flipped class instruction had limited capability to strengthen the learning motivation of students.