Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of a career management program embedded within a business module, with a specific focus on enhancing the employability of students. Design/methodology/approach: The study involved five one-hour workshops based on the DOTS model, covering aspects like resume writing and…

Purpose: The notion of students as change agents have widely been used in the campus sustainability literature, but very little has been done to unpack what it really means in practice. This paper aims to critically investigate university students' perspectives on their role as a change agent for campus sustainability in the context of Malaysian…

It can be difficult to align with the present theoretical change in education from teacher-centered to student-centered learning especially in high-power distance cultures like Malaysia that are communal. This study aims to investigate the perceptions of students and lecturers regarding the psychosocial barriers to promoting self-directed and…

Purpose: Self-directed learning (SDL) requires students to explore and decide their own learning objectives and strategies, and incorporate the various learning opportunities and resources throughout their learning process. This study investigates the university students' perspectives on university learning experiences and aims to highlight the…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore how university fieldtrips progressively deepen student engagement, and explain that stage-by-stage using the organismic integration theory. Design/methodology/approach: Using reflective logs, follow-up focus groups after two years and facilitator observations, this Malaysian qualitative study…

This study further extends a theoretical model of psychological empowerment by investigating the relationships between self-efficacy, self-confidence and self-esteem. A sample of 383 of Malaysian undergraduates participating in Work Integrated Learning (WIL) programmes across five public universities is used to test the model employing…

In order to co-create teaching and learning for enhanced student engagement, faculty-student partnership in higher education is emerging as a distinguished practice in the West especially for undergraduates. However, little is known about the impact of such practices in the East. This article reports the benefits of a term long collaboration…

This article explores the use of massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) as a type of serious games that have English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning potentials. It highlights evidence from a case study which investigated the effects of role-playing in MMOGs on communication behaviours among EFL game players. Additionally, findings from…

Purpose: This paper proposes a framework of instructional strategies that would facilitate active and reflective learning processes in the flipped classroom It is aimed at allowing one's maximum potential to be reached regardless of any individual learning style. As tertiary classrooms increasingly needs to be as active and social as possible, the…

This publication is part of our five-strand research project "Flexible Pedagogies: preparing for the future". It identifies six "new pedagogical ideas" offering new pathways for learning. These include: (1) actively involving students in learning development and processes of "co-creation" thereby challenging existing…

Purpose: Learner empowerment or learner autonomy is regarded by some theorists as the self-propelled, sole effort of the learner. However, in creating self-directed learners who are empowered to learn, the role of significant others such as the instructor is imperative. This study shows how a committed lecturer can play an instrumental role in…

Engaging non-native pre-service English teachers who are still learning the language themselves requires two tasks: facilitating their language teaching skills and scaffolding their language learning. This action research interfaced Facebook and Photovoice technologies in order to empower participants to be proactive in their language learning and…

This paper explores the effectiveness of theme-based instructional (TBI) method as a means of honing the writing skills and the motivation for writing of 36 pre-degree ESL learners in a Malaysian tertiary institution. The method which focused on development of language skills through discussion of themes provided the teacher a direct and effective…

The integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) in course offerings in institutions of higher learning (IHLs) is the catalyst towards empowering learners to become autonomous lifelong learners. In an effort to produce quality and independent learners, Learning Management Systems (LMS) are seen as a means to assist educators in…

There is in higher education a powerful discourse of "independent learning". While there may be pedagogical rationales to support the desirability of increased independence at the tertiary stage, it may also serve other institutional agendas, such as functioning as a way for academic staff to "manage" the frustrations…