The Aftermath of Transformation of Malaysia Vocational Education System on Early Childhood Studies in Vocational Colleges

摘要

This study examines the aftermath of the transformation of Vocational Education on Early Childhood Studies course in vocational colleges in the contexts of curriculum, assessment, institutional and industrial relations. In addition, this study also aims to examine the challenges ofthe transformation towards workload and professional development of the lecturers. The researcher has used a mixed method approach of quantitative and qualitative studies with the parallel, convergent model. The respondents comprised of administrators and Early Childhood Studies lecturersin vocational colleges nationwide selected through a non-random sampling procedure according to criteria determined by the researcher. The instruments consisted of a questionnaire and an interview protocol. A pilot study was conducted to determine the construct validity and reliability ofthe questionnaire. The researcher used Rasch measurement model approach to identify the reliability values of individual and item as well as the construct validity. The actual study was conducted on 16 respondents to obtain feedbacks on the interview protocol while 20 respondents answeredthe questionnaire. The results of quantitative and qualitative data proved that the implication of the transformation of vocational education on the curriculum, assessment, institutional and industrial relations occurs in the Early Childhood Studies course and thus increase the workload ofthe lecturers. However, the professional development of the lecturers has also been increased due to the pressure to improve their knowledge and skills in teaching.