-CONCEPT PAPER-

Department of Educational Psychology and Counselling

International Islamic University Malaysia
(IIUM)

EDUC 7993 Directed Research Practicum

Proposed Topic:

Educational Psychology Theories Implementation in Primary School-

Teachers’ Perspectives

A qualitative study

Proposed Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr Mastura Badzis

Name of Student: Nurul Kamariah binti Anwar

Matric No: G2219846

Sem 1, 2023/2024
Introduction

Educational Psychology is an important branch of psychology that focuses on the

development of children and adolescents. It studies the factors that affect the growth and
development of individuals. In Malaysia, the training teachers in teachers' training institutions
are equipped with educational psychology knowledge before they enter the school.
Educational psychology contributes to teachers' professional development through the
constructs of teachers' prior beliefs about teaching, reflective practice and self‐efficacy, while
its contribution to the improvement of teacher–pupil interaction is viewed through the lenses
of instruction theories, social and emotional learning, special educational needs and
classroom management. (Poulou,2006).

Educational psychology can help teachers determine the best strategy or method of
teaching and learning proper and appropriate, as well as relating to the characteristics and
uniqueness’s of the individual student. It also helps teachers understand the needs of each
student and what kind of education will benefit them best. Teachers can also identify and
address any issues that may interfere with learning through educational psychology.

Statement of the Problem

This study arose from the challenges faced by the teachers in the 21 st Century. The
claim that the primary school syllabus, particularly in mathematics and science, as being very
tough is real, according to the teachers interviewed by Free Malaysian Today media (FMT).
The teachers said this was due to Malaysia’s mathematics, science and reading ranking in the
triennial Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa). Malaysia is ranked 47th
and 48th in the evaluations, causing the Education Ministry's immediate decision to change
the primary school syllabus a few years ago, to make it tougher, as a way to improve the
country’s Pisa ranking.(Parkaran,2022). This decision has caused learning difficulties and
loss of learning interest among moderate and low-achiever students. On Twitter, a social
media platform, parents shared the opinion that the syllabus currently being taught at schools
was criminally difficult and may work to discourage students instead of motivating them to
learn. “A syllabus of this level kills the students’ motivation to learn,” wrote Hasrizal Abdul
Jamil, a local educator and blogger.

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 The wide usage of mobile phones and social media also takes a toll on students'

attention span in class. The cumulative effect of these social media dynamics has led to a
decline in our attention spans. Numerous studies suggest that excessive social media usage
and multitasking can negatively affect cognitive abilities, memory retention, and sustained
focus. Therefore teachers need to use the right psychological approach in order to gain pupils'
attention in class.

Learning burnout causes loss of learning motivation and might affect the student's
interest in coming to school. A recent study by Xu et.al (2021), shows that there is a
correlation between various dimensions of learning motivation and learning burnout.
Therefore it is important to boost the students’ learning motivation by applying relevant
psychological theories in teaching and learning. A wrong teaching methodology may worsen
the students' learning motivation.

In the United States, numerous data systems collect data on various indicators of
children’s mental health, particularly mental disorders. The 2013–2019 data from these data
systems show that mental disorders begin in early childhood and affect children with a range

of sociodemographic characteristics. According to the CDC, 37 percent of adolescents

reported clinically high levels of anxiety and depression—and one in five said they’d
seriously considered suicide, numbers that are marginally higher than those reported
in previous years. Even students who aren’t in crisis are lagging in their social and
emotional development, and incidents of school violence, including fights among students
and physical attacks on teachers, have increased. Therefore the education system needs to
address the accelerating needs of students, training teachers to recognize signs of distress and
implementing intervention strategies. Even though students' mental health issues are
supposed to be handled by a counselor, schools are short of counselors, thus the jobs fall to
the teachers.

Background

Massive changes are taking place in education that are intensifying the debate over
the implications and consequences of these changes on school-age children and youth. Kok
and Low (2019) conducted an extensive search examining the reasons why Malaysian youth
are experiencing mental health issues. They identified four major themes related to academic
stress, relationship issues, social and economic stressors, and rapid social change as risk

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factors rendering the youth vulnerable to poor developmental and scholastic outcomes.
(Zhou,2019) In this research, the researchers summarize that the students in this country are
facing numerous educational and psychological needs that could be met with adequately
trained school or educational psychologists and government involvement, placing
professionals in settings where they can best serve the needy populations.

In Malaysia, psychologists are not placed in schools but the teachers are trained with
educational psychology knowledge in the teachers training institute. The teachers are
expected to use the right psychology theory when dealing with students in school. With the
rise of students with mental health issues, it is important for teachers to implement
psychological theories in school, so it may help the students to achieve academically by
addressing their mental health problems and using the right educational psychological
theories when teaching. Therefore, this study may give us insight into the current
implementation of education psychology theories in schools.

Research Objectives

This study aims to explore educational psychology theories implementation in primary

schools in Shah Alam. The research will describe the educational psychology theories used
by teachers in schools. It will also explore how these theories help teachers deliver their
lessons.

 To identify the educational psychology theories used by teachers in school

 To explore how these theories help the teachers deliver their lessons
 To investigate how the teachers use psychological approaches to help the problematic
students

By examining these factors, the study aims to provide insights into educational psychology
theories implementation by the teachers in primary schools in Shah Alam

Research Questions

1. What are the educational psychology theories used by teachers in school?

2. How these theories help the teachers deliver their lessons ?

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 3. How the teachers use psychological approach to help the problematic students.

Methodology

 Research Design: Qualitative Method

 Instrument: Interview Open-ended questions
 Purposive sampling: Teachers from 3 schools in Shah Alam
 Analysis of Data: Thematic analysis (Qualitative)

Research Timeline

Research Section Duration

1. Introduction 1 weeks
2. Literature review 2 weeks
3. Methodology 2 weeks
4. Findings 4 weeks
5. Discussion 2 weeks
6. Conclusion 1 week
7. Final touch-up 1 week
8. Reviewing work for final submission 1week

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References

Akmal Hakim (2022) “It’s Criminal!” Parents Worry That Malaysian School Subjects Are
Too Difficult For Children To Learn, https://www.therakyatpost.com/fun/2022/02/20/its-
criminal-parents-worry-that-malaysian-school-system-is-too-difficult-for-children-to-learn/

Bitsko RH, Claussen AH, Lichstein J, et al. Mental Health Surveillance Among Children —
United States, 2013–2019. MMWR Suppl 2022;71(Suppl-2):1–42.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.su7102a1.

Korbey, H. (2022) What’s the Role of Teachers in Supporting Student Mental Health?,
https://www.edutopia.org/article/the-doctor-is-in-your-classroom/

Parkaran, K (2022) Low Pisa Ranking Led To Tougher School Syllabus, Say Teachers,
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2022/06/26/low-pisa-ranking-led-to-
tougher-school-syllabus-say-teachers/

Sharma, P., (2023) The Attention Span Conundrum: How Social Media Has Transformed and
Challenged Our Focus, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/attention-span-conundrum-how-
social-media-has-our-focus-palak-sharma

Sinha,P. (2022) 8 Benefits of Educational Psychology to the Teacher

https://classplusapp.com/growth/8-benefits-of-educational-psychology-to-the-teacher/?
session=ondemand#

Xu, R. Wang. Q., Chin, N.S, Teo, E, (2021) Analysis of Learning Motivation and Burnout of
Malaysian and Chinese College Students Majoring in Sports in an Educational Psychology
Perspective Front. Psychol., 29 December 2021
Sec. Educational Psychology Volume 12 - 2021 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.691324

Zhou, Z., Peverly, S.T, Bray M.A, & Schalkwyk, G.J.(2019) Psychological and educational
needs of children in Asia, International Journal of School & Educational Psychology, 7:2, 69-
71, DOI: 10.1080/21683603.2019.1594843