Understanding Brunei Darussalam Young Peoples Relation to Academic

Understanding Brunei Darussalam Young People’s Relation to Academic Informing Intervention Naasirah Abdullah Teo Education Officer Department of Planning, Development and Research Ministry of Education Brunei Darussalam Ph. D student (Education), University of Bath naasirah. abdullah@moe. edu. bn

The young people (YP) • Live & grow in Brunei Darussalam • Year 13 • GCE A Level • Age 16 -18 years old • beyond compulsory education • Still in school system

Holistic approach • YP participate in >1 institutional practices • Look at the whole process contextualised in cultural historical values when studying young people (Hedegaard, 2012) • Relations cannot be reduced to sets of variables that can be held constant (Tolman, 1999) • A holistic perspective for studying children involves looking at the place that children occupy within the system of social relationships (Bozhovich, 2009)

Data – everyday experiences • Demand - academic study D(AS) • Direct/implied • Demand - other than academic study D(O) • responsibilities • Conflicts • Across institutional practices • Across activities • Personal desires • Conflict resolution • Time management • Counter-demand (CD) • Family members • Teachers • Peers/Friends

Tools developed for the analysis The individual-practice demands relation model D(AS) D-CD between young people and the institutional practice D(O) D(AS), D(O) Institutional practice CD(AS), CD(O) Young people

Construction of model of motive hierarchy to explain the relation • Motive-orientation (MO) • Sense-making motive • Motive stimuli • Relation to academic study • Motive hierarchy - the model • The relational organisation of MOs in terms of its importance for the person • Empirically grounded theoretical model • strongly supported and substantiated through empirical evidences and theoretical relations

Findings

The activities across the institutional practices that project demands towards young people in the context of Brunei Darussalam – An elaboration of Hedegaard’s model of children’s learning and development through participation in institutionalized practice. D-CD Political and Economical Stability Society Mo. E Societal Value System Malay Islamic Monarchy Family Main Gov. Org. School Institutional practices Family Maintenance Family Bonding CCA Academic Study Young person Friendship activity Self-comfort related Activity

Mixed Motive-Orientation (M-O) • Late adolescence • Vocational & career orientation • Futuristic • D • CD • Early adolescence • Intimate personal relation • Activity of social contact • Friends • Family members • Teachers • CD

Academic Study act. vs Friendship act. – e. g. from a best friend circle Sarah Academic support for Hani-Subject B t Academic support for Farah-Subject A ot ion or pp Friendship Activity su Em al MO: Intimate Personal Relation al su p ot po rt Em Hani M-O: Vocational and Career Farah M-O: Societal Value System

Societal Value System M-O • Underlines acceptable ways to act in societal act. (Leontiev, 1978) • Brunei – Malay Islamic Monarchy • Guides - things are done • Explicit/Implicit • Societal value system – as the object • Evidences (e. g. Farah) • Values in Islam - ‘The ultimate orientation’ • Actions – persistence • Utterances

Higher priority MO-1 parents’ kindness MO-2 Vocational & career MO-3 Family maintenance MO-4 Intimate personal relationship (friends) MO-5 Value system Exam performance Help parents Goals A diagrammatic representation Higher priority Bonding with significant others- friends Completing Academic Study related tasks Higher priority House chores School academic Activities Farah’s motive hierarchy and the relation to academic study Motive-orientations Value system – repay activity School Co-Curricular activity Off-school academic activity Friendship activity

Established and establishing tradition • Family resettlement • Extended family • Nuclear family • Established tradition • successful academic performance • Others (*) • Evidences (e. g. Ruby vs Hani) • D(AS) – D(O) in harmony for YP • Selection of Friends and friendship act.

Higher Ruby’s motive hierarchy and the relation to academic study Motive-orientations priority Higher priority Continue family tradition of academic success MO-2 MO-3 Vocational & career Intimate personal relationship. Family bonding (sister) MO-4 MO-5 (Self-comfort) Intimate personal relationship- friends Exam performance Bonding with significant Goals others- family members Bonding with ‘Free time & significant othersfriends relaxation’ Complete Academic related tasks Higher priority Activities A diagrammatic representation MO-1 School academic activity Friendship Off-school academic activity Reading novels activity School Co. Curricular activity

Informed interventions • Motivation and engagement • Academic study activity – to be meaningful • One intervention fits all? • YP – 16 -18 - in Brunei Darussalam • Varied MO • CD(AS) • Friendship activity dynamic • Establishing tradition • Values as object

Thank you

Rationale • Brunei Darussalam • Liberate from oil and gas dependence • Develop required manpower • Vision 2035 – e. g. ‘the accomplishments of its well- educated and highly skilled people’. • Motivate and engage in academic study activity • Cause-effect or antecedent-consequences • Factors or combination of factors • Surface of the phenomenon • This research • Essential internal relation – to explain the relation • Theory of Activity

What is the relation of young people in their late adolescence to academic study, in the context of Brunei Darussalam? The Research Question

Methodology

The semi-participatory approach • Role of the 13 young people: • Research participant • Student Researcher (SR) • Recruitment - snowballing • Friend circle / Best friend circle The overall empirical design Non-participatory component (std participant) Analysis Interpretation My. Album Participatory component (std researcher) My. Questionnaire Through a pilot study, and a training session for the Student Researchers: Focus group discussion among the SR • The development of research tools • The consideration of research approach.

Flowchart for determining dominance of MO from action of conflict resolution The actions taken Assumed demand No Assigned demand? Yes Willing? No No Any related counter demand? Yes Assigned demand Yes The objectivemotive/ goal is meaningful for the person The objectivemotive/ goal of the activity is very meaningful for the person Being obedient to the authority is important for the person The goal / motive- orientation of the person is strong towards the societal value (the societal values may become the motive that the person is oriented towards) He demand is strong and the goal of the person might be to obey and to avoid confrontation with the authority (There might be more meaning giving motive that the person is oriented towards)

Young People’s Relation to Academic Study: A Theoretical and Empirical Study of Adolescents in Brunei Darussalam Naasirah Abdullah Teo Education Officer Department of Planning, Development and Research Ministry of Education Brunei Darussalam Ph. D student (Education), University of Bath naasirah. abdullah@moe. edu. bn