The Potential Of General Studies Courses (MPU) In Malaysian Higher Education Institutions (IPT) For The  Development Of Students’ Soft Skills: Potensi Kursus Mata Pelajaran Umum (MPU) Di Institusi Pengajian Tinggi (IPT) Di Malaysia Dalam Pembangunan Insaniah Pelajar

Nik Liyana  Mustapa @ Nik Daud; Wan Norhaniza  Wan Hasan

Authors

Nik Liyana Mustapa @ Nik Daud Lecturer
Wan Norhaniza Wan Hasan Senior Lecturer

Keywords:

General Studies Course (MPU), Malaysian Higher Education Institutions, Development of Students’ Soft Skills, Quality Education

Abstract

The introduction of the General Studies Course (MPU) since 2013 in Higher Education Institutions (IPT) is based on the philosophy of science, which encompasses the scientific fields of humanities, pure sciences, and social sciences. However, this MPU course has attracted the attention of several parties who assume that the course is not important and therefore should not be compulsory for students due to some factors such as the burden of subjects and assignments on students and the belief that students should only focus on the subjects relevant to the course taken. Therefore, this paper aims to identify the potential of General Studies courses (MPU) in Malaysian Higher Education Institutions (IPT) for the development of students’ soft skills and to analyze the potential of General Studies courses (MPU) in Higher Education Institutions (IPT) in Malaysia for the development of students’ soft skills. This study is descriptive and uses a qualitative content analysis approach. The results of the study are grouped according to the themes that emerged from manual research. The study shows that MPU courses offer added value for students and have a positive impact on the development of soft skills that are important for students. Therefore, the MPU course should be continued with some improvements to realize the National Education Philosophy and produce students who are physically, emotionally, spiritually, and intellectually balanced (JERI).

Abstrak
Pengenalan kursus Mata Pelajaran Umum (MPU) sejak 2013 di Institusi Pengajian Tinggi (IPT) berteraskan cabang Falsafah Ilmu yang melibatkan bidang keilmuan kajian Kemanusiaan, Sains Tulen dan Sains Sosial. Namun begitu, kursus MPU ini telah mendapat perhatian beberapa pihak yang beranggapan kursus ini tidak penting dan tidak perlu diwajibkan kepada pelajar kerana beberapa faktor antaranya faktor bebanan subjek dan tugasan yang telah banyak diambil oleh pelajar selain pelajar hanya perlu memfokuskan kepada subjek-subjek yang berkaitan dengan kursus yang diambil sahaja. Atas sebab ini, kertas kerja ini bertujuan untuk mengenal pasti potensi kursus Mata Pelajaran Umum (MPU) di Institusi Pengajian Tinggi (IPT) di Malaysia dalam pembangunan insaniah pelajar dan menganalisis potensi kursus Mata Pelajaran Umum (MPU) di Institusi Pengajian Tinggi (IPT) di Malaysia dalam pembangunan insaniah pelajar. Kajian ini menggunakan rekabentuk deskriptif dan menggunakan pendekatan analisis kandungan kualitatif. Dapatan kajian dikelompokkan mengikut tema yang muncul berdasarkan penelitian yang dilaksanakan secara manual. Kajian ini mendapati Kursus MPU memberi nilai tambah kepada pelajar selain memberi impak positif kepada pembangunan insaniah para pelajar dan relevan untuk pelajar. Justeru, kursus MPU wajar diteruskan dengan beberapa penambahbaikan agar mampu mencapai Falsafah Pendidikan Negara untuk melahirkan pelajar yang seimbang daripada aspek jasmani, emosi, rohani dan intelek (JERI).

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Nik Liyana Mustapa @ Nik Daud, Lecturer

Academy of Contemporary Islamic Studies (ACIS), UiTM Kedah Branch, Malaysia

Wan Norhaniza Wan Hasan, Senior Lecturer

Centre for Islamic Development Management Studies (ISDEV), Universiti Sains Malaysia.

References

Buku

Abdillah, H. (1984). Memahami komunikasi antara manusia. Usaha Nasional.

Ahmad Sunawari, L. (2008). Pengenalan metodologi penyelidikan pengajian Islam. Jabatan Usuluddin dan Falsafah.

Anderson, G. J (1998). Fundamentals of Educational Research. Falmer.

Babbie E. (2010). The practice of social research. Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Beyer, B. K. (1988). Developing a thinking skills program. Allyn and Bacon.

Blaxter, L., Hughes, C., & Tight, M. (2001). How to research. Open University Press.

Charmaz, K. (2006). Construting Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide through Qualitative Analysis. Sage.

Chua Yan Piaw. (2011). Kaedah penyelidikan. Mc Graw-Hill Sdn.Bhd.

Daly, K. J. (2007). Qualitative methods for family studies and human development. University of Guelph.

Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka. (2002). Kamus Dewan. Ed. Baru. Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.

Dewey, J. (1910). How we think. D.C. Heath & CO.

Huey, T. C. (1990). Theory-Driven Evaluation: Conceptual Framework, Methodology, and Application. CA: Sage.

Kementerian Pengajian Tinggi. (2015). Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan Malaysia 2015-2025 (Pendidikan Tinggi). Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia.

Kementerian Pengajian Tinggi. (2016). Garis panduan Mata Pelajaran Umum (MPU). Kementerian Pendidikan Tinggi.

Lofland, J. (1995). Analyzing social settings: a guide to qualitative observation and analysis. Publishing Company.

Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research Methods (2nd ed.). Sage Publications, Inc.

Pranee Liamputtong. (2014). Kaedah penyelidikan kualitatif. UPM Press.

Sperry, R. (1970). Early experience in visual information processing in erceptual and reading disorders. National Academy of Sciences.

Sulaiman Masri. (2005). Kaedah penulisan dan panduan penulisan esei, proposal, tesis. Utusan Publication and Distributors Sdn Bhd.

Syukur Kholil. (2006). Metodologi penelitian komunikasi. Citapustaka Media.

Taylor, G.R. (ed.) (2000). Integraling Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in Research. University Press of America, Lanham, Maryland.

Taylor, S. J. dan Bogdan, R. (1984). Introduction to qualitative research methods: The search for meanings. Second Edition. John Wiley and Sons. Toronto.

Wilen, W. W. (1994). Why all this fuss about teaching thinking?: A rational for developement student’s critical thinking through questioning. Human Society & Its Environment Council.

Jurnal

Movchan, L. & Zarishniak, I. (2017). The role of elective courses in students’ professional development: foreign experience. Comparative Professional Pedagogy, 7(2), 20-16.

Nickerson, R. S. (1984). Retrieval inhibition from part-set cuing: A persisting enigma in memory research. Journal of memory and cognition, 12(6), 531-552.

Noor Aziera, M.R., Siti Nurul, I., Norafifah, A.H., Mohd Faizal, P.R., Norizah, M. (2020). Pelaksanaan subjek hubungan etnik tanpa peperiksaan akhir di UiTM cawangan Melaka, E-Journal of Islamic Thought and Understanding, 1(20): 18-34.

Sakinatul Raadiyah Abdullah et al. (2022). Keberkesanan Kursus Penghayatan Etika Dan Peradaban Dalam Memupuk Kesepaduan Kaum: Kajian Terhadap Pelajar Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). International Journal Of Education, Psychology And Counselling (IJEPC) 7(46), 571-582.

Wellington, J. (2004). Ethics and Citizenship in Science Education: now is the time to jump of the fence. School Science Review, 86(315), 33-38.

Zelditch, M. (1962). Some methodological problems of field studies. American Journal of Sociology, 6(7), 566-76

Laman Sesawang

Kementerian Pengajian Tinggi. (2022). Pelan Tindakan Pendidikan Tinggi Malaysia 2022–2025. Diperoleh dari https://cci.umk.edu.my/download/2023-01-19-Pelan-Tindakan-Pendidikan-Tinggi-Malaysia.pdf (diakses pada 06 Februari 2024)

World Bank. (2024). Tertiary Education. https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/tertiaryeducation#3(diakses pada 06 Februari 2023)

Seminar

Kamarul Azmi, J. (2012). Metodologi pengumpulan data dalam penyelidikan kualitatif. Kursus Penyelidikan Kualitatif Siri 1 2012 di Puteri Resort Melaka on 28-29 Mac 2012.

Kamsani Md. Saad (2021). Persepsi Pelajar Terhadap Implimentasi Kursus Penghayatan Etika dan Peradaban Di Politeknik Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah, Kedah. Kertas kerja dibentangkan di International Conference on Syariah & Law 2021 (ICONSYAL 2021) Online Conference pada 6 April 2021.

Ng, M. Y., & Harahap, I. (2017). Matapelajaran Pengajian Umum (MPU) Peneraju Transformasi Pendidikan Holistik. In: Kuala Lumpur: National Pre-University Seminar 2017 (NpreUS2017) RHR Hotel, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

Ruzaini Ijon, Siti Fathihah binti Abd Latif, Ateerah binti Abd Razak & Azahah Abu Hassan Shaari . (2021). Pembangunan Insan Dalam Mata Pelajaran Umum: Kajian Terhadap Pelajar Universiti Malaysia Kelantan. e-Prosiding Seminar Mata Pelajaran Umum Peringkat Kebangsaan (SeMUKe-1).