| Abstrakt: |
This study aimed to identify the level of generic skills among trainee teachers at one of the Teacher Education Institutes in Malaysia. A total of 104 trainee teachers of final semester Program Ijazah Sarjana Muda Perguruan (PISMP) participated in this study. Data were collected using a questionnaire which was adapted from generic skills questionnaire developed by the SCANS (2001), Mohd Sattar (2009), Kamaruddin (2010), Soft Skills (KPTM 2006) and Malaysian Quality Framework (MQA), (2005). Among the variables studied were the skills of communication, critical thinking and problem solving, teamwork, continuous learning and information management, leadership, moral and ethics, entrepreneurship and self-confidence. Results of the study show the level of generic skills of these trainee teachers is very good. Trainee teachers also exhibit high generic skills particularly the confident, team work, and communication constructs. However the entrepreneurship construct has the opposite score. The results indicate there is a positive relationship between the generic skills and academic achievement. Apart from that, the results also show there is a difference between generic skills and gender but no significant difference with race factors. The importance of teamwork, being given responsibility and collaborative learning emerged as the most important factors for effective learning in the three contexts under consideration. Finally, this paper ends with suggestions and recommendations with respect to further initiatives to enhance the employability of the graduates, especially related to generic skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
