International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

search-icon

The Perception of Students and Teachers towards Using Myeconomics in Learning Principles of Economics in Vocational Colleges, Malaysia

Open access

Zi Jian Oh, Mustapa Hj Kamar, Marina Rahman, Siti Khadijah Ahmad Ramli, Syaiffuldin Mohamad, Hwei Chin Chin

Pages 80-91 Received: 01 Feb, 2023 Revised: 03 Mar, 2023 Published Online: 05 Apr, 2023

http://dx.doi.org/10.46886/IJARBSS/v13-i4/9255
Principles of Economics is perceived as a challenging subject by Business Management students in vocational colleges in Malaysia. The nature of the subject, which is largely theoretical, encompasses mathematics, finance, business, psychology, and law proves to be demanding for vocational students who are more inclined towards hands-on subjects. They also seem to lack interest in the subject. As a result, students’ performance in Principles of Economics is considered average. To attract their interest, myEconomics is created which applies the concept cartoons. Using this approach, difficult concepts of economics are discussed in illustrative and relaxed manners so that students can grasp the gist of the ideas faster compared to when they refer to their textbooks which are in a textual form. This study aims to describe myEconomics and the perception of teachers towards using it in teaching and of students in learning Principles of Economics. When myEconomics was introduced and tested among teachers and students from 47 vocational colleges in Malaysia, the responses were collected by using survey and interview methods and the findings showed that myEconomics could serve as an instructional and learning tool for Principles of Economics in vocational colleges. This helps lecturers explain and students recall important economics concepts faster, improve and strengthen their understanding since they learn a challenging subject in a comical and colourful medium. On top of that, students will be able to gauge their own understanding immediately because myEconomics gives them the opportunities to access online assessments which have been prepared at the end of a topic using Quizziz. Interestingly, myEconomics is unique as it is written in Bahasa Malaysia, a language that is used to teach and formally asses the subject in vocational colleges. Therefore, it has the potential to be used as a complete reference for Diploma in Business Management students in vocational colleges when it has included all of the topics in Principles of Economics.
Creswell, J. W. (2015). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Zhao, F. (2019). Using Quizizz to Integrate Fun Multiplayer Activity in the Accounting Classroom. International Journal of Higher Education, 8(1).
Johnston, C. G., James, R. H., Lye, J. N. & McDonald, I. M. (2000). An evaluation of collaborative problem solving for learning Economics. Journal of Economic Education, 31, 13-29.
Khoo, Y. Y., & Fitzgerald, R. (2017). Peer learning with concept cartoons enhance critical thinking and performance in secondary school economics. Journal of Economics and Economic Education Research, 18(1), 1-13.
Kivunja, C. (2015). Innovative methodologies for 21st century learning, teaching and assessment: A convenience sampling investigation into the use of social media technologies in higher education. International Journal of Higher Education, 4(2), 1-26. doi:10.5430/ijhe.v4n2p1
Mail, R., & Noordin, R. (2015). Penyelidikan peringkat sarjana: Pendekatan kualitatif sebagai alternatif. Universiti Malaysia Sabah: Penerbit Universiti Malaysia Sabah.
Negrete, A. (2013). Constructing a Comic to Communicate Scientific Information about Sustainable Development and Natural Resources in Mexico. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 103(November 2013), 200–209.
Ngafeeson, M. N. (2022). Northern Michigan University online campus: A case of digital transformation in higher education. Journal of Information Technology Teaching Cases, 12(2), 230-243. doi: 10.1177/20438869211056950
Ntobuo, N. E., Arbie, A., & Amali, L. N. (2018). The development of gravity comic learning media based on Gorontalo culture. Jurnal Pendidikan IPA Indonesia, 7(2), 246–251.
Nurkhin, A., Martono, S., Kardoyo, K., Muhsin, M., & Algifari, A. (2022). The effect of the use of electronic learning aid on student satisfaction with online learning. AIP Conference Proceedings, 1st International Conference on Technology, Informatics, and Engineering, (030024). Malang, Indonesia. doi: 10.1063/5.0094632
Oh, Z. J., Kamar, M. H., Rahman, M., Ramli, S. K. A., Mohamad, S., and Chin, H. C. (2022). The Perception of Students and Lecturers towards Using The OME System in Learning Business Finance in Vocational Colleges, Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences. 12(6), 459 – 472. doi: 10.6007/IJARBSS/v12-i6/13986
Rahmatullah, & Inanna. (2017). Identifikasi Nilai-Nilai Ekonomi Sebagai Dasar Merumuskan Materi Pengantar Ilmu Ekonomi Berjatidiri Bangsa. Prosiding Seminar Nasional Lembaga Penelitian UNM, 700–704
Saidon, R., Bakar, J. A., Sharipudin, M. -N. S., & Zainal, Z. (2022). The Impact of Web 2.0 Tools on Economics Education. Journal of Advanced Research in Applied Sciences and Engineering Technology, 28(3), 287-298. doi: 10.37934/araset.28.3.287298
Saputro, A. D. (2015). Aplikasi Komik sebagai Media. Muaddib, 05(ISSN 2088-3390), 01.
Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (2010). Research methods for business: A skill building approach (5th ed.). New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Sierra, J., & Suárez-Collado, Á. (2022). Wealth and power: Simulating global economic interactions in an online environment. International Journal of Management Education, 20(2),100629. doi: 10.1016/j.ijme.2022.100629
Sierra, J., Yassim, M., & Suárez-Collado, Á. (2022). Together we can: enhancing key 21st-century skills with international virtual exchange. Education and Training, 64(6), 826-843. doi: 10.1108/ET-05-2021-0171
Trnova, E., Trna, J., & Vacek, V. (2013). The Roles of Cartoons and Comics in Science Education. 10th International Conference Hands-on Science 2013. Educating for Science and through Science. Research Gate. pp. 240-244.
Wei, C. Y., Khoo, Y. Y., & Zakariya, Z. (2016). Application of lecturer’s audio-video recording in economics course: A substitute or supplement to students’ attendance. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 6(12), 24-32. doi: 10.6007/IJARBSS/v6-i12/2466
Xing, X., & Saghaian, S. (2022). Learning Outcomes of a Hybrid Online Virtual Classroom and In-Person Traditional Classroom during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Sustainability (Switzerland), 14(9), 5263. doi: 10.3390/su14095263
Zakaria, W. N. W., Abas, H., Masrom, M., Mohdali, R., & Mohamed, N. N. N. (2019). Mobile App for Learning Economics Terminologies. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 9(10), 191–202. doi: 10.6007/IJARBSS/v9-i10/6477