Minor illnesses in children are often cured at home with over the counter medicines. Even though there is a wide use of medicines among children, they rarely receive medical advice about their medications from doctors or pharmacists. The aim of this study is to evaluate children's beliefs about medicines as well as to explain what children know about medicines. A cross-sectional survey was used to collect data from four primary schools in Penang Island, Malaysia. The target population of this research was schoolchildren of 11 and 12 years old regardless of their gender and social status. A self-administration questionnaire was used to obtain the data from schoolchildren and their parents. After including all schoolchildren in grades five and six, the total sample size was 1000 children in addition to 1000 parents. This study found that most children have inadequate knowledge and false beliefs about the efficacy of medicines. Children's beliefs about the efficacy of medicines were affected by their age group, gender and race (p < .05). Females, older children and Chinese were more knowledgeable about the efficacy of medicines. Furthermore, the socio-economic status, parents' education level and parents' occupation influenced children's beliefs about medicines (p < .001). This study showed that children have misconception about medicines. The need for medicine education should be implemented to get more knowledgeable users of medicines in future. However, the role of health-care professional should be increased in terms of medicine education.

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To date, there has been little research done on phonological acquisition in the Malay language of typically developing Malay-speaking children. This study serves to fill this gap by providing a systematic description of Malay consonant acquisition in a large cohort of preschool-aged children between 4- and 6-years-old. In the study, 326 Malay-dominant speaking children were assessed using a picture naming task that elicited 53 single words containing all the primary consonants in Malay. Two main analyses were conducted to study their consonant acquisition: (1) age of customary and mastery production of consonants; and (2) consonant accuracy. Results revealed that Malay children acquired all the syllable-initial and syllable-final consonants before 4;06-years-old, with the exception of syllable-final /s/, /h/ and /l/ which were acquired after 5;06-years-old. The development of Malay consonants increased gradually from 4- to 6 years old, with female children performing better than male children. The accuracy of consonants based on manner of articulation showed that glides, affricates, nasals, and stops were higher than fricatives and liquids. In general, syllable-initial consonants were more accurate than syllable-final consonants while consonants in monosyllabic and disyllabic words were more accurate than polysyllabic words. These findings will provide significant information for speech-language pathologists for assessing Malay-speaking children and designing treatment objectives that reflect the course of phonological development in Malay.

Learning through picture books is a method which is widely used in preschools to teach mathematics. However, the research findings on the benefits of using picture books in learning mathematics remain inconclusive. This study aimed to i) investigate the effects of a picture book entitled "What are the numbers?" (a picture book made up flora and fauna in Borneo) on early mathematics achievement (reading and writing numerals up to 20) and ii) to get feedback on how appropriate the use of "what are the numbers" from teachers and parents. The book consists elements of critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creative thinking. The effects were measured by comparing the change in early mathematical ability of children in reading and writing numerals up to 20 by using the Rasch measurement model. The mean of the pre-test achievement was -1.99 logits and the mean of the post-test achievement was 1.75 logits which shows a difference of 3.74 logits. The effect size of the difference between the post-test and pre-test achievement was 1.4, which is considered large. Teachers and parents gave positive feedback on the use of the picture book. They commented that the picture book is able to attract children's attention, enhance their thinking skills and nurture creativity among children. In conclusion, the picture book based on the 4C approach enhanced early mathematics achievement of children.

Multicultural education is crucial in promoting cross-cultural understanding, recognition, and celebration of diversity in Malaysia-one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world. Preschool teachers play central roles in laying the foundation for cultural acceptance and positive racial interaction during early childhood. This study aims to explore Malaysian preschool teachers' training and attitudes towards multicultural education. A quantitative questionnaire survey approach was used to gather the required data. The participants consisted of 1,067 preschool teachers from 267 private and government preschools providers in the country. Two validated instruments were employed to measure the variables in this study. The trainings received by the preschool teachers were measured by the Teachers' Training Multicultural Education Scale (TTMES) while their attitudes towards multicultural education were gauged by the Multicultural Teaching Scale (MTS). Findings showed that preschool teachers were positive about the trainings that they received in relation to multicultural education. However, the extent to which they actually understood the concept of multiculturalism was doubtful in view that two thirds of the teachers demonstrated misconception about the fundamental principles of multicultural education when their attitudes towards multicultural education were examined. Significant differences were found in teachers' training and attitudes according to the categories of preschools; teachers from mono-cultural preschools displayed the least positive attitudes towards multicultural education. Implications of the study were discussed in the paper.