PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to shed light on changes in the Malaysian education system, with particular reference to the development of Smart Schools, and to evaluate progress with respect to knowledge management in school education.Design/methodology/approachThe research is designed around questionnaires based on a knowledge management conceptual framework administered to random samples of 50 teachers in 25 Smart Schools and 25 Non‐Smart Schools so as to be able to make comparisons.FindingsThe findings provide evidence relating to a number of factors in knowledge management, its importance, the methods of managing knowledge, knowledge activities, barriers to knowledge management and factors contributing to knowledge management.Originality/valueThe originality of the paper lies in its Malaysian context and the lack of research into knowledge management in the field of education in general.

This study aims to investigate the impact of active learning in the economics subject in Perak secondary school on students’ achievement, motivation, interest, and social interaction. This study applies a quasi-experimental research design, which involves the control and the treatment groups with thirty and thirty-four participants, respectively. The active learning materials for the treatment group were based on active learning methods provided by the Ministry of Education with support from structured lesson plans namely: simulations, discussions, brainstorming, case studies, and visits in the school’s compound. A questionnaire is also used to measure students’ motivation, interest and social interaction before and after the intervention. The results showed that students who had experienced active learning activities score higher than their counterparts significantly for topic 1 and 2. Besides, findings show that they were motivated and interested in learning economics through active learning compared to the traditional approach. However, the researchers find that the social interaction element is not as significant as the others. It has been concluded that the active learning method attracts student’s interest and motivation in the economic subject and subsequently improves their achievement. Students also will get benefit from the varieties of teaching method with a focus of learning outcomes to enrich student-learning activities.

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Purpose This study aims to extend the investigation on leader communication by assessing the usage of motivating language (ML) by leaders in Waqf institutions in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach Data analysis was carried out using structural equation modelling via the partial least squares. The probability sampling technique was deemed more suitable for this study as the available data was definable for constructing the sampling frame. Findings Management effectiveness was shown to have a significant effect on direction-giving and meaning-making language (MML), but not on empathetic language (EL). The findings demonstrate that increasing use of directive and MML leads to greater management performance; however, increased use of EL has no such effect. Research limitations/implications The findings should not be taken as a comprehensive solution for improving the management effectiveness of all Waqf institutions. As the study only focused on the aspect of leader communication in Waqf institutions, the findings cannot be generalized to other contexts. Additionally, this study had only examined religious-based non-profit organizations (NPOs) with affiliations to a religious body, mission statements that incorporate religious values, financial support from religious sources and governance structure and employee selection based on religious processes. Hence, the findings cannot be used as a reference in the context of non-religious NPOs. Practical implications This paper contributes to the theoretical enhancement of existing literature about leader communication towards improving institutional effectiveness. The current study has empirically tested the model through the integration of the ML theory. Thus, the leader’s choice of language improves employee motivation and ultimately institutional productivity and effectiveness. Originality/value There is a glaring gap in empirical studies on the relationship between ML usage by leaders and management effectiveness specifically in the context of Malaysian organizations. Based on rigorous searches using the Scopus and Web of Sciences databases, it was found that past studies investigating the said relationship had focused more on Western countries. This is a crucial gap that must be addressed to gain a deeper understanding of the effect of ML on management effectiveness, especially in the Malaysian setting.

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the quality of teachers based on education and training provided under new reform policies in Malaysia affects their earnings outcomes. The study conducted a benefit and returns analysis guided by human capital theory. Design/methodology/approach The study used survey research methods to investigate human capital formation in the teaching profession using teachers’ qualifications, benefits and private rate of returns as key variables in the estimation. Findings Earnings and experience levels were highly correlated with teachers’ education levels, as suggested by human capital theory. The private rate of returns in earnings for each additional year of schooling of teachers was found to lie between 3 and 4 per cent per year. Discrepancies were apparent in teachers’ qualifications and licensure levels regionally and at academic levels, as expected. These correlated with earning levels. Practical implications Improvements in teachers’ salary and employment opportunities will attract higher quality graduates to the teaching profession. Teachers’ annual earnings in Malaysia are comparable to other public sector and private professional jobs in the nation but lag far behind those of the world’s top education systems. Increasing teachers’ earnings will attract better qualified teachers. Policymakers could address these issues. Originality/value This paper demonstrates the utility of economic analyses in terms of earnings returns, to evaluate the Malaysian policy of upgrading teachers’ qualifications as a mechanism to improve the overall quality of schooling. Such studies are rare but needed to understand the benefits and returns of policy-driven teacher education and training investments. This study provides new evidence of schooling returns using a recent, national data set.

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While a great discussion on past research done to investigate the impact on Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) in producing the positive outcome of the management, relatively little research has been done conducted to examine the link between LMX to the effectiveness of the management particularly in a religious based non-profit organization in a Malaysia setting. Meanwhile, a discussion on LMX of the non-profit organisation is not explicitly religious based as the discussion on Malaysia institution, and specifically among non-profit organisation religious based is lacking. Thus, the objective of this study to address the issue of communication among leader-member via LMX theory and to propose potential effect to the effectiveness of the management particularly in a religious based non-profit organisation, specifically in Waqf institutions in the Malaysian setting.