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Purpose – In this study, 37 English Language Teaching (ELT) teacher trainees from a Malaysian university conducted an action-research project to determine whether journals kept during their fi eldwork in primary schools located in an area close to the university allowed them to reflect on their beliefs and behaviors in the classroom.   Methodology – Themes were revealed using emergent coding in their journals. Van Manen’s (1977) three-stage model (practical, technical and critical) was used to determine the issues raised and the level of critical reflection reached in the journal entries   Findings – The findings indicated that the teacher trainees demonstrated practical and technical level thinking, but rarely rose to the critical level of reflection. Nonetheless, they also demonstrated changes in their beliefs and behaviours, essential for professional development.   Significance – Reflective thinking is critical to teaching and is important in the United States and in countries striving to replicate its pedagogical tools and techniques. However, many Western practices associated with the nurturing of critical thinking are not familiar to Malaysian teacher trainees. We conclude that prospective teachers here do use their journals to reflect on their educational practice, but not at the deepest levels of insight. Critical thinking must be taught to Malaysian teacher trainees and filtered through the local culture if it is to improve teaching and learning in the nation’s classrooms.

The results suggest that the current pedicle screw system is not suitable for the majority of Malay population, especially at midthoracic level. The smaller pedicle measurements in Malays may be attributed to their shorter body built compared with whites.

The study of context-based leadership practices has gained currency during the last decade. This study aims to complement the recent efforts of researchers in identifying the context-based leadership practices of successful school leaders, and deliberating how these practices are enacted within their own unique contexts. An in-depth case study was conducted in a successful school in northern Malaysia using a combination of case study methods and grounded theory. Case study methods were used for data collection from multiple sources, employing a semi-structured interview protocol derived from the one used in several studies conducted under the International Successful School Principalship Project. The findings of the case study reveal that strong interpersonal skills, people-centered leadership, clear communication of vision and goal, focus on academic achievement, co-curricular activities, developing people and creating a positive work environment are all vital constituents of successful leadership. The findings will attempt to add to the scant literature on context-based leadership practices from Malaysia. Implications for practice can be drawn for policymakers, who must resist overreliance on borrowed leadership models, while practitioners need to prioritize their practices based upon the contextual requirements to succeed.

Pedicle morphology in adolescent and adult population is different in all parameters, especially in males. Understanding of specific pedicle morphology for each group is imperative for safety in spinal procedures using pedicle route.

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Laminoplasty may produce larger canal expansion at the lower cervical spine compared to the upper cervical area; therefore, the outcomes of those who have predominantly higher cervical myelopathy were inferior to those who have lower cervical myelopathy.