The Acceptance of Pondok School Administrators towards APEL: A Study in Pahang

Abstract

An individual's experiential learning that is equivalent to formal education can be recognised and accredited through the Assessment of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) process. Islamic traditional schools known as Pondok schools in Malaysia have long been ignored in terms of academic status. The importance of this study lies in the fact that the CEO of the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) believes that universities could develop into APEL centres, particularly at Pondok schools in Kelantan, providing academic possibilities for their graduates, but before that, we need to know the level of Pondok school acceptance. In order to assess administrators' acceptance of APEL in Pondok schools in Pahang, the researchers conducted a quantitative research methodology, which is a cross-sectional study employing non-probability sampling in each district of the state. The survey was completed by 128 respondents in total using Google Form and an enumerator. The research findings show that administrators' views of their perceived behavioural control and their attitudes towards APEL were important determinants of their acceptance. It is interesting to note that acceptability among administrators was not significantly predicted by subjective norm. This finding should be interpreted cautiously, though, as it could not be applicable to different contexts or populations. A future researcher suggested using a longitudinal study to investigate the acceptance of APEL over time.