Challenges faced by special education teachers in implementing basic culinary vocational instruction in secondary schools

Puspaalatha Paramasivam, Syar Meeze Mohd Rashid — Sat, 24 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Basic vocational instruction in food preparation is an important component of special education, as it plays a significant role in enhancing the practical skills and employability of students with special needs. The research seeks to discover what difficulties special education teachers experience when they teach basic vocational food preparation courses and to analyze how these difficulties affect their teaching performance. The study used a quantitative methodology which surveyed 108 special education teachers who worked at vocational secondary schools located in Melaka state. The sample was selected from a population of 150 teachers using the Krejcie and Morgan (1970) table. The research team collected data by distributing a questionnaire which they analyzed using SPSS version 29. The research demonstrates that teachers encounter multiple obstacles which include curriculum and instructional module limitations and insufficient teaching resources and excessive workload requirements and time management challenges. The basic vocational food preparation course provides students with benefits which include development of their practical abilities and self-assurance and social competencies and motivation to learn. The study identifies continuous professional development for teachers as a vital requirement which needs to be fulfilled through providing suitable teaching materials and teaching resources and through obtaining administrative assistance and through obtaining parental and community participation to achieve instructional success. The research study offers both practical solutions and strategic plans which enable special education programs to enhance their vocational training and support students' complete development.

The effect of integrating poh shen loh’s approach in improving problem-solving skills of students involving quadratic equation

Orvin A. Lobitos, Ma Melanie N. Edig — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This study determined the significant effect of integrating Poh Shen Loh’s Method on the problem-solving skills of Grade 9 students in quadratic equations. The researchers used a quasi-experimental nonequivalent control group design which included two groups of students who received different teaching methods. The researchers used a researcher-created instrument which had been validated and proved reliable to evaluate student performance through authentic quadratic equation challenges that used Polya's Problem-Solving Steps. The researchers used mean standard deviation t-test and ANCOVA statistical tools to analyze data at a 0.05 significance level. Both the control and experimental groups began their study with equal abilities. The pretest results showed both groups achieved satisfactory performance levels while they showed no statistical difference between them. The experimental group achieved better results than the control group because both groups made progress after their intervention which included moving from satisfactory to outstanding performance. The experimental group achieved higher posttest scores which showed a large effect size because the researchers used ANCOVA to show that Poh Shen Loh's Method explained 78 percent of the students' academic progress. The study found that students who learned through Poh Shen Loh's Method developed better procedural skills and conceptual understanding and visual reasoning and independent problem-solving abilities than those who learned through traditional teaching methods.

Journal of Learning and Educational Policy

Challenges faced by special education teachers in implementing basic culinary vocational instruction in secondary schools

The effect of integrating poh shen loh’s approach in improving problem-solving skills of students involving quadratic equation