Citation

Ismail LM, Koay TL. Int. J. Spec. Educ. 2014; 29(1): 98-110.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Centre for Human Development and Research)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

There is a lack of studies on the school experiences of students in the pre-vocational programme in Brunei Darussalam. The aim of this study is find out what are the students' experiences at school, what they go through at school and so on. A qualitative approach was utilized whereby in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven students from two local secondary schools. Some of the findings included overall positive views of school and the acquiring of daily living skills which they felt was important to them. It was found that success and happiness is associated with their favourite subjects and interests. It appeared that there is a good camaraderie between teachers and students indicating that friends and more importantly teachers play a vital role in their lives. Also, the students seem to have a strong sense of family and ambitions. The students encountered some problems related to bullying by classmates and other students and trouble-makers which affect them negatively. In addition, the students faced punishments and one student complained of negative teacher attitudes. It was concluded that lessening their problems could help make school more pleasant for them. Finally, there should be more emphasis on family involvement and that the importance of school to work transition to realise their dreams and ambitions should not be taken lightly.

Language: en