Education: Focus more on student development

DR NORHAFEZAH YUSOF, Guest scholar of Higher Education Ministry and senior lecturer/chair of postgraduate communication programme, College of Arts and Sciences, Universiti Utara Malaysia Sintok, Kedah letters@nst.com.my 2011/02/24 IN line with the National Strategic Plan for Higher Education (PSPTN), for holistic student development, the Higher Education Ministry has identified eight main dimensions of co-curricular subjects. Enhancing student development via co-curricular subjects has been a continuous effort of the ministry since 2007. Among the main concerns of the ministry are to develop holistic modal insan (human capital) among the graduates in preparing them to face the challenges in the future. Holistic student development is a concept to portray the comprehensive attributes of a graduate. Holistic here refers to the acknowledgement that a student has achieved the standard attributes which comprise critical thinking, leadership skills, moral values, communication skills and continuous dedication to improve oneself. From the perspective of education, Chickering and Reisser (1993) proposed the seven-point framework of effective vectors to capture the phases of student development: - Developing competence; - Managing emotions; - Moving through autonomy towards independence; - Developing mature interpersonal relationships; - Establishing identity; - Developing purpose; and, - Developing integrity Based on this theory, it can be argued that students experience various

vectors through their life experiences in the campus. These vectors are not hierarchical in nature, but all of them are closely associated with each other. Usually, when students have developed competence through their life experiences, they tend to be able to manage their emotions effectively. Then, gradually they will possess the will power to become more independent. Further, establishing identity will be closely linked to having a purpose in life and ability to establish self integrity which is an important aspect for a mature individual. Thus, students who have undergone the campus life experiences will experience and develop adequate competencies and skills in managing their lives. From the perspective of Islam, holistic development refers to the balance of aql and morality. An individual is considered perfect when he or she is able to manage the aql and morality aspects perfectly. This is supported by the Quranic verse (3:114) when Allah mentions the principle of enjoining the right and forbidding the wrong which underlines the significance of aql and morality balance in order to achieve truth in worldly life. The verse states: They believe in God and the Last Day; they enjoin what is right, and forbid what is wrong; and they hasten (in emulation) in (all) good works: they are in the ranks of the righteous. This verse outlines to us that as an individual who is independent and mature, one should be able to discipline oneself to do good to humankind and avoid any forbidden path which will destroy the community. Hence, this principle demands an individual to equip himself or herself with adequate knowledge and practise the right way of doing things. Let's look at the role of co-curricular activities in relation to student development. Even though co-curricular activities contribute to about two or three per cent of the whole academic curriculum, they play a vital role in enhancing student development in the university. Indeed, with the new Malaysian Qualifications Agency requirements, most

academic curricula have embedded soft skills in the syllabi. Due to the requirements of this agency, co-curricular syllabi have been upgraded to be academically equivalent to the academic syllabi. The outcome of learning experiences in universities is closely related to the marketability of the graduates. We have been bombarded with news in the media and word of mouth that recent graduates are lacking in soft skill attributes. Those managing universities have been proactive in facing this challenge, by offering practicum for most undergraduate courses. While practicum nurtures the students' practical skills, co-curricular activities stimulate the students' development to a much higher degree. For instance, some public universities offer coaching certificates to students who are actively involved in areas such as sport and arts. These universities are preparing the future trainers or facilitators for fields in which we seldom find university graduates. To sum up, holistic student development needs to be addressed by the nation. It will be the nation's challenge to develop and facilitate the young minds with comprehensive self development as we need forward-looking leaders to spearhead the nation's development in the years to come.