THE EFFECT OF SELF-EFFICACY MEDIATORS ON THE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY IN MALAYSIA AND THE TEACHING OF ISLAMIC EDUCATION THAT INTEGRATE HIGHER-ORDER THINKING SKILLS

Abstract

The lack of integration of Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) elements in the teaching practises of primary school Islamic Education teachers has pushed towards understanding the factors  that influence HOTS integration in Islamic Education teaching. Therefore, the objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between the professional learning community, self-efficacy, and Islamic teaching practices that integrates higher-order thinking skills. A total of 642 Islamic Education teachers from 112 schools in Malaysia participated in this survey. A multi-level analysis was carried out to explore how group-level variables (professional learning community) impact individual-level variables (self-efficacy and Islamic Education teaching practices integrate higher-order thinking skills). Whereas, the mediator test uses the Monte Carlo bootstrapping method. The findings showed that the professional learning community and self-efficacy are positively and significantly related to the Islamic Education teaching practices that integrate higher-order thinking skills. The findings also indicated that self-efficacy act as a mediator in the relationship Therefore, the findings suggest that teacher self-efficacy has the greatest influence on the HOTS-integrated Islamic Education teaching. It is hoped that the findings foster a culture of learning for Islamic education teachers and help improve their teaching practices.