Students' Readiness Towards Blended Learning in History Subjects in Secondary School

Abstract

Blended learning, integrating traditional classroom teaching with online technology-mediated instruction, stands as the prevailing educational model in contemporary pedagogy. Recognizing its prominence, this study delves into the preparedness of students for blended learning specifically in the History Subject across nine secondary schools in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. Descriptive and inferetive analysis of differences in preparedness among students for blended learning in secondary schools according to gender and five constructs were also conducted. Emphasizing the importance of this inquiry, understanding students' readiness for blended learning is pivotal in ensuring effective educational delivery and student engagement. A Google Forms survey with five Likert scales was used to collect data for a quantitative study. Students in Form 4 made up a total of 384 respondents who were chosen at random to complete this questionnaire. SPSS version 28.0 was used to analyse the data. The study concludes that the technology equipment construct had a moderate degree of student readiness (M = 3.04, SD = 0.461) in comparison to four other constructs: student exposure, availability of suitable locations or rooms for blended learning, internet access at home, and student skills (M = 3.78–4.26, SD = 0.483–0.605), which demonstrated a high level of readiness. An independent T-test analysis indicates that there's a significant difference in the level of readiness of students for blended learning in secondary school based on gender (t = 2.338, P = 0.020) with a small difference (D = 0.238). The identified gender-based differences raise questions about the underlying factors contributing to these variations. Further research should delve into the reasons behind the observed disparities, potentially exploring socio-cultural, psychological, or pedagogical influences.