STEM education is crucial for driving economic growth, fostering technological innovation, and addressing global challenges in the Asia-Pacific region. In 2023, Malaysia and India emerged as leading contributors to STEM education. Malaysia excels with approximately 43.5% of tertiary students earning STEM degrees, while India, with 34.0% of its students in STEM, tops the global charts in STEM graduates due to its massive population of about 1.4 billion. With nine of the top ten emerging jobs by 2025 projected to be in STEM fields, these nations are well-positioned to meet future workforce demands. Recognizing this, we examined key challenges in STEM education and calls for strategic investments to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. We leveraged the PRISMA-ScR framework and content analysis of literature from 2010 to 2024, identifying seven STEM education challenges across all levels of educational institutions: Teaching practices, learning approaches, gender disparities, location, career interest, student enrollment, and student soft skills. The most pressing challenges in STEM education are teaching practices, learning approaches, and gender disparities, with issues most pronounced at the secondary school level and continuing into higher education. The study's findings advance theoretical understanding of STEM education obstacles and provide a foundation for further research. Practically, this work offers crucial insights for educators, policymakers, and stakeholders, enabling the development of targeted interventions to improve teaching quality, enhance learning experiences, and foster gender inclusivity in STEM. Addressing these issues is vital to advancing Sustainable Development Goal 4, promoting a more accessible, equitable, and impactful STEM education across the Asia-Pacific region. This study thus enriches the literature on the challenges of STEM education by offering a comprehensive, unbiased review of past research, drawing broader conclusions, and outlining pathways for future exploration.

Data may equip school leaders with the information they need to make crucial changes that will enhance the education system in the future although the usage of data may not be able to resolve every issue. However, proper data utilization can advise the right conclusion. Therefore, this study aims to design and develop an experiential narrative-based model for school leaders in data-driven decision-making (DDDM). The model has been designed and developed using the Design and Development Research (DDR) approach, which involves three phases: the need analysis phase, the design and development phase, and the usability evaluation phase. However, the researcher only focuses on this paper in the second phase. The design and development process began with a literature study, followed by approval and consensus from a 9-expert panel. The model was designed using the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) technique and developed using the Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) method. The design and development phase revealed that 13 DDDM competency components had been generated through the expert panel's opinions and agreement. Overall, based on the experiential narrative of the experts in this study, the model is appropriate for usage and implementation. As a result, the empirically established and verified model has the potential to enhance school leaders' knowledge, skills, and attitudes toward data-driven decision-making.

The integration of technology in education has transformed the traditional teaching and learning landscape, giving rise to various innovative approaches. One such approach is e-learning, which refers to the use of electronic devices and internet platforms to deliver educational content. With the increasing availability and accessibility of digital resources, e-learning has gained significant attention in recent years. However, challenges related to teacher readiness and technological limitations must be addressed to harness the benefits of e-learning for teacher autonomy fully. This paper applied the PRISMA approach in finding the primary data based on keywords such as "e-learning, teacher, autonomy, school". Based on advanced searching on SCOPUS and Web of Science, we found (n=33). Expert scholars decided to develop three themes, which are [1] The Role of E-Learning in Empowering Teachers, [2] Challenges and Barriers in Implementing E-Learning for Teacher Autonomy, [3] Promoting Teacher Autonomy through Effective E-Learning Design. Future research should focus on exploring effective strategies for integrating e-learning applications into different educational contexts, addressing the specific needs and challenges faced by teachers. Additionally, investigating the impact of e-learning on teacher autonomy and professional development can provide valuable insights for educational policymakers and practitioners.

Purpose: This study investigates the level and correlation between talent management and teacher personal qualities among MICSS (Malaysian Independent Chinese Secondary School) teachers by integrating the talent management model proposed by Davies and Davies (2011) and the Big Five Structure established by Lewis R. Goldberg (1992).Design/methodology/approach: The researcher conducted quantitative research methods in this study, collecting numerical data through the use of questionnaires and utilizing the stratified random sampling technique. The sample consisted of 357 Malaysian teachers who are employed by MICSS throughout the whole Malaysian context.Findings: In essence, the survey revealed a significant degree of proficiency in talent management and teacher personal qualities among teachers. In addition, this study also revealed a moderate correlation between talent management and the personal traits of teachers across MICSS teachers in Malaysia.Research limitations/implications: Limiting the investigation solely to MICSS is a noteworthy limitation. The examination also utilizes AMOS structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis, and it may be considered a restriction of this research that quantitative survey research is employed.Practical implications: Academic establishments and universities that nurture prospective educators should incorporate talent management strategies and the personal qualities of teachers into the modules of teacher training to ensure that these individuals are not only adequately prepared but also assured of their ability to execute all duties assigned to them in a professional manner.Originality/value: This research is notably innovative in the context of the Malaysian MICSS, where little evidence exists regarding talent management and teacher personality traits in education. This study, to the best of our knowledge, is the first attempt to investigate the practices and correlation between talent management and teacher personality traits in the entire Malaysian context. The research focuses on the practices of talent management towards MICSS teachers in Malaysia as well as the personal qualities of MICSS teachers.

As stated in most of the instructional leadership literature, school leadership affects teacher learning. The concept of instructional leadership has evolved through school effectiveness around the 1980s and considers school leaders important in promoting teacher knowledge to student learning. However, instructional leadership cannot be implemented to the maximum due to constraints of practising the function of instructional leadership, lack of practice and unpreparedness in carrying out their role as instructional leaders. This study aims to validate an instructional leadership instrument utilising exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The questionnaire used in this study was modified from Hallinger and Murphy's (1985) study. There were 137 teachers from public primary schools who replied, representing all subjects and levels. Respondents at schools were chosen based on clustered random sampling. The results of the EFA indicated three components of instructional leadership: 1) defines the mission, 2) manages the instructional program, and 3) promotes the school climate. Clearly, the three components explained 66.164% of the total variance explained. Note that Bartletts' Test of Sphericity is highly significant (sig. 000), and the sampling adequacy (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO)=0.934) is excellent. Other than that, the three components have Cronbach's Alpha values greater than 0.7, significant addition to measuring instructional leadership, particularly in the Malaysian context. The EFA results generated a configuration that extracts three components, which may be measured by 42 items established in this research, indicating that the elements apply to this study.

The transition from secondary school to higher education is pivotal in shaping students' academic and career trajectories. In Malaysia, declining interest in higher education, particularly in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields, poses a challenge to developing a skilled workforce for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4.0). Factors such as low confidence, lack of motivation, and limited awareness contribute to this trend. Despite increasing concern, few researchers have explored how psychological and self-leadership strategies can support the transition to higher education, particularly within Malaysia's under-researched matriculation system, which plays a critical role in preparing STEM students for university-level studies. In this study, we investigated the role of self-leadership strategies, including behavior-focused strategies (BFS), natural reward strategies (NRS), and constructive thought pattern strategies (CTS), in facilitating STEM students' transition to higher education. Grounded in Self-regulation Theory, Intrinsic Motivation Theory, Cognitive Behavioral Theory, Cognitive Appraisal Theory, and Schlossberg's Transition Theory, we examined their impact on academic performance, with academic anxiety as a mediating factor. A survey of 436 Malaysian STEM students from the 2023/2024 matriculation program was analyzed using SPSS and SmartPLS 4. Our findings indicated that BFS, NRS, and CTS positively influence academic performance, with BFS having the strongest effect. Academic anxiety mediates these relationships, underscoring BFS's role in reducing anxiety. The study emphasizes the importance of fostering self-leadership strategies and mitigating anxiety to support STEM students' transitions, offering actionable insights for educators, policymakers, and institutions to strengthen Malaysia's STEM talent pipeline.