Cultural Learning Environment of Non-Government Secondary Science Students in Brunei

Abstract

The aims of this research were to cross-validate the Cultural Learning Environment
Questionnaire (CLEQ) in the local context of Brunei and to evaluate culturallysensitive
factors (gender equity, collaboration, deference, competition, teacher
authority, modelling and congruence) in secondary science students’ learning
environments. Data were collected from 1417 secondary science students enrolled at
non-government schools in Brunei and their 49 science teachers by administering the
CLEQ (Fisher and Waldrip, 1997). Factor, validity and reliability analyses supported
the instrument’s suitability to evaluate the culturally-sensitive factors associated with
the cultural learning environment of these students. The students generally believed
that both genders are treated equally and that they are independent learners, although,
to some extent, they were reluctant to give their independent views in their classes.
The perceived, predicted and observed mean values by students, teachers and
researcher, respectively, were comparable for all these scales except for teacher
authority and modelling scales, where differences were highly significant. The data
revealed no gender, regional, or grade level differences in students’ perceptions.
However, perceptions of students from different race groups were different.
Implications of the research are discussed.