Centre for Research in Human Flourishing Malaysia (CRHFM)
Introduction
The Centre for Research in Human Flourishing Malaysia (CRHFM) in the School of Education is a leading centre for research in inclusive and special education. The Centre adopts an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the nature of social environments that best nurture development, and how this knowledge can be applied to foster resilience, personal and professional growth, and quality of life. The centre has a broad commitment towards equity and equality in education. Our research aims to influence policy development, training and practice.
Centre Leadership
CRHFM is led by
Dr Alefiya Nomanbhoy.
Current Projects
- Analysis of cross-language transfer in early literacy acquisition among bilingual Malay-English speaking children in Malaysia (Funded by the Newton Mobility Grant; Tze Peng Wong, UNMC and Daisy Powell, University of Reading, UK)
- Developing an ecological model of early language intervention for autism within the Malay cultural and linguistic context in Malaysia (Funded by the FRGS, MoHE; Tze Peng Wong and Julien Mayor, UNMC and Hui Min Low, USM)
- Perceptions of TESOL teachers about dyslexia
Recent Completed Projects
- Development of a regional synthesis report on case study on inclusive schools in Asia-Pacific and an evidence-based regional policy brief on inclusive pedagogy (Funded by UNESCO Bangkok; Tony Bush, Lucy Bailey, Jackie Dearden, Anne Emerson, Alefiya Nomanbhoy and Tze Peng Wong)
- Malaysia LINUS teachers’ perspective toward inclusive education
- Evaluation of LINUS teachers’ remedial teaching skills
- Evaluation of the impact of I Am Learning software on learning Mathematics
Centre Research Interest
- Efficacy of School Wide Positive Behavioural Supports (SWPBS)
- Efficacy of Functional Behaviour Assessment (FBA) in schools
- Perceptions and attitudes towards disabilities /Inclusion
- Partnership with families to maximise student outcomes
- Early language acquisition and intervention
- Developmental pragmatics
- Emergent literacy
- Dyslexia/ADHD
Recent Publications and Conference Presentations
- Foster-Cohen & Wong, T.-P. (2016). Early intervention at the interface: Semantic-pragmatic strategies for facilitating conversation with children with developmental disabilities. In: D., Ilse and R. Salkie. (Eds.) Drawing A Line: Perspectives on the Semantics-Pragmatics Interface. Springer.
- Yong, D. X. & Wong T.-P. (2015). Bridging the research and cultural-practice gap in early language intervention in Malaysia. Malaysian Journal of Health Sciences, 13(2), 11-18.
- Bailey, L., Nomanbhoy, A. & Tubpun, T. (2014). Inclusive education: Teacher perspectives from Malaysia International Journal of Inclusive Education. 19(5), 547-559
Networking Opportunities
CRHFM holds a range of events throughout the year to facilitate the discussion and exchange of ideas on topics related to special needs. The intention is to encourage further interactions between researchers and stakeholders in Malaysia and the region. We welcome proposals for hosting forums, workshops and seminars.
You can view the events on the School of Education's Series of Research and Practice-based Seminars page.
Members of CRHFM
- Dr Alefiya Nomanbhoy
- Associate Professor Lucy Bailey
- Dr Salma Jameel
- Dr Wong Tze Peng
Doctoral Supervision
CRHFM welcomes applications from students wishing to embark on doctoral study, under the supervision of the CRHFM members. Proposals relating to special education needs are welcome, especially those focusing on the research interest topics above.
Current Research Students
- Helena Song Sook Yee (Topic: Technology use among disabled students in Malaysian higher education)
- Wywa Ong (Topic: Developmental Dyslexia in English and Mandarin)
- Chai Xun Yu (Topic: Creativity in Higher Education)
- Chee Zia Wei (Topic: Early language intervention for autism)