KOTA KINABALU: Oct 12, 2026 – Prospective teachers must be adept at understanding students’ emotional, social and well-being needs before stepping into the real school environment.
Recognising the importance of this, 112 students of the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (DPLI) at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) received professional exposure through the Academic Lecture Programme: Guidance and Counselling Services in Schools on Oct 10.
The programme, held at the Auditorium of the Faculty of Psychology and Sports Studies (FPPS) UMS, aimed to strengthen collaboration between teachers and school counsellors in supporting student development.
Senior Lecturer at FPPS UMS, Dr Jusiah Idang, said the practical sharing was crucial in giving a realistic picture of teachers’ duties in nurturing students’ potential.
“Let us all pool our efforts in ‘Understanding Souls, Guiding Potential, Building the Future’ of the children we will teach,” she said.
The programme featured two interactive lecture sessions by industry experts.
The first session saw Academic Lecturer at the Institute of Teacher Education (IPG) Gaya Campus, Puan Yusrizan Yusop, introduce the “Panadol Motivasi Belajar” (Learning Motivation Panadol) innovation, based on the WDEP (Wants, Doing, Evaluation, Planning) procedure to help boost students’ learning motivation.
Meanwhile, the second session was delivered by Guidance and Counselling Teacher, Puan Norsia Mohamad Timhal, who discussed the topic “Behind Students’ Behaviour”.
She reminded prospective teachers to always be empathetic and avoid the habit of labelling students without first understanding their backgrounds.
“We may not be able to change a student’s entire life. However, we can ensure that school does not become another place that hurts them,” said Puan Norsia.
Through this programme, it is hoped that all UMS DPLI students will be better prepared to face the diverse behaviours and needs of students when they serve as educators in the future.
