Self-actualisation is a fundamental concept in psychology, referring to the process of fulfilling one's potential and becoming the best version of oneself (Maslow, 1943). This process is continuous, as individuals strive to fulfill their potential throughout their lives. Self-actualisation involves the exploring and realizing of one's unique talents, abilities, and desires, leading to a sense of purpose and meaning in life.

Research has consistently shown that self-actualisation is closely linked to various aspects of well-being, including higher levels of life satisfaction, happiness, and overall psychological functioning (Compton, 2018)(Kaufman, 2018). Self-actualized individuals experience greater inner peace, authenticity, and satisfaction in their daily lives. They possess a strong sense of identity and selfawareness, enabling them to confront challenges and make choices that align with their values and aspirations. (Ryan & Deci, 2018) emphasized the role of self-discovery and self-reflection in the path to selfactualisation, involving the exploration of one's deepest desires, values, and beliefs. This process requires a deep understanding of oneself, including strengths and weaknesses.

Moreover, cultivating self-actualisation has broader social implications. Self-actualized individuals are more likely to contribute positively to their communities, pursuing endeavors that benefit not only themselves but also others. Consequently, self-actualisation is closely connected to pro-social behaviour, empathy, and a sense of connection with others (Vansteenkiste et al., 2006),(Vansteenkiste et al., 2018). This fosters the development of a compassionate and harmonious society, wherein individuals strive for self-actualisation while also promoting the well-being of others.

In the field of education, integrating the principles of self-actualisation can foster a more holistic approach to learning and support students' personal growth. Educational systems that prioritize selfactualisation recognize the significance of individuality and uniqueness in students. By encouraging students to explore and maximize their passions, interests, and talents, these systems help them develop a sense of identity and purpose (Ryan & Deci, 2018)(Vansteenkiste et al., 2018). Educational environments that provide opportunities for self-expression and selfdiscovery empower students to become active participants in their own learning journeys.

Self-actualisation in education also involves creating a supportive and nurturing atmosphere where students feel safe to take risks, accept challenges, and cultivate a growth mindset (Noftle & Robins, 2007). Educators play a crucial role in promoting self-actualisation by fostering autonomy, intrinsic motivation, and a sense of competence in students. When students are motivated by their own interests and passions, they are more likely to engage actively in the learning process and exhibit a deeper understanding of the subject matter (Ryan & Deci, 2018)(Vansteenkiste et al., 2018).

By aligning the educational experience with students' individual needs and aspirations, educators can foster a sense of purpose and relevance, leading to improved academic outcomes. Furthermore, an education that focuses on self-actualisation equips students with essential life skills, such as critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, and resilience. These skills enable students to navigate the complexities of the modern world and adapt to the ever-changing challenges they may face. Nurturing selfactualisation in education empowers students to become lifelong learners and active contributors to society.

Individuals' psychological and societal growth depends on their ability to behave positively. (Pappas et al., 2018) assert that a person's past experiences can be utilized as a means of learning, monitoring, and acquiring constructive conduct. As behaviour is strongly influenced by one's personality, attitude plays a crucial role in determining how individuals behave (Ajzen, 2011)(Allport, 1935). Attitude, in turn, refers to the subjective evaluation of values and is influenced by socio-cultural factors, perceptions, and previous experiences (Allport, 1935)(Allport & Lindzey, 1954)(Fazio, 2007). It is shaped by the socio-cultural environment in which an individual is raised, reflecting their beliefs, values, and judgments. Therefore, attitudes are not only subjective but also influenced by geographical aspects and cultural contexts.

Teachers sometimes blame students' mistakes on bad habits like laziness and lack of enthusiasm in a learning environment. According to (Allport & Lindzey, 1954), attitude is the mental preparation and structured neurons gained by experience that has a dynamic impact on a person's response. Therefore, it is clear that attitude is acquired through the individuals in one's immediate environment, and experience also has a significant impact. A person willing to exploit their potential for personal improvement in a positive direction also has a positive attitude. Positive attitudes and behaviours indicate cognitive activity, and successful people frequently act on their thoughts (Malinowska-Cieślik et al., 2019).

Research studies show positive behaviour dramatically affects a person's well-being, social connections, and academic success (Verma, 2022). According to (Arslan & Zincirli, 2020), pupils who report higher subjective well-being demonstrate more effective learning. (Tendhar & Mesquita, 2020), positive behaviour is also linked to increased resilience in the face of stress and adversity. Therefore, encouraging individuals to behave positively is crucial to advancing their well-being and success.

Positive reinforcement, which entails praising people for their constructive acts and behaviours, is one strategy for encouraging positive conduct in people (Skinner, 1953) in (Budiman, 2017). Positive reinforcement effectively encourages individuals to behave positively, particularly in educational contexts (Scott & Landrum, 2020). To motivate students to exhibit positive behaviour, such as turning in assignments on time or participating in class discussions, teachers might utilize positive reinforcement.

Schools play a crucial role in ensuring students ensuring that students develop positive attitudes or behaviors towards certain matters in their lives (Getie, 2020). Teachers are among the personnel who play an important role in guiding the students to good akhlaq. Hence, teachers should have good behaviour so that they can be the role model to others as well as to give a positive image to their teaching profession.

According to numerous studies, good teachers are those who have good imagination, know how to motivate their students, creative in using various strategies in their lessons, utilize new materials and activities in their teaching-learning process (Elias & Yaakub, 2006)(Mardati et al., 2024)(Widodo et al., 2023)(Yarudin et al., 2022)(Yarudin et al., 2022)(Yusmaliana et al., 2023)(Yusmaliana et al., 2024)(Yusmaliana & Suyadi, 2019)(Yusmaliana & Widodo, 2019)(Zakaria & Yusmaliana, 2023). Creating a happy and encouraging environment is another aspect of promoting positive behavior. This entails encouraging open communication, fostering positive relationships between people, and giving people the tools and resources they need to succeed (Aisyah et al., 2020)(Astuti et al., 2022)(Martos Humán et al., 2022)(Purnomo et al., 2022). According to research, promoting a happy environment can boost social interactions, academic achievement, and overall well-being (Elmi, 2020).

The growth of social-emotional learning (SEL) abilities is crucial in encouraging healthy behaviour. According to (Hymel et al., 2017), SEL entails the development of capabilities linked to self-awareness, selfmanagement, social awareness, relational skills, and responsible decision-making. Additionally, addressing and preventing destructive behaviours, such as bullying and hostility, encourages positive behaviour. Therefore, fostering positive behaviour in individuals is essential to create a secure and inclusive environment that addresses negative and promotes positive behaviours.

Positive behaviour is a norm for all human beings in all situations and conditions ((Gross & Vostroknutov, 2022);(Kamijo et al., 2020)), even though the behaviour may differ from one individual to the other. Nevertheless, one common point is that there are general criteria that everyone can learn, enhance, and practice. One of the requirements is to possess positive behaviours, such as being patient, hardworking, tolerant, and caring, which is beneficial for people and at the same time able to help others in need, share, and help people solve their problems. People are constantly tested with various issues and matters; thus, when having a positive attitude, they will be able to face the future no matter what obstacles come ahead, they will try their best to solve the problems calmly (Malinowska-Cieślik et al., 2019). Conversely, those with a negative attitude will always think negatively of themselves and believe that they are not able to succeed or have any good potential like others. Positive behaviour is, therefore, crucial for both personal and social growth. It can be discovered through observation and inquiry into a person's past. Positive reinforcement, a positive and supportive atmosphere, enhancing social-emotional learning abilities, and addressing destructive behaviours are just a few methods for encouraging positive conduct in people. People can succeed in many areas of their lives and significantly contribute to their communities' well-being by encouraging constructive behaviour.

Eighty-five percent of one’s achievement depends on their attitude, and only 15 percent depends on their creativity (Abdullah, 2008). Positive or negative attitude can help to shape future attitudes and the attitudes portrayed reflect an individual’s personality (Ajzen & Fishbein, 2002). According to counseling cases in secondary schools, most students struggle to concentrate during lessons, sleep during class, fail to submit their assignments on time, skip school, experience stress, and have inconsistent attendance (Dembo et al., 2016)(Gubbels et al., 2019)(Horanicova et al., 2022)(Martin et al., 2020)(Rahiminia et al., 2020). Hence, this study aims to investigate whether the mentioned issues are related to the students’ self-actualisation.

Researches ((Anjum et al., 2022); (Kaczmarek & Trambacz-Oleszak, 2021); (Nagabharana et al., 2021); (Loon et al., 2020)) have shown that most teenagers have high levels of stress. This is not surprising, as with the advent of new technologies, teenagers tend to follow and take other people as their role models ((Ciranka & Bos, 2019); (Croes & Bartels, 2021); (Hurd et al., 2009); (Kearney & Levine, 2020); (Nakanishi et al., 2019); (Hoorn et al., 2017)). There are times when they face conflicts within themselves or with others (Horanicova et al., 2022).

The first educators of a child are the parents. As much as parents may want to, they cannot solve their child's social problems. They probably do not understand the intricacies of the child's social world enough to even suggest a good solution. But even if they could solve their child's problem, they should not try to. To develop a healthy sense of self as a capable person, a child needs to learn how to solve problems on their own (Leerkes et al., 2011). For example, both parents and teachers can play a crucial role in providing teenagers with emotional support and teaching them how to solve problems ((Ceka & Murati, 2016); (Hoferichter et al., 2021); (Stern & Hertel, 2022)). Figure 1 shows the conceptual framework of this study.

In this research, the researcher aims:

For this study, the researcher used the Self Actualisation Inventory by (Jones & Crandall, 1986). This inventory is a short-form measure of self-actualisation and is based primarily on modified items from the Personal Orientation Inventory (LeMay & Damm, 1968), which is the most widely accepted measure of self-actualisation. Additionally, the researcher used Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Theory to contextualize the study and explain how needs can be identified and how individuals might start working toward their own self-actualisation (Maslow, 1943)(McLeod, 2018). There are 30 items in the inventory representing five dimensions (based on the Maslow Theory) namely, physiological needs, security, love (social), self-esteem and self-actualisation. The researcher also added another dimension, the spiritual dimension which is adapted from the Augustina's Emotional Spiritual Quotient and these items are modified according to the national philosophy of Melayu Islam Beraja (also known as Malay Islamic Monarchy, MIB) (Madin et al., 2021). Scales used in the questionnaire are a 5-point Likert scale ranging from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree. The questionnaire for this study has been validated by three experts in the field and a pilot test was conducted, obtaining 0.793 as the reliability value for the instrument.

This study involved two government secondary schools and both of which are mixed-gender (male and female) schools.

As shown in Table 1, the respondents from School consisted of 48% (N=125) male and 52 % (N=134) female students. The total number of respondents was 259, of which 252 were in Year 11 and only 7 were in Year 10.

The students' results from the first-term exam were used to determine their achievement (see Table 2).

Research instrument used has six dimensions namely the physiological needs, security needs, love, social, spiritual and self-actualisation. Table 3 shows the level of self-actualisation arranged from the highest to the lowest (ascending order). It can be observed that the Spiritual Needs dimension scored the highest percentage and the needs for love showed the minimum percentage.

Results showed that the spiritual dimension in self-actualisation scored the highest. This supported the study done by (Che Su et al., 2010); (Mu’awanah et al., 2020); (Satpathy & Samanta, 2022) whereby they believed that the spiritual dimension that the students possess can aid them in making decisions that help them become better human beings.

These findings suggest that spiritual well-being is an important aspect of self-actualisation for students, influencing their overall life satisfaction and moral development.

Further, it was observed that the Love Needs dimension had the lowest percentage. This dimension, according to Maslow, shows that an individual needs another individual as friends, partners, and acquaintance, neighbours and so forth. Hence, if this dimension has a low percentage, this can give an indication that the students have disoriented personalities, potentially resulting in aggressive or antisocial behavior ((Mohamad & Hashim, 2011); (Taormina & Gao, 2013); (Vila, 2021)).

This implies the need for greater emotional support and education regarding interpersonal relationships. Addressing this gap has the potential to reduce aggressive and antisocial behaviour, improve flow and emphasis on the conclusion.

In Table 4, using the t-test, it was found that there is no significant difference in mean values between genders. In other words, in this context, having a different background and environment does not necessarily contribute to a different level of self-actualisation.

Although self-actualisation can be influenced by gender, as evidenced by various studies such as (Piragasam, 2018) which found that male gifted students tend to show higher levels of selfactualisation compared to female students, and the research by (Okech & Renée Chambers, 2012) which found that among Black university students, females reported higher levels of selfactualisation than males. The findings of this study suggest that there may be other factors that affect students' levels of selfactualisation in Brunei Darussalam. In other words, it was found that the concept of self-actualisation was found to be more influenced by individual and spiritual factors rather than universally consistent factors like gender differences. This is consistent with the research on secondary school students conducted by (Singh, 2016), which also found no significant gender differences in selfactualisation.

This section aims to answer the second research question posed: “Is there any correlation between the level of self-actualisation and the academic performance in building the students’ positive attitudes?”

Data analysis showed that no significant difference was found between the level of self-actualisation and students’ academic achievement. Schools in similar environments do not appear to affect the level of self-actualisation among students. Nevertheless, schools in the rural areas may contribute to some differences in students' perspectives due to lack of facilities, recreational places and so forth. According to (Che Su et al., 2010), the success of an institution in implementing social values as well as the relationship between one individual to the other can affect the development of the teenagers.

Table 5 shows the correlation level between self-actualisation and students’ academic performance in shaping positive attitude was not found to be significant (p= 0.470; p>0.05). This may be caused by the inability of respondents to fulfil the basic needs according to the Maslow hierarchy. According to Maslow, individuals must fulfill their basic needs before progressing to higher levels. If basic needs are unmet, it becomes difficult for them to fulfill other higher-level needs.

On the whole, data analysis showed that attitude, self-actualisation and students' academic achievement do not have a significant relationship with one another. It can be assumed that each component plays its own role in contributing and motivating positive behaviour or attitude among the students.

Even though the relationship is not significant, it is ultimately up to the students to plan and achieve their objectives in life, whether they want to prioritise their academic or focus on maintaining a positive attitude in order to achieve their selfactualisation. Therefore, schools need programs that can foster autonomy, intrinsic motivation, and a sense of competence in students (Ryan & Deci, 2018)(Vansteenkiste et al., 2018), so that they feel safe taking risks, accepting challenges, and developing a growth mindset (Noftle & Robins, 2007) for their future.