Dr Brendan Ch’ng Hien Wee

Dr Brendan Ch’ng Hien Wee

  • Senior Lecturer
Department of Educational Development and Innovation
  • School of Education
SDGs Focus

Biography

Dr Brendan Ch'ng received his PhD in educational psychology from the University of Malaya and a Master of Education specialising in Gifted Education from Monash University, Australia. His research interests broadly encompass areas of environmental sensitivity, psychological well-being, gifted education, and higher education.

Dr Brendan is a registered psychologist and currently serves as a council member of the Malaysian Psychological Association, as well as Vice-Chairperson of the Malaysia Educational Psychology Society. He looks forward to continuing his research and hopes to enhance representation from Southeast Asia in psychological and educational research with Malaysia’s rich tapestry of ethnic and cultural diversity.
 

Academic & Professional Qualifications

  • PhD (Educational Psychology), University of Malaya, Malaysia (2023)
  • Master of Education specialising in Gifted Education, Monash University, Australia (2013)
  • Bachelor of Arts, Monash University Malaysia, Malaysia (2011)

Research Interests

  • Psychology
  • Education
  • Gifted education
  • Well being
  • Environmental sensitivity
  • Higher Education

Teaching Areas

  • Quantitative Methods
  • Gifted Education
  • educational psychology

Notable Publications

  1. Blackburn, A. M., Han, H., Gelpí, R. A., Stöckli, S., Jeftić, A., Ch'ng, B., Koszałkowska, K., Lacko, D., Milfont, T. L., Lee, Y., COVIDiSTRESS II Consortium, & Vestergren, S. (2023). Mediation analysis of conspiratorial thinking and anti-expert sentiments on vaccine willingness. Health Psychology, 42(4), 235–246. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0001268
  2. Blackburn, A. M., Vestergren, S., Tran, T. P., Stöckli, S., Griffin, S. M., … Ch’ng, B., … Zoletic, E., & the COVIDiSTRESS II Consortium (2022). COVIDiSTRESS diverse dataset on psychological and behavioural outcomes one year into the COVID-19 pandemic. Scientific Data, 9(1), 331. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01383-6
  3. Ch'ng, B., Mariani M. N., & Loh, S. C. (2022). Psychological flourishing of postgraduate students in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Jurnal Psikologi Malaysia, 36(1), 163-179. https://spaj.ukm.my/ppppm/jpm/article/view/685
  4. Lieberoth, A., Lin, S.-Y., Stöckli, S., Han, H., Kowal, M., Gelpi, R., ... Ch'ng, B., … Belaus, A., & Dubrov, D. (2021). Stress and worry in the 2020 coronavirus pandemic: relationships to trust and compliance with preventive measures across 48 countries in the COVIDiSTRESS global survey. Royal Society Open Science, 8(2), 200589. https://doi.org/doi:10.1098/rsos.200589
  5. Yamada, Y., Ćepulić, D.-B., Coll-Martín, T., Debove, S., Gautreau, G., … Ch’ng, B., … Lieberoth, A., & COVIDiSTRESS Global Survey Consortium (2021). COVIDiSTRESS Global Survey dataset on psychological and behavioural consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak. Scientific Data, 8(1), 3. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-020-00784-9
  6. Ch’ng, B. (2014). Affective curriculum for gifted students in Malaysia: A recommendation. Journal for the Education of the Young Scientist and Giftedness, 2(2), 11-21. https://doi.org/10.17478/JEYSG.201429017
  7. Phan, L. H., Kho. J., Chng, B. (2013). Nation building, English as an international language, medium of instruction, and language debate: Malaysia and possible ways forward. Journal of International and Comparative Education, 2(2), 58-71. https://doi.org/10.14425/00.50.27
     

Achievements & Accolades

  1. Open Science for and from the Majority World: Expanding Knowledge and Building New Networks
    Duration: 15 May 2025 - 1 Dec 2025
    Grant: USD 14,090 (awarded by the Open Research Community Accelerator (ORCA): Open Scholarship Catalytic Awards Program)
  2. Advancing Big-team Reproducible science through Increased Representation (ABRIR): Towards more diverse and inclusive open psychological sciences
    Duration: Feb 2024 – Dec 2024
    Funding: USD 4,850 (awarded by the Open Research Funders Group (ORFG): Open Scholarship Seed Awards)
     

Professional Associations

2023 – current    American Psychological Association (International Affiliate Member)

2023 – current    Advancing Big-team Reproducible Science through Increased Representation (ABRIR; serving as a member of the Working Committee)

2022 – current    Malaysia Educational Psychology Society (Full Member)

2019 – current    Malaysian Psychological Association (PSIMA Registered Psychologist Member)