Lyne,M.(2013).

EffectofTeacherMentoringProgrammeinMalaysiaonImproving
Teachers'SelfEfficacy.MalaysianJournalofELTResearch.,Vol.9(1),pp.118,retrieved
onAug2,2015,fromhttp://www.melta.org.my/majer/vol9(1)/majer%20lyne.pdf
In2011,theMalaysiangovernmentintroducedanewchildcentredstandardcurriculumand
teachingmethodologycalledKurikulumStandardSekolahRendah(KSSR).Theaimof
KSSRistochangethecurrentclimateofteachercentred,passiveeducationtooneof
studentcentred,activeeducationinwhichthecontentisdeliveredthroughgamesand
activities.
Ghavifekr,S.,Lim,A.,Fui,H.L.,&Mei,T.C.(2014).HeadsofDepartmentsas
TransformationalLeadersinSchools:IssuesandChallenges.MalaysianOnlineJournalof
EducationalManagement(MOJEM).Vol,2(3),pp119139,retrievedonJuly28,2015,
fromhttp://repository.um.edu.my/38554/1/Volume%202(3)7.pdf
Educationisthemostimportantelementofanycountry'sdevelopmentandsuccess.
IntheMalaysiaEducationBlueprint20132025,theMinistryofEducationhasidentified11
shiftsthatneededtobedeliveredasthestepstoachievetheoutcomesenvisionedbyall
Malaysians.
Theprimaryschoolevaluationsystemisalsoundergoingatremendouschangewherebythe
StandardCurriculumforPrimarySchools(KSSR)willbeimplementedfullyin2016,where
YearSixstudentswillnolongerbeevaluatedbasedontheirPrimarySchoolachievement
Test(UPSR)results,butfromtheiroverallperformanceandclassroomparticipation.
TheMinistryofEducationimplementsacomprehensivetransformationprogramunderthe
MalaysiaEducationBlueprint20132025fortheeducationsystemsuchasStandard
CurriculumforPrimarySchool(KSSR),"StandardBasedAssessment"(SBA)meetthe
newdemandsandtherisingexpectations.
TherearemanychangesandchallengesinthecurrentMalaysianeducationsystem.
KSSRNEWTEACHINGMETHOD,READINESSOFTEACHERS
thechallengeofteachers'performance
(ThepolicychangingthesyllabusinprimaryschoolfromKBSR(IntegratedCurriculumfor
PrimarySchool)toKSSR(StandardCurriculumforPrimarySchools)requiresteachersto
teachcreativelyinordertoinspirethethinkingofstudents.teacherneedtochangesothat
theyareabletoperformwellintheirclass.
seniorteachersrefusetochangeandtheyarestillusingtheoldmethodstoteach.
performancedoesnotmeettherequirement
KSSRrequirescreativeteachingratherthanusingtheoldmethodof"chalkandtalk".
importantissue
(manyteachersarestillnotreadytochangetheirwayofteaching)
encourageandmotivateteacherstolearnsomethingnewupgrade
attendedcourseswheneverthereisopportunity
cultivatethecultureoflearningtogether

Kow,K.Y.C.(2007).IssuesintheTeachingandLearningofChildren'sLiteraturein
Malaysia.
TheChildren'sContemporaryLiteratureProgrammeimplementedbytheCurriculum
DevelopmentCentreofMalaysiaaimstopromotereading(lifelongreading)
obj:tocreatethewilling,eagerreaderwhonotonlymastertheskillsofliteracybutalso
appliesthismasterytoachievelifelonglearning.
everypupilwillreadatleasttwobooksinaschoolyear2differentgenresshortstories
andpoems
teachavarietyofskills(vocabulary)

Whileatrainedteacherhastheabilitytoexploitaliteraturetexttoteachavarietyofskills
includingvocabularyandthepasttense,anuntrainedteacherwillprobablyneedabitmore
help.TeacherswhoarenottrainedtoteachEnglishmayintheiroverzealousnessendup
murderingaliteraturetextbymakingthepupilsreaditagainandagain.Perhapsitisfelt
thatbysomemagicformulareadingthetextrepeatedlybringsabout
comprehensionandliteracy.TheCurriculumDevelopmentCentreseestheliteraturecomponent
asonethatnotonlyaddresseslanguagebutalsoculturallearningasseeninthelearning
gainslistedearlier.Theseincludeprovidinglively,enjoyableandhighinterestreadings,
allowingchildrento
EnglishDepartment,FacultyofLetters,PetraChristianUniversity
http://www.petra.ac.id/~puslit/journals/dir.php?DepartmentID=ING
119120VOLUME9,NUMBER2,DECEMBER2007:112125
understandculturaltraditionsandvaluesandissuesinlifeandenrichingtheirunderstanding
ofthemselvesandtheworldaroundthem.
Teacherswhohaveaclassofweakstudentsdefinitelyhavetheirworkcutoutforthem.
Tohelpthepupilsandtheschool,teachersareadvisedtofocusontheUPSRexamination.
TeachersspendalltheirtimecoachingweakstudentsontechniquesofpassingtheUPSR
Englishpaper.BysodoingthepupilspasstheEnglishlanguagepaperandtheschoolcan
reportanimpressivepercentageofAsandpassesfortheUPSRexamination.Hencethe
focusisontheexaminationandtheliteraturecomponenthastotakeabackseat.
Someoftheteachersfeelthataslongastheliteraturecomponentisnottested,schoolswill
nottakethecomponentseriously.Theseteacherswhotalkedtotheresearcherwentonto
suggesthowthiscanbedone.ThepresentUPSRpaperismarkedupon80%.This80%total
markisderivedfrompaper1andpaper2withthefollowingallocationofmarks:
Paper140%
Paper240%
Theteacherssuggestthat20%beallocatedtothecontemporaryliteraturecomponenthence
bringingthepapertoatotalmarkof100%:Paper140%
Paper240%
ContemporaryLiterature20%
Kow(2003)notesthatteachingaliterarytextasreadingcomprehensionmerelyteaches

understandingofthestory.Literature,ontheotherhand,goesontoinstiltheloveofreading.
Hencetheroleoftheteacheristoinstilthisloveforlifelongreading.
Itgoeswithoutsayingthenthatonecanonlypassontheappreciationofliteraturewhenonecan
appreciateliteratureoneself.Oneisthereforeleftwiththeveryunpleasantquestionofwhether
testingliteratureisthewaytogo.Cantheloveofliteratureandtheloveofreadingbe
instilledviatesting?Ontheotherhand,willliteraturebetakenseriouslyifitisnota
componentthatistested?Thereisnoquickfixanswertothequestionsposedherebutone
thingisobvious.Theliteraturecomponenthastoremainandithastobemarketednotonly
toteachers,butalsotoadministratorsandparents.Itisafactthatifthereisnoliteraturecomponent
thenthejourneytolifelongreadingandtheloveofreadingwillneverbeinculcatedin
pupils!
LiteratureasbigL,however,goesbeyondthatbecauselanguageisusedtoreachouttothe
imaginationandemotionofreaders.Inotherwords,theobjectiveistocreatethewilling,
eagerreaderwhonotonlymasterstheskillsofliteracybutalsoappliesthismasteryto
achievelifelonglearning.Beyondthattheskilledreaderisthechildwholovestoreadand
thechildwhocan'tstopreading(Kow,2002,p.44).
AbdHamid,S.R.,SyedHassan,S.S.,&Ismail,N.H.(2012).TeachingQualityand
PerformanceAmongExperiencedTeachersinMalaysia.AustralianJournalofTeacher
Education,37(11).
http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2012v37n11.2
Concurrently,theMinistryofEducation(MOE)isconductingcurriculumreformwhich
emphasizesontaskandactivitybasedclassroomapproaches.Thecurrenttrendinteaching
andlearningsuggeststhatactivestudentparticipationanddiscussionenhancehigherorder
thinking.Informationtechnology(IT)skillsarealsogivenprecedencetobeintegratedacross
alldisciplines.
MalaysiaEducationPolicyReviewAbridgedReport,May2013,
UnitedNAtionsEducational,ScientificandCulturalOrganization(UNESCO)
2012
CurriculumDevelopment
Inrecentdecades,Malaysiahasdemonstratedstrongcommitmenttoimproving
learningoutcomesforitsyoungpeoplebymakinganumberofverysignificantreforms
toitsschoolcurriculum.Inanefforttodeveloptheverybestcurriculum,Malaysiahas
implementedfivemajorcurriculumreformssinceitformallygainedindependencein1957.
In2011,thecurriculumwasagainenhancedwithanincreasedfocusonimportantsoft
skillssuchascreativity,innovation,entrepreneurshipandICT.Thisisconsistentwith
internationaltrendsawayfromstudentsmemorisinginformationtowardsthedevelopmentof
lifeandworkcompetencies.
Despitethisstrongcommitment,anumberofchallengesneedtobeovercometo
supportcurrentcurriculumreformefforts.Theseincludechallengesrelatedto:1)the
highlevelofcentralisationinpolicymakingandregulation;2)theimpactofanumberof
externalfactorsonthequalityofteachingandlearning;and,3)buildingcapacityand
empoweringteachersforpolicychange.Variousissuesrelatedtothesechallengesare

summarizedbelow.
1)Thehighlevelofcentralisationinpolicymakingandregulation
Clearunderstandingofthenatureofcurrentreformeffortsisrequiredacrossalllevels,
aswellasdeepunderstandingofthefundamentalchangestoteachingandassessment
methodologiesandtoadministrativeandmanagementpractices(includingcoordination
betweenthevariousbodiesresponsibleformanagingandimplementingchangeatthecentral
level,aswellascommunication,disseminationandteachertrainingandsupport).
AnapproachtocurriculumforMalaysiamayneedtobemoreflexibleandadaptableto
meettherangeofstudentandlocalcommunityneeds.
Boththeintendedandimplementedcurriculummustcaterfurtherstillforthefullrange
ofstudentabilities.Inparticular,thecurriculumshouldprovidegiftedandtalentedstudents
withopportunitiestoextendtheirlearninginwaysthatencouragethedevelopmentof
higherorderthinkingandproblemsolvingskills.
2)Theimpactofanumberofexternalfactorsonthequalityofteachingandlearning
Itshouldbefurtherrecognizedthatexaminationsservejustonecomponentofan
assessmentapproachwhichshouldalsoincludemoreinformalandregularschoolbased
assessmenteventsdesignedtogiveteachersandothers(suchasparents)reliableinformation
regardingstudentprogressinarangeofdomains.
Despitethestrongfocusonscienceandmathematics,studentperformancehasbeenlow
bymeasureofinternationalassessmentandimprovementsintheseareasareneeded.
Anovercrowdedcurriculum,mostoftenresultingfromsubjectsandtopicsbeing
constantlyaddedtothecurriculumwhilenothingisremoved,meansstudentcompetencies
maynotbefullydeveloped.
Thechangeoflanguageofinstructioninmathematicsandsciencerequiresfurther
reviewgivenitsbearingonlearningqualityandthecapacityofstudentstoachievelearning
outcomes.
AbridgedReport(MalaysiaEducationPolicyReview)
73)Buildingcapacityandempoweringteachersforpolicychange.
WhileteachersinMalaysiaaregenerallyhighlycommitted,therearemanyschoolsin
whichunderstandingoftheprinciplesandconceptscontainedinthenewcurriculummaybe
weakandclassroompracticeverytraditional.
Itiscriticalthatthesystemtakeaparallelandcomplementaryapproachtoboth
curriculumdevelopmentandteacherprofessionallearning.
Whileteachersgenerallywanttospendasmuchtimeaspossibleontheircoredutyto
teachwellintheirclassroomssystemdemands(includingclericalandadministrativeduties
forteachers)mayimpedethemfromdoingso.
ExaminationsandSchoolbasedAssessment
Malaysiahasastrongtraditioninstructuredformalassessment.Sinceindependence,
thecountryhasmadesignificantpublicinvestmentsintothearchitecturenecessarytosustain
auniformnationalassessmentsystemacrossthe13statesandthreefederalterritories.Over
theyears,theschooleducationsystemhasundertakenmuchreformandmadeadjustmentsin
ordertomeettheneedsandaspirationsofafastdevelopingeconomy,inwhichgraduatesare
requiredtohavetransversalskillsinordertorespondtocontemporarychallenges.
Assessmentinstruments,includingthewellestablishedcentralizedexaminations,must
respondtochangingneedsinordertocontinuetobefitforpurpose.Thismeansusing

existingexpertiseincentralizedexaminationstomosteffect,streamliningthoseinitiatives
thataddlowvalueandinvestinginnewexpertiseinotherformsofassessment,particularly
insupportoftheschoolbasedassessmentreform.
Successfulsteeringofthisnewmodalityofassessmentthroughastillchallengingperiod
ofdevelopmentrequirestheestablishmentofwelldefinedprioritiesandaclearlineof
sightbetweenaspirations,objectives,instrumentdesignandimplementation.In
addition,reforminthedomainofassessmentisrarelyonlyaboutthepolicycontent;itis
everybitasmuchtodowithexecution,buyinandtrustingoverninginstitutions.Building
strongrelationshipswithstakeholderswithintheeducationsupplychain,aswellasitsend
users,isgoodpracticeandwillhelptounderscoresuccessfulassessmentreform.Thekey
issuesidentifiedaresummarizedbelow.
Highstakesexaminations,whichappeartodominatetheassessmentlandscapeand
whichmaypresentadverseanddistortiveeffects,mayneeddampeningdown.
Thegreatestcareandcautionshouldbeappliedintheuseofmassscalepsychometric
testingaswellastheretentionoftestresults,giventhesignificantcapacityforthese
personallysensitivetestresultstobeusedtoshapethefutureofindividuals.Theuseofsuch
testsshouldbegovernedbyclearandtransparentpolicyguidelines.
Inordertoensurethatthenewschoolbasedassessmentreformdeliversthedesired
outcomes,articulatingaspirationsintoclearpolicyobjectivesmayprovidegreaterclarity
aboutwhatoutcomesarebeingsought,whichofthesehavegreaterpriorityifallcannotbe
achievedandwhatthetradeoffsmightentail.
Thereappearstobeunexploredpotentialforstrongproductiverelationshipswiththose
bodiesthathavethecapacitytoplayactiverolesinshapingthenewassessmentregime
(includingtertiaryeducationinstitutions,employerandparentbodiesandNGOs).
ICTinEducation
MalaysiahasachievedanimpressiveprogressinintegratingICTintoitseducation
systeminbothpolicyandpractices.Indeed,MalaysiaisoneofthefirstcountriesinAsia
andtheworldtohavepioneeredastrategicICTineducationdevelopmentplan.Thefirst
suchpolicywasintroducedintheSixthMalaysiaPlan(19901995),asafundamentaltool
forthenationtoachieveVision2020.Sincethen,theintegrationofICTintotheeducation
systemfurthermappedoutinsequentialorparalleleducationpoliciesandplans,including
MalaysiasNationalICTAgenda(NITC)intheSeventh
AbridgedReport(MalaysiaEducationPolicyReview)
8
MalaysianPlan(19962000),MultimediaSuperCorridor(MSC)in1996,theMalaysian
SmartSchoolRoadmap(20052020)andtheEducationalDevelopmentMasterPlan
(EDMP)(20062010).TheMOElaunchedEducationStrategicPlan(20112015)andastudy
onTeacherandStudentICTCompetencyStandardsiscurrentlybeingcarriedoutinschools
andtheTeacherTrainingInstitutesthroughoutthecountry.Thisisanimpressivearrayof
policiesandplansdevelopedoverthelasttwodecadesandtheultimategoalofallthese
effortsistoenhancetheknowledgeandinnovationcapacityofthenation.
Despitetheimpressivearrayofpoliciesandplansoverthelasttwodecades,thereview
revealedthatMalaysiaisnowbehindmanyofitsbenchmarkingcountriesintheregion
eveninthebasicICTinfrastructuresuchascomputerstudentratioandinternetconnectivity.

ThefindingsindicatethatthereremainimportantchallengesforMalaysiainintegratingICT
ineducationtorealizeitspolicygoalofmovingforwardtoaknowledgeandinnovation
driveneconomy.Thechallengesappeartobecloselyassociatedwithaseriesofsystemic
issuesinpolicyformulation,implementation,monitoring,feedbackandresponse.Thekey
issuesidentifiedaresummarizedasfollows:
Aclearlyarticulatedroadmapisneededwithprogressivegoals,targetsandappropriate
resourcingtoguideanationaldevelopmentalpathwaytorealizetheultimateeducational
goalofnurturingfirstworldtalentforaknowledgeeconomy.
ICTinEducationneedstobepositionedasanessentialenablingfactorineducation
reforminitiatives.
Settingupsystematicsupportingmechanismsisneededtomotivateandfacilitate
schoolsandteacherstoundertakeICTsupportedpedagogicalandassessmentinnovations.
Consistentcriteriaisneededtoevaluate,support,monitorandrewardinnovative
practicesatteacherandschoollevels.
Capacityforleadinginnovationandflexibilityforimplementationisneededtoachieve
thepolicygoalsforICTandhence,changemanagementstrategiesshouldbeinplaceto
encourageinnovationsatalllevels,establishmechanismsforgrassrootsparticipationin
policyandimplementationdecisionsandfosterdiscursivedialoguesamongpartnersand
stakeholders.
ToenhancetheinclusivenessoftheICTinEducationpolicyandimplementation,itis
recommendedtointroduceasupportingschemefortheunderprivilegedstudentswhodonot
havecomputerandInternetaccessathometogainaccess(e.g.,subsidizedhomeownership
programmes)andaddresssomepersistentdigitalandeducationaldivideissues.
Datamanagementhastobeanintegralpartofatoplevelcoordinationtoavoid
fragmentationofICTbaseddatacollection,processingandanalysis.
Guaranteetheefficientdevelopmentandimplementationofacurriculum
Thecurriculumisthecoreofaneducationsystemasitoutlineswhatandhowacountry
wantsitsstudentstolearninviewofnationalobjectives.Asthecoreofaneducationsystem,
theMalaysianexperiencehasidentifiedchallengesrelatedtothedevelopmentofthis
curriculumthatmanyothereducationsystemsalsoface.Oneoftheseistheissueofbalance
betweencentralizedcontrolandlocalresponsibilityandautonomyofthecurriculumforthe
purposeofachievingacurricularstructurethatcontainsstandardizedpolicyexpectations
whilemeetingtheneedsoflocalcontexts.Tominimisethemismatchbetweenpolicy
intentionsoftheplannedcurriculumanditsimplementation,educationalsystemsmust
provideacomprehensivemanagementandimplementationplanwhichiscloselymonitored
andassessed.Thisisespeciallycrucialwhenchangesinthecurriculumareintroducedto
adapttonewneeds,asthiswouldhelpguaranteethatteachersactuallyunderstandthe
implicationsofnewconceptsinthecurriculumandhowthisimpactsclassroompractice.
Anotherchallengerelatedtocurriculumdevelopmentseemstobethecoordinationbetween
thevariousdivisionswithinaMinistryofEducation,andtheimportanceofasharedvision,
clearrolesandareasresponsibility,aswellasefficientsystemsinordertosuccessfully
implementacurriculum.Alsocriticaltoeffectiveandsustainableimprovementsin
curriculumoutcomes,adecentralizedstrategyisneededtodevelopleadershipcapacitiesat
alllevelsofthesystemtoimplementandevaluatetheachievementsateachstageofthe

curriculumcycle.Thisdecentralizationprovidesteacherswithleadershipandautonomyto
adaptthecurriculumwithacertaindegreeofflexibility.Atthesametime,itencourages
innovativecurriculumpracticesthatmeettheneedsofindividualswhilealsopromoting
accountabilityinteachers.Tofurthersupporttheimplementationofthecurriculum,teachers
needtounderstandtheuseofclassroomandschoolbasedassessmenttomaximizelearning
fortheirstudents.Thiswouldshiftthefocusawayfromnarrowlypreparingstudentsfor
examinationsuccess.Ingeneral,overcrowdedcurriculahaveanegativeimpactonquality,
andsodueconsiderationmustbegiventotheamountofcontentputintoacurriculum.
Finally,anotherinterestinglessonespeciallyformultilingualcountries,isthechoiceinthe
languageofinstructionthatallowschildrentolearneffectively,whileithasbeenshownthat
studentslearnmoreeffectivelyintheirmothertongueasanintroductiontoandcomplement
ofmultilingualeducation.