INSTITUT PENDIDIKAN GURU

KEMENTERIAN PENDIDIKAN MALAYSIA

KAMPUS IPOH, 31150 HULU KINTA PERAK
DARUL RIDZUAN

EDUP3013
PHILOSOPHY AND EDUCATION IN MALAYSIA
ACADEMIC WRITING

Name : NUR ALIA SURAYA BINTI MOHD HAFIZ

I/C Number : 010821-06-0158
Index Number : 2020242340192
Programme : PISMP
Intake : JUNE 2020
Unit : V10
Lecturer’s Name : DR. GANESAN SHANMUGAVELU
Submission Date : 8th OCTOBER 2020
PENGAKUAN PELAJAR
Saya mengaku bahawa tugasan kerja kursus ini adalah hasil kerja saya sendiri kecuali
nukilan dan ringkasan yang setiap satunya saya jelaskan sumbernya.

Tandatangan Pelajar:_____________________ Tarikh:

PEMERIKSA MODERATOR
Markah Markah

Tandatangan Tandatangan

Cop Cop

Tarikh Tarikh

PENGESAHAN PELAJAR
Saya mengesahkan bahawa maklum balas yang diberikan oleh pensyarah telah saya
rujuki dan fahami.

Tandatangan Pelajar: Tarikh:

TABLE OF CONTENTS
COVER PAGE............................................................................................................................................ 0
QUESTION PAPER................................................................................................................................... 2
ACKNOWLEDGMENT............................................................................................................................... 3
1.0 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................ 4
2.0 CLASSROOM SIZE....................................................................................................................... 4
3.0 SHORTAGE OF TEACHERS........................................................................................................ 4
4.0 DISCIPLINARY PROBLEMS........................................................................................................ 5
5.0 EDUCATIONAL BIAS.................................................................................................................... 5
6.0 CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................... 6
REFERENCES........................................................................................................................................... 7

1
QUESTION PAPER
TASK 1: ACADEMIC WRITING (30%)

1. Individually, you are required to identify and analyse issues in education in Malaysia which
leads to the formation of student well-being. Aspects of potential diversity of students are
given emphasis.

2. Relate issues in education in Malaysia through relevant reference sources

3. The academic writing you produce should reflect the skills in organizing critical thinking
ideas and skills.

4. This task is performed `interdisciplinary` with the task in EDUP3023 which focuses on
children’s Cognitive development theories. The KPPB project is implemented according to
the suitability of “BIG IDEA”.

5. The length of academic writing for EDUP 3013 is 1000 words.

2
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I would like to express my gratitude to everyone that involved rather directly or
indirectly in helping me to complete this assignment. This course work is a collaborative
effort of many people. To begin with, my utmost thanks and gratitude goes to my Philosophy
and Education in Malaysia lecturer, Dr. Ganesan a/l Shanmugavelu for imparting me with his
wealth of knowledge, valuable guidance, and experience.

My appreciation and thanks are also dedicated to all of my dear friends for their
helpful insights, cooperation, and stimulating comments. I would also like to express my
apology for any mistake and shortcoming in carrying out this task. To end with, I am truly
delighted, for this research would bring benefit for others. Thank you.

3
1.0 Introduction
Over the past few years, the education system of Malaysia has continued to evolve
and went through constant changes, with each new education minister bringing up new
method that they hoped would change the quality of education for the better. Moreover,
education plays a crucial role in the upbringing of students and the formation of students’
well-being.

Generally, student well-being refers to a sustainable state of positive mood and

attitude, resilience, and satisfaction with self, relationships and experiences at school.
However, there has been an increase number of Malaysian students that seek support for
well-being problems. Therefore, what are the issues in Malaysia’s education that lead to the
formation of student well-being?

2.0 Classroom Size

According to Prof. Dr. Saedah Siraj (2019), she stated that the average number of
students in a class nowadays is 45 people. Most public schools in Malaysia, especially in
primary schools have huge classroom sizes. Classroom size influences on how teachers
perform in their career. The teachers face difficulty in giving equal attention to all students,
given that students learn at various different paces. Also, teachers have to spend more time
in controlling the students instead of teaching them.

Due to this circumstance, some students felt left out and neglected, because the
teacher paid less attention to them in class. Thus, the students’ academic performance and
mood were affected badly. Large classroom does not allow every students to have a direct
interaction with their teachers. They could not participate actively in class, which contributed
to fail relationship between a teacher and a student. This is because, some teachers tend to
focus on excellent students only, or students in the front of the class. In conclusion, the most
efficient way in solving this problem is to have schools reduce the size of classes. Teachers
can pay equal attention to all the students. Hence, it will create a more positive learning
environment for the students.

3.0 Shortage of Teachers

The Ministry of Education of Malaysia had set up a special committee to study ways
to tackle the shortage of teachers in several states, especially in rural schools. Most schools
in the interior areas such as Sabah and Sarawak received less qualified teachers who are
lacking in experiences and training. Education system faces a shortage of highly qualified
teachers. The natural response is to hire less experienced teachers, hire teachers trained in
another field, or make use of unqualified substitute teachers. Certain teachers have no
option but to teach a subject that they are not trained for.

4
 Therefore, the shortage of teachers inevitably causes a decline in educational
standards. Students especially in rural school face difficulty in understanding the subject that
is being taught by the inexperienced teacher or basically teachers who lack sufficient skills
and knowledge. This issue affected students’ emotion as they feel stress, worrying over their
academic results. They have to find another alternative, or rely on other sources to improve
their understanding. Also, some students will lose interest in learning and remain passive
throughout class. The education ministry should find a quick solution in recruiting more
qualified teachers from time to time to boost students’ achievement in school.

4.0 Disciplinary Problems

The issue regarding school discipline has always been making the headlines in
news. The indiscipline problem in schools is ranked as a major issue among students of
primary and secondary schools in Malaysia. Disruptive behaviour is a concern to schools,
parents, and to fellow students, whose education may be adversely affected. Disciplinary
problems such as bullying, vandalism, and gangsterism have a negative impact to the
school’s environment.

Disciplinary problems in school disturb the learning session. Students lose

concentration due to the ruckus by disruptive students. Not only it interferes the teaching and
learning process and create feelings of anger and annoyance among the students, but also
forces the teacher to focus more on disciplining the troublesome student instead of teaching.
Besides that, destructive students cause harm on school’s properties, creating an
uncomfortable atmosphere in school as students are not able to use the school’s facilities.
Disciplinary problem like bullying causes students to feel threaten. They do not feel safe
even though they are at school. Targeted students feel traumatised, depressed, and they
suffer from poor performance. Therefore, teachers should prevent disciplinary problems from
affecting other students especially their academic performance, mental and emotional state.

5.0 Educational Bias

Educational bias can be defined as a situation when a group of students is being
discriminated against in an educational setting. This is due to the high expectations from the
teacher towards certain students and lower expectations for others. Generally, teachers’
belief in their students’ academic skills and potential is a vital ingredient for a student’s
success, because it is linked to students’ beliefs about how far they will progress in school,
their attitudes toward school, and their academic achievement.

When teachers underestimate their students, it affects not just that one student-
teacher relationship but the student’s entire self-concept. For example, some teachers are
bias towards extroverted students. They assume that introverted students lack intelligence.

5
Thus, introverted students feel increasingly unwanted and uncomfortable in the classroom.
The silent treatment from teachers cause them to stay passive in class. Also, there are
teachers who are bias towards excellent students, these students are known as teacher’s
pets. Those students who are average, or not very likable by the teachers will behave
uninterested in class. They realised that their role as a student is insignificant to the teacher.
Therefore, the education ministry should continue to improve the educators to ensure that
classrooms are dynamic and functional for all students without any discrimination.

6.0 Conclusion
To sum up, there are many issues in Malaysia’s education system which leads to the
formation of student well-being. Therefore, the Ministry of Education Malaysia should look
into this matter with more details and focus on every aspect that is related with student well-
being. Teachers and those intellectuals’ views should be taken into account by the
government in achieving the objectives. Hopefully, our education system will improve to
enhance the performance of Malaysian students at school so they will have a better life in
the future.

(1005 words)

6
REFERENCES
Arias, J. J., & Walker, D. M. (2004). Additional evidence on the relationship between class
size and student performance. Journal of Economic Education, 35(4), 311–329.

Dodge, R., Daly, A., Huyton, J. & Sanders, L. (2012). The challenge of defining wellbeing.
International Journal of Wellbeing, 2(3), pp. 222–235.

Martin Carvalho, Rahimy Rahim & Fatimah Zainal. (2019). Education Ministry allocates
RM48mil to fix teacher shortage, up from RM40mil. Retrieved from
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/10/31/education-ministry-allocates-
rm48mil-to-fix-teacher-shortage-up-from-rm40mil

Monica Fuglei. (2018). Unconscious Discrimination: How to Defeat Four Hidden Teacher
Biases. Retrieved from https://resilienteducator.com/classroom-
resources/unconscious-discrimination-avoiding-teacher-biases/

Raziatul Hanum A. Rajak. (2019). Kecilkan bilangan murid dalam satu kelas. Retrieved from
https://www.sinarharian.com.my/article/6218/BERITA/Nasional/Kecilkan-bilangan-
murid-dalam-satu-kelas

Tajul Ariffin bin Nordin. (1993). Perspektif Falsafah dan Pendidikan di Malaysia. Kuala
Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa Dan Pustaka.