CURRICULUM STUDIES

(TSL3143)

TOPIC 5:
CURRENT ISSUES IN CURRICULUM
IMPLEMENTATION

LECTURER: MS KEE LI LI
OPTION: PISMP SEM 8 TESL 1
 SYNOPSIS

• Topic 5 introduces you to the current issues in

curriculum implementation.
• As a classroom practitioner, it is important that
you know what is involved in implementing the
prescribed curriculum.
• The aim of this unit is therefore to take you
through the processes and stages of curriculum
implementation.
 LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of Topic 5, you will be able to:

•outline factors that influence curriculum
implementation
•discuss the current issues in curriculum
implementation
•explore current issues in curriculum
implementation
FRAMEWORK OF TOPIC
 EXERCISE

• What do you understand by the term ‘curriculum

implementation’?
 DEFINITION OF CURRICULUM
IMPLEMENTATION
• Putting into practice the officially prescribed courses
of study, syllabuses and subjects
• Helping the learner acquire knowledge or experience
• Cannot take place without the learner; the central
figure in the curriculum implementation process
• Implementation takes place as the learner acquires
the planned or intended experiences, knowledge,
skills, ideas and attitudes that are aimed at enabling
the same learner to function effectively in a society.
 DEFINITION OF CURRICULUM
IMPLEMENTATION
• Refers to the stage when the curriculum itself, as
an educational programme, is put into effect
 DEFINITION OF CURRICULUM
IMPLEMENTATION
• Putting the curriculum into operation requires an
implementing agent.
• Stenhouse (1979) identifies the teacher as the
agent in the curriculum implementation process.
• She argues that implementation is the manner in
which the teacher selects and mixes the various
aspects of knowledge contained in a curriculum
document or syllabus.
 DEFINITION OF CURRICULUM
IMPLEMENTATION
• Implementation takes place when the teacher-
constructed syllabus, the teacher’s personality,
the teaching materials and the teaching
environment interact with the learner.
• Curriculum implementation therefore refers to how
the planned or officially designed course of study
is translated by the teacher into syllabuses,
schemes of work and lessons to be delivered to
students.
 TUTORIAL TASK

• In groups, discuss some of the factors that

influence curriculum.
 FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE
CURRICULUM IMPLEMENTATION
• The Teacher
• The Learners
• Resource Materials and Facilities
• Interest Groups
• The School Environment
• Culture and Ideology
• Instructional Supervision
• Assessment
 THE TEACHER
• As Whitaker (1979) asserts in the University of
Zimbabwe (1995) module, the teachers view their
role in curriculum implementation as an
autonomous one.
• They select and decide what to teach from the
prescribed syllabus or curriculum.
• Since implementation takes place through the
interaction of the learner and the planned learning
opportunities, the role and influence of the teacher
in the process is indisputable.
 THE TEACHER
• You could be thinking, “I understand that teachers
are pivotal in the curriculum implementation
process, but what is their role in the curriculum
planning process?”
• If the teacher is to be able to translate curriculum
intentions into reality, it is imperative that the
teacher understand the curriculum document or
syllabus well in order to implement it effectively
(University of Zimbabwe, 1995).
 THE TEACHER
• If the curriculum is what teachers and students
create together, as Wolfson (1997) states, the
teacher must play a more significant role in
designing the curriculum.
• Teachers must be involved in curriculum planning
and development so that they can implement and
modify the curriculum for the benefit of their
learners.
 THE LEARNERS
• Learners are also a critical element in curriculum
implementation.
• While teachers are the arbiters of the classroom
practice, the learners hold the key to what is
actually transmitted and adopted from the official
curriculum.
• The official curriculum can be quite different from
the curriculum that is actually implemented.
 THE LEARNERS
• The learner factor influences teachers in their
selection of learning experiences, hence the need
to consider the diverse characteristics of learners
in curriculum implementation.
• For example, home background and learner ability
can determine what is actually achieved in the
classroom.
RESOURCE MATERIALS AND FACILITIES
• From your experience, you are aware that no
meaningful teaching and learning take place
without adequate resource materials.
• This applies to curriculum implementation as well.
RESOURCE MATERIALS AND FACILITIES
• For the officially designed curriculum to be fully
implemented as per plan, the government or
Ministry of Education should supply schools with
adequate resource materials such as textbooks,
teaching aids and stationery in order to enable
teachers and learners to play their role
satisfactorily in the curriculum implementation
process.
RESOURCE MATERIALS AND FACILITIES
• In Curriculum Implementation (University of
Zimbabwe, 1995), it is suggested that the central
government must also provide physical facilities
such as classrooms, laboratories, workshops,
libraries and sports fields in order to create an
environment in which implementation can take
place.
• The availability and quality of resource material
and the availability of appropriate facilities have a
great influence on curriculum implementation.
 INTEREST GROUPS
• Can you identify interest groups in your country that
could influence the implementation of curricula?
• A number of these groups exist in almost all
Southern African Development Community (SADC)
countries. These include parents, parents’ and
teachers’ associations, School Development
Associations (SDAs) and School Development
Committees (SDCs) in Zimbabwe, religious
organisations, local authorities, companies and
private school proprietors.
 INTEREST GROUPS
These groups can influence implementation in the
following ways:
•Provide schools with financial resources to
purchase required materials.
•Demand the inclusion of certain subjects in the
curriculum.
•Influence learners to reject courses they consider
detrimental to the interests of the group.
 INTEREST GROUPS
• It is therefore important to involve these groups at
the curriculum planning stage.
 THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT
• One other factor that influences curriculum
implementation concerns the particular
circumstances of each school (University of
Zimbabwe, 1995).
• Schools located in rich socio-economic
environments and those that have adequate
human and material resources can implement the
curriculum to an extent that would be difficult or
impossible for schools in poor economic
environments.
 CULTURE & IDEOLOGY
• Cultural and ideological differences within a
society or country can also influence curriculum
implementation.
• Some communities may resist a domineering
culture or government ideology and hence affect
the implementation of the centrally planned
curriculum.
 INSTRUCTIONAL SUPERVISION
Curriculum implementation cannot be achieved
unless it has been made possible through the
supervisory function of the school head. The head
does this through:
•deploying staff,
•allocating time to subjects taught at the school,
•providing teaching and learning materials, and
•creating an atmosphere conducive to effective
teaching and learning.
 INSTRUCTIONAL SUPERVISION
• As stated in Curriculum Implementation (University
of Zimbabwe, 1995), the head ‘monitors and guides
curriculum implementation through ensuring that
schemes of work, lesson plans and records of
marks are prepared regularly’.
• The head teacher maintains a school tone and
culture that create the climate of social
responsibility. Effective curriculum implementation
does not take place in a school where the head is
incapable of executing supervisory functions.
 ASSESSMENT
• Assessment in the form of examinations influences
curriculum implementation tremendously.
• Due to the great value given to public examination
certificates by communities and schools, teachers
have tended to concentrate on subjects that
promote academic excellence and little else.
• This action by the teacher obviously can affect the
achievement of the broad goals and objectives of
the curriculum.
 SELF ASSESSMENT
• From what you have read so far, list what you can
identify as determinants of curriculum
implementation.
 CURRENT ISSUES IN CURRICULUM
IMPLEMENTATION
• Literacy
• Access to education
• Equity in education
• Multilangualism
• Technological innovation
• Unity
• Special needs
 LITERACY
• Literacy is the ability to read and write.
• The inability to do so is called illiteracy or
analphabetism.
• Visual literacy also includes the ability to
understand visual forms of communication such
as body language, pictures, maps, and video.
• Evolving definitions of literacy often include all the
symbol systems relevant to a particular
community.
 LITERACY
• Literacy encompasses a complex set of abilities to
understand and use the dominant symbol systems of
a culture for personal and community development.
• In a technological society, the concept of literacy is
expanding to include the media and electronic text, in
addition to alphabetic and number systems.
• These abilities vary in different social and cultural
contexts according to need, demand and education.
 LITERACY
• The primary sense of literacy still represents the
lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning
from a critical interpretation of the written or
printed text.
• The key to all literacy is reading development, a
progression of skills that begins with the ability to
understand spoken words and decode written
words, and culminates in the deep understanding
of text.
 LITERACY
• Reading development involves a range of complex
language underpinnings including awareness of
speech sounds (phonology), spelling patterns
(orthography), word meaning (semantics),
grammar (syntax) and patterns of word formation
(morphology), all of which provide a necessary
platform for reading fluency and comprehension.
• Use information and insights from text as the basis
for informed decisions and creative thought.
 LITERACY
• Once these skills are acquired, the reader can
attain full language literacy, which includes the
abilities to approach printed material with critical
analysis, inference and synthesis; to write with
accuracy and coherence; and to use information
and insights from text as the basis for informed
decisions and creative thought.
 ASSESS TO EDUCATION
• Ability of people to have equal opportunity in
education, regardless of their social class, gender,
ethnicity background or physical and mental
disabilities
• Encourages a variety of pedagogical approaches
to accomplish the dissemination of knowledge
across the diversity of social, political, cultural,
economic, national and biological backgrounds.
 ASSESS TO EDUCATION
• Initially developed with the theme of equal opportunity
access and inclusion of students with learning or
physical and mental disabilities, the themes governing
universal access to education have now expanded
across all forms of ability and diversity.
• However, as the definition of diversity is within itself is
a broad amalgamation, teachers exercising universal
access will continually face challenges and
incorporate adjustments in their lesson plan to foster
themes of equal opportunity of education.
 ASSESS TO EDUCATION-
Equitable Access
• Across the globe, UNICEF is committed to nothing
less than full and complete access to free, quality
education for every child.
• Universal access to quality education is not a
privilege – it is a basic human right.
 ASSESS TO EDUCATION-
Equitable Access
• With progress towards universal enrolment
slowing, it is now without doubt that the world will
not meet its most prominent global education.
• The current financial crisis has put extra pressure
on stretched public funding.
 ASSESS TO EDUCATION-
Equitable Access
• The aid to education has fallen by 10 per cent
since 2010.
• If funds become scarcer, access to education will
continue to stagnate and the quality of schools will
decline, denying the most vulnerable children in
the world’s poorest countries their basic human
right to quality education: without it, their future
opportunities are dramatically limited.
 ASSESS TO EDUCATION-
Equitable Access
• UNICEF is deeply committed to creating a world in
which all children, regardless of their gender, socio-
economic background or circumstances, have
access to free, compulsory and quality education.
• In education, UNICEF supports the Education for All
(EFA) and the Millennium Development Goals 2 and
3 to ensure that all children have access to and
complete a full course of primary schooling, and to
eliminate gender disparity in education by 2015.
 ASSESS TO EDUCATION-
Equitable Access
• Other global goals echoing these commitments
include the World Education Forum’s Dakar
Framework for Action, which stresses the rights of
girls, ethnic minorities and children in difficult
circumstances; and the emphasis in A World Fit
for Children on ensuring equal access to and
achievement in basic education of good quality.
 EQUITY IN EDUCATION

• In education, the term equity refers to the principle

of fairness.
• While it is often used interchangeably with the
related principle of equality, equity encompasses
a wide variety of educational models, programmes
and strategies that may be considered fair, but not
necessarily equal.
 EQUITY IN EDUCATION

• It is has been said that “equity is the process;

equality is the outcome,” given that equity—what
is fair and just—may not, in the process of
educating students, reflect strict equality—what is
applied, allocated, or distributed equally.
 EQUITY IN EDUCATION

• The growing importance of education equity is based

on the premise that now, more than ever before, an
individual’s level of education is directly correlated to
the quality of life he or she will live in the future.
• Therefore, an academic system that practices
educational equity is a strong foundation of a society
that is fair and thriving.
• However, inequity in education is challenging to
avoid, and can be broken down into inequity due to
socioeconomic standing, race, gender or disability.
 EQUITY IN EDUCATION

Socio-economic equity in education:

•Income and class
•Costs of education
•Tracking
•Racial equity in education
•Higher education
•Gender equity in education
•Causes of gender discrimination in education
 INCOME & CLASS

• Income has always played an important role in

shaping academic success.
• Those who come from a family of a higher
socioeconomic status (SES) are privileged with
more opportunities than those of lower SES.
• Those who come from a higher SES can afford
things like better tutors, rigorous SAT/ACT prep
classes, impressive programs, and so on.
 INCOME & CLASS

• Parents generally feel more comfortable

intervening on behalf of their children to acquire
better grades or more qualified teachers.
• Parents of a higher SES are more willing to donate
large sums of money to a certain institution to
better improve their child's chances of acceptance,
along with other extravagant measures.
• This creates an unfair advantage and distinct class
barrier.
 COST OF EDUCATION

• The extraordinarily high cost of the many

prestigious high schools and universities in the
United States makes an attempt at a "level playing
field" for all students not so level.
• High-achieving low-income students do not have
the means to attend selective schools that better
prepare a student for later success.
 COST OF EDUCATION

• Because of this, low-income students do not even

attempt to apply to the top-tier schools for which
they are more than qualified.
• In addition, neighbourhoods generally segregated
by class leave lower-income students in lower-
quality schools.
• For higher-quality schooling, students in low-
income areas would be required to take public
transport which they do not have the means to pay
for.
 COST OF EDUCATION

• Fewer than 30 percent of students in the bottom

quarter of incomes even enroll in a four-year
school and among that group, fewer than half
graduate.
• Higher education has become too expensive and
doesn’t do enough to help lower income students
succeed.
 TRACKING

• Another contributor to the inequality in the

education system is tracking.
• Tracking sorts students into different classes or
groups based on ability or future plans.
• The point of tracking is to create an environment in
which the student's abilities match both the
curriculum as well as the other student's in the
class.
• This separation, however, creates an inequality
within itself.
 TRACKING
• Starting at an extremely young age, the sorting of
students mimics hierarchy similar to one which will form
later on in life.
• Students are both viewed and treated differently
depending on which track they take. The quality of
teaching and curricula vary between tracks and as a
result, those of the lower track are disadvantaged with
inferior resources, teachers, etc.
• In many cases, tracking stunts students who may
develop the ability to excel past their original
placement.
 RACIAL EQUITY IN EDUCATION

• From a scientific point of view, the human species

is a single race. It is therefore misleading to use
terms such as races and racial groups.
• Nevertheless, the term racial group is enshrined in
legislation, and phrases such as race equality and
race relations are in widespread official use.
 RACIAL EQUITY IN EDUCATION

• Racial equity in education means the assignment

of students to public schools and within schools
without regard to their race.
• This includes providing students with a full
opportunity for participation in all educational
programmes regardless of their race.
• The educational system and its response to racial
concerns in education vary from country to
country.
 RACIAL EQUITY IN EDUCATION

Below are some examples of countries that have to

deal with racial discrimination in education:
•US Department of Education:
The Commission on Equity and Excellence in
Education issues a seminal report in 2013.
to provide equity and excellence in education in
American public schools once and for all.
This collective wisdom is a historic blueprint for
making the dream of equity, and a world-class
education, for each and every American child a reality.
 RACIAL EQUITY IN EDUCATION

 The struggle for equality of access to formal education and

equality of excellent educational outcomes is part of the
history of education in this country and is tied up with the
economic, political, social history of the peoples who are
part of it.
 From the beginning of this nation, there were many barriers
to the schooling and education of girls and racial, national
origin, and language groups not from the dominant culture.
Approaches and resources for achieving equality and
equity in the public schooling of girls and ethnic, racial, and
language minority groups are still evolving.
 RACIAL EQUITY IN EDUCATION
• Asia-Pacific Region:
 Globalisation of the economy, increasingly diverse and
interconnected populations, and rapid technological change
are posing new and demanding challenges to individuals
and societies alike. School systems are rethinking the
knowledge and skills students will need for success and the
educational strategies and systems required for all children
to achieve them. Within the Asia-Pacific region, for
example, Korea, Shanghai-China, and Japan are examples
of Asian education systems that have climbed the ladder to
the top in both quality and equity indicators.
 RACIAL EQUITY IN EDUCATION
• South Africa :
 A major task of South Africa's new government in 1994 was
to promote racial equity in the state education system.
 During the apartheid era, the provision of education was
racially unequal by design.
 Resources were lavished on schools serving white students
while schools serving the black majority were systematically
deprived of qualified teachers, physical resources and
teaching aids such as textbook and stationary.
 The rationale for such inequity was a matter of public record.
 HIGHER EDUCATION
• Higher education plays a vital role in preparing
students for the employment market and active
citizenship both nationally and internationally.
• By embedding race equality in teaching and
learning, institutions can ensure that they
acknowledge the experiences and values of all
students, including minority ethnic and
international students.
 GENDER EQUALITY IN EDUCATION
• Refers to both male and female concerns, yet most of
the gender bias is against women in the developing
world.
• Gender discrimination in education has been very
evident and underlying problem in many countries.
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organisation (UNESCO) understands Education as a "
fundamental human right and essential for the exercise
of all other human rights.
• It promotes individual freedom and empowerment and
yields important development benefits."
 GENDER EQUALITY IN EDUCATION
• UN Special Rapporteur Katarina Tomasevki developed
the '4A' framework on the Right to Education.
• The ''4A' framework encompasses availability,
accessibility, acceptability and adaptability as
fundamental to the institution of education.
• And yet girls in many underdeveloped countries are
denied secondary education.
• Countries like Sudan, Somalia, Thailand and
Afghanistan face the highest of inequity when it comes
to gender bias.
 GENDER EQUALITY IN EDUCATION
• Gender based Inequity in education is not just a
phenomenon in developing countries.
• A New York Times article 'Teaching boys and girls
separately' highlights how education systems,
especially public school systems, tend to
segregate.
• Boys and girls are often taught with different
approach which programs children to think that
they are different and deserve different treatment.
 GENDER EQUALITY IN EDUCATION
• However, studies show that boys and girls learn
differently and therefore should be taught
differently.
• Boys learn better when they are kept moving while
girls learn better sitting in one place with silence.
• Therefore, segregation of gender for this
reasoning promotes gender equity in education as
both boys and girls have optimised learning.
CAUSES OF GENDER DISCRIMINATION
IN EDUCATION
• VSO is a leading independent international
development organisation that works towards
eliminating poverty and one of the problems they
tackle is gender inequity in education.
• VSO published a paper that categorises the
obstacles (or causes) into:
CAUSES OF GENDER DISCRIMINATION
IN EDUCATION
• Community Level Obstacles:
 This category primarily relates to the bias displayed
for education external to the school environment.
 This includes restraints due to poverty and child
labour, soil-economic constraints, lack of parental
involvement and community participation.
 Harmful practices like child marriage and
predetermined gender roles are cultural hindrances.
CAUSES OF GENDER DISCRIMINATION
IN EDUCATION
• School and Education System Level Obstacles:
 Lack of investment in quality education,
inappropriate attitudes and behaviours, lack of
female teachers as role models and lack of
gender-friendly school environment are all factors
that promote gender inequity in education.
 QUESTION 1

• Why do you think inequities occur in the education

system?
• List down your recommendations and solutions.
 DISCUSSION

• To what extent does racial, gender, and

socioeconomic discrimination still exist?
• Is discrimination no longer a major problem in
Malaysian society or in public education?
 MULTILINGUALISM

• The definition of multilingualism is a subject of

debate in the very same way as the definition of
language fluency.
• On one end of a sort of linguistic continuum, one
may define multilingualism as complete
competence and mastery in another language.
 MULTILINGUALISM

• The speaker would presumably have complete

knowledge and control over the language so as to
sound native.
• On the opposite end of the spectrum would be
people who know enough phrases to get around as
a tourist using the alternate language.
• Since 1992, Vivian Cook has argued that most
multilingual speakers fall somewhere between
minimal and maximal definitions.
• Cook calls these people multi-competent.
 MULTILINGUALISM

• Many small independent nations' schoolchildren

are today compelled to learn multiple languages
because of international interactions.
• For example in Finland, all children are required to
learn at least two foreign languages: the other
national language (Swedish or Finnish) and one
alien language (usually English).
• Many Finnish schoolchildren also select further
languages, such as German or Russian.
 MULTILINGUAL INDIVIDUALS

• A multilingual person is someone who can

communicate in more than one language, either
actively (through speaking, writing, or signing) or
passively (through listening, reading, or
perceiving).
• More specifically, the terms bilingual and trilingual
are used to describe comparable situations in
which two or three languages are involved.
• A multilingual person is generally referred to as a
polyglot.
 MULTILINGUAL INDIVIDUALS

• Multilingual speakers have acquired and

maintained at least one language during childhood,
the so-called first language (L1).
• The first language (sometimes also referred to as
the mother tongue) is acquired without formal
education.
• Children acquiring two languages in this way are
called simultaneous bilinguals.
• Even in the case of simultaneous bilinguals, one
language usually dominates over the other.
 MULTILINGUAL INDIVIDUALS

• In multilingual societies, not all speakers need to

be multilingual. Some states can have multilingual
policies and recognise several official languages,
such as Canada (English and French).
• In some states, particular languages may be
associated with particular regions in the state
(e.g., Canada) or with particular ethnicities (e.g.,
Malaysia and Singapore).
 MULTILINGUAL INDIVIDUALS

• When all speakers are multilingual, linguists

classify the community according to the functional
distribution of the languages involved:
 Diglossia
 Ambilingualism
 Bipart-lingualism
 DIGLOSSIA

• If there is a structural functional distribution of the

languages involved, the society is termed
'diglossic'.
• Typical diglossic areas are those areas in Europe
where a regional language is used in informal,
usually oral, contexts, while the state language is
used in more formal situations.
• Frisia (with Frisian and German or Dutch) and
Lusatia (with Sorbian and German) are well-known
examples.
 DIGLOSSIA

• Some writers limit diglossia to situations where the

languages are closely related, and could be
considered dialects of each other.
• This can also be observed in Scotland where, in
formal situations, English is used.
• However, in informal situations in many areas,
Scots is the preferred language of choice.
• A similar phenomenon is also observed in Arabic-
speaking regions.
 DIGLOSSIA

• The effects of diglossia could be seen if you look

at the difference between Written Arabic (Modern
Standard Arabic) and Colloquial Arabic.
• However, as time goes, the Arabic language
somewhere between the two have been created
which we would like to call Middle Arabic or
Common Arabic.
• Because of this diversification of the language, the
concept of spectroglossia has been suggested.
 AMBILINGUALISM

• A region is called ambilingual if this functional

distribution is not observed.
• In a typical ambilingual area it is nearly impossible to
predict which language will be used in a given setting.
• True ambilingualism is rare.
• Ambilingual tendencies can be found in small states
with multiple heritages like Luxembourg, which has a
combined Franco-Germanic heritage, or Malaysia and
Singapore, which fuses the cultures of Malays, China,
and India.
 AMBILINGUALISM

• Ambilingualism also can manifest in specific

regions of larger states that have both a clearly
dominant state language (be it de jure or de facto)
and a protected minority language that is limited in
terms of distribution of speakers within the
country.
 AMBILINGUALISM

• This tendency is especially pronounced when,

even though the local language is widely spoken,
there is a reasonable assumption that all citizens
speak the predominant state tongue (e.g., English
in Quebec vs. Canada; Spanish in Catalonia vs.
Spain).
• This phenomenon can also occur in border
regions with many cross-border contacts.
 BIPART-LINGUALISM
• If more than one language can be heard in a small
area, but the large majority of speakers are
monolinguals, who have little contact with
speakers from neighbouring ethnic groups, an
area is called 'bipart-lingual'.
• An example of this is the Balkans.
 THINKING QUESTION
• How far is multilingualism practised in Malaysian
schools?
 TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS
• The technological innovation system is a concept
developed within the scientific field of innovation
studies which serves to explain the nature and
rate of technological change.
• A Technological Innovation System can be
defined as ‘a dynamic network of agents
interacting in a specific economic/industrial area
under a particular institutional infrastructure and
involved in the generation, diffusion, and utilisation
of technology’.
 TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS
• The approach may be applied to at least three
levels of analysis: to a technology in the sense of
a knowledge field, to a product or an artifact, or to
a set of related products and artifacts aimed at
satisfying a particular (societal) function’.
• With respect to the latter, the approach has
especially proven itself in explaining why and how
sustainable (energy) technologies have developed
and diffused into a society, or have failed to do so.
 TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS
Types of Technology Used In The Classroom:
•Use of computers in the classroom
•Creating class websites and blogs
•Use of digital microphones in the classroom
•Use of mobile devices
•Use of smart interactive Whiteboards
•Use of online media
•Use of online study tools
 QUESTION 2
• List down other types of technologies found in
your institute.
 UNITY IN EDUCATION
• Unity is the state of being undivided or unbroken.
• Building unity through education
 UNITY IN EDUCATION
• Malaysia’s unique diversity - ethnic, religious, and
cultural - has always been its greatest strength,
and its greatest challenge.
• As Malaysia increasingly finds itself in a world
where differences can divide, it has never been
more important for Malaysians to forge a
Malaysian identity and to embrace our diverse
heritage.
 UNITY IN EDUCATION
• As a shared space for all Malaysians, schools have a
unique potential to be a place to foster unity.
• The challenge is that to date, the system has
struggled to measure unity in a systematic manner.
• The best available data suggests that student and
teacher diversity in National schools has decreased,
although there is still a fair degree of interactivity
across ethnicities inside and outside the classroom.
 UNITY IN EDUCATION
• Unity, a vital component in Malaysia’s truly unique social
context, is a key factor in realising a society of balanced
and harmonious individuals as envisioned in the
National Education Philosophy.
• To that end, the Ministry has taken a range of actions,
from ensuring that all ethnicities are fairly represented in
the teaching materials used in schools, to organising
school-based programmes explicitly focused on building
unity. The critical question, however, is how unity can be
measured. This section considers several possible
measures to paint a picture of where the system stands.
 UNITY IN EDUCATION
• Student enrolment in the overall public education
system remains broadly reflective of national
demographics.
• However, there are specific schooling options that
have homogenous environments.
• For example, primary school students across all
options are in highly homogeneous environments.
 UNITY IN EDUCATION
• The challenge is that these homogeneous
environments make it less likely for students to
receive exposure to students of different cultures
and ethnic groups, and thus less likely to develop
the respect for diversity critical for unity.
• However, there is some convergence in secondary
school.
• Most students from the various primary schools
enrol in a single secondary school format; the
SMK.
 UNITY IN EDUCATION
• Nevertheless, some students still receive limited
exposure to diversity; for example, a child who
transfers from a SJK(C) to an independent
Chinese school or that moves from an SK to a
National religious secondary school or Sekolah
Menengah Kebangsaan Agama (SMKA).
• In addition, there is a small but growing minority of
students that leave the public education system
and enrol in private schools, and therefore move
beyond the Ministry’s sphere of influence.
DIVERSITY OF SCHOOLS IN MALAYSIAN
EDUCATION
• The Malaysian education system comprises over
20 schooling options at both the primary and
secondary levels.
DIVERSITY OF SCHOOLS IN MALAYSIAN
EDUCATION
• Public primary schools.
• The primary level comprises three main types of
schools: SK, SJK(C), and SJK(T).
• Each type of school is defined by different
mediums of instruction and jointly accounts for
almost 99% of total primary enrolments.
• In addition, there are numerous school types
serving niche groups, such as religious (Islamic)
and special education schools.
DIVERSITY OF SCHOOLS IN MALAYSIAN
EDUCATION
• Public secondary schools.
• The secondary school system is marked by the
convergence of most students from the different
types of primary schools into a single school
format.
• These National secondary schools (SMK) are
taught in Bahasa Malaysia.
DIVERSITY OF SCHOOLS IN MALAYSIAN
EDUCATION
• SMKs comprise 88% of total secondary
enrolments.
• A small but growing percentage of students also
opt for alternative schools such as religious
schools.
• Upon completion of lower secondary school (Form
3), students also have a choice to pursue
alternate pathways at technical, vocational, sports,
arts, and other schooling options.
DIVERSITY OF SCHOOLS IN MALAYSIAN
EDUCATION
• Private schools.
• A small but growing number of students enrol in
private schools.
• These schools operate at both the primary and
secondary level and include private schools that
teach the national curriculum, international schools,
religious schools, and Independent Chinese schools.
• Currently, private schools comprise 1% of total
primary enrolments and 4% of total secondary
enrolments.
DIVERSITY OF SCHOOLS IN MALAYSIAN
EDUCATION
• Surf the internet to get more information on this
topic.
 SPECIAL NEEDS

• Special needs education is the practice of

educating students with special needs in a way
that addresses their individual differences and
needs.
• Ideally, this process involves the individually
planned and systematically monitored
arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted
equipment and materials, accessible settings.
 SPECIAL NEEDS

• These interventions are designed to help learners

with special needs achieve a higher level of
personal self-sufficiency and success in school
and their community, than may be available if the
student were only given access to a typical
classroom education.
 SPECIAL NEEDS

Signs of Learning Disabilities:

•Trouble learning the alphabet, rhyming words, and
connecting letters to sounds.
•Making many mistakes when reading aloud
•Not understanding what they are reading
•Awkward pencil grip and poor handwriting skills
•Trouble understanding jokes and sarcasm
•Trouble following multiple directions
 SPECIAL NEEDS

Signs of Learning Disabilities:

•Trouble organising thoughts and what they want to
say
•Not following social rules of conversation
•Confusing mathematical symbols and numbers
•Not being able to tell a story in order
•Not knowing where to begin a task
•Emotional and/or social issues
•Trouble sleeping or getting along with family
 CAUSES AND RISK FACTORS

• No one knows for sure what causes learning

disorders. Sometimes there is no apparent
reason.
• Studies have shown that possible risk factors
include:
 Heredity
 Problems during Pregnancy or Birth
 Accidents After Birth
 Social-Environment Factors
 INDIVIDUAL NEEDS

• A special education program should be customised

to address each individual student's unique needs.
• Special educators provide a continuum of services,
in which students with special needs receives
varying degrees of support based on their
individual needs.
• Special education programmes need to be
individualised so that they address the unique
combination of needs in a given student.
 SPECIAL SCHOOLS

• A special school is a school catering for students

who have special educational needs due to severe
learning difficulties, physical disabilities or
behavioural problems.
• Special schools may be specifically designed,
staffed and resourced to provide appropriate
special education for children with additional
needs.
• Students attending special schools generally do
not attend any classes in mainstream schools.
 SPECIAL SCHOOLS

• An alternative is a special unit or special

classroom, also called a self-contained classroom,
which is a separate room or rooms dedicated
solely to the education of students with special
needs within a larger school that also provides
general education.
• These classrooms are typically staffed by specially
trained teachers, who provide specific,
individualized instruction to individuals and small
groups of students with special needs.
 INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

• Different instructional techniques are used for

some students with special educational needs.
• Instructional strategies are classified as being
either:
 Accommodations
 Modifications
 INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

• An accommodation is a reasonable adjustment to

teaching practices so that the student learns the
same material, but in a format that is more accessible
to the student.
• Accommodations may be classified by whether they
change the presentation, response, setting, or
scheduling of lessons.
• For example, the school may accommodate a
student with visual impairments by providing a large-
print textbook. This is a presentation accommodation.
 INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Examples of accomodations:
•Response accommodations
•Presentation accommodations
•Setting accommodations
•Scheduling accommodations
 INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES
• A modification changes or adapts the material to make
it simpler.
• Modifications may change what is learned, how difficult
the material is, what level of mastery the student is
expected to achieve, whether and how the student is
assessed, or any another aspect of the curriculum.
• For example, the school may modify a reading
assignment for a student with reading difficulties by
substituting a shorter, easier book. A student may
receive both accommodations and modifications.
 INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Examples of modifications:
•Skipping subjects
•Simplified assignments
•Shorter assignments
•Extra aids
•Extended time
 SUMMARY

• The quality of an education system encompasses

multiple dimensions.
• The assessment of quality in this chapter focuses
largely on the intellectual dimension of academic
student outcomes, with the benefit of available
and measurable data.
• It is acknowledged that the numbers alone tell only
one side of the story.
 SUMMARY

• There are other critical aspects vital to the quality

of education such as a student’s spiritual,
emotional, and physical development.
• Nonetheless, children who are unable to master
core intellectual skills such as literacy and
numeracy, as well as higher-order thinking, will be
less likely to succeed in today’s rapidly changing
economy and globalised society.
THE END