MALAYSIAN PRE-SERVICE PRIMARY MATHEMATICS TEACHERS AND THEIRLECTURERS: PRACTICE AND BELIEFS ABOUT MATHEMATICS, TEACHINGAND LEARNING

MALAYSIAN PRE-SERVICE PRIMARY MATHEMATICS TEACHERS AND THEIR LECTURERS: PRACTICE AND BELIEFS ABOUT MATHEMATICS, TEACHINGAND LEARNING by See Fong Ng A Thesis submitted to the School of Ed

MALAYSIAN PRE-SERVICE PRIMARY MATHEMATICS TEACHERS AND THEIR LECTURERS: PRACTICE AND BELIEFS ABOUT MATHEMATICS, TEACHING

AND LEARNING

by

See Fong Ng

A Thesis submitted to the School of Education of the Uni‘ersit- of Birmingham

for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

1995

Supervised by Prof Leone Burton

This thesis assesses the beliefs held by 32 Malaysian pre-service primary mathematics

teachers and their 4 mathematics lecturers about mathematics, mathematics teaching andlearning The research aim was to explore how these beliefs, acquired from their schoolexperiences, interacted with their teacher training college programme The college lecturersused a didactic paradigm to inform the pre-service teachers about the non-didactic paradigm

of the New Primary School Curriculum, KBSR The impact on the pre-service teachers of aseries of intervention activities, constructed according to the KBSR recommendations, wasinvestigated The influence of pre-service teachers' beliefs on their micro-teaching in collegeand practical teaching in schools was also examined

Research methodology was interpretivist-ethnography coupled with action research Datawas collected using participant-observation and continuous interviewing techniques,

verification of data was through triangulation Analysis was qualitative, w, ith interpretation ofdata accounted for in terms of the Malaysian context, perceptions of the participants of thestudy and the researcher

This research showed that though lecturers claimed to want to broaden the pre-service

teachers' perspectives of mathematics, they had to suspend that aim because they had to tryand help pre-service teachers improve their NL eak subject-matter knowledge Both the

lecturers and the pre-service teachers continued to have a textbook and rules based view ofmathematics The pre-service teachers espoused the belief that they wanted to teach

according to the KBSR, an expression borne out of the necessity to fulfil college assessmentneeds In their actual teaching, pre-service teachers were didacts Lecturers' investment oftheir self in their work was partly affected by the practices of positive discrimination Animportant theme to have emerged from the interviews with the participants of this study N ‘ asthe cultivation of fear, a result of punitive teachers as well as the nature of assessments Fearaffected the pre-service teachers' learning and teaching behaviour and the lecturers' work

The research is seen to have implications for teacher education and mathematics teachingitself through the re-evaluation of the effects of the Malaysian government policy on positivediscrimination and continuous professional development of teachers.

This thesis is dedicated to

my mother, Lim Yee Yoke

and

the memory of my father, Ng Lum

The list of people I wish to thank is long From the first days of my planning to the presentation

of the thesis, I have been supported by my family, friends, staff at the University of

Birmingham and colleagues

My supervisor, Prof Leone Burton of the University of Birmingham has been a continual

source of moral and intellectual support Her patience has been limitless, reading drafts upondrafts of my writing, providing me with thoughtful and critical comments

Special mention must be accorded to Dicon Montford, Andrew Tee and Hilary Povey, forgraciously giving time to read my work so thoroughly Their thoughtful and responsive

comments have helped to improve my work

I extend my gratitude to John Shearwood and the staff of the University of Birmingham fortheir support during my entire stay there

The contribution of the members of BSERG has helped in my growth as a researcher Myinteraction with them has helped to broaden my perspective of research

Particular note of thanks to my colleague in Malaysia, See Thean Seng, who helped to translatethe questionnaire into Bahasa Malaysia

Two people that I particularly wish to thank for the part they have played in my life as a teacherare the de La Salle Brothers, Brother Ultan Paul and Brother Vincent Corkery Their influence

on my life as a teacher has been immense

I want to thank my colleagues and students in Ipoh for their well-wishes and moral support InBirmingham, my gratitude goes to my research colleagues: Wilson Kofi Agbeke, RichardTabulawa, Noraini Che Hashim, Syed Nawawi, Tracy Lee, Alphonsus Yakubu, Alex Tang,

Derek Adams, Robina Mirembe, Jodhi Salleh, Changu Mannathoko, Claudia Marston and RaulPardinaz-Solis.

I also extend my thanks to the University of Birmingham who part sponsored my study

I extend my gratitude to the men and women whom I interviewed Their willingness to openand share their views with a total stranger has helped to make this thesis possible Specialthanks to the college where I did my ethnographic research, for their warm reception and giving

me access to their college activities

I want to extend my gratitude to my friends in England, particularly Selma and Adrian

Montford and their family for making my stay in England richer in so many ways

Finally my thanks to my family for not asking me to fulfil the expectations of a traditionalChinese family, but letting me actualise my aspirations

Table of Contents

2.4 Structure of the Present Education System in Malaysia 12

2.6.4 The Role and Significance of Examinations In Malaysian Society 19

i

2.6.4.1 Exclusion from Examinations 21

3 Chapter Three: KBSR: The New Primary School Curriculum 30

3.3 Differences between the Traditional Curriculum and the ICBSR 32

3.4 The Specific Aims Of Mathematics Education Under the ICBSR 35

3.5.1.1 Hasty Implementatio n Resulting In The Lack Of Training And Professionalism

3.5.1.2 Centralised Control And Hierarchical Organisational Structure Of Education 43

3.5.1.3 The Particular Socio-Political Context Of Malaysia 44

4 Chapter Four: Review of the Literature on Beliefs 49

4.1 Introduction 49

4.4.1.1 The Need for Philosophical Discourse Around Mathematics 56

4.4.1.2 Teachers' Beliefs about Mathematics based on Empirical Evidence 58

4.4.1.3 Empirical Findings About Teachers' Beliefs about Mathematics Using Perry's

4.4.1.4 Skemp's Perception of Mathematics Teachers' Views of Mathematics 61

4.6 The Relationship Between Teachers' Beliefs About Mathematics And Their

4.10 What Do I Hope To Gain By Using This Theory To Underpin My Study? 87

111

4.12 Statement of the Problem

4.13 Conclusion

5 Chapter Five: Methodology

5.1 Introduction

5.2 The Choice of Ethnographic Research

5.2.1 Confidentiality And The Potential Consequences Of Information

5.2.2 Rapport with the Participants

5.5 Writing Up: Presenting the Findings

6 Chapter Six: The Research Design

6.1 Rationale for Design

6.2 Pilot study in Birmingham

•

888990

90

92

96969797

98104105108

109

113118120

121122

123123123

iv

6.3 Gaining Leave for my Study 125

6.9 Getting Down To The Fieldwork: Meeting The Participants Of The Study 131

6.9.2 Questionnaires and Interviews With Pre-service teachers 132

7 Chapter Seven: Background of The Lecturers and Pre-Service Teachers 139

7.2 Sex, Ethnicity and Academic Qualifications of the Participants 139

7.2.3 Sex, Ethnicity And Qualification s Of Pre-Service Teachers 140

v

7.3 Were The Pre-service Teachers Happy With Their Career Choice? 144

7.3.2 Mathematics Teaching As A Stepping Stone To Better Future Prospects 1477.3.3 Teacher Training As A Form Of Sponsored Higher Education 147

7.4 Malaysian Mathematics Lecturers Views About The Pre-Service Teachers 148

7.6.1 Why Were There More Pre-Service Teachers With Lower Mathematics Grades In

7.6.3 Why Were There More Malays With Low Mathematics Grades Chosen? 161

8 Chapter Eight: Lecturers and Pre-service Teachers' Beliefs About Mathematics Based on

8.2.2 In What Ways Did These Lecturers Try To Present A Broader View Of Mathematics

8.2.3 Findings Based On The Lecturers' Accounts And The Input By The Head Of

8.3.1 Findings Based On The Pre-service Teachers' Accounts 182

vi

9 Chapter Nine: Lecturers' and Pre-service Teachers' Beliefs about Mathematics Teaching

9.2.4 Lecturers' Reasons for the Difficulties Faced by the Pre-service Teachers in

Implementing the Instructional Practices of the KBSR 194

9.4 Pre-service Teachers' Beliefs about Mathematics Teaching and Learning 200

9.4.2 Pre-Service Teachers' Views of How They Were Taught And How They Learned

9.4.3 Pre-Service Teachers' View Of Good And Weak Mathematics Students 204

9.5 Beliefs Acquired As A Result Of Their College Experiences 209

10.2.1 Observable Characteristics of Micro-teaching Sessions 232

VII

10.2.3 Pre-service Teachers' Perceptions of Micro-teaching 234

11.5 Activity Four: Odd and Even Number Activity 256

11.8 Pre-service Teachers' Evaluation Of The Activities 270

11.9 Lessons Learned From The Intervention Phase Of The Fieldwork 271

12.2.1 Algorithmic, Drill and Rote Learning: An Exercise in Futility? 27612.2.2 Another Example of Drill and Rote Learning: A Matter of Conversion 290

12.3 Teacher versus Pupil-Centred Teaching 293

12.4 Collaborative Group Work And Activity Based Teaching And Learning 298

12.4.4 Pre-service Teachers' Beliefs About Children's Mathematical Knowledge 312

12.6 Mathematics Knowledge of Pre-service Teachers 321

12.7 The Role Of Reflection In The Lives Of The Pre-Service Teachers 329

13 Chapter Thirteen: Fear And Mathematics Anxiety 335

13.4 Coping Behaviours Adopted By The Pre-Service Teachers To Deal With

13.5 The Adverse Effects Of Punitive Teaching On The Teaching And Learning Of

13.6 Teaching and Learning Mathematics To Pass Examinations: Another Source of

ix

13.7 Managing of Students During Class And Group Activities: Who Knows What

14.3.2 The Need For Continuous Professional Development In Mathematics Teacher

14.4 Contributio n From Policy Makers And Practitioners 368

Appendix B: The Philosophy of Primary Education in Malaysia 2

Appendix D: Interview Questions for the Pre-service Teachers 6

AppendixE: Approval Letters 19Appendix F: Introduction to the Pre-service Teachers (Bahasa Malaysia Version) 29

Appendix G: Self-Evaluation Form for Practical Teaching 30

x

Appendix J: Questionnaire on Micro-Teaching 34

xi

List of Photographic Plates

Photo 10.1 Wooden solids available in the college and those made by Zul and Zamna 226

Photo 10.5 Showing pre-service teachers pre-occupied with their own work 233

Photo 10.6 Showing pre-service teachers sleeping during micro-teaching 234

Photo 12.2: Another pre-service teacher using a similar long division teaching aid: Notice (i)

pupils left out of activity and (ii) the multiplication tables pinned on the

Photo 12.3: Spectator mathematics and pupil working individually in front of the class 297

Photo 12.4: Spectator mathematics and pupil inserting number into pocket 297

Photo 12.7: A core group of pupils engaged in the activity, others looking on 309

Photo 12.8: Pupils looking very bored during a mathematics activity 310

Photo 12.10: Pupils answering quiz questions on cardboard 316

i

Photo 12.12: 'Attractive' teaching aids 320

ii

List of Tables

Table 6.1: Table showing the different levels where approval had to be gained 127

List of Charts and Attachments

Chart 7.1: Distribution of Pre-service Teachers According to Ethnicity and Sex 141

Chart 7.2: Distribution of Pre-service Teachers Across States 141

Chart 7.3: Distribution of Modern Maths Grades Across Races 142

Chart 7.4: Distribution of Modern Maths Grades Across Pre-service Teachers 143

Chart 7.5: Pre-service Teachers' Responses to their Career Choice 144

Cartoonist's impression of a Malaysian mathematics classroom 342

Chapter One

Introduction

1.1 Background To The Study

Lat: I just can't get this into my head

Frankie: Then there's something wrong with you This is Form

Three work You are two years behind time!!! (Lat, 1981)

I want to unpick the above conversation and the message illustrated by the cartoon strip on thefollowing page to convey to the reader the situation of mathematics teaching and learning inMalaysia in the 1960s and the evolution of mathematics education since then The conversationbetween two Malaysian boys was illustrated by Lat, a Malaysian cartoonist famous for hisperceptive depiction of Malaysian life in the late 1960s In the strip, Lat, a Malay, was

explaining to Frankie, a Chinese, his difficulties with his form three (15 +) mathematics.Frankie subsequently helped Lat, adopting the transmission teaching style which I experienced

in school, later practised as a teacher, and observed primary teachers using in their primaryclassrooms The transmission pedagogy continues to flourish

Over a period of about thirty years, various attempts have been made to improve the teachingand learning of mathematics, the latest of which is the New Primary School Curriculum betterknown by its Malaysian acronym KBSR, introduced in 1983 Despite all the various reforms, itappears from ministerial and academicians' reports that the situation is little changed

5;rnelity 41 as a.

2 ci 2 + ab 3b b' - _

7— tiere fo r— e (41",)(q-12) _

(ca-b )(2a + 3b)

Cartoonist's impression of the didactic paradigm

•

Mathematics is perceived by Malaysians as a difficult subject As a teacher of mathematics

with thirteen years experience, I found that difficulty with mathematics cuts across all groups:ethnic, social class and gender However, it is a common stereotype that Malays, compared tothe non-Malays, are weaker in mathematics In the early nineties, Malay politicians chose to

highlight these differences, principally because of the "deteriorating performance of students

especially those in the rural areas" (New Sunday Times, 1/12/1991) The performance of these

students was judged based on their examination results After the politicians voiced their views

a few academicians and teachers were interviewed to present their perspectives on this issue

(e.g New Straits Times, 25/07/12992, 7/10/1992) Because the issue of learners' epistemology

was not addressed, suggestions to try and improve the situation went round in circles, finallyending in calls to adopt the Malaysian Chinese schools' style of teaching and learning

mathematics, namely drill and rote learning, methods already in place in existing schools Drilland rote learning is seen as effective for some students, especially when the system of

education emphasises paper and pencil assessments to test the amount that students canremember However, my experience suggests that such students lack the confidence to applythe mathematics they have learnt to problem-solving situations They have difficulty voicingtheir views and doubts and engaging in mathematical discourse Another more insidious butrelated problem is the dependency of learners on the authority of the teachers and the textbook

With the KBSR, the education authorities hoped to introduce a more humanitarian and

egalitarian concept of learning to primary children than the one offered by the old curriculum.However my observation, and information gleaned from press reports, primary teachers,primary children and their parents all suggests that these aims of the KBSR have yet to berealised It is the intention of this thesis to try and answer why the reforms of the KBSR havenot taken root in schools

While the KBSR calls for a non-didactic approach to teaching and learning which is not

consistent with the teaching-learning experiences of the teachers, ministerial statements

advocate the already widespread practice of rote learning (see New Straits Times, 25/10/91) In

the UK, Burton (1992a) wrote about a similar confusion "The United Kingdom National

Curriculum is experienced by teachers in a confusing manner because different messages arecarried by different parts of the documentation and by ministerial statements." (Burton, 1992a,

p 381)

1.2 The Focus of this Study

For the past thirty years Malaysian students have been offered mathematics as a body of knowledge through a teacher-centred, transmission paradigm With the introduction of theKBSR in 1983, it was expected that students would be exposed to a more experiential learning,what 'progressives' termed 'pupil-centred' learning The introduction of experiential learning to

a society familiar with only the didactic teaching-learning paradigm posed the followingquestions for me:

• Teachers and learners, exposed to school mathematics via the didactic paradigm wouldhave constructed for themselves certain beliefs about mathematics, teaching and

learning, that are consistent with their past experiences What are these beliefs?

• With the introduction of the KBSR, there is the expectation that teachers will adopt theKBSR pedagogy it seems to me that it would be problematic for both practising and pre-service teachers to fulfil this expectation as they are only familiar with the didacticparadigm In Malaysia, it is a common practice to recruit practising teachers to be

lecturers in teacher training colleges What efforts are made to prepare practising

teachers, college lecturers and pre-service teachers, to fulfil the expectations of theKBSR?

• What are the mathematics lecturers' and pre-service teachers' understanding of the KBSRepistemology?

• Would an intervention programme, which employed activities based on the KBSR

recommendations, have any impact on the pre-service teachers beliefs?

• How far do lecturers' and pre-service teachers' espoused beliefs matched their enactedbeliefs?

I thus chose to study the beliefs acquired by lecturers and pre-service teachers about

mathematics, mathematics teaching and learning, as a framework by which to investigate howtheir past experiences interacted with their ability to take on board the reforms of the KBSR Ichose to study the practices of lecturers because I concur with Servais who wrote that

Teacher trainees should be instructed by highly competent teachers

who display in their own teaching the qualities required of the future

teacher (1971, p.244)

I focused this study on pre-service primary mathematics teachers because I feel that theprimary years are, for most learners of mathematics, the critical period where they eitherdevelop a positive attitude to learning mathematics or reject it As teachers are the initial linksthrough which children formally encounter mathematics, and because the attitude of teacherstowards mathematics can be transmitted to their pupils, it is of paramount importance to ensurethat these initial, formal links are well explored Hungarian researchers, Halmos and Varga,emphasised that teachers were crucial to the teaching of mathematics when they wrote that

Mathematics has the qualities of appealing to pupils - especially if it

appeals to their teachers - and this we feel, is an immense reserve not

sufficiently exploited (1978, p 229)

I concur with Varga's statement that

reform stands or falls by the teachers; their training and re-training,

at every level, is fundamental (1971, p.12)

Though beliefs of the lecturers and pre-service teachers was the main focus of my study, Ifound that I had also to address themes such as fear of learning mathematics, professionaldevelopment of lecturers and social justice Though I did not originally intend these issues to

be part of my study, the methods I used presented the participants of the study with the

opportunity to raise them

1.3 Outline Of The Thesis

To familiarise the reader with the Malaysian situation, I introduce the political and social

background of Malaysia in Chapter Two I describe the multi-ethnic nature of Malaysian

society, and the setting up of different kinds of government sponsored schools in Malaysia Idiscuss the nature, role and influence of assessment in Malaysia and the creation of a tuitionculture within Malaysian society In Chapter Three, I describe the introduction of the KBSRand its specific aims for mathematics education The major difference between the old primarycurriculum and the KBSR is the change from a didactic to a non-didactic teaching paradigm,

emphasising pupil-centred, collaborative, activities- and resource-based teaching, all of whichappear alien to the Malaysian teaching culture.

The theory of beliefs underpinning this study is discussed in Chapter Four Having establishedthe theory I defend my methodological stance in Chapter Five, justifying my choice of researchmethods In Chapter Six, I describe my research design and the actual process of my fieldwork.The participants in the research are introduced in Chapter Seven, where I explain, in the context

of the literature, the effects of positive discrimination as practised in Malaysia Chapter Eightexamines the lecturers' and the pre-service teachers' espoused beliefs about mathematics,followed, in Chapter Nine, by the lecturers' and the pre-service teachers' descriptions of howthey were told about the KBSR methods and the methods that the pre-service teachers intend touse in their teaching practice Chapter Ten describes the use of micro-teaching on the pre-service teachers' course, its intentions, outcomes and the inconsistency between espoused andenacted beliefs My attempts to present pre-service teachers with alternative views of

mathematics, teaching and learning, consistent with the aims of KBSR are presented in ChapterEleven I offer various reasons why this attempt failed and use the experience to explain thedifficulties of lecturers trying to introduce changes to a non-receptive audience Chapter

Twelve explores the pre-service teachers' attempts to put into practice the KBSR methods asthey go on practicum in schools In interviews with pre-service teachers, the effect of anxietyand fear on their teaching-learning behaviour and their attitudes towards mathematics became acentral issue and is explored in Chapter Thirteen In Chapter Fourteen, I address the issue ofsocial justice and the education system, and the need for continuous professional development

in mathematics teacher education, and make suggestions to address the situation in teachereducation in Malaysia

in the later part of this thesis in context.

2.2 Political Context

The immigration to Malaysia of large numbers of Chinese and, to a lesser extent, Indians in thelate Nineteenth Century created a pluralistic society According to the Fifth Malaysia Plan(1986-1990) Malaysian society was composed of 60% Bumiputra l while the rest were Chinese(31%), Indians (8%) and others (less than 1%)

For a variety of reasons, including economic compartmentalisation along racial lines practised

by colonial authorities, and cultural and religious allegiances owed by the immigrant groups totheir respective homelands, the cultural assimilation which might otherwise have occurred wasretarded The divisiveness had been accentuated by the affluence of a section of the Chineseand the continued poverty of the indigenous Malays This economic differentiation resulted inthe Chinese being concentrated in the urban areas and the Malays in less developed rural areas.The major post-independence issue facing Malaysian politicians had been the attempt to create

a nation that would at once recognise the claims of the politically dominant but economically

1 "Bumiputra" literally means "princes of the soil" They comprised primarily ethnic Malays, the variousnative tribes of Sabah and Sarawak and the very small numbers of aboriginal peoples of West Malaysia

backward Malays without alienating the other ethnic groups A compromised position thatstraddled two conflicting aims was struck - the preservation of the language and culture of eachcommunity and at the same time the attempt to unite all races within a common nationalidentity that is predominantly Malay and Islamic.

The government's attempts to redress the economic imbalance resulted in the launching of the

"New Economic Policy" (NEP) in early 1970, which aimed to

• reduce and eventually eradicate poverty;

• restructure society to eliminate the identification of race with economic power;

• create a Bumiputra commercial and industrial community so that by 1990, 30% of themodern sector would be owned and managed by it

The NEP became the physical underpinning of the drive to redress the differences between theMalays and the economically advanced groups Special privileges for the Malays were writteninto the Independence Constitution of 1957 This included the operation of reserved status orquotas for Malays in respect of land, public services and certain businesses, including theallocation of scholarships and educational grants

The education system is seen as a crucial instrument in the realisation of the NEP as well as inthe development of a sense of nationhood Education is seen as the tool to meet Malaysia'smanpower needs, in particular to train Bumiputras for the professions as well as to promote thenational language, Bahasa Malaysia The introduction of Bahasa Malaysia as the medium ofinstruction was implemented in stages from 1970, and was in use at all levels of education by

1982 The government sought various means to strengthen the education system to promotenational unity, and to provide trained manpower in science, technology and management This

is made even clearer with Malaysia's declaration of intent to achieve industrialised nation status

by the year 2020

2.3 Organisation and Structure of the Education System

The development of the Malaysian education system fell within three distinct periods, namelypre-independence (pre 1957), post-independence (1957-1969) and post 1970 Each period isdescribed in the following sub-sections

2.3.1 Pre-Independent Period (Pre 1957)

The education system of Malaysia can only be understood in the context of a pre- and colonial Malaysia Malaysia was a colony of Britain until independence in 1957 During Britishrule, especially during the late Nineteenth Century, large numbers of Chinese migrated to whatwas then known as Malaya to seek a better way of life They worked in the tin mines andstarted small businesses They were concentrated around the commercial centres of the westcoast of peninsular Malaya At about the same time, Indians, mainly from South India, wererecruited to work in Malaya as indentured labour on rubber plantations as well as to be

post-construction workers on roads and railways Thus Indians were concentrated in large rubberplantations Bumiputras being more involved in agriculture were concentrated in the ruralareas

The education that emerged during the colonial period fell broadly into two types, namelyvernacular and English education The former was represented by Malay, Chinese and Tamilschools Vernacular schools, with the exception of Chinese schools, were found mainly in therural areas English schools were centred in urban areas serving the majority of the immigrantcommunity there There was no centralised curriculum in any of these schools The Malayschools were more religious in nature, focusing on the teachings of the Koran Chinese schoolsused imported teachers and textbooks from mainland China and were greatly influenced by theCommunist ideology then sweeping mainland China Malay and Tamil schools provided basicprimary education for their own community The Chinese schools provided limited

opportunities for secondary education

Malay schools were maintained by the colonial government, while Chinese and Indian schoolswere set up and supported by their own communities English schools, supported by the Britishand missionary bodies, provided an English oriented education for the mixed urban population.Initially Chinese schools received no financial support from the British government but weresolely maintained by the Chinese community However the British government found it

necessary to exert a certain amount of control over Chinese schools when they started

exhibiting revolutionary sentiments Thus modest grants were made towards the running ofChinese schools from 1924 onwards

Tamil vernacular schools in Malaya were set up in the 1870s wherever there were estatesemploying Indian labourers Tamil vernacular schools, like Malay schools were confined toprimary level There was no possibility of advancement for Tamil students who remained onthe estates ensuring a steady supply of cheap labour

The first fully residential school (FRS), Malay College Kuala Kangsar, was set up in 1905 toprovide an elitist education up to '0' level for the sons of the Malay dignitaries Tunku Kursiah,the first FRS for girls was set up in 1948 for a similar purpose (Wan Fauzi, 1989) (See section2.4 below for further elaboration of FRS)

2.3.2 Post Independent Period (1957-1969)

The above education system existed up to the Second World War in Malaya Between the warand independence a number of reports sought to integrate the various kinds of schools in

Malaya The 1956 Report of the Education Committee, better known as the Razak Report madeseventeen recommendations to create a better education system for independent Malaya Themore important ones called for

a The conversion of existing primary schools to Standard Schools (Malay Medium) andStandard-Type Schools (Chinese, Tamil and English medium schools)

b Malay and English to be compulsory subjects for all primary and secondary schools.

c Establishment of one type of National Secondary School open to all races by competitiveselection and with a common syllabus, a flexible curriculum permitting the study of allMalayan languages and cultures and room for diversity in the media of instruction

d Establishment of the second generation FRS, in the 1960s, which conformed with thegovernment policy to imbue citizens with a strong sense of responsibility towards selfand the society (Wan Fauzi, 1989)

During this period the foundation of the Malaysian education system was laid with three maincharacteristics First, the introduction of free six years primary education and three years lowersecondary education, allowing for a minimum of nine years of schooling Second, automaticpromotion from one level to the next during the first nine years of education Third, a commonsyllabus for all vernacular schools using different languages with the proviso that English andMalay language would be compulsory subjects

2.3.3 Post 1970 Period

The third period began in 1970 after a period of racial strife Greater efforts were made by thegovernment to try to unite the various races in the country This period saw the proclamation ofRukunegara (National Ideology), the adoption of the New Economic Policy (NEP) and a

change in the medium of instruction from English to Bahasa Malaysia The third generation ofFRS was established to correct the acute imbalance in the provision of educational

opportunities between urban and rural areas (Wan Fauzi, 1989)

This system of education continued until 1983 when KBSR, the Malaysian acronym for

Kurikulum Baru Sekolah Rendah or the New Primary National Curriculum was introduced.Various types of schools were renamed as follows:

a National Schools where the medium of instruction was Bahasa Malaysia

b National Primary Schools which formerly used English as the medium of instruction buthave changed to Bahasa Malaysia since 1975.

c National Type Primary Schools which continued to use either Chinese or Tamil language

as the medium of instruction

2.4 Structure of the Present Education System in Malaysia

2.4.1 Primary Education

The structure of the present education system in Malaysia is illustrated in Appendix A Until

1987, primary students sat for a national level examination at primary five, the results of whichwere used to select students for fully residential schools (see section 2.5 below) at the

secondary level With the introduction of KBSR in 1983 this examination was abolished andreplaced with UPSR (Primary School Assessment Examination) another national level

examination at primary six for students of 12+

2.4.2 Lower secondary Education (Forms One to Three)

From Form One (Grade 7) Bahasa Malaysia is the only medium of instruction in State schools.Students from Chinese and Tamil medium primary schools spend a year in Remove Class

before entering Form One in order to acquire proficiency in Bahasa Malaysia Chinese studentscan opt to continue their education in one of the sixty Chinese medium schools At the end ofForm Three students (aged 15+) sit for a centralised examination known as the Sijil RendahPelajaran (SRP, Lower Certificate of Education, LCE) Depending on their results, they areselected for admission to Upper Secondary level where they are streamed either into the

academic Science or Arts, or technical and vocational streams Only those students who haveachieved strong credits in mathematics and science are allocated into the science stream, theallocation being centrally determined and monitored by the Ministry of Education Technicaland vocational streams are available but places are very limited at these schools

2.4.3 Upper Secondary Education (Forms Four to Six)

After two years most students (age 17+) sit for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM, MalaysianCertificate of Education, MCE), which is a terminal examination Students with good results inthis examination are selected for the Post-Secondary or Pre-University levels of Education andrecently for university studies Students in the technical and vocational schools sit for the SijilPelajaran Vokesyenal Malaysia (SPVM, Malaysian Vocational Certificate of Education) andthose with good results can continue with their vocational studies at a polytechnic

Students sit for a minimum of six subjects and a maximum of nine Bahasa Malaysia is acompulsory subject The certificates are graded overall one, two or three The individual

subjects are graded 1 - 9 Grades 1-6 represent a "credit" pass corresponding to the ordinarylevel ('O' level) General Certificate of Education (GCE) SPM represents a major hurdle forstudents This is primarily caused by the pass conditions attached to Bahasa Malaysia A pass

in Bahasa Malaysia is required to pass the examination and a credit in Bahasa Malaysia isrequired for a grade one pass and for entry to all government sponsored tertiary level education.There are many cases where students receive grade two certificates though they had securedseven or eight distinctions because they have failed to secure a credit in Bahasa Malaysia

2.4.4 Pre-University Levels

Post-SPM students can follow two types of programmes They can either proceed with theirsixth form education and prepare for Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM, HigherSchool Certificate of Education, HSC), for students of 19+, which is a major determinant forentry into one of the six universities or follow one of the matriculation programmes organised

by one of the six local universities

At the tertiary level, there are several types of institutions with different programmes Studentscan either enter tertiary level after completing the SPM and follow programmes at one of thepolytechnics or the teacher training colleges Others can enter the local universities With only

six universities and a handful of polytechnics, the places for tertiary education in Malaysia areextremely limited and the attrition rate is very high as demonstrated by the following example.

In 1985 46,636 students attended 6th form and in 1987 only 9,545 of them were selected for thelocal universities Of these 9,545 places preference was given to those who were already

enrolled in university preliminary or introductory courses These courses offered by most of thesix universities are restricted to Bum iputras and offer an alternative access route for science-based degree programmes from that provided by the 6th form

Other than these universities and polytechnics, the Ministry of Education also runs teachertraining colleges which are found in nearly all of the states There are at present 28 TeacherTraining Colleges, preparing teachers for the primary and lower secondary schools Teachersfor upper secondary and pre-university levels are prepared by Faculties or Schools of Education

in the local universities and, lately by teacher training colleges

The above description focuses mainly on the institutions or programmes carried out by theMinistry of Education There are, however, a number of private institutions in Malaysia whichprovide pre-university courses including matriculation courses to universities abroad In thepast three years a number of these private institutions have started twinning programmes withforeign universities Under the twinning programme, students finish the initial two years oftheir university education in Malaysia, followed by a final year in the co-operating university

2.5 Fully Residential Schools (FRSs)

From the early 1970s onwards, additional measures were taken to increase the number ofstudents from the rural areas into the science stream Students who did exceptionally well in theUPSR and the SRP were selected to enrol in fully residential science secondary schools and theMARA Junior Science Colleges It is the objective of FRSs to provide better educational

opportunities for students in rural districts (hereafter rural students) and to increase the number

of Bum iputra students aiming to meet the country's manpower requirements FRSs offer all

necessary facilities in a school climate that is conducive to the attainment of the objective ofexcellence The per capita cost of running thirty-one FRS located all over the country is fourtimes higher than that of day school students (Wan Fauzi, 1989).

Bum iputras, particularly those from a rural background, have the advantage of being selected to

an FRS The urban-rural ratio of Bumiputra students selected into FRS is 1:3 and 10 percent of

the places are allocated to non-Bumiputras (Wan Fauzi, 1989) Students are selected for FormOne admission based on their UPSR results and their socio-economic status A further selectionand placement of students from other schools into FRS at Form Four is based on SRP

examinations results and the number of places available My personal observations suggest thatnon-Bum iputra students choose not to attend FRS because of the unequal presence of thevarious ethnic groups

From this it is clear that Malaysian students are tracked and streamed from a very young age Ibelieve that the Bumiputra students experience a great deal of stress as they try to secure the

additional but limited advantages that very few could gain from the FRS at Form One and later

from the special courses organised by the local universities Similarly non-Bumiputras studentshave to compete for the limited number of places in government sponsored institutions oftertiary education Thus competition among all students is very stiff and those Bumiputrastudents who continue their sixth form education in national schools have not been selected forone of the alternatives available to them As academic achievement is one of the criteria used toselect them for these courses it suggests that those who were not selected did not do that well inall the various public examinations, possibly acquiring a low self-image of themselves

2.6 Assessment

In the following section I discuss the dominance of examinations in Malaysia and how

assessment has influenced the pedagogy in mathematics classrooms, though I will also makereference to other subjects My intention is to inform the reader of the curricular concern that

Chapter Two: The Education System in Malaysia 15

influenced public policy and its implementation in schools, the methods used to assessMalaysian students' competence in mathematics, and the messages the results of these

assessments have for various interest groups such as administrators, teachers, students, parentsand politicians

2.6.1 Examination Dominance in Malaysia

As a former British colony, Malaysia continues to have close links with Britain in matters ofeducation "Malaysia inherited an examination structure from the British through the

Cambridge School Certificate examinations which influenced the curricula and teaching andlearning methods in schools" (Singh, 1990, p 179) With independence a centralised systemwas introduced with public examinations at key levels restricting opportunities to moveupwards in the system According to Singh (1990)

Malaysia typifies the major maladies of the diploma disease - a

centralised examination system which moderates entry into the

occupational structure, ensuring high income and prestigious jobs for

the successful while relegating the rest into low-paying

traditional-sector jobs The correspondence between level of schooling, job

status and income is very closely knit in Malaysia; an increment in

schooling is rewarded with an increment in occupational status (p

179)

Empirical evidence documented the positive correlation between education, occupation andincome (e.g Wilson, 1972 and Hirschman, 1974, both cited in Singh, 1990) As a result "Thishas placed a very high premium on educational credentials in the movement of individuals intoemployment" and as a consequence "Both individuals and government invest heavily in

schooling as an insurance against poverty and a facilitator for individual and group upwardsocial mobility" (Singh, 1990, p 179)

As the focus of this thesis is on the teaching and learning of mathematics I will now

concentrate on the importance of success in school mathematics examinations

2.6.2 Assessment in Malaysia

Burton raised this question with reference to assessment in Europe:

What is the driving curricular philosophy which influences public

policy and its implementation in schools? (1994a, p 4)

In France and England it is

top-down positivist - a view of the sacrosanct nature of mathematical

knowledge and skills necessary for high achievement, which accords

high status to mathematics and science (ibid., p 4)

Similarly in Malaysia, the same philosophy drives the curriculum In the latter part of thetwentieth century, as the politicians see mathematical skills as essential if Malaysia is toachieve industrialised nation status by the year 2020, and the mathematics curriculum has askills based focus

Abdul Rahman (1988) criticised the designers and planners of the New Primary School

Curriculum KBSR, (see Section 3.5.1.1.) for adopting a top-down view of disseminating theKBSR to the teaching community She concluded that this was one of the reasons why KBSRfailed to be implemented in its conceived form Lee (1982) had expressed a similar criticism ofthe implementation of modern mathematics to Malaysian secondary schools in the earlyseventies but concluded that

Undoubtedly public examinations remain a powerful dominating

force that affects positively as well as negatively the reform in school

mathematics (p 40)

Lee went on to explain why mathematics curriculum reform failed in the seventies He said

though there was reform in the mathematics curriculum, there was no

corresponding reform in the role and importance of public

examinations in the Malaysian education system (p 35)

I agree with Lee that examinations play a very significant role in the way Malaysians perceiNeeducation and mathematics learning The Malaysian public's response to success in writtenexaminations has, I feel, affected teaching and learning in general and mathematics in

particular

2.6.3 Mathematics Assessment in Malaysia

Assessment literature (for e.g Koretz, 1988; Gipps & Goldstein, 1989, Gipps, 1992; Black,1995) questions the formative and summative instruments used to assess students' mathematicslearning Resnick and Resnick (1992, cited in Black, 1995) criticised the use of multiple choice

or very short answer tests, in particular the former which assessed only basic knowledge orskills (Resnick & Resnick, 1991, cited in Gipps, 1992) and would never expose students "to thekind of mathematical thinking sought by all who are concerned with reforming mathematicseducation " (Resnick & Resnick, 1992, in Black, 1995, p 271) Moreover research showedthat these tests were biased (Woods, 1991, cited in Gipps, 1992), favouring certain classes(Gipps, 1992), ethnic origins (Hannon & McNally, 1986, cited in Gipps, 1992) and gender(Murphy, 1989, cited in Gipps, 1992) To overcome such bias, researchers (e.g Gipps, 1992,

Black, 1995) have called for a balance of tasks, such as "essay-type, course work, short answer

and multiple-choice if we wish to make a 'fair test' " (Gipps, 1992, P 283) Despite all theseconcerns about assessment, Malaysia, unlike the Americans who have started questioning theuse of short external standardised tests (Black, 1995), has continued to use these tests to assesstheir students' mathematics learning

The study of mathematics in Malaysia is compulsory up to secondary five At UPSR and SRPmultiple-choice testing is used to assess students The UPSR mathematics paper consists of 50multiple-choice questions to be completed within one and a quarter hours (Mok, 1994) andSRP, 60 questions within a one and a half hours This is despite the evidence that multiple-choice tests differentiate by sex

At SPM and STPM, limited time written tests are used to assess students At SPM level, though

it is not compulsory to study mathematics, students are usually advised to do so for

mathematics is seen as a pre-requisite for various post-SPM fields of study Science studentsgenerally sit for two different mathematics subjects, the harder Additional mathematics and thesimpler Modern mathematics or Syllabus C Art stream students usually register themselves foronly the Modern mathematics paper Assessment of each of these subjects is based on twopapers Answers rather than the working are emphasised in Paper One of modern mathematics,while working is emphasised in Paper Two Both the Additional mathematics papers placegreater emphasis on working Neither limited time written tests nor multiple-choice tests areseen, in the literature, as being adequate or fair (e.g Gipps, 1992; Black, 1995)

2.6.4 The Role and Significance of Examinations In Malaysian Society

Malaysians see examination results as important because they are "the sole measure of

students' cognitive ability in mathematics" (Lee, 1982, p 35) Though selection into

institutions of higher learning is to a great extent regulated by quota systems structured alongracial lines favouring the Bum iputras, of which Malays are the dominant group, within eachracial group selection is still based on paper qualification For financial reasons, many

Malaysian parents prefer to send their children to Malaysian universities

Competition to gain a place in the Malaysian universities is very stiff because demand faroutweighs availability Therefore teachers try to ensure that as many as possible of their

students succeed in national examinations so that they stand a better chance of securing a place

in one of the Malaysian universities and also because each school's performance is listed andcompared with others This pressure on the teachers has become more significant with the

introduction of the New Remuneration Scheme where teachers' pay increments are implicitly

tied to their students' performance (New Straits Times, 03/08/1994).