Liana's Reflections and Learning

When I received the email inviting me to apply for a place on a study visit to Malaysia, I didn’t know quite what such a visit would entail and wasn’t sure if I wanted to submit an application. However, it seemed too good an opportunity to miss, so I completed the form and was very grateful to my Principal for writing my supporting reference. A week or so after applying, I received a phone call to say I had been given one of the nine available places. At that point, it all seemed quite unreal and I still didn’t really know what to expect. Every time someone asked ‘Why Malaysia?’ or ‘So, what are you doing out there?” I gave the vague response, ‘I don’t really know’. Having no expectations meant I was completely open-minded and ready to absorb everything I saw and heard.

Sharing the experience with other Fast Track teachers

The visit to Malaysia came at a perfect time for me as it gave me the opportunity to step back from my own school and consider education in a global context. It has been a difficult year as I offered to take on the additional role of Head of English after the teacher in that position stepped down suddenly, as well as being Director of the Performing Arts Specialism and Head of Drama and I knew I was becoming increasingly tense at work. Spending time with eight other FastTrack graduate teachers was incredibly inspiring and I returned from the trip knowing that I want to work in an environment where I can work closely with similarly positive and proactive people.

Seeing the similarities

As with almost any experience, it was the people who made this trip have meaning. Visiting schools, talking with teachers and students, as well as having a meeting with the Ministry of Education and spending an intense week with the teachers from the UK, gave me a new perspective and a fresh enthusiasm for education. Perhaps the most striking aspect of the trip for me was how very similar teachers and students are, no matter where they are in the world. We met lots of smiling, happy children and hard-working, caring teachers. It seemed to me that despite working in a rather different system, because the Malaysian system is so centralised and controlled by the Ministry, in contrast to the UK where we have much more freedom, the issues facing students, teachers and parents in both countries are very similar and I am sure that increased dialogue between teachers across the world would be extremely beneficial for everyone involved in education.

Extending appreciation of leadership

The educational leaders we spoke to - the Headteachers, Assistant Headteachers and the Minister – all shared a profound philosophy and understanding of education in its widest, deepest and most fundamental context and it was this, combined with their engaging and authentic style, which made them such special leaders. I realised that I have perhaps lost some of this sense of perspective over the last few months where I have become absorbed by the minutiae of day-to-day irritants at work and the trip has led to me thinking again about the real reasons why I believe in education. I am now making a deliberate and conscious effort to focus on what I believe to be the right action for the students I am responsible for, rather than worrying so much about what other teachers are thinking or saying. One of the headteachers we met spoke of the need to have faith and conviction in the decisions you make as a leader and to follow them through, not giving up when you face complications or resistance: this is one of the lessons I will remember from the trip.

Focusing on developing teachers

In my role at school, where I focus on improving learning, I am often frustrated when I try to understand how I can most effectively support teachers, particularly teachers who are struggling with planning and delivering effective lessons. Dr Lee, the Minister of Language and Literature, made some poignant comments on this matter, explaining that if we want curriculum consistency and compliance, we have a responsibility to take “teacher readiness and capability” into consideration. Since returning to school, this has been at the forefront of my mind and I have decided to focus more on improving teachers’ subject knowledge rather than always training teachers on matters of pedagogy, as I realised that unless the teacher understands the subject content, no learning will take place, regardless of how many innovative teaching strategies they employ. Several lessons we observed in Malaysia were very traditional in terms of their delivery – with a teacher standing at the front of the room and the students following in a text book – however, it has to be admitted that academic standards in Malaysia are very high. The Headteachers and the Ministry spoke about the desire to make teaching more active and interactive and while I agree with this as it is something I have spent the last six years promoting, I have also learnt there can be a danger in sacrificing pace, challenge and actual learning for simply getting the students to be busy in an activity. Again, Dr Lee, offered some illumination on this when he explained that the teacher is fundamental in ensuring that all student-centred learning is effective. Independent and collaborative learning require a great deal of planning and preparation in order to ensure that learning actually takes place and that progress is made and I have already discussed this with my team.

Developing extra-curricular learning

Another aspect of the Malaysian schools that impressed me was the structure of the leadership teams, which included an Assistant Headteacher responsible for “Co-Curricular” (extra-curricular activities). The Ministry organises a multitude of interschool, regional and national competitions including enterprise, public speaking, music, dance, drama, sport, essay writing, inventing, marketing and story writing. Before leaving the UK, I hadn’t known whether or not I would see much evidence of Performing Arts being taught and I was amazed when I discovered that all students in Malaysia have to participate in four hours of co-curricular activities every week and that, while these subjects are not assessed or examined, they are given high status and prominence within all schools (every school had a huge display of the trophies their students had won and we saw many students engaged in their co-curricular activities). In one school, we were treated to a music and dance performance while we ate lunch, in another, a group of students taught us how to play a simple sequence on the gamelan and we saw students working on inventing a new, all-natural deodorant. I found the co-curricular programme available to Malaysian students to be extremely exciting and am already planning to increase the number of competitions and public performances in my school.

Being proud of education

All the schools we visited in Malaysia gave us what I can only describe as an unexpectedly grand welcome; we were given gifts at the end of each visit and were followed by large teams of teachers, the leadership teams and students, all eager to answer questions and take photographs. I wondered if visitors to schools in the UK would receive anything like this and, having decided that it would be unlikely, I began to wonder what this meant. It seems that in Malaysia there is a much greater sense of pride in, and an understanding of, the importance of education; not only are the teachers and school leaders proud to show their school, but educational matters are reported prominently in the newspapers every day and students are motivated to succeed. While here in the UK we have much to be proud of, it often feels that in the media, education is criticised rather than discussed and there is an embarrassment and limiting modesty amongst teachers and students. I think we can afford to take more pride in our schools and educators and, in particular, I think we can learn from the way the Malaysian schools were celebrating Teachers’ Day.

Feeling inspired

Having been home for a week, I am still processing the experiences I had in Malaysia, continuing to reflect on what I learnt and looking back at photographs and notes in order to analyse and evaluate the trip. In some ways, I have found it difficult to be back at work because I realised that I was much happier and more relaxed while in Malaysia. Although the days were long and we were all suffering from sleep deprivation, we were thinking about education in the widest sense, rather than problem-solving and dealing with the constant frustrations in our own contexts. The trip highlighted the importance of individuals in making changes that lead to progress and improving the education of the country and I have returned with a new enthusiasm for school leadership and feel more determined than ever to become a Headteacher, or educational leader on a national level.

Finally, thank you to everyone who made this trip so valuable and meaningful. Geraldine, Pauline, Mark, Caroline, Dan, Nikki, Claire, Sarah, Jo and Tremaine - you all inspired me and, as Caroline said, it was sharing this experience with you that made it so special for me.

Liana