Rounds Green Primary – The children’s questions for Malaysia

As my study visit focus was pupil voice, choice and participation, I held a school assembly to introduce the trip and the possible outcomes for our school and the children themselves. They were invited to create a list of questions to be answered in Malaysia. As a result I was sent on a mission to find many, many answers!

How much work do you do? How much time do you spend doing lessons? When do they finish school?

This depends on the school. Shortage of schools and teachers means most children attend either morning school (about 7.30am till 1pm) or afternoon school. Children in year groups which have exams are usually in the morning sessions. At some schools such as Sri KDU, a top private school, the children attend all day. At the primary boarding school most days were 7.45am – 5pm. Co-curricular activities are held after school, often on Wednesday afternoons. Children also have homework assignments which can be a heavy work load. Some children work in school libraries after school and the boarding schoo had a homework room.

When they learn, how do they sit? Are the chairs in rows? Do the children sit together? What kind of seats and tables do you have?

Usually the desks are in rows facing the front, but occasionally in table groups. The boys and girls are usually in separate rows. Often the boys sit at the front - this is to stop them having “improper thoughts” about the girls! In most schools the children had individual desks with a table top and a slot underneath to store some of their books. In the rural schools we saw table tops which were promoting learning by having key information or relevant news articles on the table top, protected by a plastic cover or glass top. Chairs were similar to those in the U.K. and either wood, metal or plastic.

How do they learn? Do they work like us? Do you do your work in books?

In the primary schools the children have a home room teacher for registration and then stay in their classroom for most subjects, whilst the specialist subject teachers rotate to them. The lessons are structured similarly to ours and the children work in books or on worksheets or large pieces of paper for group tasks. For some modules there are workbooks with all the tasks for the entire unit inside. The worksheets are usually very organised with clear objectives and success criteria, and the books I saw had a high standard of presentation. In most classes the tasks are not differentiated but based on what must be learnt to meet the needs of the curriculum and the standard which has to be achieved in the tests. The teacher leads the lesson and asks questions, usually addressing the whole group and the class tend to reply as a whole rather than individuals. Children do not often put their hands up to answer. The pace of the lesson is very fast with lots of call and response methodology and repetition of work previously covered to ensure facts are memorised because this will help pupils score well in tests. Teachers and children admit the smart children are sometimes bored, but say they often help others once they finish. As accelerating clever children into older year groups has been stopped nationally, and the point of a unit of work is to pass the test, it is not seen as relevant to extend the more able. Children with special needs go to special school units. Teachers repeatedly ask if children understand but few will admit finding something hard – they say it is more likely they would ask someone later than loosing face by asking in front of others. Feedback is mostly grades, scores and general comments on success, presentation and effort. In secondary school classes interactive learning was more widespread.

Do you have group discussions?

Lessons in Malaysia tend to be teacher centred but many schools are working hard to make learning more interactive. Dr Lee from the ministry was adamant that the teacher was the most important agent in the room and the child’s learning was the most important concern. We saw evidence of group discussion in many lessons, although mostly whole group discussion of questions asked by the teacher or worksheet solutions. In some lessons, primary and secondary, groups worked together to complete tasks including mind-mapping and powerpoint presentations. I was interested to see, in a secondary school, groups of four with mixed sexes working equally together. Students and staff said that group work was popular. The private school head said they are really promoting interactive learning and so teachers have two weeks of training before the start of the school year. The school also has a teacher-trainer on its staff, to observe and give guidance to teachers - it is believed to be the first school in the world to do so. The CfBT previously ran PIERS, a project to improve English teaching, and teachers who participated reported that the training helped them change their way of teaching, to use games and groups and make lessons fun and attractive.

What do you think makes a good learner?

The head teacher of one secondary school said this was about lifelong learning, people who are always learning through all their experiences, from “the cradle to the grave”. He said he was learning right then by having to think how to answer all our questions in English. One area of this school displayed phrases that we often use when talking about learning, these included: “Belajar cara belajar” – learning how to learn, “Teori kecerdasan pelhagai” – multiple intelligences, and “Pembelajaran akes kendiri” – independent learning.

Do you work inside or outside? What things do you do outside school to help you learn? Do you have school trips?

Lessons are mostly inside, where it is cooler and shady.

Outside the school building: A wide range of sports take place, although sometimes, such as for martial arts, these take place under shaded canopies. One urban school had an outdoor play area for the pre-school group (equivalent of foundation stage). This school used its field for sports and lots of scientific learning. One secondary school had an outdoor stage and school trips were popular. Outdoor learning at an urban primary including visits to climbing walls, the flying fox, the Batu Caves and camping. The private school has wealthier children and runs ambitious trips, including international visits, twice a year. The primary children participate in these, e.g. they recently went to Singapore.

Outside the school day: Children have homework assignments including revising for tests, and may use computers to help. Some have lessons on musical instruments outside school. Those children whose parents speak English will be developing in this area at home.

Do you peer tutor?

In almost every classroom you could see children helping each other. One secondary girl told me that the smart kids always help others when they have finished. She said that you learn best by teaching someone else.

Do you self/peer assess your work?

Assessment is mainly by the teachers marking work. However in lots of lessons the children will start the task and then the teacher will go through the answers, enabling pupils to check their work. Sometimes children are asked to find their own mistakes – at Sri KDU the pupils do this in blue pen. The head teachers seemed to feel that parents would expect to see the teacher doing the marking and would not like the idea of someone else looking at their child’s work. Teacher and summative assessment (tests) is central in the Malaysian system, although there are steps being taken to reduce this emphasis.

Do you have working walls?

Not in the same way that we do at Rounds Green. All classrooms have good display spaces. These usually have posters and information relating to the learning or to act as learning prompts, and often there are motivational quotes on display to encourage learners. Sometimes there are examples of good work. Display materials are usually confined to boarded areas and not just stuck on walls. At some schools there was an area of the board to remind children of homework tasks and the deadlines.

Do you have a choice in how you do your homework? Do they make homework fun? Do you have time limits on work?

Choice is limited because the Malaysian curriculum is very prescriptive, laying down exactly what must be learnt. Homework tasks are often worksheets or writing assignments. However there are opportunities for choice. For example, in a secondary school history lesson, the students were giving powerpoint presentations which they had created in small groups. Homework is seen as very important and in secondary school impacts greatly on assessment outcomes. There are sometimes issues with students not handing it in on time.

What do they read?

Just as in England, children read a range of books and texts but some teachers were worried that children are beginning to prefer TV and computer games. When we visited a pre-school class they all had picture books with one sentence in English which they were looking at and enjoying. Even at age 5 they were learning English words alongside the local language.

Remedial classes exist to help children, who don’t speak the Malay language at home, catch-up. When we visited some year 3 and 4 (our 4 and 5s) children in a remedial class they were learning to read sentences using laminated cards with sentences about the animal drawn at the top. Bahasa is a very phonic language so they were able to read fluently – sounding out words if necessary - whether or not they understood it! They were keen to read aloud to the visiting teachers which made me think that they enjoy reading.

What methods do you use for number calculations? Do you work out division the same way we do?

In the maths lessons I saw, the methods were much the same as we use, but the emphasis was on formal written methods such as column addition. When working out the shaded area of shapes, children were asked to explain different methods of doing the more complicated questions.

How do you ensure children are listening?

Children in Malaysia have a very good work ethic and usually sit quietly, listen and work hard. There is a high level of respect for teachers by pupils, parents and the government. Sometimes the teacher will have to ask the class or remind an individual to listen. The teacher checks by observing the class and asking them questions.

What school and classroom rules do you have? Are the rules strict? Do you make the school rules? Do the children have involvement in deciding the discipline/behaviour policy? What happens if you are naughty? What happens when people get into really violent fights?

I saw no visible evidence of school and classroom rules. Teachers report that behaviour is usually very good and in every school we visited children behaved calmly and worked quietly. When there is a problem the child will be warned by the teacher that their behaviour is unacceptable. After a number of warnings or when a more serious incident occurs, the matter is referred to the school discipline committee and the head teacher may involve parents and a suspension could follow. Behaviour incidents seem rare. Teachers seemed to think behaviour was better in urban schools than rural schools. However at a rural secondary school a senior teacher was adamant that behaviour was good and although bullying did happen it was not physical. The worse incident that school has had this year was a boy trying to coerce money from other students. Corporal punishment is illegal and I saw no suggestion that it occurs, although one person hinted that it may still happen in some rural areas.

Do they have treats if they are good?

In Malaysia rewards and recognition are given for achievement. It is common to see posters and photographs around the building celebrating what pupils have done. Teachers are proud of pupils’ achievements. For example, I was introduced to a year 6 girl and year 4 boy (year 5 and 7 in the U.K.) who had won state competitions for storytelling. Past pupils who have made a success of their lives are also celebrated as role models. There does not seem to be a reward system of certificates/stickers/treats in the same way we have here.

Do you have computers? Do they use computers, if they have got them? How do you learn ICT? Do you have interactive whiteboards?

All the schools we visited had a computer suite and internet access, and these were used for some lessons. The secondary and private schools had ICT suites and language laboratories using computers to learn various languages including Mandarin. At the private school, each classroom had computer work stations at the back. This school and the private school had computers for use in the library. Some children, mainly those at Sri KDU, used computers at home, and the head of Sri KDU was looking at ways to get children using laptops at home and in school. One secondary school had a cyber cafe. ICT is not a separate subject in the primary national curriculum. There were projectors in secondary schools and the private schools but not interactive whiteboards.

Do you have a curriculum? Do you help teachers choose the subjects that are taught?

All private and national schools have a centralised national curriculum to follow and strict compliance is expected, so teachers and children have limited choice. However there are a few opportunities, such as Sri KDU where they had a week off timetable learning about different countries of the world. The focus of the curriculum is academic subjects: maths, science and languages, with a broader secondary curriculum including subjects such as history.

Do you learn different languages?

Lots! Lessons at national schools are taught in the local language, but maths and science are taught in English! Children have to learn English – the government consider it is a high priority that every citizen can speak it. At some schools they learn Mandarin and one school also taught French. I was really surprised to see children learning to write in Chinese as well as speak it. Arabic is also part of religious instruction. There are national type primary schools where the main language of instruction is Chinese or Tamil, to help young children learn in their home language, but these children also learn the local language and English. In addition, some children speak another ethnic language at home, such as a particular Chinese dialect or Indian language. Consequently, in Malaysia most people can speak three languages and many know more - one teacher I asked had to count on his fingers and decided he spoke eight! Some children, usually those with middle class parents, speak English as a first language. The most impressive use of language I saw was a secondary school history class. The students had prepared presentations in Malay Bahasa and then without prior notice, to help us as guests, the entire lesson and presentations were given in English.

Do you do P.E.? Where do they have P.E.? Do they have a sports arena or football field? What sports activities do you have? Do they take lessons in the swimming pool? Do you have a swimming pool timetable? What clubs do you have? Do you do any after school activities? Do you have after school clubs? Do pupils help run after school clubs? Do you do activities?

All the schools we visited had playing fields and team sports, especially football and hockey are popular. Secondary schools may have swimming pools – two schools we visited had fantastic outdoor facilities. The rural secondary school, King George V, was very proud of its refurbished pool and sessions were timetabled for classes and for general use by staff members. It is a cluster school for excellence and one of its specialist areas is swimming, with a target of two national gold medals and ambition of international success. Rugby is another key sport for the school. At Sri KDU there are amazing sports facilities including all weather pitches and indoor badminton courts, used by children during breaks. In the primary school we saw an visiting dance professional leading a cha-cha-cha class. Cheerleading is also very popular and the school has many teams.

P.E. is not a curricular subject so sports mostly take place after school, usually Wednesday afternoons, as part of the co-curricular programme. At secondary school this is important as 10% of the university application process is based on co-curricular activities. A wide range of school clubs exist such as photography, martial arts, scouts, cheerleading and football.

What equipment do you use in the classroom? Do you write with black pen for working?

All the things we use in the U.K. were evident including text books, worksheets and science equipment, but schools seemed to have less equipment than we do. Classrooms had very little equipment in them, but this is partly because most schools had space for specialist rooms e.g. music, dance, science laboratories (even in primary). At one school there was a whole room full of drum kits! At the private school rooms had air conditioning and in the other schools there were open windows, slatted windows and drapes to keep the learning environment shady and cool. Children used pencils, pens, colouring pencils or felt tips according to their age and task. The teachers usually had whiteboards and pens, but sometime blackboards and chalk, and at the private school every classroom had a projector. Children have many workbooks and textbooks for school and there has been growing concern about the heavy bags they have to carry. At the private school many children had weekend bags on wheels to carry the huge amount of materials they needed.

Do they have assembly?

Most schools have assemblies on Mondays. This may be in a school hall but is often outside. The areas used for assemblies often have a raised stage at the front. One urban primary uses the car park! However is it is raining there is a covered area, open at the sides used.

What sort of facilities do they have?

Most schools have extensive space, inside and outside, and specialist areas as well as classrooms. For example, Sekolah Kebangsaan Menjalara, an urban primary school with around 350 children, has a building with two wings on four floors and a separate pre-school building. In addition to classrooms, its facilities include a resources centre, computer lab, science lab, screen theatre, hall, living skills workshop, prayer room, conference room, student remedial room, counselling room, textbook room, dental room/clinic, field, bookshop, sports equipment store, reading hut and access centre, offices, covered dining and meeting areas. In the private and secondary schools there are even more specialised areas for sports and the arts, and libraries. Interestingly all schools had staff workrooms where every staff member has a designated desk, and during non-contact time teachers use the room for marking and paperwork, whilst remaining available should children wish to talk to them or seek help. The schools all had green areas within their complex and most enhanced the environment with pots of plants and water features.

How old do you have to be to go to nursery?

In Malaysia school starts in year 1 (our year 2). Many children go to preschool (year 1) and quite a lot go to kindergartens from age 3 - these kindergartens are often privately run.

Do you see your parents?

In Malaysia most children are day pupils and go home each day, although many parents work long hard hours. Some children are boarders. Children who get 5 A grades in their year 6 (our year 7) exam, at the end of primary school, can go to boarding school for secondary. This is seen as an honour. In rural areas some children are boarders so they can get to a good school. The school we visited has 150 boarders (100 boys and 50 girls), most are aged 8 and above but a few are younger. These children can see their parents twice a month. They don’t have mobile phones so they will not be able to call them at other times. The children sleep in bunks in dormitories and their boarding fees are subsidised by the government, so it costs the parents 1 MR, about 20p a day – still a lot of money for some people.

Do you go to meetings? Do you interview people? Do you help your teacher organise parents’ evenings? Do you have parent’ evenings and are you encouraged to come along?

Not really, but at Sri KDU the pupils attend a three-way conference each term with their parents. When I explained about pupil involvement in U.K. interviews, teachers seemed very surprised and did not really like the idea. One teacher thought it would be very strange and scary. All schools have parents’ evenings. These are important to parents and usually held each term, after exam periods, so that the child’s marks and the reasons for them can be discussed.

Are you involved in organising charity events?

I found no evidence of this in state schools. At the private school children had just finished a project, which they had suggested to the head, where the school raised a large amount of money and then went to a village, built a well, bought livestock and painted the school.

Although not a charity event, at the last secondary school we visited the prefects were busy organising and decorating for Teachers Day. This annual event celebrates the importance of teachers in learning. The children play team sports against the teachers, put on a show to entertain them, everyone has a meal together and there are class parties. Everyone looks forward to it.

How do the adults listen to your ideas e.g. do you discuss issues in circle time? Do you have circle time?

A number of teachers and pupils said that relationships were very good and that there was open two-way dialogue, with pupils able to come to talk to staff including head teachers. Most schools also had school counsellors. There did not seem to be formal opportunities like circle time.

Are children’ helpers e.g. buddies used? Do you have a school council? Do the children have a “voice” through a school council?

No, schools have prefects who help other children and play an important role in organising the school, e.g. supervising playtime and helping staff. The prefects are in effect a school council and it is considered a very important role to aspire to. In each class there is a child who will take the lead when visitors enter – they will model the appropriate thing to say such as “good morning teachers” and then the class will repeat it together. At Sri KDU the prefects are sworn in at a special ceremony at which they make many pledges to support the school and its community. They then attend an outward bound course to bond and further develop leadership and teamwork skills.

Do you help teachers choose resources?

Yes and no. In Malaysia the government believes the best way to make progress is to develop high quality materials to match the curriculum. As a result, most of the teaching materials are selected by the ministry of education. However, the ministry does involve children in the development process – inviting groups to comment on resources and visiting schools to seek input. Dr Lee Boon Hua from the Ministry of Education considers knowing the views of teachers and pupils essential in developing resources.

Do your ideas get acted upon?

In Malaysia the education system is quite rigid to ensure efficiency. However the ministry of education says it listens to pupils in developing resources; teachers and pupils say there is open two-way dialogue; and at Sri KDU the pupils’ suggestion of a charity project went ahead. Several head teachers were keen to emphasise that children were not scared to come and suggest their ideas. There are people who think staff student dialogue is important and should be acted on, and it does happen to some extent, but overall there is some scepticism in Malaysia, as indeed there is from some practitioners in the U.K.

Do the children run a tuck shop? Are you involved in decisions about school meals/healthy eating? Do you have school dinners? Do you have dinner time outside? Do you eat together in a dining hall?

No, schools have canteens or pupils bring snacks for breaks. Most children only do half day school so do not have school dinners. Where meals are provided the menu would be a range of local food which is very healthy - perhaps rice, noodles, meat, fish, vegetables or fruit. The school canteen will be inside and air-conditioned or an open-air but roofed area for shade. The dining areas also have sinks and the first thing you see children do is going to wash their hands before eating! The Sri KDU pupils have school lunches because they are in school all day. These are organised in sittings. The canteen staff put out ready prepared trays on tables, with colour coded lids to indicate any special meals for children with dietary requirements, and then the teachers sit with the children in home groups to eat.

Do they have fruits and water fountains to help concentration?

The children have water bottles but fountains are not common, although some staff rooms have them. It is really hot and humid so everyone needs to keep drinking. The pre-school children have fruit and milk, and fruit is a common snack because people in Malaysia eat many delicious fruits. A particular delicacy is durian. This large spiky fruit has very smelly skin, but the soft inside is a bit like marmite: you either love it or hate it! One teacher told us she has to control herself because she can just keeping eating and eating it, but I absolutely hate it – so much that I had to discretely spit a piece out into tissue when no-one was looking!

How do you involve the wider community?

Malaysia is a nation which highly values family and community. At SK Manjalaran, an urban primary school, the head spoke of strong support from the Parent Teacher Association, local community and corporate organisations. The chair of governors is a teacher trainer and does free courses for staff, and there was lots of financial support for extra tuition, supplementary books and prize giving. Parents are fully involved and take part in events like sports day. The school identifies their skills, both seeking and receiving offers to help e.g. if the building needs painting, a parent will do it. Additionally the school has an annual clean-up day where everybody comes and works together because they recognise the role of the beautiful environment in learning. Banks and religious bodies will offer money to help poorer pupils buy uniforms and resources.

When do you have breaks in your lessons? What time is break/lunch? Do the children have playtime? Do you have snacks at playtime? What do you do?

Like the U.K. there are breaks mid morning, lunch and mid afternoon. As school starts early children and teachers usually have some food at playtime, about 11 o’clock. At one urban primary school the staff had a dining room with a buffet including grilled fish and the children were having snacks in the canteen area. The youngest children had fruit and milk, and there is government funding to provide this for poorer children. At playtime and lunch the children are often in the shade or inside the building, but may go out and play – often football. At Sri KDU many pupils were chatting in groups or playing badminton inside in the shade.

Do you have school uniform? Do you decide if you have a uniform or not?

Yes! All children in Malaysia wear immaculate uniform. There is no choice or pupil involvement because the uniform for national schools (state funded) is decided by the government and changes by age group. Primary children have white tops and navy trousers/skirts/tunics. The uniform has the school badge and there may be a school tie. Muslim girls may have the logo on their head covering. Every club also has a uniform and so on Wednesdays the children can wear their club uniform. For the secondary school photography club this was a waistcoat, and at the primary school the Muslim girls had different colour head scarves according to their club. At Sri KDU the primary wear blue and grey unless they are prefects who have extremely smart navy uniforms with waistcoats and jackets.

Are you happy about the way the school is run? Do you enjoy school? Why?

These are sensitive questions but every student and teacher I spoke to seemed happy and positive. Children said they were happy at school, that their school was good and that they had many friends and got to do lots of different things. Everyone spoke about the importance of a good education. Head teachers were clear about achievements and standards in their schools and would talk about how they had made progress and how they were striving to improve further. There is a move to make education more interactive but senior staff said it was sometimes difficult to move this forward as fast as they would like because change takes time for people to accept and requires special training.

Finally...I'd like to say thank you to all the children who came up with questions.