MALAYSIA BOLEH
‘Family, food and money’ were quickly identified as the 3 core values which underpin Malaysian culture. It became entirely apparent throughout my time in Malaysia that this was the case. My own family was always an area that stimulated great discussions and interest, food was amazing, and always plentiful, and the “Vision 2020” was apparent in the strong work ethic seen from school leader’s right down to school cleaners.
MALAYSIAN CULTURE
It was only a day after our arrival, that slightly weary and jetlagged we arrived at the CfBT offices in KL to develop an understanding of Malaysian culture and the education system. This was led by Hugh Leburn who holds the post of school teacher trainer, with a focus on staff development, at Sri KDU School in KL.
After beginning with a session on Malaysian Language, the phonic nature of which made it a quick language to learn, we moved onto aspects of Malaysian culture. Key amongst these was
the understanding of Malaysia as multi-cultural country, dominated by Malays, Chinese, and Indians, which was predominantly Muslim. Thus we came to appreciate the hierarchical nature of all aspects of Malaysian life as well as the focus on respect and, as we quickly discovered on all our school visits, the notion that ‘the visitor is king’. However another element of this culture which caused some interesting discussions among team members was the Malaysian desire to avoid “loss of face”. Indeed it was this area that led me to think most deeply about issues of dealing with change and school improvement in this context (more of which later). A final though struck me with this initial session, which I suppose arose out of my pre-visit research, especially when discussing the unique political and cultural issues facing Malaysia in the forth coming years. This is best seen in the metaphor (enjoy this Dr Lee) that Malaysia seemed like a country at a cross roads with traditional Muslim values and acceptance of the status quo meeting a growing youth group which is increasingly open to western influences and looking for new approaches to old problems.
MALAYSIAN CULTURE AND THE EDUCATION SYSTEM
Given this context the review of Malaysian Education was truly enlightening, and this was born out throughout my experiences and discussions on the trip. In this way I found that each school had strong a vision and mission which often tied in strongly to the Malaysian community values, respectfulness and the sense of achievement and national will to succeed of its people. As well as this I was amazed, in a system like our own which is exam orientated, by the enrichment activities available and the importance attached to co-curricular aspects of learning.
One aspect that was apparent on many levels was the centralized and hierarchical nature of schools and the education system. Thus I was forced to continually reflect on the process for managing change in a system which is very reliant on top-down direction. In such a system how do you empower staff and give them the sense of ownership needed to ensure change is for the long term as well as providing mechanisms for staff input into school development? This is an area that we all face and one which I found most interesting when immersing myself in the Malaysian education system. In particular it left me to consider the challenges facing teacher trainers in a culture which is often directed, but where individual areas for development might be seen as too confrontational. With the teaching I saw I was often left wondering what the effect on teaching and learning might be if teachers were given, and welcomed, time and support to adapt and experiment with different teaching models.
Similarly given my previous role as Assessment for Leaning coordinator I was left to reflect how the balance between exam results and enrichment and between assessment of learning and assessment for learning were directed by the expectations of government and parents. Indeed the idea of learning from mistakes and self reflection would require a huge shift in social attitudes and school cultures, given the fear of ‘losing face’ that affects all students and particularly those in Malaysia this is not an easy challenge.
A final issue that arose, and which I still have not made my own mind up on, is the issue of language in Malaysian education. It was apparent that the question around the main medium for education and especially the teaching of Math’s and Science in English was a really polarizing issue. This issue was also made more complex by the undercurrent of racial and social tension which could be produced from a society where race and religion dictate where you live and study. However the big dilemma facing the Ministry of Education was whether the use of English for Math’s and Science provided all students the opportunity to progress through to higher education and university or whether it was an unfair disadvantage on poor/rural pupils who are more likely to have less exposure to English? Does English open doors for all or does it close it to others? We await the decision by the Ministry of Education, but as Dr Lee pointed out, the decision is bound to disappoint at least 50% of people.
Overall Malaysia was a wonderful country, the people were brilliant and the food was amazing
. The experience, of immersing myself in another education system and culture for 8 days, along with some truly inspirational fellow fast trackers and a great facilitator was a once in a life time opportunity that will remain with me always. I only hope I am lucky enough to visit again, but next time I hope to let my family enjoy the experience as well. Thanks to CfBT and LECT for making it possible, thanks to everyone who went with me for making it memorable and thanks for everyone I meet in Malaysia for making me feel so welcome.
‘Family, food and money’ were quickly identified as the 3 core values which underpin Malaysian culture. It became entirely apparent throughout my time in Malaysia that this was the case. My own family was always an area that stimulated great discussions and interest, food was amazing, and always plentiful, and the “Vision 2020” was apparent in the strong work ethic seen from school leader’s right down to school cleaners.
MALAYSIAN CULTURE
It was only a day after our arrival, that slightly weary and jetlagged we arrived at the CfBT offices in KL to develop an understanding of Malaysian culture and the education system. This was led by Hugh Leburn who holds the post of school teacher trainer, with a focus on staff development, at Sri KDU School in KL.
After beginning with a session on Malaysian Language, the phonic nature of which made it a quick language to learn, we moved onto aspects of Malaysian culture. Key amongst these was
the understanding of Malaysia as multi-cultural country, dominated by Malays, Chinese, and Indians, which was predominantly Muslim. Thus we came to appreciate the hierarchical nature of all aspects of Malaysian life as well as the focus on respect and, as we quickly discovered on all our school visits, the notion that ‘the visitor is king’. However another element of this culture which caused some interesting discussions among team members was the Malaysian desire to avoid “loss of face”. Indeed it was this area that led me to think most deeply about issues of dealing with change and school improvement in this context (more of which later). A final though struck me with this initial session, which I suppose arose out of my pre-visit research, especially when discussing the unique political and cultural issues facing Malaysia in the forth coming years. This is best seen in the metaphor (enjoy this Dr Lee) that Malaysia seemed like a country at a cross roads with traditional Muslim values and acceptance of the status quo meeting a growing youth group which is increasingly open to western influences and looking for new approaches to old problems.MALAYSIAN CULTURE AND THE EDUCATION SYSTEM
Given this context the review of Malaysian Education was truly enlightening, and this was born out throughout my experiences and discussions on the trip. In this way I found that each school had strong a vision and mission which often tied in strongly to the Malaysian community values, respectfulness and the sense of achievement and national will to succeed of its people. As well as this I was amazed, in a system like our own which is exam orientated, by the enrichment activities available and the importance attached to co-curricular aspects of learning.
One aspect that was apparent on many levels was the centralized and hierarchical nature of schools and the education system. Thus I was forced to continually reflect on the process for managing change in a system which is very reliant on top-down direction. In such a system how do you empower staff and give them the sense of ownership needed to ensure change is for the long term as well as providing mechanisms for staff input into school development? This is an area that we all face and one which I found most interesting when immersing myself in the Malaysian education system. In particular it left me to consider the challenges facing teacher trainers in a culture which is often directed, but where individual areas for development might be seen as too confrontational. With the teaching I saw I was often left wondering what the effect on teaching and learning might be if teachers were given, and welcomed, time and support to adapt and experiment with different teaching models.
Similarly given my previous role as Assessment for Leaning coordinator I was left to reflect how the balance between exam results and enrichment and between assessment of learning and assessment for learning were directed by the expectations of government and parents. Indeed the idea of learning from mistakes and self reflection would require a huge shift in social attitudes and school cultures, given the fear of ‘losing face’ that affects all students and particularly those in Malaysia this is not an easy challenge.
A final issue that arose, and which I still have not made my own mind up on, is the issue of language in Malaysian education. It was apparent that the question around the main medium for education and especially the teaching of Math’s and Science in English was a really polarizing issue. This issue was also made more complex by the undercurrent of racial and social tension which could be produced from a society where race and religion dictate where you live and study. However the big dilemma facing the Ministry of Education was whether the use of English for Math’s and Science provided all students the opportunity to progress through to higher education and university or whether it was an unfair disadvantage on poor/rural pupils who are more likely to have less exposure to English? Does English open doors for all or does it close it to others? We await the decision by the Ministry of Education, but as Dr Lee pointed out, the decision is bound to disappoint at least 50% of people.
Overall Malaysia was a wonderful country, the people were brilliant and the food was amazing
. The experience, of immersing myself in another education system and culture for 8 days, along with some truly inspirational fellow fast trackers and a great facilitator was a once in a life time opportunity that will remain with me always. I only hope I am lucky enough to visit again, but next time I hope to let my family enjoy the experience as well. Thanks to CfBT and LECT for making it possible, thanks to everyone who went with me for making it memorable and thanks for everyone I meet in Malaysia for making me feel so welcome.
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