Educational development and reformation in Malaysia: past, present and future
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/09578239810238456 |
| Date | 01 December 1998 |
| Published date | 01 December 1998 |
| Pages | 462-475 |
| Author | Rahimah Haji Ahmad |
| Subject Matter | Education |
Journal of
Educational
Administration
36,5
462
Educational development and
reformation in Malaysia: past,
present and future
Rahimah Haji Ahmad
Professor and Dean, Faculty of Education, University of Malaya,
Malaysia
Introduction
Educational development and reform in Malaysia have always been
characterized by the government’s efforts to adapt education to national
development needs. The essence of educational development and reformation,
as in other developing countries, has always been (and is) curriculum
development, to provide education for human resource development to meet the
needs of the social, economic and political development of the country.
Moral and values education has always been recognized and acknowledged in
the Malaysian school curriculum. It dates back to the time of the British colonial
government, when missionary work was one of the reasons for providing
education for the people. The curriculum had included Scripture as one of the
subjects at the secondary level, and ethics for the non-Christian pupils. Mukherjee
(1986, p. 151) states that there were “weekly slots on ‘ethics’ (given) to their non-
Christian pupils…with liberal extracts from the Bible accompanied by frequent
exhortations to ‘be good’”. Following the English school tradition then, the
National School System included Islamic Religious Education, then known as
Agama (Religion) in the curriculum for the Muslim pupils. For the non-Muslim
students, some form of moral education was given in place of Agama. More fervor
is given to values education in the present curriculum. The Kurikulum Baru
Sekolah Rendah (KBSR), that is the New Primary School Curriculum, and the
Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Menengah (KBSM), or the Integrated Secondary
School Curriculum, which have completed their first cycle recently, emphasize the
teaching of values in order to enhance quality individual development, as well as
creating Malaysian citizens of the future, through education.
This paper will briefly outline educational development from the time of
independence, followed by a discussion on the current educational reforms
beginning in 1980s. Highlights will be made on the development of values
education in the curriculum, particularly the importance given to it in the new
curriculum being implemented.
Journal of Educational
Administration,
Vol. 36 No. 5, 1998, pp. 462-475,
© MCBUniversity Press, 0957-8234
This paper is an adapted and improved version of a paper, “Educational development in
Malaysia: the dilemma of values education”, presented in the 8th International Intervisitation
Program (IIEP 94), held at OISE Toronto, and SUNY Buffalo, 15-27 May 1994.
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