Science Education in Malaysia: Challenges in the 21st Century

: This article analyses the development of science education in the Malaysian schools' context. Several big changes have shifted the direction of science teaching to Malaysian students over the last fifty years. It started with curriculum reforms adopted by western countries in the 1960s and 1970s. The introduction of a new curriculum with an underlying ‘child-centred' philosophy was developed and implemented in the 1980s. The importance of information technology and English as medium of instruction were characteristic in the late 1900s and 2000s. The impact of International study's such as TIMSS and PISA paved a new direction for science education. Dynamics of science education in Malaysia shows interesting developments that informs us how the education system has adapted to challenges and trends

Assessing statistical reasoning in descriptive statistics: a qualitative meta-analysis

To date, there are abundant studies on statistical reasoning in descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. Nevertheless, the types of statistical reasoning assessments used in those studies are different from each other. Hence, this qualitative meta-analysis is aimed to explore the methods utilized in assessing statistical reasoning among students from all levels in descriptive statistics. A total of 36 studies on reasoning about measures of central tendency, variability and distribution were found and reviewed in this paper. It was noticed that six major types of methods were employed to assess students’ statistical reasoning in descriptive statistics, namely interview, survey or questionnaire, tasks, tests, minute paper, and teaching. This study contributes considerably to the statistical reasoning area as it provides new information on statistical reasoning in descriptive statistics. For future studies, some recommendations are proposed to improve statistical reasoning assessments

Usaha guru fisika dalam mengembangkan profesionalnya: studi kasus di Kota Makasar

Penelitian ini mengidentifikasi usaha guru fisika untuk belajar serta konten yang harus dipelajari pada suatu program pengembangan profesional. Penelitian dilakukan kepada guru fisika di 17 SMPN yang ada di Kota Makassar. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif dan instrumen pengumpulan datanya menggunakan kuesioner dengan pertanyaan terbuka, wawancara, observasi, dan dokumentasi. Sementara metode kuantitatif sederhana digunakan dengan kuesioner dimana 36 guru fisika berpartisipasi. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa untuk meningkatkan kompetensi pengetahuannya, guru fisika melakukannya dengan berbagai cara: belajar mandiri, bertukar pikiran dengan sesama guru, belajar melalui internet, mengikuti program pelatihan dan kursus-kursus, dan melanjutkan pendidikan. Selanjutnya didapatkan pula bahwa sebagian besar guru fisika (78%) menginginkan ICT sebagai konten yang harus dipelajari dalam mengembangkan profesionalnya. Meskipun banyak juga guru yang memilih konten materi pengajaran, konten kurikulum dan pengajaran, dan konten pengetahuan pedagogi sebagai alternatif kedua

Decentralized Centralism: School Based Management Policies and Practices at State Secondary Schools in Mataram, Lombok, Indonesia

The collapse of Suharto’s regime in 1998 brought significant change to Indonesia's public sector. Education at primary and secondary levels, since 1 January 2001, was administered at district level rather than in the previously centralised and bureaucratic manner. At the school level, ideas about school autonomy emerged and became popular. In particular the term ‘School Based Management’ (SBM) was seen as a panacea, and as a result the central government issued a regulation to implement the practice of SBM. This study analyses the dynamics of the SBM policy as it was being interpreted and implemented at the secondary school level in Indonesia. It examines SBM in the municipality of Mataram, Lombok, Indonesia. The study was approached in two ways: through document analysis of the Ministry of National Education decree number 044/U/2002 which legalized SBM; and by soliciting and interpreting the perspectives and practices of stakeholders at district and school levels through questionnaires, interviews, school site studies and document analyses. Altogether 83 respondents completed the questionnaires and 24 participated in interviews. Site studies were made to two schools. These approaches produced rich data on issues relating to SBM policy, devolved authority and community involvement. The study found that the SBM policy as stated in the decree lacked clarity. The decree was hastily introduced and emphasised structural changes at district and school levels without clarifying its underlying rationales or implementation guidelines. The decree did not choose a particular model of SBM. Instead, it imposed a uniform model regardless of school level, size, location, type of community or even the public and private nature of schools. The decree was not followed with any regulations established at the district level regarding SBM. Consequently, institutional capacity at the district level was not developed. Therefore previous paradigm and practices of management continued to remain. Information provided about SBM at the school level was not designed to give much detail. It was left to principals to inform school level stakeholders but the extent to which this happened depended on the principals’ discretion and level of knowledge about SBM. The devolved authority was not clear in the decree. What was suggested in the decree as authority that can be exercised by schools in SBM, was a practice that was already established. Without appropriate regulations at the district level, secondary schools were neither supported nor given flexibility. Mostly, schools practices had not changed with the introduction of the SBM. The decree did not differentiate between community involvements at the district from the school level. This made it possible for old practices to continue. Hence, Education Council and the School Committees’ members were hand-picked and shoulder-tapped, based on bureaucrat preferences. Further, at school level, the committees’ roles were mainly to legitimize principals’ policies, particularly relating to school fees and budget. In short, a ‘new centralism’ was seen to be practised by the district government. At the school level the principal’s role become much more significant. School Based Management, while fulfilling the regulatory requirements, remains superficial in its impact and has failed to fulfil its original intention of improving the quality of Indonesian education. The study proposes a number of recommendations for SBM at the Indonesian secondary school level. First, the changing nature of regional autonomy in Indonesia makes stipulating a new regulation for SBM at district level sensible. The local regulation should use clear statements, acknowledge diversity, differentiate between governance and management, and recognize community involvement. Second, improving institutional capacity at district and school levels is also necessary and urgent. Enhancing stakeholders’ understanding about SBM issues can take various forms. Third, establishing formula funding that is stipulated in the district budget will make previous practices by the school committee unnecessary. Finally, on-going support to schools in terms of SBM, from district and national government is needed and should be programmed to make the policy work and succeed. The study ends with suggestion for further research

Decentralized Centralism: School Based Management Policies and Practices at State Secondary Schools in Mataram, Lombok, Indonesia

The collapse of Suharto’s regime in 1998 brought significant change to Indonesia's public sector. Education at primary and secondary levels, since 1 January 2001, was administered at district level rather than in the previously centralised and bureaucratic manner. At the school level, ideas about school autonomy emerged and became popular. In particular the term ‘School Based Management’ (SBM) was seen as a panacea, and as a result the central government issued a regulation to implement the practice of SBM. This study analyses the dynamics of the SBM policy as it was being interpreted and implemented at the secondary school level in Indonesia. It examines SBM in the municipality of Mataram, Lombok, Indonesia. The study was approached in two ways: through document analysis of the Ministry of National Education decree number 044/U/2002 which legalized SBM; and by soliciting and interpreting the perspectives and practices of stakeholders at district and school levels through questionnaires, interviews, school site studies and document analyses. Altogether 83 respondents completed the questionnaires and 24 participated in interviews. Site studies were made to two schools. These approaches produced rich data on issues relating to SBM policy, devolved authority and community involvement. The study found that the SBM policy as stated in the decree lacked clarity. The decree was hastily introduced and emphasised structural changes at district and school levels without clarifying its underlying rationales or implementation guidelines. The decree did not choose a particular model of SBM. Instead, it imposed a uniform model regardless of school level, size, location, type of community or even the public and private nature of schools. The decree was not followed with any regulations established at the district level regarding SBM. Consequently, institutional capacity at the district level was not developed. Therefore previous paradigm and practices of management continued to remain. Information provided about SBM at the school level was not designed to give much detail. It was left to principals to inform school level stakeholders but the extent to which this happened depended on the principals’ discretion and level of knowledge about SBM. The devolved authority was not clear in the decree. What was suggested in the decree as authority that can be exercised by schools in SBM, was a practice that was already established. Without appropriate regulations at the district level, secondary schools were neither supported nor given flexibility. Mostly, schools practices had not changed with the introduction of the SBM. The decree did not differentiate between community involvements at the district from the school level. This made it possible for old practices to continue. Hence, Education Council and the School Committees’ members were hand-picked and shoulder-tapped, based on bureaucrat preferences. Further, at school level, the committees’ roles were mainly to legitimize principals’ policies, particularly relating to school fees and budget. In short, a ‘new centralism’ was seen to be practised by the district government. At the school level the principal’s role become much more significant. School Based Management, while fulfilling the regulatory requirements, remains superficial in its impact and has failed to fulfil its original intention of improving the quality of Indonesian education. The study proposes a number of recommendations for SBM at the Indonesian secondary school level. First, the changing nature of regional autonomy in Indonesia makes stipulating a new regulation for SBM at district level sensible. The local regulation should use clear statements, acknowledge diversity, differentiate between governance and management, and recognize community involvement. Second, improving institutional capacity at district and school levels is also necessary and urgent. Enhancing stakeholders’ understanding about SBM issues can take various forms. Third, establishing formula funding that is stipulated in the district budget will make previous practices by the school committee unnecessary. Finally, on-going support to schools in terms of SBM, from district and national government is needed and should be programmed to make the policy work and succeed. The study ends with suggestion for further research

Science education in Malaysia: Challenges in The 21st Century

Abstract: This article analyses the development of science education in the Malaysian schools’ context. Several big changes have shifted the direction of science teaching to Malaysian students over the last fifty years. It started with curriculum reforms adopted by western countries in the 1960s and 1970s. The introduction of a new curriculum with an underlying ‘child-centred’ philosophy was developed and implemented in the 1980s. The importance of information technology and English as medium of instruction were characteristic in the late 1900s and 2000s. The impact of international study’s such as TIMSS and PISA paved a new direction for science education. Dynamics of science education in Malaysia shows interesting developments that informs us how the education system has adapted to challenges and trends. Keywords: Science Education, Malaysian School, information technology PENGAJARAN IPA DI MALAYSIA: TANTANGAN ABAD 21 Abstrak: Tulisan ini menganalisis perkembangan pengajaran IPA di sekolah Malaysia. Beberapa perubahan besar telah mengubah arah pengajaran IPA pada siswa-siswa di Malaysia selama 50 tahun terakhir. Perubahan dimulai dari perombakan kurikulum yang dilakukan negara-negara barat pada tahun 1960-an dan 1970-an. Pengenalan kurikulum yang didasarkan pada filosofi ‘child-centred’ dikembangkan dan diterapkan pada 1980-an. Pentingnya teknologi informasi dan bahasa Inggris sebagai media instruksional menjadi karakteristik pada akhir 1900-an and 2000-an. Dampak dari metode internasional seperti TIMSS and PISA menjadi arah baru dalam pendidikan IPA. Dinamika pendidikan science di Malaysia menunjukan perkembangan yang menarik yang membuktikan bagaimana sistem pendidikan telah menghadapi tantangan dan tren. Kata Kunci: pengajaran IPA, sekolah Malaysia , teknologi informas

Leading Turnaround and Improvement in Low Performing Schools in Malaysia and Indonesia

Improving the fortunes of low-performing schools, often in the most challenging circumstances, remains a persistent and pervasive challenge in many education systems (Meyers & Darwin, 2017). This working paper outlines the findings from a small, qualitative comparative research project funded by the Head Foundation. The working paper commences with some explanation and contextualization of the idea of ‘turnaround schools’ from the literature. It presents the research methodology and subsequently outlines the main findings from the research project

Development of educational quality mapping instruments (IP-SNP) in West Java

Decision-making must be based on valid data, as well as decision-making in the field of education. It is very important to have a valid instrument, therefore it is necessary to develop an educational quality mapping instrument that can measure the achievement of the quality of education. This instrument was developed based on educational quality standards, namely the competency quality of graduates, content, process, assessment, educators and education personnel, infrastructure, management, and financing. The purpose of this study was to obtain an instrument that has high validity. The educational quality mapping instrument (IP-SNP) uses a rating scale, collecting data through a survey of principals in 19,460 elementary schools (SD) in West Java Province. Construct validity was carried out by 3 experts in educational measurement and management, several items were revised based on expert input. The data processing and analysis method in this study uses the IRT (Item Response Theory) method with the Rasch Model Winstep application version 3.7. The results of the Rasch Model analysis show that the SD level IP-SNP instrument has a Cronbach Alpha score of 0.90 which means that the reliability of persons and items is high, while the reliability of 0.93 means that the instrument is very good. Item validity of 0.97 means that the item can measure the achievement of the quality of education, strengthened by the separation of 2.85 items. This question has a good distribution of responses. Educational quality mapping instruments can be used.https://research.acer.edu.au/ical/1008/thumbnail.jp

Pengembangan Instrumen Penelitian The Qur’anic Verbal Communication Index (QVCI) Menggunakan Pemodelan Rasch

Penelitian ini menekankan pentingnya eksplorasi prinsip-prinsip komunikasi dalam perspektif Islam untukmemperkaya teori-teori komunikasi. Tujuan penelitian adalah untuk mengembangkan dan memvalidasiinstrumen penelitian yang dinamakan Indeks Komunikasi Verbal Qur’ani (Qur’anic Verbal CommunicationIndex/QVCI). Instrumen ini dapat digunakan untuk mengukur kualitas praktik komunikasi verbal berdasarkannilai-nilai yang ada dalam Al-Qur’an. Item pengukuran QVCI didasarkan pada ragam komunikasi verbalyang disebutkan dalam Al-Qur’an, seperti Qaulan Sadidan, Qaulan Ma’rufan, Qaulan Masyuran, QaulanKariman, Qaulan Balighan, dan Qaulan Layyinan. Pengembangan instrumen penelitian menggunakanmetode pemodelan Rasch dan melalui beberapa tahapan, termasuk validasi pakar yang menggunakanmetode Many Facet Rasch Model (MFRM) dan pengujian reliabilitas-validitas melalui metode pengujianRasch Rating Scale Model (RSM). Penelitian ini menyajikan modifikasi dan perbaikan yang dilakukan padainstrumen QVCI setelah tiga uji coba menggunakan pemodelan Rasch. Hasil pengujian validitas menunjukkanbahwa instrumen penelitian QVCI bersifat unidimensional, dan sebagian besar item menunjukkan kualitaspengukuran yang memuaskan. Penelitian ini memberikan kontribusi pada kajian Komunikasi Islam denganmengembangkan instrumen penelitian yang bersumber dari ragam komunikasi verbal dalam Al-Qur’an