Critical issues in preschool education in Malaysia

Critical Issues in Preschool Education in Malaysia
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Critical Issues in Preschool Education in Malaysia
Why preschool matters/Aims/Sample/Data Collection
In Malaysia, cultural diversity and ethnic composition of the population are some of the major factors that shape education policies. The education system has been transformed to ensure that preschool learners are able to achieve a high-quality education that improves their learning and development. Recent statistics indicate that preschool classes in Malaysia that are run by the government total to 15,627 while those run by government agencies are 17,899. The average size of each class is 23 children while the teacher to student ratio is 1 to 24. Numerous efforts have been placed by the government to transform the country’s education system and they have directly and indirectly impacted on the preschool education. Furthermore, the recent efforts of improving the education system have also transformed the early education system. This paper critically analyses the issues and challenges facing the Malaysian preschool education system and recommends various strategies of improving quality.
To address the critical issues associated with preschool education, it is important to examine why improved quality of this education level is important. Scholars have found that the experiences which children have from an early age play an instrumental in shaping their progress in the future. Evidence indicates that 60% of Malaysian preschool children aged six years and below attend early childhood education. This implies that 40% of preschool learners either study from home or do not attend any form of early learning. It is important to note that poor-quality preschool education may negatively affect the ability of children to excel during and after elementary education. It is important to address the improvement of preschool education at the micro and macro levels. Research studies on brain development indicate that learning is highly affected by the kind of preparation that is done during the foundation years.
The kind of experiences that children get on a daily basis has a huge impact on functional and structural development of their brain. Therefore, early childhood education influences the development of children’s personality and intelligence. However, it should be noted that various experiences can either be positive or negative and this depends on the quality of education and intensity of the programs. In Malaysia, studies have proved that quality childhood education has a positive impact on learners from low income families, including higher success rates, minimal need for special education in the future, reduced juvenile crime, reduced risks of teenage pregnancies, and higher rates of college graduation. Furthermore, quality preschool programs lead to better cognition, interpersonal relationships, social skills, behavioral self-regulation, and performance in language and mathematics subjects. Conversely, inferior childhood education contributes to poor school performance and weak development in language and social skills. Therefore, elementary schools with insufficient resources and which are unable to provide quality preschool education tend to magnify the difference between children who have achieved high-quality and poor-quality education programs.
Data was collected through a roundtable discussion that involved a purposive sample of 30 educators and other officials who are involved in preschool education. The group was presented with an open-ended question about the issues and challenges that face the early childhood education system in Malaysia. Responses were classified into specific themes, including curriculum, monitoring, reaching, goals, accessibility, and parental involvement. The type and quality of preschool education are often affected by the amount of fees that is paid, availability of resources and infrastructure, training and experiences of teacher, and income and literacy level of the parents. In Malaysia, the financial systems tend to affect the quality of education programs that are offered in preschool programs. Therefore, there is an urgent need to improve early childhood education since it is both an educational and social agenda. Such an investment would have both short-term and long-term benefits and improve the educational experiences of young learners. Therefore, there are a number of key issues that need to be addressed in order to tackle the challenges affecting preschool education in Malaysia. Research evidence has already shown that quality preschool education depends on the nature of curriculum, collaboration between the government and the community, and the quality of assessment and pedagogy. The next part of this paper provides results on the critical issues affecting preschool education in Malaysia.
Results of the Study
From the themes described above, a variety of responses were reported and the results showed that there are several factors that influence preschool education in Malaysia.
Curriculum
The first response pertained to the kind of curriculum that children are taught. Respondents felt that children should learn several languages that enable them to be global players in the future. Being multi-lingual enables children to communicate effectively and this implies that multilingualism should be incorporated in the preschool curriculum. Another significant issue pertains to the kind of curriculum orientation. Results showed that children should be provided with a holistic education that promotes full development. Therefore, preschools should encourage children to engage in extracurricular activities such as clubs and sports.
Emphasis should be placed on the development of personality and individual values instead of hiding these features in the curriculum. All stakeholders such as community leaders, teachers and parents should play their role in the development of quality childhood education. This can include discussing issues associated with the development of curriculum to ensure that co-curriculum activities contribute to the development of the talents and capabilities of children. Furthermore, preschool education should not purely concentrate on enhancing academics, which tend to produce learners who act as robots, but should focus on enhancing play and enabling children to learn through discovery.
Results also showed that preschool education should not only be realistic, but also should be globally aligned. This implies that the education system should be able to promote thinking skills to a higher order where children can reason critically and solve practical problems. Childhood education should not simply focus on English and mathematics problems. For instance, instead of learning about Malaysia alone, children should be able to learn about other countries in the world. Therefore, young learners and thinkers should be able to develop problem-solving and cognitive skills, as well as prowess in creative thinking. Therefore, preschool curriculum should develop global skills such as ICT as well as conflict resolution.
Stress was mentioned as one of the major challenges that affect the multi-culturalism aspect of the Malaysian education system. Although the society is multi-racial, schools are usually heterogeneous and they should therefore instill tolerance and respect for different ethnic groups. The respondents also emphasized on the importance of maintaining curriculum continuity from preschool to elementary school. Different forms of preschools, either for (0-4) or (4-6) year-olds should not have major gaps to ensure that children who join elementary schools are not affected.
Management and monitoring
The responses revealed the importance of monitoring and self-evaluation to enhance the delivery of quality preschool education. It was found that sufficient teachers should be available to provide adequate supervision. In Malaysia, the National Standard Preschool Curriculum was proposed by the government to act as a guideline, but there is little monitoring to determine if the directive is being followed. This is because there are numerous preschools and few monitors yet quality education should be provided in both urban and rural areas. Self-evaluation and self-reflection should be part of the leadership skills that are necessary in the provision of quality education. Furthermore, an active role should be taken by parents in monitoring the progress of their children and assess if self-evaluation is conducted in the classroom.
Teaching and Learning
It was also reported that the competencies of teachers and the climate in the classroom are some of the factors that affect the quality of preschool education. These factors are influenced by career pathways, teaching competencies, and the presence of male educators. There is huge demand for early childhood educators who are competent in the English language and who are confident enough to use that language to communicate. Such teachers are usually considered as role models since they understand effective ways of putting theories into practical applications.
It is important to note that certain preschool classrooms are teacher-directed instead of being student-centered, and this implies that teachers only ensure that knowledge is transferred to learners without paying attention to students. Furthermore, various preschools use different teaching methods and it appears that play is not part of transferring basic skills to learners. In certain institutions, educators argue that parents do not prefer play to be used as part of the teaching method. In addition, the absence of male educators is another challenge that affects the quality of preschool education. This is because learners lack male models that can provide behaviors that can be emulated. Another challenge is that most preschool classrooms usually contain learners who are of similar age range. However, differences in abili...