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SMK Putrajaya Presint 11(1) Towards an Effective School

Abstract Authors attempt to discuss the effort of SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) in

moving towards being an effective school. In educating students of the

21st century, it is not sufficient to ensure students are well verse with the

knowledge imparted in order to generate better academic performance

during national examination. SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) is focusing

on broader educational agenda and across existing curriculum by

engaging students physically, emotionally, spiritually, intellectually, and

socially, in consistent with the National Educational Philosophy. This

paper is a sharing of practical experiences in bringing SMK Putrajaya

Presint 11 (1) to become an effective school. Sadker and Zittleman’s

five-factor theory of an effective school was being referred. It is

undeniable that teachers’ accountabilities continue to grow over the time.

However, teachers should regard themselves as professional learners,

readily open to changes and improvements. The administrator of SMK

Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) is propelling teachers and students with the

time, social, and technology evolvements. Therefore, this paper presents

a comprehension practical experiences of SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1)

in educating students to be knowledgeable, healthy, religious,

emotionally stable, responsible, socially skilled, and a productive human

capital for the nation.

Effective School During the time of increasing accountability, financial plan deficit, minimum and unfunded mandates, and high expectations, effective schools are becoming an important part of the educational landscape (Kirk & Jones, 2004).

There have been some disagreements over the definition of an effective school (Sadker & Zittleman, 2009). Researchers use varying descriptions, ranging from schools with high academic achievement to schools that foster

personal growth, creativity, and positive self-concept. A large number of school effectiveness studies used cognitive

output measurements which are restricted to the achievement of basic academic disciplines (Maeyera, Berghb,

Rymenansa, Petegema, & Rijlaarsdamc, 2010). Scheerens (2000, p. 20) described an effective school as the abilities of the school in achieving their goals, in comparison with other schools that are ‘equalized’, in terms of students’

demographics, through manipulation of certain conditions by the school itself or the immediate school context. In

another aspect, most schools’ reformation efforts aim to improve teaching and learning process in order to be effective (Leithwood, Louis, Anderson, & Wahlstrom, 2004). Meanwhile, Kirk and Jones (2004) highlighted

effective schools as having the capability in creating students who are not only proven their ability to attend all classes, but has also proven their proficiency of knowledge and skills which are essential for success. Although

different researchers described effective school differently, yet all focus on the well-being of the students. Effective school makes a difference in improving learning (Leithwood et al., 2004). Therefore, renewal of effort is needed to

identify ways in creating effective schools.

SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) towards an Effective School SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) is one of the ten secondary schools in Putrajaya, the centre of Malaysian administration. The schooling hour starts at 7.20am and ends at 2.30pm. SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) started its

operational on January 2005. Currently, the school consists of 710 students, 80 teachers, and 17 non-academic staff.

Puan Sri Halimah Abd. Majid is the one and only principal of the school since its opening. However, within a short

period of less than seven years, SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) has emerged as the best daily secondary school in Putrajaya based on the band assessment carried out by Malaysian Ministry of Education under NKRA New Deal

2010.

SMK Putrajaya Presint 11(1) Towards an Effective School 1Puan Sri Halimah Abd. Majid,

2*Eow Yee Leng,

3Zuraki B. Daud,

4Chuah Beng Eaw

1, 2, 3,4SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1)

*yleng1@yahoo.com

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Principal is perceived to be the main source of leadership in a school (Day et al., 2010; Leithwood et al., 2004).

This is because the principal’s educational values, reflective strategies and leadership practices shape the internal processes and pedagogies, which lead to the significant impact on students’ outcomes. Nevertheless, the principal is

not a sole leader (Kirk & Jones, 2004). Principal is a leader of leaders. Principal works within a team of leaders.

Therefore, this paper is an attempt by authors in sharing the effort carried out by SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) while

working towards being an effective school, leading by Puan Sri Halimah Abd. Majid. Puan Sri Halimah has been awarded the excellent principal by Malaysian Ministry of Education in year 2009 for her effort in leading SMK

Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) to be a school of excellence.

In educating students of the 21st century, it is not sufficient to ensure students are well verse with the knowledge

imparted in order to generate better academic performance during national level examination. SMK Putrajaya

Presint 11 (1) is focusing on broader educational agenda and across existing curriculum by engaging students

physically, emotionally, spiritually, intellectually, and socially, in consistent with the National Educational Philosophy. Figure 1 briefly describes the holistic development of students focused by SMK Putrajaya Presint 11

(1).

Figure 1: A holistic development on students of SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1)

Successful schools ensure that all students master reading, writing, math, and science besides good understanding on

history, literature, arts, foreign languages, and diverse cultures (Metlife, 2002). In order to respond to economic

needs, the nation will have to produce an educated workforce (Craft, 2005). However, this is not sufficient in ensuring a holistic development of students who are able to withstand the challenges of 21st century. A

comprehensive mission for schools is to educate students to be responsible, socially skilled, healthy, caring, and

being contributing citizens (Greenberg et al., 2003). This is as important as knowledgeable. Therefore, SMK

Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) is investing on the students’ intellectual, emotional, social, physical, and spiritual developments, rather than academic achievements alone.

While working towards SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) as an effective school, Sadker and Zittleman’s (2009) five-

factors theory was being referred. The following are the five factors theory of Sadker and Zittleman (2009) in

relations to the practices applied in SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1):

i. Factor 1: Strong leadership

According to Sadker and Zittleman (2009), students would be able to make significant achievement gains in schools

when principals have strong leadership. The principal of SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) spent more than half an hour

on every starting week briefing the teachers on her missions, expectations, and directions. Besides that, Puan Sri Halimah also spending a major portion of her day working with teachers to improve teaching and learning

Students of SMK Putrajaya

Presint 11 (1)

Physically

Emotionally

Spiritually

Intellectually

Socially

Administrator of SMK Putrajaya

Presint 11 (1)

Strong leadership

Clear school mission

Safe and orderly climate

Monitoring of students’ progress

High expectations

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instructions, disciplines aspects, school’s climate, and planning of activities throughout the year in order to facilitate

students’ intellect, emotion, spiritual, social, and physical developments.

Being a strong leader, Puan Sri Halimah does not work alone. She has a strong senior leadership team. In order to

manipulate her asset, Puan Sri Halimah distributes her leadership by sharing roles and responsibilities across the

senior leadership team. It is not only a way to share accountabilities, but also a way working towards the building of trust and confidence between the principal and senior leadership team. By sharing accountabilities, the feeling of

ownership among the senior team would be created as well.

The principal of the school is a very approachable person. With a title of Puan Sri, it did not stop her from discussing work through SMS messages with the teachers even in the very morning of 6am from home on Saturday.

The school is not managed in an autocratic way. Although it is undeniable that the teachers in SMK Putrajaya

Presint 11 (1) need to devote more effort and time towards their accountabilities compared to other average schools, yet all the decision makings are carried out in the most democratic ways as possible. Opinions are being gathered

before decisions are being made.

The principal of SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) has been putting a great effort in building relationships within and beyond the school community. Teachers, students, administrating staff, parents, and communities around are treated with respect. According to Sahenk (2010), the quality of education is to create a school community by getting

people to take responsibilities in school, as well as outside the school. This is because a child’s education starts in the school and continues in the social environment. An effective education depends on the coordination of the

family, school and the environment as well as particularly depending on a strong connection between the school and

the family. Accordingly, Puan Sri Halimah propelled the school by involving the teaching and administrating staff

families and communities in the school activities. For instances, the Hari Raya celebration is organized every year to develop and sustain positive relationships with staff of all levels.

Meanwhile, the teaching and administrating staffs’ birthdays are announced during each Friday’s assembly. It is not

only to make the staffs feel valued and appreciated, but having the whole school to pray for the wellbeing of the birthday persons on the holy Friday each week. According to Day et. al. (2010), building and improving the reputation of the school and engaging with the wider community are essential in achieving long-term success.

Effective school makes savvy use of external assistance to enhance their influence (Leithwood et al., 2004). These are proven to be truth. The well connections between the school administrators and the community beyond have

contributed to the benefits of the students. In year 2011, 69 students received a laptop each from the Member of

Parliament in Putrajaya, Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan bin Tengku Mansor.

By having a strong leadership, it did not stop Puan Sri Halimah from being an open-minded and readily to learn

from others. Puan Sri Halimah has the tendency of persistently asking questions until she understood the context of

a situation. At the same time, she practices humility and respect for others. Previous study suggests that the most successful school leaders are open-minded; ready to learn from others; flexible; have a system of core values; and

are emotionally resilient and optimistic (Day et al., 2010). In order to create an effective school, Creemers and

Reezigt (2005) highlighted that school should feels responsible for its students’ success and have mutual respect and

support for students. By putting these into practices, it helps SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) in making progresses even when facing challenging circumstances.

All teachers of SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) are reminded to have a strong sense of moral responsibility towards every student. This is because all students deserve equal opportunities to succeed. It was highlighted by Day et al.

(2010) on the importance of an effective school leadership for school serving disadvantaged students. In SMK

Putrajaya Presint 11 (1), we have 49 disadvantaged students with learning difficulties. Thus, the leader of SMK

Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) does not only required the range of skills and attributes in serving the normal students, but also a broader capabilities in improving educational outcomes for students in deprived contexts. Puan Sri Halimah believes in the equality of education for all. Although students with learning difficulties are not able to present

themselves like the normal students, yet opportunities are created for them to experience the same learning platform. For instance, students with learning difficulties are given the opportunities to sing during important events of the

school (Figure 2). The school feels proud with the students’ capabilities and courageous. It helps to enhance the

students’ self-esteem too. SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) is a place where every student is given the opportunities to

present themselves intellectually, artistry, spiritually, physically, and socially.

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Students with learning disabilities Normal students

Figure 2: Students with learning disabilities enjoy the same opportunities as normal students during important

school events in SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1)

ii. Factor 2: A clear school vision and mission

Effective schools need effective leaders to communicate the school’s vision and mission (Kirk & Jones, 2004). By

persistently reinforcing the school’s vision and mission, the principal creates a shared sense of purpose and establishes a set of common core values among its community. By having common core values and a shared sense

of purpose, it avoids individuals straying away from the intended goals. SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) has a clear

school’s vision and mission. The school’s vision is to make SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) an excellent school by year 2013. As for the school’s mission, we will ensure the excellencies of our students in both curriculum and co-curriculum aspects; inculcating good mannerism within a conducive environment; and creating school with an

environment based on transparency and efficient management and administration, with the assistance of close

community ties. We share our vision and mission with all members of the school community through the classes’

notice boards, main wall of the school, and virtually in the school website.

According to Sadker and Zittleman (2009), successful principals stress on innovation and improvement in their

school mission. In contrast, less effective principals focus on maintaining the status quo and unclear about their own goals. These principals would make comments such as, "We have a good school and I want to keep it that way."

The principal of SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) is never satisfied with the existing achievement. Each and every year,

expectations on the school’s achivements are getting higher and higher. Accordingly, Puan Sri Halimah perceives

it as essential to share her vision and mission formulated with teachers, students, as well as parents. This is because when teachers, students, and parents understand the school's vision and mission, they will work together for towards

better achievements.

The school’s vision and mission are in parallel with the National Philosophy of Education (Malaysian Ministry of

Education, 2011). Education in Malaysia is an on-going effort towards developing the potential of individuals in a

holistic and integrated manner, based on a firm belief in and devotion to God in order to produce human capital that

are not only knowledgeable and competent, but also with high moral standards and responsible. Accordingly, SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) invest in the effort in providing more opportunities for students to develop their personal

potential, as well as contributing to the harmony and betterment of the family, society and the nation at large. There

are a number of different academic-based opportunities available to fulfil students’ needs and preferences at upper

level form. SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) offers students the opportunities to engage in pure science studies, religious studies, social science studies, combination of science and religious studies, additional science studies,

combination of science and ICT studies, combination of science and engineering drawing studies, hospitality and

catering studies, sewing, and music studies. Therefore, individuals with different potentials are produced to generate a stronger human capital for the nation’s needs and development.

iii. Factor 3: A safe, orderly, and healthy school climate A safe, orderly, and healthy school environment is vital in education (Ozmena, Durb, & Akgul, 2010). The condition is warranted before students can learn or teachers can teach. Sadker and Zittleman (2009) described an

unsafe school as definitely ineffective. Every morning, students of SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) are gathered and

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given motivational, disciplinary and religious talk based on the day of the week (Table 1). This is to ensure students

having the right frame of mind before entering their classes for academic-based learning. Academic based learning starts at 8.00 am every day. Prayer time is allocated in the afternoon for each level form. As for the after official

school hour, tutorial and co-curriculum activities are organized by SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) to create a safe,

orderly, and healthy school climate.

Day Activities at assembly area

(7.20am – 8.00am)

i. 1.45 pm – 2.00 pm

ii. 1.55 pm – 2.30 pm

After school

(3.00 pm – 4.30 /5.30 pm)

Monday

Official assembly

i. Prayer time (Form 4 and Form 5)

ii. Prayer time and Solat

practices (Form 1 –

Form 3)

Tutorial

Tuesday i. NILAM project – Segar

Minda

(Mind Refreshing) ii. Public speaking

iii. Jasamu dikenang (Honouring

your contribution) session

i. Prayer time (Form 4 and

Form 5)

ii. Prayer time and Solat practices (Form 1 –

Form 3)

Tutorial

Wednesday i. NILAM project – Segar

Minda (Mind Refreshing) ii. Public speaking

iii. English Day

i. Prayer time (Form 4 and Form 5)

ii. Prayer time and Solat

practices (Form 1 – Form 3)

Uniformed societies;

Clubs; Associations; Sports/Games

Thursday i. NILAM project – Segar

Minda (Mind Refreshing)

ii. A day with community iii. Why am I here?

iv. Scientist Mind

i. Prayer time (Form 4 and

Form 5)

ii. Prayer time and Solat practices (Form 1 –

Form 3)

Tutorial

Sports Practices

Friday i. Reading of Yassin ii. Asma al-Husna

iii. Friday Takzirah

Friday Prayer Sports Leagues

Table 1: Activities to create safe, orderly, and healthy school climate in SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1)

As the school activities are extended to 4.30pm or 5.30pm each day, SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) does not forget

those underprivileged students. Twelve underprivileged students are given RM3.00 food coupon each day in order to help them sustain during the long school day. In addition to it, the school is providing simple breakfast for Form Three and Form Five students who attend the early morning classes (7.00am – 8.00am), which focus on subjects that

students are weak on. With the efforts invested, the school hopes that these students will succeed in their academic

achievement. SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) is not only moving towards a safe, orderly, and healthy climate, but

being a caring school as well.

While schools are thriving to meet the educational needs of the students and of the community as a whole, they

themselves, as open systems, are exposed to every kind of security threats coming from inside and outside of the school environment (Ozmena et al., 2010). We do not deny that our school is facing the same problem as well.

SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) has students who at times behave beyond the accepted behaviour. In SMK Putrajaya

Presint 11 (1), we accept students who are expelled from their previous schools due to discipline problems. The head of the school, Puan Sri Halimah make the communities of SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) to believe that all students can be developed into good individuals and citizens since all students are born with good souls. Each week

is a subject matter week. Subject matter weeks are carried out to disperse additional knowledge, building talent

among students and instilling good moral values on students. The cultivation of good moral values is intensified through the religious activities. Since almost 98.6% of SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) students are Muslims, religion

camps are conducted throughout the year. Motivational camps are the added values to the development of students’

well-beings.

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Sadker and Zittleman (2009) described the day in the life of a principal can be spent trying to keep small incidents

from becoming major crises. This proved to be true as the principal of SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) considers every misbehaving of students with great concern. In SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1), students’ misbehaviours are

identified before they deteriorate into violence. Counselling sessions, special education programs, and school wide

programs are conducted to create a safe, orderly, and healthy school climate. Punishment is always used as the last

resolution. Problematic students are being referred to the school counsellor for a few session of counselling. If students still repeat the same mistakes, they will be referred to discipline teacher for action. Subsequently, these

help in reducing school tension caused by students’ misbehaviours.

Although SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) is located in a new school building complex beginning year 2005, yet equipments, tools and apparatus would gradually make their ways to time evolvement. However, the school

management will always work ahead and develop strategies to improve the school buildings and facilities in order to

optimize students’ learning and performance. The physical environment of the school and classrooms are upgraded from time to time. For instance, with the initiatives of the school management and the parents and teachers board,

the cement floor for the morning assembly area was upgraded with tiles. Special function rooms such as music

room, co-curriculum room, examination room, catering and hospitality room, and banquet room are created for the

students and teachers’ wellbeing. At the moment, the school management is working towards the making of each classroom as a smart classroom with internet access and LCD projectors.

A safe, orderly, and healthy climate is not only aiming at students. Puan Sri Halimah has always provides a safe environment for the teachers to try out new teaching approaches that might be more effective. Our teaching staff

has always responded positively to the opportunities. Some of the approaches being tried out are the morning

classes aiming at lower academic achievement students, weekend night classes aiming at high achiever students, and

intermediate students during after school hours. The opportunities in trying new approaches in teaching and learning process would help teachers to perceive themselves as professionals and improved their sense of self-

efficacy (Day et al., 2010). Subsequently, the opportunities to experiment would make all teachers as action

researchers.

iv. Factor 4: Monitoring school and students’ progress Schools with high achievement are characterized by clear and well organized teaching that keeps students actively

involved in the learning process, motivates students, and connects to their background knowledge (Papanastasiou, 2008; Van de Grift & Houtveen, 2006). SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) has a special program named “Traffic Light”,

in which students are categorized based on examination results. The green light is a safe zone. The green light

group consists of students with 80 marks and above. Students in the yellow light group are students with potential to

excel. Meanwhile, the red light refers to remedial zone. Students in red light zone need extra guidance. The distribution of students in the Traffic Light Program is based on subject matters. After each examination, the

distribution will be reorganized to suit the current condition. Students do not maintain in the same group throughout

the year. Different teaching and learning approaches are used within each traffic light. Teachers are required to keep thorough records of student scores on standardized tests in their folders. Students’ strength and weaknesses on

each topic are recorded and apprehended after each exam. Revision, drill and practices, pre-test and post-test are

conducted from time to time to detect students’ progress on each topic. Changes in instructional practice have direct influences on students’ learning (Supovitz, Sirinides, & May, 2009). Thus, the conditions of teaching and learning are reshaped from time to time according the students’ acceptance and performance.

SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) displays students’ achievements on bulletin boards along the school walkways. It is

not only to monitor school and students’ progress, but also to acknowledge students’ achievements. In order to acknowledge students’ achievements in a more extrinsic way, Brilliant Minds Awards are being held twice a year.

Students are being awarded robes, certificates, and prizes. The school organized Brilliant Minds Awards for

excellent students in terms of academic, co-curriculum activities, behaviour conducts, and full attendance to school.

The monitoring of school and students’ progress is also carried out through the enhancement of teachers’ quality. In

house trainings and professional development courses are conducted from time to time by expert teachers as well as experts beyond school boundary. School leadership proved to be important in shaping a constructive learning environment for teachers in schools (James & McCormick, 2009; Louis, Dretzke, & Wahlstrom, 2010). The

leadership of the principal has a direct effect on teachers’ expectations and standards (Day et al., 2010). Besides

having a direct influence on the way teachers think about, plan and conduct their teaching and learning practices,

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principals affect the ways teachers perceive their self-efficacy, commitment, sense of wellbeing, organizational

loyalty, and trust. Robinson, Lloyd, and Rowe (2008) highlighted that leaders in effective schools use clear performance standards to evaluate the teaching process conducted by teachers and provide regular feedback based

on classroom observations. All these outputs will have indirect influences on students’ outcomes. Therefore, the

importance of school leadership for the quality and improvement of teaching and learning process should not be

ignored.

Teaching and learning are at the heart of education (Tuytens & Devos, 2011). Thus, the leader of SMK Putrajaya

Presint 11 (1) viewed it as essential to have the best teachers possible in front of each classroom. Leadership

directly influences teachers’ professional learning (Tuytens & Devos, 2011). All these years, Puan Sri Halimah has been supporting and encouraging talent development among the teaching staff, without fearing of losing the teachers

in a later phase due to transfer. Trust is closely associated with a positive school culture (Day et al., 2010).

Teachers are encouraged to further study at higher level such as pursuing master and PhD qualifications. Behavioral theorists agree that school will not change if the staff, especially the teachers, do not change

(Papanastasiou, 2008). Creating an atmosphere in which teachers are considered professionals and have

opportunities to continue their professional development, both within and beyond the school they teach in, leads

teachers towards excellence (Kirk & Jones, 2004). This atmosphere, in turn, will help them lead the students to excellencies. Therefore, by encouraging teachers to further study, teachers are expected to contribute more for the well-being of the students under our care with the knowledge and skills attained.

v. Factor 5: High expectations

Higher expectations are predicted to produce higher students’ achievements (Sadker & Zittleman, 2009). Mind

setting of getting straight As are generated early of the year. Form Three and Form Five students of the school are

required to sign the oath and pledge to do well in their examinations. They will have to promise not let their parents, school, teachers, and most importantly themselves down without trying their very best in the respective examination.

SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) makes the expectations explicit. Students are also exposed of the information on the

chances of getting into higher learning institutions or university level. Papanastasiou (2008) noted that this attempt

would influence students in generating high expectations of themselves. Subsequently, students will voluntarily working towards their academic achievements.

Puan Sri Halimah does not only putting high expectations on students but as well as on her teaching staff. In an effective schools, when teachers hold high expectations that students can learn, they will translate these expectations

into teaching behaviours (Sadker & Zittleman, 2009). Accordingly, teachers would set objectives, work toward

mastery of those objectives, spend more time on instruction, and actively monitor students’ progress. When teachers

are convinced that students would succeed, they would voluntarily playing the role beyond information dispenser. Although teachers in SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) are always encouraged to be risk taking but they are reminded

not to be judgmental. When teachers are judgmental, their treatment on the students would often differ in

unconscious ways (Sadker & Zittleman, 2009). For instance, fewer opportunities to respond and praise would be applied. Teachers would also set less challenging work for these students.

In SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1), we are not only focusing on the national level examination achievement, but as

well as developing students into better entity. Students are trained to have high expectations on themselves. We

help students to generate better perceptions about themselves through various activities. For instances, we bring students out for camping, organizing academically activities outside the school compound, and through motivational courses. Although national level examinations are always within our focus, yet students are developed beyond the

ability to pass examinations and obtain paper credentials in SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1). Nurturing of students’

personal behaviours, spiritual, emotion, physical, and social development are equally important too. Caring, patience, social, and emotional intelligence are attributes in generating well-developed students (Schulte, Slate, &

Onwuegbuzie, 2008). Therefore, the principal of SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) leads the teaching and

administrating staff with care, patience, social and emotional intelligence in order to create an effective school. In

brief, the whole arena of educational development in SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) comes under the heading of democratizing the educational system (Figure 3). We share the belief that opportunities should be provided for all

students to have better discovery on their highest point of achievement.

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Mind Relaxing Program at Monumen Alaf Baru,

Putrajaya, organized under the Department of Science

and Mathematics.

We give equal care and respect to our special learning

children in the school. These special learning children

are taken for study trips a few times a year in order to expose them to the outside world.

Figure 3: democratizing the educational system

Impact of the Five Factors (Sadker & Zittleman, 2009) Practiced on SMK Putrajaya

Presint 11 (1) Today’s children live in the conditions differently from ours (Psunder, 2005). We should not prepare them for

future life by forcing them to imitate or get used to the established behavioural patterns. Education should aim at encouraging students’ potential in order to contribute to a more morally and responsible ways. Therefore, the

development of autonomous and responsible critical thinking and creativity are warranted in school. Although the

five factors of Sadker and Zittleman (2009) helped SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) to emerge as the best daily secondary school in Putrajaya, based on NKRA New Deal 2010, yet in this paper, the authors wished to focus on the

impact on students. What have been considered as criteria for educational achievement are changing (Wilson, 2005).

Educational achievement should not be assessed based on the academic achievement alone. The assessment of an

effective school educational achievement has to focus on more holistic dimensions such as (Figure 1): i. Emotional development

ii. Social development

iii. Spiritual development

iv. Intellectual development v. Physical development

The following visual captures (Figure 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8) could the best evidences in proving the development of the above dimensions:

Figure 4: Emotionally stable students

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Figure 5: Social development attained by students with learning disabilities (left) and normal students (right)

Figure 6: Products with economically values, which produced by students with learning abilities

Figure 7: Excellent physical accomplishment

Majority of the students in SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) are always emotionally ready for their classes. They rarely create serious discipline problems in the classroom. It makes the executing of teaching and learning process smooth.

Teachers do not need much effort in controlling the students as they are capable in managing themselves in the most

acceptable ways. As for those with learning disabilities, students who were not emotionally stable at the beginning

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of the school term gradually attained their emotional stability as time passed. We acknowledge the function of time

in creating emotional stability on students. However, we also contribute it to the effort of the school and teachers in making the students with learning disabilities to adapt themselves in the shortest term possible. As a result, although

academically disable, these students are capable in producing products with economically values (Figure 6) and

most importantly the students are able to take care of themselves.

SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) was awarded seven best achievement subjects for National Lower Secondary

Examination in 2010. These subjects consisted of Science, Mathematics, History, Geography, Islamic Studies,

Living Skills, and Arabic Language. At the same time, the school achieved the best school average grade (GPS

score = 1.75) of its six years in operation and 91.04% of passes. There were nine students scoring 9As, 13 students scoring 8As, and 22 students scoring 7As during the 2010 National Lower Secondary Examination. As for

Malaysian Education Certificate or Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) achieved 99.26%

of passes, with an average grade of 4.29 in year 2010. Eleven students scored straight As for the subjects taken. The most heart warming achievement recorded in year 2010 was the achievement of Mohd Rafzan Bin Abdul

Rahman. Mohd Rafzan is a physically disable student with learning disability as well. He managed to score 3As,

4Cs and 3Ds during 2010 SPM examination. This proved that when school put high expectation on students,

teachers would consciously and unconsciously work towards the betterment of students’ self-development. SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) students’ intellectuality has also been proved through the excellent achievements at

state level competitions. To name a few, students won 1st place in mind-mapping competition, 1

st place in Bahasa

Melayu parliamentary style debate, 1st place in Bahasa Melayu public speaking, 2nd place in English parliamentary

style debate, 2nd place in Tourism Quiz Competition, grabbing all the top three places in Race for Knowledge

Competition, and 2nd

and 3rd

place in the National Robotic Competition. With all the intellectuality achievements,

SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) has never forgoes the need for spiritual development. Since SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) has specifically allocated time for afternoon prayers, students are trained to be spiritually disciplined. Praying

is a routine practices among students. Religiously well-disciplined students will produce a generation, which is not

only intelligent but also leading a more content life.

In the mean time, by putting higher expectation on teachers, it helped the school to won 3rd place in the Innovative Competition 2011 at national level through the implementation of C2L Portal in assisting the teaching and learning

process. C2L Portal helps teachers in preparing teaching and learning materials online, as well as conducting online examinations. It provides students a different kind of examination experiences. Besides that, online examinations

are able to provide instant results. It helps students learning their mistakes on the spot. Learning is an in-situ

process.

Meanwhile, with the commitment of all communities within SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1), the school has won 1st

place in Federal Territory Flag Raising Competition 2011. Recently, SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) is chosen for the

national level best canteen and toilet competitions. It shows our assurances for the students’ socially accountabilities. Students are developing themselves to be socially responsible. Students are guided to be the ones

with bigger responsibilities in taking care of the school. Subsequently, we are moving towards the developing of

socially responsible citizens of Malaysia. Students of SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) displayed their excellent physical accomplishment by winning a number

of competitions at state level. To name a few, students of SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) won 1st place in Police

Cadets M16 Rifle Shooting Skills Competition; 1st place in the Police Cadets marching competition; 1

st place in

Putrajaya Schools Football Championship; 1st place in ping pong sport competition; and 2

nd place in Youth Football

League. Therefore, intellectual accomplishment is not the only impact of the effort invested by the school, as

students are showing positive accomplishments in the aspects of spiritual, physical, social, and emotional stability.

Challenges Although SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) managed to attain a number of achievements during the last seven years, yet

there is still a difficulty in measuring the impact of the school system on the students’ adaptation and successfulness in real world. While we can easily count the number of high achiever students produced by our system, yet little

systematic information is available in relations to the concern matter. School is just a platform to develop students

into better entities. However, the real world is much more challenging. Therefore, students’ adaptation to the real

11

world would be a better indicator on the usefulness of the survival skills attained during their schooling years in

SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1).

One of the challenges faced is the increasing external expectations on our school. Pressures come from all

directions, starting from school invigilators to the society around. The local society is expecting the school in

producing more students with excellent values in all areas of engagement. We are finding ways to sustain continuous improvement on the school’s achievement. When the school reached a high level point of achievement,

sometimes it is very hard to sustain or going beyond the line in the following year. In addition, there is always a

tension between the amount of time and energy devoted in ensuring all the communities within the school are

always more than competent in executing their tasks. SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) has becomes the benchmark for other schools around Putrajaya, as well as schools far beyond our nation. The Korean Board of Principals had

visited our school twice to learn more about the management and leadership skill applied in SMK Putrajaya Presint

11 (1). Therefore, in order to meet the demand of intensification, the communities of SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) have to continuously working ahead of others.

From the perspective of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) Theory, we noted that it is important to include the stakeholders’

voice while executing actions and decisions. In order to democratize the school management system, SMK Putrajaya Presint 11(1) attempts to take into account of students’ suggestions and perceptions on some of the actions and decisions to be executed. AI theory and practices seek to discover what is working particularly well with the

students and what they desire to achieve (Cooperrider, Whitney, & Stavros, 2008; Lebrun, 2007). Cooperrider et al. (2008) perceived human systems as growing in the direction where persistently search on the best of the past and

present will create more desirable future. This is because the powerful images of oneself and the world around will

help the students to inspire more volunteered and positive actions and innovation.

The society has becoming more complex. Thus, the educational process is becoming more challenging. SMK

Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) introduced action research to teachers in order for them to improve their professional

endeavours. Action research enables teachers to learn new ways of meeting the students’ needs (Hendricks, 2006; V.

Robinson & Lai, 2006). It provides teachers the opportunities in revitalizing their professional lives (Hendricks, 2006). Ponte, Beijard and Ax (2004) described education as constantly changing and teachers have to take well-thought-out decisions on what are the best course of actions in a particular situation. Accordingly, action research

helps teachers to be more effective and efficient in their workplace. Teachers are members of a social community, in which parents, professional groups, government, and academic community have high expectations regarding

education (Ponte et al., 2004). Action research is able to help teachers in improving the conditions within

classrooms and schools. Therefore, it is important for teachers to add action research work into their inventory.

However, the needs to add action research into the teachers’ repertoire was not taken positively by most teachers as they perceived it as a burden added to their already overflowing accountabilities. As a result, it becomes one of the

challenges for the management to make teachers conduct action research with minimum burden.

Conclusion There is still much more to learn about the essentials in creating an effective school as time and human capitals are

evolving. The principal is regarded as a main source of leadership in a school. In order to promote an effective school, a principal needs to play the lead role in encouraging changes for improvement. It is undeniable that the

society and the Ministry of Education always judge a school by the academic achievement attained by students at

the end of the day. Nevertheless, while working towards an effective school, Puan Sri Halimah has a strong ethical

values and moral purpose. Students of SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) are not only being nurtured intellectually, but also spiritually, emotionally, socially, and physically. SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) is propelled to teach students

regardless of their backgrounds, building positive relationships with communities within and beyond school boundary, improving of the school environment, and enhancing professional status of teaching staff. As a conclusion, the leadership of Puan Sri Halimah is the catalyst of the efforts for SMK Putrajaya Presint 11 (1) in

moving towards an effective school.

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