TED 072

BASIC PRINCIPLE IN EDUCATION

Library Research on Secondary Schools

Name Student ID

Class

Humairah binti Mizun 2011675262

2B

Khairunnisa binti Asmady Kabisa 2011448628

2B

Nur Alyaa Nabila binti Zakariah 2011863416

2B

Lecturer’s Name

En Muhamed Faeiz Alwee

Introduction

Secondary school is the stage between the primary or elementary

school and higher or university level. It is also known as middle school.

Secondary schooling has a long history and there is now a wide range of

different types of secondary schools. The terminology used in secondary

schools varies all around the world. Children usually transfer to secondary

school between the ages of 10 and 16 years, and finish between the ages of

16 and 19 years, though there is considerable variation from country to

country. In Malaysia, the secondary students are in the ages between 13 and

17. In few countries the secondary education falls under the compulsory

education category whereas in few it is categorized under non compulsory

education. There are many differences between secondary school and other

educational settings; preschool, elementary school and tertiary institutions

(college or university level). We are going to discuss and differ them through

these educational aspects; aims and objectives, facilities and resources,

funding, management, curriculum and curricular implementation and lastly,

the issues and challenges faced by each institutional.

1.0 Aims and Objectives

There are several aims and objectives of secondary schools:

a) To set up more effective transition between the elementary school and

tertiary institutions.

b) To develop the intellect and improve the capacity to think suitable with

students’ abilities.

c) To provide a program specifically designed for the students.

d) As a preparation for higher education (for some students) and

preparation for work (for other students).

e) To organise and establish other systems of means for the attainment

of the more complex interests of after-life, practical and theoretical.

f) To acquire and organise experiences so as to render future action

more efficient.

2.0 Facilities and Resources

2.1 Facilities

There are many kinds of facilities in the schools such as:

Physical Facilities

- Canteen

- Toilets

- ‘Koperasi sekolah’

- Sports store

- Courts

- School field

- Parking

Humanistic Facilities

- ‘surau’

- Treatment room

- Discipline room

- Counselling room

- Guard post

Teaching and Learning Facilities

- Classrooms

- Staff room

- Library

- Meeting room

- Biology/science laboratory

- Chemistry laboratory

- Physics laboratory

- Computer laboratory

- Cooking room

- Sewing room

- Life skills workshop (Bengkel kemahiran hidup)

- Art room

Equipment for Teaching and Learning

- Desks

- Chairs

- Cupboards

- Whiteboard/blackboard (depends on the schools)

- Notice board

- Teachers’ desks

- LCD

- Television

- Computers

- Laptops

- Photostat machine

- Printer

- LCD screen

Communication Facilities

- Telephone

- Facsimile machine

2.2 Resources

Resources in secondary schools can be divided into:

Academic Resources

- Textbooks (provided by the government)

- Tuitions (from the school itself)

Co-curriculum Resources

- Uniform for uniformed units

3.0 Funding

There are two providers of secondary education in Malaysia:

a) Government-funded

The government-funded comes from the Ministry of Education

in Malaysia. Malaysian government provides more than 95%

of primary and secondary education.

b) Private-funded

The private-funded comes from the tuition fees, activities, and

annual appeals.

4.0 Management

In Malaysia, Ministry of Education, also known as MOE (Kementerian

Pelajaran Malaysia) is in charge in all education-related affairs only from pre-

school up to secondary level of education. Although education is the

responsibility of the federal government, each state and district also has an

education department – State Education Department (Jabatan Pelajaran

Negeri) and District Education Department (Jabatan Pelajaran Daerah)

respectively. Their function is to coordinate educational matters in its

territory. The main legislation governing education is the Education Act of

1996.

Providers of Primary and Secondary Educa-tion in Malaysia

Government, 95%Private, 5%

Diagram 1 Percentage of providers of Primary and Secondary Education in Malaysia

In school level, each school has a school organization chart. For

example:

Basically, each school consist of:

a) Principal

The principal is the head of the school; he/she is responsible in the

case of management, administration and school finance.

b) Parent-teacher Association

Build understanding about the roles and responsibilities together in an

effort to improve the teaching quality of teachers and pupils' learning

in schools, as well as enhancing cooperation and partnership between

schools, parents, and local communities (school-home-community

partnerships).

c) Senior Assistant 1 (Curriculum and Administration)

One of the Senior Assistant 1 responsibilities is to assist the Principal in

all aspects of planning and school management.

d) Senior Assistant 2 (Student Affairs)

Responsible to the Principal in matters of counseling, safety and

welfare of students, textbooks, publishing and printing, school

celebrations, cooperative schools, school canteens and hostel

supervision.

e) Senior Assistant 3 ( Co-curriculum)

Responsible in determining the development of talent and potential of

students in extra-curricular activities such as associations and clubs,

sports and games as well as uniformed unit team.

f) Counsellor

Identify the needs of schools Guidance and Counseling (Bimbingan dan

Kaunseling) services through research needs, questionnaires,

interviews and discussions with students, teachers, administrators,

school staff, parents and former students.

g) Teachers

Responsible in providing education to the students.

h) Support Staff

i) Students

5.0 Curriculum and Curricular Implementation

According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, the word

‘curriculum’ is define as the subjects that are included in a course of study or

taught in a school, college, etc. The school curriculum is expected to

contribute to the holistic development of the individual (mental, emotional,

physical, spiritual) by imparting general knowledge and skills, fostering

healthy attitudes and instilling accepted moral values. The aim is to produce

Malaysian citizens who are balanced, trained and skilful and cherish the

national aspiration for unity. The general direction for on-going curriculum

reform is to improve the quality of education in order to achieve the aims of

the National Education Philosophy (NEP). The NEP has been geared towards

achieving the nation’s vision to prepare children to become knowledgeable,

trained and skilled individuals to meet the growing needs of the millennium.

It is envisaged that this can be achieved by emphasizing science and

technology, use of information technology, and inculcating good moral and

work ethics suitable for the Information Age. The school curriculum is

designed to achieve the intended learning outcomes for different ability

levels.

5.1 Curriculum of the secondary school

- Stages in Secondary School

Secondary education lasts for five years, referred to as Form

(Tingkatan) 1 to 5. Form 1 to Form 3 is known as Lower Secondary

(Menengah Rendah), while Form 4 and 5 are known as Upper Secondary

(Menengah Atas). Most students who had completed primary education

are admitted to Form 1. Students from national-type primary schools have

the additional requirement to obtain a minimum C grade for the Malay

subjects in UPSR, failing which they will have to attend a year-long

transition class, commonly called "Remove" (Kelas/Tingkatan Peralihan),

before proceeding to Form 1. As in primary schools, students are

promoted to the next year regardless of their academic performance.

At the end of Form 3, the Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR, formerly

known as Sijil Pelajaran Rendah (SRP) or Lower Certificate of Education

(LCE)) or Lower Secondary Evaluation is taken by students. Based on PMR

results and choice, they will be streamed into either the Science stream or

Arts stream starting in Form 4. The Science stream is generally more

desirable. Students are allowed to shift to the Arts stream from the

Science stream, but rarely vice-versa. At the end of Form 5, students are

required to take the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) or Malaysian Certificate

of Education examination, before graduating from secondary school.

- Languages used in Secondary School

Public secondary education in Malaysia is provided by National Secondary

Schools (Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan). National Secondary Schools use

Malay as the main medium of instruction. English is a compulsory subject in

all schools. Since 2003, Science and Mathematics had been taught in

English; however in 2009 the government decided to revert back to using

Malay starting in 2012. As in primary schools, a National Secondary School

must provide teaching of Chinese and Tamil languages, as well as indigenous

languages wherever practical, on request of parents of at least 15 pupils in

the school. In addition, foreign languages such

as Arabic, Japanese, German or French may be taught at certain schools.

- Subjects being taught in Secondary School for:

Lower Secondary

Core subjects are compulsory for students and taught in all secondary

school. Other subjects taught depend on schools and facilities available.

At the end of three years (in form3), students take the Lower Secondary

Evaluation Exam (PMR in Malay).

Subject offered at lower secondary level are:

Core subjects: Bahasa Melayu (Malay language), English, Science,

History, Geography, and Mathematics.

Choice subjects: Islam studies, Moral, Life Skills: Home Economics/

Agriculture / Entrepreneurship and Commerce/ Comprehensive, selected

European language and Mother tongue (Chinese/ Tamil).

Upper Secondary

Based on their PMR (lower secondary) result, pupils have several

choices to pursue and continue their education. Upper secondary is two

years (form 4 to form 5). These choices are categorized into ‘streams’. There

are four core subjects that all streams will have and is compulsory for

students. The three main streams in upper secondary are Academic stream

(Art/ Science), Technical & Vocational stream, and Islamic School. Core

subjects offered in all public schools are Bahasa Melayu, English,

Mathematics, Islamic Studies/ Moral/ History.

All upper secondary students are required to take the SPM at the end

of the two years. This examination is used to determine admission to form 6

or pre-universities, diploma courses or entry to private college or institutions.

Most Malaysians job opportunities usually require a minimum of pass the

SPM examination.

5.2 Curricular Implementation

The national curriculum is implemented using the decentralized

mode. At the Ministry level, the Central Curriculum Committee, the

highest policy-making body in the organization, established the

working committee, the Committee for Implementation of Primary and

Secondary School Programs. It is supported by a Technical Working

Committee to coordinate and to ensure that reforms would be well

implemented from every aspect.

At the state level, the State Curriculum Committee is headed by

the state director of Education who

• Monitors, assesses and guides principals, headmasters and

teachers in the implementation of the curriculum;

• Coordinates the implementation of activities policymakers and

implementers at the Ministry, division/district and school levels;

• Coordinates the use of resources for curriculum

implementation;

• Plans, manages and coordinates courses organized for

teachers by the State Education Department;

• Plans, manages and implements innovative projects; and

• Improves professionalism among teachers.

At the district level, the District Curriculum Committee carries

out the planning and implementation activities. Similarly, at the school

level, the School Curriculum Committee provides guidance and

assistance for implementing the curriculum at the school and

classroom levels.

- Existing infrastructure support for the national curriculum (i.e.,

adequacy of classrooms and physical facilities, and of equipment,

laboratories and libraries in schools and learning centers)

To ensure effective teaching and learning at all levels schools are

provided with better facilities, for example, science laboratories,

computer laboratories, and workshops for living skills and home

science are provided.

- The state of textbooks and instructional materials.

Textbooks continue to be useful as the main resource for

teachers and students alike. The textbooks produced by the Textbooks

Division of the Ministry of Education are transformation or

interpretation of the syllabus gives to the students. The syllabus forms

the integral framework of which the textbooks are conceived and

produced. All students are provided with the text books. They do not

need to buy them at book stores anymore. The aim of this facility is to

make sure the curriculum is implemented and to reduce the financial

burden on poor parents who have school-age children.

There are several types of instructional materials provided by the

Ministry of Education:

a. Subject syllabi (primary/secondary level), which indicate general

aims, objectives and content organization.

b. Syllabus specification with detailed explanation of the learning

objectives/outcomes/scope and sequence of

skills/competencies/knowledge to be acquired for each level of

schooling.

c. Teacher’s guidebooks, resource books for teachers, learning kits

with suggested strategies/approaches and classroom activities.

d. Teaching and learning modules.

6.0 Issues and Challenges

6.1 Issues

There are 3 issues in secondary school:

Discipline issue

Academic issue

Social issue

a) Discipline issue

Discipline problems in schools have been serious breaches of

school discipline policy that had profound negative effects on the

schools. One of the salient factors that attributes to the problem is

peer group influences. According to the study of Discipline Problems

among Secondary School Students in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, peer

group influence was the dominant factor attributing to discipline

problems among students. It was due to the students who like to spend

their times with their friends. The students generally tend to do

something which is unhealthy rather than doing things that benefit

themselves and others. They also tend to be influenced by bad things

from the outside world since they are group of students who in

teenage age that have high curiosity in some new things.

b) Academic issue

Academic issues in secondary schools are gradually discussed

from time to time to ensure the curriculum in secondary schools is

perfectly implemented. Besides that, the ministry of education wants

to make sure that all students, either the high intelligent students or

less intelligent students, get all the knowledge that have been set in

secondary schools curriculum for instance, the issue of PPSMI. The

ministry of education has been thought that all students are much

better to understand some knowledge when they learn it using their

own mother tongue.

c) Social issue

There are a lot of social issues in secondary schools such as

bully, gangsters, vandalism, and sexual relationship between students

and students or students and teachers. The social issue in secondary

education is a hot topic as it has been reported frequently by the

media in Malaysia. The rate of this issue is higher compare to primary

schools. This is because, the students in this stage are teenager

students which are basically act, react and behave with their emotional

control. According to the local newspapers, the number of social issues

among secondary students is getting higher and higher.

6.2 Challenges

There are 3 types of challenges:

Academic Challenges

Social Pressures

Emotional Needs

a) Academic challenges

In school, the curriculum often changes from basic identify and

recall activities to requiring students to exhibit critical thinking and

creative skills. Not all teenagers develop these mental abilities at the

same time, so it can be difficult for some students to adapt with new

challenges. At this age, teenagers are focused on themselves more than

academics so learning must be relevant. Teachers must work hard to

appeal to the interests of school students and clearly explain why

information is important. Besides that, the students also have to deal with

tons of important exam such as trial ‘PMR’, ‘PMR’, trial ‘SPM’ and ‘SPM’.

They also have to compete with other students to get batter place in their

tertiary education.

b) Social pressures

During the school years, students tend to be more focused on being

loyal to their peers than their families. They believe that friends can be

more understanding about them than other people. Most teens simply

want to fit in somewhere because the pressure of being accepted by the

peers. This means that students are willing to test the limits of

acceptable behaviour in order to fit in and will often accept poor

treatment or make bad choices to keep friends or be accepted into a

group. Teens who do not conform can find themselves the victim of

bullying or shunning.

c) Emotional Needs

Students are prone to mood swings or rapid shifts in behaviour and

can be very sensitive to negative comments. It is important for teachers

to be careful not to embarrass a student or provide negative feedback in

front of peers and get to know a student to determine whether praise

should be given publicly or privately. Even though teenagers desire

acceptance from their peers, they also need reassurance from adults that

they are making positive decisions. For most teenagers, every problem is

a problem that is unique to self and is the biggest problem in the world.

Teachers and other adults must take this into consideration when

counselling and talking with school students.

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