"This book is a collection of papers that provide an overview of the historical development of education in Malaysia during the last half century."--Book jacket.

Perkins reveals the common misguided strategies students use and offers teachers and parents advice on how they can help their children. Although there has been a great deal of impassioned debate over the sad state of American education today, surprisingly little attention has been paid to how children actually learn to think. But, as David Perkins demonstrates, we cannot solve our problems in this area simply by redistributing power or by asking children to regurgitate facts on a multiple choice exam. Rather we must ask what kinds of knowledge students typically acquire in school. In Smart Schools, Perkins draws on over twenty years of research to reveal the common misguided strategies students use in trying to understand a topic, and then shows teachers and parents what strategies they can use with children to increase real understanding.

This book provides an overview of language education in Malaysia, covering topics such as the evolution of the education system from pre-independence days to the present time, to the typology of schools, and the public philosophy behind every policy made in the teaching of languages. The book consists of chapters devoted to the teaching of languages that form separate strands but are at the same time connected to each other within the education system. These chapters discuss: Implementing the national language policy in education institutions English in language education policies and planning in Malaysia Chinese and Tamil language education in Malaysia Teaching of indigenous Malaysian languages The role of translation in education in Malaysia It also discusses the development of language which enables the national language, Malay, to fulfil its role as the main medium of education up to the tertiary level. This book will be of interest to researchers studying language planning, teacher education and the sociology of education, particularly, within the Malaysian context.

Curriculum Evaluation In Malaysia: Aspirations And Realities Curriculum evaluation is among the popular areas of research in education in Malaysia. This inaugural lecture book aims to compare the aspirations and realities of curriculum evaluation in the country. The aspirations are based on concepts and purposes of curriculum evaluation and guidelines provided by some popular curriculum evaluation models. On the other hand, the realities of curriculum evaluation in Malaysia are presented based on a review of 50 randomly sampled reports of curriculum evaluation. The review resulted in a summary of the current state of curriculum evaluation practices in Malaysia. The comparison of the aspirations and realities of the curriculum evaluation practices found a diversity of approaches and methods used; all studies have evaluative features; most of the evaluation findings are for specific implications to the programme evaluated; the terms ‘curriculum evaluation’, ‘programme evaluation’, and ‘curriculum research’ are used interchangeably; less than half of the reports did not involve the use of an evaluation model; a large proportion of curriculum evaluation in higher education projects focused on outcome-based education and entrepreneurship educati on; and only a handful of the evaluation projects were conducted by decision and policy makers at ministerial level. In the light of these findings, implications to policy makers and curriculum practitioners are discussed.

English in Malaysia: Current Use and Status offers an account of the English language used in present-day West and East Malaysia and its status anchored in different linguistic, social and educational domains. After an Introduction giving a bird’s eye view of the status of English in Malaysia, the eight main chapters offer case studies revolving around four themes: i. linguistic features, with special focus on pronunciation and language contact; ii. language attitudes; iii. English in on-line discourse; and iv. English and language policies. The chapters cover original data and topics, seeking to draw an accurate portrait of Malaysian English, a non-native variety of postcolonial English that is currently developing its pronunciation, grammar, lexis and distinct identity.

This paper discusses the various aspects of the Malaysian “Smart Schools Initiative,” such as philosophy of education, aim of education, school management, pedagogical practices, evaluation system etc. Through the analysis and sharing of some personal experiences, the author hopes to introduce the Malaysian Smart School Initiative and highlight its impact on the local primary and secondary school education.

The Smart School Policy initiative in 1999 was in line with the Malaysian Government's goals for technology utilization in the teaching-learning processes. The Malaysian policy was designed to ensure that the education system is set up for the citizens in the future as knowledge workers for the Information Age. It was also aimed at preparing Malaysians to be able to attain the country's vision of becoming an entirely developed nation by 2020. Establishment of the Smart School Policy can be considered as an effective policy for implementing change in the Malaysian Education System. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the four phases of the “policy cycle” including formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation in terms of the Malaysian Smart School Policy. Through analyzing the policy cycle, this paper also aims to evaluate the achievement status of the smart school policy in the Malaysian education system. The findings of this study showed that the major changes from formulating smart school policy was for the teachers and students in terms of ICT awareness and technology literacy. It also revealed that formulation of smart school policy in Malaysia is able to help the country not only to achieve its goals in producing human capital with ICT skills but also to prepare for the skilled knowledge-based society in the near future.