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Contents Preface 3 A Word of Appreciation 7 Members of the ‘Malaysia Independent Chinese Secondary Schools Education Blueprint’ Project Team 11 Introduction: Independent Chinese Secondary Schools in the New Era 16 Paradigm Shift: A Different Education 18 Students of the New Era 20 The Visions and Goals for Educational Reform 23 Curriculum Development: Foundation of Learning 25 Students: The Key Players in Learning 36 Assessment: Improvement in Learning 42 Teachers: Role Models for Learning 44 From School to Community: Building a Fun Learning Environment 52 Information Technology: Incorporation into Teaching 61 Reform Principles and Strategies 65 Closing Remarks 69 Continuity, Innovation, and Striving for Excellence Prefaced by Temenggong Dato Vincent Lau Lee Ming, Chairman of Dong Zong We are a nation of multiple ethnicities, cultures, languages, educational entities and religions. Attributed to such diversity, we subsequently have multiple academic systems in place for various communities which use different languages as their medium of instruction while practising common education directives in this country. The coexistence of these educational varieties has enriched the social fabric of our multiracial society. Besides functioning as a valuable asset for the nation, it further optimises itself with significant advantage in the global move to cultivate talents of all sorts. The Chinese education system which adopts Chinese Mandarin in its Mother Tongue education is an important component of our existing diverse education framework. Currently, there are altogether 60+1 Independent Chinese Secondary Schools in this unique, non-profit and privately-run Chinese education system. Its experience and success in education administration is unprecedented in the secondary education history of the country and even around the world which virtually holds a very special status and carries significant meaning. As non-profit education institutions run by the civil community, Independent Chinese Secondary Schools still need to raise funds for their operational expenses from members of the public, apart from collecting fees from students. Independent Chinese Secondary Schools implements a six-year education in two levels; namely, three years of junior middle level and three years of senior middle level. Accordingly, Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and English are either required or elective subjects. The Dong Zong Independent Chinese Secondary Schools Working Committee formed by Dong Zong and Jiao Zong is responsible for compiling unified textbooks, organising the Unified Examination and training teachers, among other tasks. Take for instance, the Unified Examination has been taking place since 1975 for 43 consecutive years, and has been recognised and accepted by more than a 3 Preface (Chairman) thousand renowned universities and colleges locally and abroad for purpose of entrance requirements. UEC Senior Three graduates have since been pursuing their academic goals in more than 80 internationally renowned and leading universities worldwide. It is our pride to inform that the 60+1 Independent Chinese Secondary Schools across Malaysia have cultivated hundreds of thousands of multi-lingual talents for the country, let alone providing quality manpower to enhance the competitiveness of the nation and contributing prominently to its progress and upward mobility. For all stakeholders relevant to the Independent Chinese Secondary Schools education system, a common and shared belief is warranted: the mission for Independent Chinese Secondary Schools, in the capacity as a continuation of Chinese Primary Schools and as general secondary educational institutions enabling students to complete twelve years of Mother Tongue education, should not be confined to simply fulfilling the ‘general educational mission’ expected of any general secondary educational institution. Independent Chinese Secondary Schools, under the unique context of the Chinese education movement in our country and with their role as a ‘cultural stronghold’ born of trying struggle and hardships, must be persistent in achieving their ‘special educational mission’ in terms of mother tongue and culture. The four missions and six main principles stated in the ‘Independent Chinese Secondary Schools Proposal’ of 1973 stand as the most authoritative interpretations of this special and seminal mission. Since 2004, there has been a spurt of advancement in Independent Chinese Secondary School education when the total number of students exceeded sixty thousand in 2009, seventy thousand in 2012, eighty thousand in 2015, and is moving next to some ninety thousand just yet. The continued increase in student numbers, especially the excessive demand over the supply of student seats in certain urban areas, has undoubtedly reflected the success and high spirits demonstrated by Independent Chinese Secondary School education. Meanwhile, with the change in subjective and objective environments, Independent Chinese Secondary Schools which are developing rapidly and successfully, have inevitably met with higher expectations and new challenges from various parties and stakeholders. These new challenges from within and outside the system include: (1) parents making higher demands on their offspring’s education at school ever since social advancement increases the parents’ knowledge and awareness in this regard; (2) the constant increase of professionalism in educators, which also equates the demand on and effort put into software and hardware at schools are piling up on a daily basis; and (3) the mushrooming growth of international and private schools of late, where the number of international schools has outnumbered that of Independent Chinese Secondary Schools, with student numbers exceeding seventy thousand. On top of that, the fact that the Ministry of Education to open 500 Trust Schools by the end of 2025 run by the government and operated by the civil society will definitely produce a ripple impact on source of students and pool of teachers in Independent Chinese Secondary Schools. Education Blueprint 4 In addition, still there is otherwise another even more crucial challenge. Many education experts have pointed out earlier that, due to our present era which is based on global information integration and knowledge economy, our societies have witnessed an unprecedented and inverted change, including the education sector. Professor Manabu Sato of Japan’s Gakushuin University has commented once, ‘A blackboard hung in the middle of the classroom, desks and chairs arranged in rows, every pupil a textbook on the desk during class, with the teacher himself talking incessantly… Such an educational approach has been around since 150 years ago, and it was intended to cater to agricultural and industrial labourers. However, in future societies, pure physical labourers will be the minority, and the employment structure will experience quantum leaps, to which education will have to reform itself and respond appropriately.’ Former Vice-Chancellor of Hong Kong University Professor Cheng Kai Ming also pointed out that ‘the current changes in society are akin to shifting from the agricultural to the industrial in terms of scale and degree. The original mould and fundamental form of the industrial society have now evolved into what some are calling the “knowledge society” or “information society”, which I prefer to call the “post-industrial society”.’ How does a “post-industrial society” look like? ‘First of all, institutions become smaller, flatter, and looser to begin with. Secondly, the structure of work procedures has changed, that is, from minute division of labour to one-stop for all. Furthermore, there comes the fast communication between people.’ Social media has altered the way in which people communicate and get in touch, ‘and most importantly, the matters dealt with by educators at the frontline now are incredibly different.’ Education must meet the needs of the times and assume the leadership role in the reform of society. In 2005, we announced the ‘Malaysia Independent Chinese Secondary School Education Reform Programme’ which has made corresponding contribution to the reforms of Independent Chinese Secondary School education over the last ten years or so. In the face of the challenges of the 21st century, and with the aim of enabling Independent Chinese Secondary School education to adjust itself to the times and continuous progress, Dong Zong established the ‘Independent Chinese Secondary School Education Blueprint’ project team in 2016, which put many experts, scholars and Chinese educators together for ideas. On the basis of the ‘Malaysia Independent Chinese Secondary School Education Reform Programme’, surveys were conducted on the current state of all the Independent Chinese Secondary Schools in the country where opinions of school board members, principals, teachers, students, parents, alumni and concerned members of the Chinese education cohort were collected, from which specific issues were identified and analysed. Research teams from Dong Zong were also sent abroad to conduct study visits at more advanced education levels. Through the efforts, we finally drafted a preliminary proposal for the ‘Malaysia Independent Chinese Secondary Schools Education Blueprint (Consultation Draft)’ which outlines the direction of development and visions for Independent Chinese Secondary Schools for the upcoming 10 years. Apart from obtaining feedback from the public for this ‘Malaysia Independent Chinese Secondary Schools