Task 1: Written Assignment (Individual: 30%)

1. Develop a 1000-word essay from a given quotation, to expound the role of the
teacher and the factors to consider, in designing and implementing the global
sustainability of the curriculum within the context of a Malaysian experience.

A. Role of teacher as a social agent

Recognising the role of English in today’s world and responding to demands in

society, governments and educational authorities around the world have made serious
efforts to improve the teaching and learning of English in their schools, universities and
communities. Looking through a smaller scale, teachers are the most important persons in
curriculum implementation process. They play various roles as agents of change especially
in the transformation of the Malaysian English Language Teaching (ELT) school curriculum.
Teacher acts as a social agent (analyst) whereby he or she manages the social interaction
that occur in a social context which is conducted through a teaching and learning process
(TSL3143 Curriculum Studies). In primary school, teacher has a large role in guiding the
behaviour of the young pupils. Of course, the language used as a medium of social
interaction between the students and the teacher is English. Teachers should make the
interaction in the classroom become exciting and engaging in a more authentic and
meaningful experience especially in the multi-cultural society.

Based on the Malaysian Education Blueprint (2013), one of the outcomes of the
system aspirations is to achieve unity through language. As students spend over a quarter of
their time in school from the ages of 7 to 17, schools are in a key position to foster unity.
Through interacting with individuals from a range of socio-economic, religious, and ethnic
backgrounds, students learn to understand, accept, and embrace differences. This creates a
shared set of experiences and aspirations to build Malaysia’s future on. Through the
Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) : Quality Education (Nation, U, 2015), education is
needed to foster tolerance between people and contribute to more peaceful societies. This
suits to one of the targets from the goals;

4.7 By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to
promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for
sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality,
promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation
of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development
Therefore, it is very important for teachers to utilize English language fully during classroom
interaction as it plays major role for inculcating unity in cultural diversity context.

One of the factors that contribute to the development of the Standards-Based School
Curriculum (KSSR) is the society. Societies are becoming more multicultural, multi-ethnic
and multi-religious especially in Malaysia context. As the world moves towards becoming a
global village, society will become even more diverse with people bringing in new values,
new languages and a new way of life. It is hoped with this new restructured and improved
curriculum would prepare every students to rise to the challenges they will inevitably face in
adult life, to resolve conflicts peacefully, to employ sound judgement during critical moments
and to have the courage to do what is right (Malaysia Education Blueprint, 2013).

B. Role of teacher as a knowledge and skill practitioner

Teachers also play the role as knowledge and skill practitioners. They understand
how children learn and develop and can provide learning opportunities that support their
intellectual, social and personal development. They also understand and use a variety of
instructional strategies to encourage students’ development of critical thinking, problem
solving and performance skills (TSL3143 Curriculum Studies). In order to meet with the
current global competitiveness, the teachers have to use various teaching strategies that
could enhance the teaching of English language such as incorporating technology into their
curriculum. The Malaysian Education Blueprint (MEB) and the introduction of Standard
Based English Language Curriculum (SBELC) in KSSR has advocated integration of ICT to
facilitate learning. The factors of advent of technology and the wave of globalization have
made this new curriculum design to go beyond acquiring communication skills, self-
development and the child’s immediate environment. It is designed to enhance and embrace
the use of science and technology, develop values, understand humanitarian issues and
also focus on the child’s physical and aesthetic development. By referring to fourth principle
in curriculum design which is staging, the integration of technology could be enhance in
English language teaching through online learning. Online learning is increasingly important
in many curricula as it as well promote life-long learning that is empahised in SDG4: Quality
education whereby the pupils are given access to explore new knowledge and virtual
experiences through the Internet. This mission is deemed embraced by the Ministry of
Education Malaysia (MOE) in The Roadmap: Leveraging ICT for learning in Wave 3 (2021-
2025): Maintaining innovative, system-wide usage where ICT should be fully embedded
throughout the pedagogy and curriculum of the education system (Malaysia Education
Blueprint, 2013).

The implementation of KSSR is of planned curriculum concept whereby the

statements of what every student must know and be able to do by some specified point in
time are outlined in the content, learning and performance standards. It is openly discussed
by the ministry, consciously planned, written down and presented through the instructional
process in line with the launching of MEB. In this new curriculum, there are set standards of
learning that the children have to achieve at the different levels of their schooling. This
means that when the children complete a particular level of schooling, they are expected to
have achieved a preset standard of knowledge, skills and values. This is relevant to Tyler’s
Objective Model where the learning outcome is the end product of the curriculum. At specific
times at each level, these learning standards will be measured to ensure that no child gets
left behind (TSL3143 Curriculum Studies). This is equivalent to the system aspiration of MEB
in promoting access to education regardless of the pupils’ races, religious, socio-economic
background, cultures, etc (MEB, 2013). This is also aligned to the targeted goal in SDG 4
which is to ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development
care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education (Nation, U,
2015).

To sum up, the designing and implementing of the new curriculum for future
generation does require some times to fully explore the relevance and current needs of
global arena. Through time, I believe our current Malaysian English Language School
Curriculum would still undergo reformation in order to suit the transition of world progress.

(1, 048 words)

Reference:

Ministry of Education Malaysia. (2013). Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 (Preschool

to Post-Secondary Education). Putrajaya. Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia.

Nations, U. (2015). 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. [ebook] Available at

https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/21252030%20Agenda
%20for%20Sustainable%20Development%20web.pdf [Accessed on 10 Feb. 2020]

Yee Bee Choo. (2016). TSL3143 Topic 3a: Principles in Curriculum Design. Retrieved from
https://www.slideshare.net/YeeBeeChoo/topic-3a-principles-in-curriculum-design on
9 February 2020.

(n.n.) (n.d.) TSL3143 Curriculum Studies Notes.

Bibliography:

Government of Malaysia (GoM) (2016). Strategy Paper 10: Transforming Education System,
1-36. Putrajaya: Economic Planning Unit. Retrieved February 7, 2020 from
http://www.rmk11.epu.gov.my/pdf/strategy-paper/Strategy

Hazita Azman. (2016). Implementation and Challenges of English Language Education

Reform in Malaysian Primary Schools. The Southeast Asian Journal of English
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2203-05 on 6 February 2020.

Noor, M. N. and Amir, Z. (2011). Exploring the vocabulary learning strategies of EFL
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Nunan, D. (2003). The impact of English as a global language on educational policies and
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Thomas Gass. (2017). Keynote Speech at the Symposium on Sustainable Development

Goals. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/ on 7 February 2020.