The Academic and Behavioural Support Needs of Teachers Teaching in LINUS Classrooms in Malaysia - Dissertation Example

?IDENTIFYING THE ACADEMIC AND BEHAVIORAL SUPPORT NEEDS OF TEACHERS TEACHING IN LINUS ROOMS IN MALAYSIA Submission 2.0. Literature Review 2.1 Introduction Various researchers have focused on examining the existing professional developments that have been modeled to equip LINUS teachers with a variety of learning opportunities to help in teaching students in their classrooms. Most of these researches and findings will be discussed in this chapter with an aim of appreciating and having an overview of the progress that has been made in this field of study. The literature review section will be divided into subtitles to ease the understanding amongst the uses of this proposed research. Professional development is very essential in supporting teachers teaching in LINUS classrooms in Malaysia in the sense that the teachers feel motivated and appreciated for their effort as it will be discussed in this chapter. 2.2 The Effectiveness of Screening According to Mohd Sham Hamid (2012; p. 7) there is total faith in the literacy and numeracy screenings programme in Malaysia. The LINUS programme conducts screening on the student’s literacy and numeracy ability, hence giving room for learning institutions to identify pupils who are weak. There is a distinction between the former system and LINUS. With LINUS, teachers are in a position to distinguish excellent students from the less excellent ones. This gives an avenue for the teachers to comprehend the exposure of knowledge of the weaker students. By understanding the knowledge level, it helps the participants to formulate extra plans to enhance the ability of the students while concentrating on the prescribed LINUS program which was established by the Ministry of education. According to Mohd Sham Hamid (2012; p. 7), the teacher normally depended on the same component and method of teaching but this was broken down by LINUS programme. The same method cannot be used to train children in a learning environment as some of the methods have a poor standard of comprehending the subject and hence require extra attention (Cohen, & Spenciner, 2007; p. 13). In such a condition the teacher will not be in a position to know whether the pupil is weak till the pupil takes the exam and scores below average or fails the exam. By this time the student will have advanced to the next stage and will still be left behind as the topic gets tougher to go through. The LINUS curriculum has a complex set of subjects for all levels of learning. There are pupils who are in a position to identify the alphabetical order after seven months of continuous recitation. These students can be discovered after sitting for the LINUS screening tests. Extra attention can now be administered to these students in class. Learning in this environment is made more interactive and more of fun by use of music and activities to assist the pupils understand the subject more easily. There are times when issues of absenteeism and other uphill tasks which might derail the process of indentifying weaker children or helping them through the stated topic more challenging. Remedial lessons can be helpful if given keen attention with the use of specialized modules in enabling the pupils to deal with the learning challenges to a particular level. The education office through the Malaysian ministry of education gives abundant support by providing books of reference and usually giving supervision to the LINUS curriculum in the school. Currently, pupils from both year one and year two inclusive of the weaker students are reported to be going through the LINUS curriculum classes where teachers use laptops, charts, books, and flashcards as teaching aids. This has seen a remarkable improvement in the performance of the pupils over the recent time period (Pliszka, et al, 2007; p. 897). 2.3 The Significance of LINUS In ensuring that some of the programs are executed for the present school year, implementation of the programs is already underway. The first semi-annual implementation has seen the fulfillment of the screening gadgets and year 1 teaching and education modules for the literacy and numeracy curriculum. The first phase of the 20 schools performing excellently was declared while there was a completion of the ranking of students in 9900 government schools. These ranking was used as a standard to establish remedial and reward programs. The schools under trust are already well established, with the pioneer schools beginning in January 2012. In ensuring that the admission in the pre-school level hits a target of 72% by the end of 2012 and 87% by the end of 2013 are fulfilled, from the present 67%, the state has recognized seven approaches that will solidify the delivery and governance of high-excellent pre-school learning (Brandes, 2005, p. 53). Through the LINUS program, the government intends to create high performing schools and enhance the entire school performance through the new system of education. High performing schools are described as those with profound character, ethos and extraordinary qualities that help them to perform well in all spheres of education (Malaysia, 2006, p. 3). Prior to earning the the high performing schools standing, schools must first fulfill a standard criteria which comprise of achievement in academic, the strength of the alumni and international image in addition to a solid relationship with external networks. The goal of the state in establishing 20 high performing schools within the year has been attained which now aims to reach 100 high performing schools in 2012. The first category of the 20 high performing schools consisted of 14 high schools and six primary schools. These schools are awarded with incentives and benefits which target in assisting them to attain a better standard of performance (Parry, 2005; p. 43). Some of the incentives and benefits include high independence in making decisions which include elasticity in adopting programs and teaching methods in addition to the teacher’s selection and redeployment, schools’ financial incentives, incentives to leaders in schools, teaching and non-teaching staff. A wide range of variables for development of human capital exist for example sabbatical for head of teachers and options for those who achieve highly to grow faster through the system of education. There are plans to develop all schools in the education system which are ideal and essential for the new contract for head teachers and principals. These are aimed at enhancing performance of the head teachers. To enhance the system of education considerably, there are profound investments that must be implemented by the principals and head teacher as they are the chief initiators of change in schools. Studies have shown that excellence in performance of head teachers and principals have a constructive effect on the students’ performance, especially when teachers play in the implementation of the program. The head teachers must always ensure ideal school setting for learning by minimizing the external effect and pressures and creating a conducive and encouraging environment both outside and inside the learning environment. School’s performance is found on a complex score where 70 % average grade points and the remainder based on the standard for Quality Education in Malaysia (SQEM) (Borman, Hewes & Brown, 2003; p.139). The average grade point on the other hand is based on the school’s performance in public exams. SQEM is self-assessment gadget gauging performance in four dimensions which include; mission, vision, education curriculum management, organizational management and student achievement. The achievement of 9,900 public schools are then ranked on an annual basis and published to promote the involvement with the community and ascertain that the guardians recognize the school’s performance. Honesty is also applied to inspire the schools in producing the performance. 2.4 Professional Development of Teachers in Malaysia The state of modern level of globalization has prompted the need by teachers to develop professionally. This has eventually been a high uphill task for the younger generation in Malaysia that has a high standard of values and high ambitions in life. With the uprising necessity and ambitions of the general community, teachers are not only required and perceived as knowledge imparters but they also carry the weight or responsibility of building and molding excellent citizens. In regard to this circumstance, the ministry of education in Malaysia frequently motivates the teachers to further their studies in crucial and appropriate fields through provision of remuneration perquisites and merit based promotions. Great ambitions among students and higher expectations from other stakeholders now put pressure on teachers to do their work professionally and excel in the classrooms. Teachers must put forth their best qualities to ensure high achievement of students. Still the most honest, eligible and prepared teacher has a lot to learn when they start to teach (OECD, 2009; p. 311). For this reason, it is significantly useful that teachers are adequately prepared when they start teaching and they proceed to upgrade their facts and expertise in the entire duration of the careers. Professional advancement in a wider perspective connotes to advancement of individuals in their professional fields such as lawyers, doctors or teachers. Teacher development refers to the growth of professional teachers, enabling them to obtain excellent results through the intensive experience acquired and categorically assessing their teaching approaches. According to Ganser (2000, p.11), the professional advancement could be obtained through formal or informal experiences such workshops, seminars, professional gatherings, television watching and reading publications among others. Furthermore, some authors define professional development a career advancement process that occurs as the teacher advances through their professional career path. Professional development is a wider term compared to staff growth which refers to the condition of planned in-service curriculum established to promote the development of groups of teachers. This is one of the main ways of interventions that can be utilized for the development of teachers. Initially, development of professional teachers was taken to be a short-lived process in which teachers would collect facts in a special dimension of work. However, in recent period, it has been considered as a method which is long-term that comprise of normal chances and experience systematically designed to enhance growth and professional development. Two ideologies concerning professional development of teachers have been stated, one which describes it as a method which continues to instill growth among the teachers as a necessary process of ensuring effective professional conduct as conditions vary. The second ideology views the professional development of teachers as an acquisition of knowledge and skills which would have a greater impact than that which was seen earlier on but directly connected to the considerable challenges that teachers encountered. 2.5 Pre-Service Teacher Education The government of Malaysia upholds its role upgrading the standards of the teaching profession to ensure that only better qualified individuals get into profession of teaching (Avramidis & Norwich, 2002; p. 133). In this regard, the government has played a key role in upgrading the service of teachers’ curriculum in relation to promotional opportunities and remuneration (Manisah, Mustapha, & Jelas, 2006, p. 39). The traditional approaches to teacher’s preparation are still vitally recommended in the process of development of the teaching profession. Programs such as pre-service teacher training in Malaysia are formulated for the purpose of training teachers pre-service for secondary and primary schools. The pre-service curriculum is conducted all through the education institutions for teachers in public universities and other institutions over the country. While the time period and qualification entry for enrollment relies on the necessities of the respective courses that are administered, professional development is necessary to improve the teacher’s expertise (Bryant, 2000, p. 56). In-service training and continuous professional development are similarly significant elements for sustaining the professionalism of teachers in Malaysia. The state has assigned a considerable section of the education budget annually for executing the in-service training of teachers. According to Mokshein, Ahmad and Vongalis-Macrow (2009; p. 23), the provisional budget in 2008 for the in-service training curriculum is about RM 200 million. The study focused on the two kinds of in-service training courses that are being undertaken. These include the eligibility upgrading courses and the knowledge skills upgrading courses, all of which take a duration of one year. Moreover, schools were motivated to carry out in-service training curriculum to establish and promote teacher’s conduct and knowledge that entail wide-set of fields due on the needs of the school. The government of Malaysia improved its 27 teacher training colleges in July of 2005 to Institutes of teacher education. As a result, the year 2007 saw the original intake of the 4 year degree level courses where the bachelor of teaching program admitted 3725 students. The program is particularly intended to produce teachers for primary schools. The program took place based on five fundamental principles which include coherent, spiral and developmental, outcome-based, contextual, practical as well as holistic principle. The main objective was to attain particular outcomes of learning as stipulated by the Malaysian Qualifying Framework (MQF) in line with the skills in the 21st century. The programme not only concentrates on the incorporation of facts but also on the noble principles and skills where pupils attain their expertise on learning via the transfer of hypothetical knowledge to real life scenario (Zalizan, 2000, p. 191). Pupils have to undertake a mandatory course in technology in “teaching and learning” and extra topics of computer assisted program which on the other hand helps them to be efficient in the organization and preparation of ICT materials used in teaching to resource multimedia facts. 2.6 Teacher Judgment of the Language Skills of Children The perfection of the teacher’s opinion may be influenced by a wide range of teacher variables like the number of years in experience of teaching, the professional learning knowledge, pre-service training and the curriculum and ideological methods in the schools in which they teach (Nunez, 2008; p. 52). Knowledge about the duration of experience in teaching and pre-service training was not actually pursued in the duration of the present year of study as it is not likely to assess the input of these aspects. The teachers were also required to put their knowledge on a scale and to rate their confidence in recognizing the pupils whose skills in language put them in jeopardy of literacy challenges. The studies show that 80% of the teachers who participated in the research attested that their information on components of language was optimal or above average while 85% attested that they were reasonably sure or confident in their capability to recognize such type of pupils. This form of confidence seems to be anchored by the evaluation between judgment of teachers and official examination of the pupils in the current study. However, it cannot be presumed that all teachers have a similar level of mastery of the instructional language. As noted by Sadler (2005; p. 147) about 88% of the teachers who responded to the questionnaire she designed attested to the fact that their level of knowledge speech and language is either constrained or very restricted. The teachers confirmed that there was a range of experiences in professional learning which had affected their knowledge of language. This comprised of courses in professional development, different types of in-service training, studies in the universities, training by the teachers, studying appropriate articles and interaction with teaching colleagues and therapists in speech and language. There was solid proof that the schools which participated in the research had established a total determination to development of oral language in the initial duration of schooling. It is not well established as to whether this phase of support for language study and the subsequent phase of confidence and language observed by the teachers who participated in the present study, is a true picture of the teachers in different education system or schools. The results of the study done by Sadler (2005; p. 152) reveal that this might not be the case. Sadler (2005; p. 152) notes that where it is not solely the teachers opinion to impose their skills of language on pupils, it is fundamental that teachers are given the necessary facts which help to establish their language knowledge and give them more room to deduct relevant decisions. This might not be the role of the pre-service training, but responsibility of the schools which play an important role in giving the relevant motivation. As put forth by Catts, et al., (2001; p. 43), the procedure of screening children in the kindergarten is speedy in naming and mother’s education. The effective cost of screening method put forth by Heath and Hogben (2004; p. 761) comprise of auditory memory, sex, age, education level for parents and measures of phonological knowledge. It may be probable to upgrade the identification of teachers by giving them precise facts concerning the main aspects to be put in mind in extracting judgments. 2.7 Mathematics Teacher Professional needs A majority of the Malaysians have faith in the quality of their teachers as one of the most significant factor in shaping school development and attest that the value of education cannot be upgraded without any development of teachers’ skills and competencies. The modern emphasis on education efficiency requires that the teaching staff be proficient in implementing the curriculum (SEAMEO Innotech, 2008; p. 28). The necessity to enhance the profession is vital for teachers of Mathematics with the goal of availing efficient learning environment and shaping students for their lives after school. Teachers are required to be updated with the current knowledge and skills with the objective to make them proficient and adept on the education needs of the modern society. Most teachers are optimistic that pre-service training cannot on its own be required to fully prepare teachers in fulfilling the escalating requirements instigated by the varying economic, social and educational climate (Hea-Jin, 2001; p. 17). A majority of the teachers depended on in-service curriculum for promoting their experience. Most teachers interviewed articulated their approval for the importance of development of the teachers’ curriculum. Teachers are not essentially involved in the process of planning the development programs even though it is necessary to establish that a needs evaluation research was done before the in-service training. The excellent in-service curriculum must be established in case teachers were to gain from the programs. The attempt by the Ministry of Education to offer efficient teacher training through courses in the in-service training is commendable. The plan by the Ministry of Education has categorically helped to enhance the professional proficiency of teachers by in-service training (SEAMEO Innotech, 2008; p. 37). Dhamotharan (2002; p. 9) reports that every time a fresh program is executed, teachers are required to conduct an interpretation and make use of the new program as detailed out in the former document. Zakaria and Iksan (2007; p. 37) proposed that in-service curriculum must be directed towards fulfilling the teachers’ requirements. Recognition of the observable needs is essential for teachers to make them relevant with the changing needs of the learners. Very limited literature regarding the Mathematical needs of learners and teacher qualifications exist. The consequent database must be important in the organization of the in-service curriculum for teachers of Mathematics. The study expects that the data gathered will give an in-depth scrutiny into the requirements of teachers of Mathematics so that an efficient in-service training curriculum can be executed (WIHSR, 2008, p. 3). In regard to the responses of the teachers of Mathematics, the teachers studied in this research exhibited a great affinity for ICT utilization, imparting of Mathematical models and remediation of poor achievers. This might be an indication that they were not actually getting appropriate knowledge and skills in their present in-service curriculum. The high rating of the incorporation of ICT in the process of teaching and learning was anticipated given the fact that teachers had not been officially trained to incorporate technology in the learning environment and teaching instructions. According to the research, about 20% of the teachers were very well conversant with the technology integration in the classroom (Resnick, 2005, p. 12). The prolonged curriculum of in-service training can give teachers the necessary motivation and support they may require in the usage of technology (Wright, Rice & Hildreth, 2001; p. 18). 2.8 Teacher Development Choices Guskey (2002; p. 387) did an analysis of thirteen distinct study-based researches that enlisted the main aspects of the effective triumphant development of teacher profession. The entire studies were done in the last ten years and they depicted a wide disparity of ideas in regard to the composition of effective professional development. The widely and frequently noted element was the promotion of the content of teachers and the academic knowledge. The entire proof for efficiency was on the success in Mathematics or science as opposed to that of arts or social studies. The remaining findings were normally at conflict with the facts from other research and tended to be in opposition with each other. The conclusions made by Guskey were that there seemed to be some consensus among scholars in regard to the criteria used for efficiency. Moreover, there was no common fit-it-all description of the effective profession development. However, some studies perceived a broad range of schools with the aim of generalizing across settings (Desimone, Porter, Garret, Yoon, and Birman 2002; p. 93). Garret, et al. (2001; p. 927), made use of information from a nationwide assessment of the Eisenhower professional development curriculum and established three main characteristics that optimistically influenced self-report by teachers to improve on the efficiency of teachers. They established that concentration on knowledge content, coherence with the process of learning and vigilant learning were fundamental to successful feelings by teachers with their respective professional development. This was personally reported facts of the successful feeling by teachers but not autonomously confirmed measures of the success of pupils and students. On the other hand Hacket (2005; p. 113) carried out a research on a case study of Maine’s two teachers and established that the most things that mattered most was not actually the time that was spent, but essentially the sessions’ content. Thus Hacket described efficiency as gauged by the work samples of students. Attention on the achievement of the student and the application of data was more effective, as opposed to a simple time wasted working together. This has the implication that it is not the quantity, but rather the quality and composition of the professional development program that mattered most. Selection of teachers of their own personal professional development was also established to be effective by Ax (2004; p. 579). This self-choice of professional development is vital in the sense that it reveals the transfer of the present NCLB description of development of profession that identifies only system-wide development of profession channeled towards the description advanced by the NSDC that identifies even limited types of professional development. There are no studies that reveal whether teachers make choice of their professional development for justifications based on effectiveness. Bibliography Avramidis, E and Norwich, B 2002, “Teachers’ attitudes towards integration/inclusion: a review of the literature.” European Journal of Special Needs Education, Vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 129–147. Ax, J., Beijaard, D., Ponte, P and Wubbels, T 2004, Teachers’ development of professional Knowledge through action research and the facilitation of this by teacher educators. Teaching And Teacher Education, 20, 571–588. Brandes, J 2005, “Partners with parents.” Intervention in School and Clinic. Vol. 41, pp. 52-54. 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