LESSON 1 THE MALAYSIAN PRIMARY MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM 1

Introduction Mathematics is one of the oldest and prominent knowledge that has contributed immensely to the progression of civilizations. From the Egpytians, to the Mayans and the Greeks, mathematics remains as a universal tool of communication, invention and knowledge. Today mathematics has become an integral part of our daily lives and has been a ma or component in the education system worldwide. !n Malaysia, it is a compulsory sub ect both in primary and secondary schools and to improve its teaching and development, the Ministry of Education, Malaysia, has introduced the standardized mathematics "urriculum for #rimary $chools %&urikulum $tandard $ekolah 'endah ( &$$') that was implemented for year * in +,** and year + in +,*+. "overing a wide range of elements such as grooming of creativity and innovation, entrepreneurship, and integration of !nformation and "ommunication Technology %!"T), the &$$' was designed to emphasize the development of the students in a balanced and holistic manner. Therefore, as mathematics- educators, scholars and teachers, it is salient for us to feasibly consider this change of policy and how it would change the climate of mathematics- education in Malaysia. .hen considering a new program or policy, it is helpful to obtain an idea of how the Math curriculum has changed and evolve historically. !n Malaysia, this curriculum has undergone a lot of growth and development and it has been revised considerably in the last thirty five years. For this reason, a historical perspective of Mathematics Education in Malaysia is presented in this section. This view will provide an understanding of the development and status of mathematics, the changes which the sub ect has undergone, and perhaps give some insight as to what the future might be for the sub ect. This development to be presented will be for both primary and secondary curriculum because as the introduction of the new mathematics curriculum in secondary schools occurs, changes to the primary mathematics curriculum became inevitable. LEARNING OUTCOMES Upon the completion of this lesson, you should be able to/ 1. State the early development of mathematics education 2. State the problems, issues and concerns in mathematics curriculum reform. 3. State the secondary mathematics curriculum in the eighties and nineties.

Development of Mathematics Education Curriculum in Malaysia

Activity 1.1 Before the Second World War, mathematics syllabus ( rimary!Secondary" in eninsula #alaysia $as not standardi%ed. &ive a reason to 'ustify this statement. 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 Early Development of Mathematics Education 1efore the $econd .orld .ar there was no official mathematics syllabus for the primary schools. Guidelines for the teaching of arithmetic were included in teachersguides published and issued to schools by the 2epartment of Education of the Federation of Malaya, &uala 3umpur. 4evertheless, the rapid development of the newly independent nation calls for a standardized curriculum that is easier to monitor and implement. !n *565, a primary arithmetic syllabus was gazetted for use in primary schools in the country. This syllabus was later revised, and the revised version of the primary arithmetic syllabus replaced the e7isting arithmetic syllabus in *586. This syllabus was then replaced by the new mathematics syllabus under the 4ew "urriculum for #rimary $chools program %&1$') of *59*. :t the secondary level, before the $econd .orld .ar, schools in the country offered the (ambridge )lternative ) syllabus in which the study of mathematics was divided into separate fields of :rithmetic, Geometry and Trigonometry. !n *5;6, the (ambridge )lternative B syllabus for mathematics was introduced to replace the )lternative ) syllabus. !n this syllabus, an attempt was made to treat mathematics as an integrated sub ect. 4onetheless, this syllabus which has undergone many revisions was then replaced by the new mathematics syllabus under the 4ew "urriculum for $econdary $chools program %&1$M) of *59;. .ith the introduction of &1$' and &1$M, Malaysian mathematics-- education for the first time, became standardized at a national level. <ther than the curriculum itself, it is important to look at the implementation of the mathematics- education in schools as well. The teaching of mathematics in schools in the forties was direct and formal and due to numerous constraints, the use of teaching aids in mathematics class was minimal. Teacher=pupil interactions were

mainly one way with the teacher presenting the facts and the pupils passively receiving the facts presented and more often than not, pupils considered mathematics a difficult sub ect. This approach benefited a small group of highly talented and motivated pupils but for the vast ma ority, mathematics was boring and difficult, causing a huge number of Malaysian students to perform poorly in mathematics %:siah, *59+). !n the ne7t section, we will discuss the general development of mathematics education in the fifties and si7ties and how the Malaysian education system adapted this development. Developments in Mathematics Education in the Fifties and Sixties. :fter the $econd .orld .ar, there were calls in the .est for reforms in the mathematics curricula but these were voices in the wilderness. The launching of $putnik by the 'ussians in *56> served as a rude awakening to the ?technologically advanced- @nited $tates. The :mericans felt that their school curricula were obsolete and that reform was needed particularly in the fields of $cience and Mathematics so as to maintain @nited $tates- technological supremacy. There was a massive movement in the @nited $tates in the late fifties to update school science and mathematics curricula. .ithin a few years many school in the @nited $tates had embarked on the ?4ew Mathprogram. The $chool Mathematics $tudy Group %$M$G) was the first group set up in the @nited $tates to prepare a new mathematics curriculum for schools and to train teachers to teach it. $imilarly, countries in .estern Europe %especially 1ritain) soon followed suit. $ince Malaysia maintain strong links with 1ritain in the fields of education, ma or educational innovations there soon began to influence educational trends and practices in Malaysia. !n view of these new trends in science and mathematics education, The Ministry of Education on Malaysia took steps to update and reorganize the school science and mathematics curricula. : committee known as the A:dvisory "ommittee on the Teaching of 1asic $cience- was set up by the Ministry of Education in *58; to study the status of science and mathematics education in the country and to recommend changes. This committee released its first findings in *588. <ne of the main findings of this committee was there was an overemphasis on pupils- learning of facts and theories. The committee recommended that current trends in the teaching of science and mathematics using the inBuiry and discovery approaches be adopted in Malaysia. The committee further recommended that the Ministry of Education familiarize itself with modern mathematics through e7posure courses and through e7changing personnel between Malaysia and the @nited &ingdom %"urriculum 2evelopment "enter, *5>;). The recommendations of this committee became the basis for the initiation of curricula reform undertaken by the Ministry of Education in the late *58,-s and early *5>,-s. $ubseBuently, in *585 the Ministry of Education established a Mathematics $yllabus sub=committee. This committee was given the task of preparing the new

mathematics curriculum for secondary schools and it had the services of an e7pert from the $cottish Mathematics Group %$MG) pro ect. :fter much effort, the first draft of the Malaysian Modern mathematics $yllabus for lower secondary schools %Form ! = Form !!!) based on the materials of the $cottish mathematics Group #ro ect was prepared by the end of *585. The reason why the $MG pro ect was selected for adaptation for lower secondary schools is best answer by the following e7cerpt from a report issued by the "urriculum 2evelopment "enter %"2") %*5>;, p. 9) / *++ for historical reasons our educational system is based on that of Britain. ,t $as felt at that time that it $ould be best to select a British pro'ect for adaptation. ,n our lo$er secondary schools $e had already embar-ed on a Scottish based ,ntegrated Science rogram. to this $as added another program based on the S#&, the only Scottish #odern #athematics pro'ect in e/istence at that time. But the fundamental reason for the choice of S#& materials $as that they $ere not radically different from traditional mathematics. ,n fact only about one third of the topics in the S#& syllabus $ere ne$, the other t$o thirds being still traditional.0 !t was not until *5>, that Modern Mathematics was introduced. The new form of mathematics education was initially implemented at the Form ! level in +8 secondary schools in the country. Gradually, this program was implemented in phases until all the schools in the country were covered. The kind of mathematics to be taught to student in Form !C and Form C was deliberated on by the Mathematics $yllabus $ub=committee and three recommendations were made %"2", *5>;)/ i. #upils continue to do Modern Mathematics in Form !C and Form C and take the "ambridge :lternative " paper in the $M#DM"E e7amination. ii. :t the upper secondary level, Modern Mathematics will be based on the $chool Mathematics #ro ect of 1ritain. iii. The adaptation of the $M# books was to be carried out by officers of the "urriculum development "enter. The reasons for the choice of $M# over $MG at the upper secondary level were also given by this committee. First, the $M# materials were found to be closer to the reBuirements of the "ambridge :lternative " Mathematics $yllabus, second, the new $M# books meant for comprehensive schools were found to be suitable and third, the $M# had a complete range of te7tbooks up to and including Form C!. This would be useful should the pro ect be e7tended to Form C!. Thus Modern mathematics came to be implemented in Malaysian $econdary schools. !n *5>9 the syllabi for the lower secondary and upper secondary levels were

combined and were further developed to become the current Malaysian mathematics $yllabus for Form ! to Form C. : complete change over to Modern mathematics by all schools at the lower secondary level in #eninsular Malaysia was achieved in *5>5. :t the upper secondary level over 58 percent of the schools in #eninsular Malaysia follow this program. Problems in Mathematics Curriculum Reform The Malaysian Modern mathematics curriculum which was affected through a process of adaptation from the $MG and $M# program has not been able to realize the vision and e7pectation of many of its original proponents. $tudents- grades and attitudes towards mathematics did not improve as e7pected. : detailed analysis of this program by Eesuthasan, %*59F) revealed the following. i. There were problem with the Mathematics $yllabus= the $MG syllabus that was meant for the top F, percent of $cottish school pupils. Carious topics in the syllabus are beyond the ability of a ma ority of the school children and the topics have not been considered in terms of psychological seBuences. ii. The te7tbooks are too detailed and the teachers teach the te7tbooks rather than the mathematics syllabus. iii. Teachers are inadeBuately trained to handle classes with pupils of mi7ed ability. Secondary Mathematics Curriculum in the Ei hties and !ineties : nationwide study entitled G:chievement 3evels of Malaysian #rimary $chool "hildren, *59,H was carried out by the "urriculum 2evelopment "enter of the Ministry of Education and revealed that among other things that a sizable proportion of primary school pupils in the country had not acBuired the basic skills of reading, writing and arithmetic. Further, the "abinet "ommittee 'eport %*5>5) %which reviewed the implementation of the Malaysian education #olicy) recommended that the primary mathematics curriculum be revised to emphasize the acBuisition of basic skills of arithmetic. 1ased on the findings of the achievement study and the recommendations of the "abinet "ommittee report, The "urriculum 2evelopment "enter embarked on a program to develop a new mathematics curriculum for primary schools. The new primary mathematics curriculum which is part of a total package entitled 4ew "urriculum for #rimary $chools %G&urikulum 1aru $ekolah 'edahH) was implemented in standard one in all the primary schools in the country in *59F. !n *59F, the Modern Mathematics "urriculum was modified to become the &1$' Mathematics. The difference was the arrangement with reduction of some mathematics contents to suit the pupils- ability to master the skill. The mathematics syllabus was divided into two levels. 3evel * %Iear * ( F) emphasized the mastering of the basic concepts of numbers and their four basic operations. 3evel + %Iear ; ( 8) emphasized application of the basic skill in solving mathematics problems. This programme was aimed at providing eBual opportunity for every pupil to acBuire

knowledge, skills, attitudes, rules and desired common social practice in society. The main aim of &1$' was to enable pupils to develop their counting skills. To achieve the aim, pupils must first attempt to master the basic mathematics skills. The #rimary $chool 4ew "urriculum %&1$') was then changed to #rimary $chool !ntegrated "urriculum with the aim to achieve the noble ambition envisaged in the 4ational Education #hilosophy. The aim of &1$' Mathematics could be e7pressed as follow/ *1he main aim of rimary School #athematics 2ducation $as to improve and develop the understanding of number concept and ac3uiring basic calculation s-ills. 1hese $ould help pupils to solve daily problems effectively. ,n addition, pupils $ould learn to appreciate mathematics. 1he mathematical -no$ledge gained $ould also help pupil to manage their daily activities systematically, thus fulfilling the re3uirements for our society and nation to progress as $ell as to help our pupils to further their studies in time to come0 (1he rimary School #athematics Syllabus4 )pril 1553" The #rimary $chool Mathematics $yllabus was revised again in *559, allowing all pupils to acBuire basic mathematics skills and to use the acBuired skills in daily situations at all levels. The $yllabus "ommittee responsible for &1$' Mathematics has grouped all the reBuired learning skills into 5 main topics, which was listed according to their seBuence as follow/ *. .hole numbers and their operations +. Fractions and their operations F. 2ecimal and their operations ;. Money 6. Measurement of 3engths and .eights 8. $pace >. :verage 9. #ercentage 5. Graphs Modification and changes in the mathematics curriculum were not only able to overcome problems related to weaknesses found in the old syllabus, but also helped to achieve the ob ectives and aspirations of the 4ational Education #hilosophy and Cision +,+,. .ith the introduction of $mart $chool #ro ect and challenges of Cision +,+,, the Mathematics $yllabus was further revised and implemented its first year programme when schools reopen in Eanuary +,,F. The medium of instruction was changed from Malay to English so as to keep up with the current trend.

Activity 1.2 What $ere the main aims of the 6BS7 mathematics curriculum implemented in 15839 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Activity 1.3 ,n 1585, the rimary School :e$ (urriculum (6BS7" $as changed to rimary School ,ntegrated (urriculum (also called 6BS7" $ith the aim to achieve the noble ambition envisaged in the :ational 2ducation philosophy. What $ere the main aims of this 1585 6BS7 mathematics curriculum9 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Activity 1.4 .hen was the #rimary $chool Mathematics $yllabus revised again after *595 and state its purpose. 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Activity 1.5 Briefly describe $hy did the government implement the policy of teaching #ath and Science in 2nglish in 2;;39 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000