CEDER

Mr. Rahimi Saad

Expo on Research and Innovation 2006 University of Malaya

This research was funded by Centre for Economic Development and Ethnic Relations (CEDER)

The Malaysian government had implemented the policy on using English to teach Mathematics and Science (PPSMI) in January, 2003. However, questions remain as to whether this policy implementation has achieved its aims, whether schools have successfully implemented the PPSMI and what are the problems faced by the teachers involved in PPSMI.

In view of this, a research on the implementation of PPSMI was conducted. This study focused on the implementing process of PPSMI in the classrooms, to explore teachers’ and students’ confidence in executing PPSMI, to explore to what extent the training for teachers had helped teachers in implementing PPSMI, to evaluate the suitability of the courseware, and to identify the role played by the school principals and parents in making the implementation of PPSMI a success.

This study utilised the methods of observation, interview, document analysis and survey questions in various types of secondary schools in Malaysia, including National Type Secondary School, National Type (Chinese) Secondary School, Boarding School, and Religious School.  The locations of urban, sub-urban and rural had been taken into consideration. Such selection which based on various criteria was to ensure a better subject representation towards the implementation of PPSMI.

The results show that the self-efficacy of Mathematics teachers is significantly higher than that of Science teachers. As for the students, the result shows that Mathematics self-concept of the Form One students were significantly higher than their Science self-concept.
            
Apart from that, majority of the teachers agreed that the courseware has been effective for teaching and learning even though few aspects and components of the courseware could be upgraded. There are significant differences in terms of teacher preparation for the pre-service and in-service Science and Mathematics teachers in the aspects of confidence in communicating in English, writing Mathematics/Science teaching materials in English, and presenting Mathematics/Science lessons in English.

The study also found that there are schools which implement the PPSMI successfully, and the school principals concerned played vital role in ensuring the implementation of PPSMI. Their assertiveness had made them the role model for the teachers and students from the schools. The findings also suggest that parents are involved in supporting their children in learning mathematics and science in English and also parents from different socioeconomic background show different level of commitment.
            
Based on the findings, one can discuss that students need to be motivated to learn mathematics and science in English. They should be encouraged to engage more in mathematics-related and science-related tasks in English. Clearly, one of the major needs of the teachers is to have more professional preparation in overcoming students’ difficulties in learning mathematics and science in English. The principals are important leaders and role models to encourage the smooth transition of the implementation of PPSMI.

The success or failure of the implementation of PPSMI requires collaboration from various parties. It is hoped that, through PPSMI, Malaysian students can equip themselves better in terms of knowledge and skills in order to face the challenging globalised world. It is also hoped that through PPSMI, the government can produce young scientists and mathematicians of commendable quality who can compete with those from other parts of the world.