Classroom Practice and the Quality of Teaching: Where a Nation is Going?

This article reports the findings on classroom practice in Malaysia, as the nation attempts to transform the education system to better prepare children for the 21st Century. The goal of the study is to describe an overview of classroom practice in Malaysia, to provide essential empirical data to inform discussions in one of the most important areas in education – what happens in the classroom in relation to national aspirations, policies and practices. A random sampling of 24 secondary schools from across the country led to a sample size of 140 teachers. Lessons facilitated by these teachers were video recorded and analysed. The findings revealed that classroom practice was largely the same throughout the country, and lacked the kinds of activities widely associated with creating engaging and thinking classrooms. Systemic issues and possible ways forward are discussed in light of these findings.