Research Note
The National Value of History Education as Evident in Malaysian Secondary-school Examinations
2017 Volume 6 Pages 136-155
Details
2017 Volume 6 Pages 136-155
How is it possible to improve students’ competence in 21st century skills, such as critical thinking, when the national policy focuses on specific values, such as critical thinking, when the national policy focuses on specific values, such as allegiance to the Sultan and religion? Through an analysis of history examinations, this paper will show how history education in Malaysia is connected to the aforementioned national policy. In Malaysia, there was a shift in the government’s educational policy to adapt to global changes resulting in the 1996 Education Act. Then in 2012, Malaysia participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), and now aims to provide education based on global standards. What does history education actually involve? This paper studies -history as a compulsory subject, especially the examination papers and textbooks. The research was conducted in a typical boarding high school in Malaysia, located in the southern part of the Malay Peninsula. The history examination conducted in May 2016, which comprised three papers, was analysed. The first paper was of 1-hours’ duration and composed of 40 multiple-choice questions; the second, of 2 -hours’ duration, required a short essays; and the last, of 3 hours’ duration, longer essays. These examinations were offered biannually and covered the whole of the history curriculum. If any students failed their history examinations, they could not move up to the next grade. The result of this analysis reveals that the Malaysia government demands that history be made a compulsory subject, teaching the national policy regarding the abovementioned specific values rather than 21st century skills. This also shows how history education provides the background needed by the government to establish a bond between different ethnic groups. Further, one peculiarity found with history textbooks is that the viewpoint differs from that of the West; for example, revolutions and the 18th century Enlightenment are only briefly described. There are just a few years left until the deadline for “Vision 2020”, when Malaysia should have achieved a world-class standard of education. This plan states that Malaysians should be ‘living in a society that is democratic, liberal and tolerant’. However, if modern history education does not teach the process of establishing democracy and liberty, how can the students understand these concepts? Having intellectual abilities such as critical thinking skills, and applying multifaceted, multidirectional perspectives will be crucial in the 21st century.
マレーシアの中等教育における歴史考査問題にみる国家的価値観
