Abd Razak Zakaria

Creativity in Messy Play Among Preschool Children

This study was aimed at investigating creativity in messy play among preschool children. The concern was to identify three stages of messy play that can stimulate preschoolers in deriving their creativity and, similarly, to observe the creative ability exhibited by preschool children during the whole of messy play activities. Participants consisted of two preschool principals and a total of eight children 5 or 6 years of age from two selected preschools in Selangor, Malaysia. An interview was conducted with the principals, which along with their verbal answers were taken into account and transcribed into data. Three stages of messy play activities that vary in material were engaged by the eight children. They were interviewed, observed, and recorded in video while the activities were carried out. Outcomes collected were transcribed and analyzed based on the development of young children’s creativity. The study was based on qualitative research methodology. We found stages of messy play are practicable to develop preschool children in the development of creativity. Moreover, the creative ability in preschoolers has been comprehensively testified through all stages of messy play. To sum up, it is certain that messy play does entice preschool children’s creativity. Further proposal of research could target on children aged 4 years and younger to investigate their creativity through messy play, plus further aspects of young children’s development that could be enhanced through messy play.

Is There Room for Physiotherapy in the Malaysian School System

This study investigated the curriculum changes in secondary school system in Malaysia. Thirty experts in physiotherapy were identified through purposive sampling. The Delphi technique was used to build items for the questionnaire which intended to answer the research questions of the study. Findings revealed the fields of physiotherapy expected to provide career opportunities in future as agreed by the panel of experts. To ensure students are prepared to embark on the field of physiotherapy, they believed that subjects such as English language, Biology, Science, Physics, Human Movement, and Biomedical Science need to be introduced and emphasized in the secondary school curriculum. Three teaching approaches, via demonstrations, practical, and clinical practice, are deemed suitable to teach physiotherapy in secondary schools while assessment should focus on both theory and practical components. Further, the panel of experts also stressed that a specific kind of facilities are required at schools which included lecture rooms, laboratories, hydrotherapy pools, gymnasium, treatment rooms, and assessment rooms. The findings show that there is a need for the Ministry of Education (MOE) in general, and the Curriculum Development Centre (CDC) in particular, to relook at the existing secondary school curriculum and make the necessary revision should physiotherapy be introduced in the Malaysian secondary school system.

Trainee Teachers’ Teaching Metaphors and Their Pedagogical Association

There has been increasing interest in exploring what language teachers believe about teaching (Borg 2006). Often these beliefs are expressed in terms of metaphors (Richards 1998; Woodward 1991). Richards (1996) asserts that teachers’ personal principles would reflect their teaching approach in which these principles guide the teachers’ instructional decisions. Teaching principles are commonly built upon teachers’ beliefs, educational input, training, and experience, which reflect the teachers’ roles and influence the instructional decisions and pedagogical practice. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in research about teaching and its association with teachers’ beliefs or vice versa. Nevertheless, there has been little recent research connecting the choice of metaphors and the teachers’ beliefs in relation to classroom practice. Hence, this chapter presents the findings of a study on teachers’ teaching metaphors and their pedagogical representations. The central focus of this chapter is on the teachers’ peripheral beliefs about teaching and the extent to which educational trends of teaching English language in the ESL classroom are established through such beliefs.