Molly N. N. Lee

School science curriculum reforms in Malaysia: world influences and national context

This paper examines how science education becomes institutionalized in Third World countries using Malaysia as a case study. The findings shows that the development of science education in Malaysia has been greatly influenced by international trends and the countrys socio‐political development. Science gained a place in the school curriculum in the midst of British colonial rule. The strong colonial influence on school science continued throughout the early independence period but, in the 1980s, external influences on science education came from both Western and Islamic countries. In each of the historical periods, external world cultural forces interacted with internal socio‐political forces resulting in a national science curriculum which is in accord with world cultural rules but at the same time quite indigenous in character. This study also suggests that while each nation‐state aspires to develop an indigenous form of science education that would best suit the national context, the outcome tends to ...

Changing higher education practice in Malaysia: the conundrum of incentives

International university rankings are a widely used measure of higher education excellence. Since publication rates are an important element in most ranking systems, pushing faculty to increase their publication in top-tier international journals is viewed by many government and university officials as an important strategy for improving ratings and thus gaining international recognition. This study examined the manner in which public universities in Malaysia have created and aligned incentives in an effort to encourage faculty members to increase their publication rate in top-tier international journals. The study is grounded in principal–agent theory and utilized data from 47 interviews conducted with faculty members from across four public universities in Malaysia. Findings suggest that while university administrators’ aspirations for higher international rankings are high, administrators are limited in the incentives they can utilize in effecting the change they seek. Their levers of influence over faculty work are limited in the Malaysian context.

University Education for National Development

University education is the apex of any education system and it is also the most costly when compared to the other levels of education. Throughout the world, national governments invest heavily in tertiary education with a strong belief that universities play an important role in national development. It is no different in the Asia-Pacific region. Despite theoretical scepticism and ambiguous research findings, the connection between higher education and development continues to be featured in many national development plans. Discourses and research on university education for national development usually seek to address a multidimensional concept of development. The key question that is commonly asked is, how do universities contribute to the economic, the political and sociocultural development of a nation? Others have asked more critical questions such as: What kind of development? For whom? For What purpose? How? (Saha, 1991).

Higher Education in Malaysia: National Strategies and Innovative Practices

The higher education system in Malaysia has undergone rapid expansion and restructuring in the past three decades so as to widen access and equity as well as to improve the efficiency and quality of the delivery system. This chapter is an analysis of the restructuring process, the national strategies and innovative practices adopted in the Malaysian context. The analysis highlights the privatization of higher education and the corporatization of public universities in Malaysia. It also examines the various challenges met in terms quality assurance, diversifying sources of funding, and internationalizing higher education. This chapter features some of the innovative practices in Malaysian higher education such as different types of higher education institutions, public-private partnerships, and international-linked programmes. It is argued that massification of higher education in Malaysia is very much influenced by global trends as well a the internal dynamics of social, economic and political forces. Furthermore, higher education is viewed both as a public good and a private service resulting in an innovative hybrid model of financing higher education in Malaysia.

Hybrid Universities in Malaysia

Are Asian universities different from those in Western countries? Premised on the hypothesis that Asian universities are different because of hybridization between Western academic models and local traditional cultures, this paper investigates the hybrid characteristics in Malaysian universities resulting from interaction between contemporary external influences and local traditional practices. At the system level, the interaction between external ideology of neoliberalism and local ethnic-based politics has resulted in ethnized neoliberalism in the higher education system. Hybrid characteristics at the institutional level have been operationalized into the domains of governance and management, programmes and curriculum, teaching and learning, and research and service. Based on three types of universities in Malaysia – mainstream, Islamic and Chinese community-based – we argue that Malaysian universities are hybrid universities because many of the policies and practices are distinctively different from the Western academic models. Indigenization of the Western models had taken place resulting in unique form of university governance and management, Islamization of curriculum and the Asian cultural ethos of the campus in Malaysian universities.

The development of Malaysian universities: Exploring characteristics emerging from interaction between Western academic models and traditional and local cultures

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate, in general, what are the contemporary external influences that have been dominant in Malaysian universities and what are the major local traditional practices that are also found in these universities. Design/methodology/approach From the literature review, the paper proposes a conceptual framework to explore hybridity in governance and management, programs and curriculum, teaching and learning, and research and service. Findings Using the conceptual framework, the paper discusses the Malaysian higher education in terms of Western influence and indigenization of Western models, the background context of Islamic universities and seven possible hybridities compiled from anecdotal evidences. Originality/value The conceptual framework and possible hybridities identified in the paper serve to provide the guide to a more systemic empirical investigation to examine the characteristics of Malaysian universities emerging from the interaction between external influence and local cultures. The Malaysian case also potentially contribute in exploring the question, “Are Asian universities different from Western universities?”.