Educational philosophy is defined as the study of purpose, process, nature and ideals of

education. National Philosophy of Education guides and reinforces the direction and goal of
education in Malaysia. Briefly, the National Philosophy of Education outlines all the terms,
ideas, and principles related to education in this country. In other words, it reforms the
teaching and learning process or better said, educational strategies and practices based on the
governments policy so that a consistent, clear and logical entity can be formed.

There are a few goals that the National Philosophy of education aims to achieve. The first
goal is stated as, developing individuals who are physically, intellectually, emotionally and
spiritually balanced and harmonious.

Next, it aims to develop individuals, who posses’ high moral values, in the context of multi-
ethnic society, a set of shared values should be identified, bringing together the common
values of the various ethnic groups.

The third goal would be to nurture the value of responsibility. In this context, one must be
able to be accountable for his or her action, able to discriminate between right and wrong,
respectable and trustworthy.

Other than that, National Philosophy of Education aims to create individuals who are
knowledgeable and competent. The learners must not only have wide range of general and
specific knowledge, but also must be able to apply it in real world situations.

Another aspiration would be to develop individuals who are capable of achieving a high level
of well being. In this context, an individual must have moral values and have harmonious
relationship between him/her and God, the world and among themselves (economically,
politically and socially.)

The final goal would be to develop individuals who are capable to contribute to the
betterment of the society and nation. This can be achieved through the contribution of
manpower after their studies, or even in small ways such as preserving the cleanliness of our
country simply by not littering.
In addition, National Philosophy of Education consists several elements to develop the
potentials of individuals in a holistic and integrated manner.

The first element of NPE is education as an ongoing effort. Education is a life long process to
fill the needs of the ever changing society. For instance, SPM leavers can seek knowledge by
attending computer classes or photography classes based on their interest while waiting for
their results. Here, “education for life” means that learner should be encouraged to learn
autonomously.

The second element would be developing the potential of individuals. In this context,
National Philosophy of Education recognizes the natural ability of individuals and believes in
the possibility of developing it. Therefore talents, potential and abilities should be tapped,
nurtured, developed and enhanced through social interaction with others and environment.

Next element would be a development based on a firm belief in and devotion to God.
Religious education and inculcation of good moral values deriving from any religion in the
country would enhance developments in the spiritual and emotional aspects.

The essence of NPE is to develop the potential of Malaysian citizens in a holistic and
integrated manner so as to be intellectually, spiritually, emotionally and physically balanced
based on a firm belief in and devotion to god. The NPE articulates the view of the Ministry of
Education regarding three key concepts in education which is:

1. The nature of education provision.

2. The function of education.

3. The form of education.

The first concept mainly focuses on lifelong learning as a major strategy to maximise the
potential of individual. The whole population needs to be given the encouragement and
support to learn throughout their lives because life long learning is seen as the democratic
rights of every citizen.
Next concept emphasizes on the major function of education to further maximise the
potential of individual. To develop the potential of individuals, the learner must be given
opportunity to experiment and learn new things. In this case, the teacher will not be the
source of the information during the learning process instead the teacher will only provide
access to information.

The third concept, reflects that education should be based on the “the firm belief in and
devotion to god”. Malaysians are given the freedom to belief any religion even though Islam
is the official religion of the country, Thus the term God does not refer to any particular
religion.

Education in Malaysia in perspective should reflect the ideals of National philosophy of

education (NPE) which focuses on the humanization of education (cabinet Report 1979). The
idea to formulate NPE sparked off in 1979 after the Cabinet committee Report on the Review
of Education Policies Implementation. This report contains issues related to education such as
principles, values and stressed the importance of having philosophies in education which
concentrates on human development. Clearly, the government aspires for a holistic human
development encompassing the spiritual, emotionally, intellectual and physical domains.
There are many policies structured behind the NPE. This shows that NPE is strongly
determined by the Malaysian constitution and grounded in our national ideologies which have
integrated Rukunegara, New Economic Policy and the National Education Policy.

As the question revolves, the national Philosophy of education was introduced due to certain
factors. Basically, the Malaysian education system is relatively new system which was
shaped by Razak Report (1956), known as an education bill which was legislated as the
education ordinance (1957) at the nation independence. Prior to independence, education was
not regulated as a unitary system. Instead, each of races in Malaysia provided education
services to their own people through religious entities, the British government added their
own initiative by the way of creating missionary schools without regulation the existing
schools which were provided by the racial group. The main achievement of the Education
Ordinance (1957) was to provide basic structure for the nation’s education provision as a
unitary system.
Following the Razak report of 1956, another bill was introduced in 1960 which is known as
Rahman Talib Report and it was enacted as Education Act (1961) but it was not until
Mahathir Report (1979) that the major educational reform took place. Among the landmark
contributions of this bill was the introduction of the Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Rendah
(KBSR) to better reflect the integrated nature of the Curriculum. The KBSR was introduced
nationwide in 1983 meanwhile Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Menengah (KBSM) was
introduced in 1989.

Education reform took place in Mahathir Report (1979) was greatly influenced by the
progressivism philosophy. This teaching philosophy moves away from the traditionally
popular perennials views and shifts emphasis from the teacher to the learner. The
implementation of learner-centred teaching approach advocated in the KBSR and KBSM
therefore, demanded a total paradigm shift among all its actors throughout the education
system. In 1989, the National Philosophy of Education was released and is as follows:

"Education in Malaysia is an on-going effort towards further developing the

potential of individuals in a holistic and integrated manner, so as to produce individuals
who are intellectually, spiritually, emotionally and physically balanced and harmonious,
based on a firm belief in and devotion to God. Such an effort is designed to produce
Malaysian citizens who are knowledgeable and competent, who possess high moral
standards, and who are responsible and capable of achieving high level of personal well-
being as well as being able to contribute to the harmony and betterment of the family, the
society and the nation at large.”

National Philosophy of Education is important because it rationally clarifies the current

educational practices as well as facilitates the actions and trends of education in the future.
By implementing the philosophies contained in the National Philosophy of Education, it will
lead into planning of the specific teaching and learning process in education as well as to
strengthen policy and planning in the reform of the education system. The general strategies
in the National Philosophy of Education to achieve the educational goals are to develop the
potential of individuals in a holistic and integrated manner.

In addition, with the national education system, the government could use education as a tool
to build the nation and foster unity through a common syllabus and curriculum. This could be
further achieved by providing teachers with a standardized form of training in teachers'
training colleges. Teachers should belief that diversity in classroom is a strength that
contributes to the learning process. The government also hoped that through a unified
education system, the imbalances in the economic functions, which were associated with a
particular ethnic group, would eventually be phased out.

The need for a change in teaching philosophy is important because philosophy of teaching are
descriptions of how the teachers think learning occurs, how they think they can get involved
in this process, what are goals they have for students, and what actions they take to
implement their intentions. Before independence, the teaching philosophies are teacher
centred such as perennalism or essentialism where the teacher enters the class and teach
without giving the student a chance to talk or throw their points. Basically, the teacher
determines how the students will learn content and places little emphasis on the learners.

Reforms and changes are necessary in education from time to time because the society is
progressing towards the better and the minds of people are developing. The changes of the
way of transmitting and acquiring knowledge are important and must be catered to attend
individual needs. The change in teaching philosophy will alter the teaching strategies, the
process of teaching and learning and the learning habits of the student.

With the right teaching philosophy, a teacher must embrace the idea of teaching for
understanding. There is so much failure in our schools as a result of teaching strategies that
do not meet the needs of curious young minds. Teachers are not equipped to meet the mental
demand of the curious minded learners who lives in a millennium that is different from the
past. For example, many years ago, the teaching of technology related subjects in Malaysia
was rare and wasn’t important but today, the knowledge of ICT are delivered in primary one
itself. The teaching strategies and curriculum need to be reformed from time to time so that
they won’t be left behind.

Before independence the syllabus focuses mainly on the importance of the religious subjects.
Whereas now, education system is reformed and places more importance on the curriculum
designed for the primary and secondary students and this curriculum is changing from time to
time to accommodate the needs of society. Other than that, before independence, British
implemented vernacular education system which places single ethnic group in a school. This
situation doesn’t give a chance for unity to take place between different races. Now, after
independence, the education system provides opportunity for all the races to study under one
roof. This is a plus point for the teaching and learning process as diversity should be seen as
the strength in classrooms where students from different background can engage in
corporative learning environment.

By setting the right philosophies for teaching, teachers can never run out of the track.
Teachers must be able to produce well balanced learner who will be able to apply their
knowledge outside the classroom. Teaching philosophy should change as the educator comes
across different types of students.

Looking into the system of teaching and learning in the National Philosophy of Education, it
mainly focuses on the learner centred learning process. The learner centred learning is
divided into three main philosophy which are, progressivism, existentialism and social
reconstructivism. All three teaching philosophies places emphasizes on the learners and their
learning habits.

The philosopher of progressivism is John Dewey, who not only believed in the existence of
change, but also welcomed it as an uncontrollable force. The needs of society and individuals
are constantly changing and this is related to his belief that people learn best from what they
consider most relevant to their lives. Hence, progressivisms centre the curriculum on the
experiences, interests, and abilities of students. This is very applicable in the classroom and
relevant with one of the goal of National Philosophy of Education which is to develop the
potential of individuals. This method can be carried out by allowing students to learn things
by experimenting, in addition to reading the text book. Teachers can do their part by
arranging a filed trip for the class where they will be able to witness and engage with the
society or nature. On the other hand, a teacher can make a classroom learning fun by planning
a lesson that stimulates the students’ interests and provide hands on activity that would
engage all the students to participate. For example, group discussions, games or doing a
project that involves field work and interaction with people outside the classroom as well.
Other than that, a teacher can apply peer assisted learning method where mixed ability
students will be placed in a group and given a task to complete so that they will be able to
learn from one another. It is best if the task given is common to what they might encounter
outside the classroom so that they will be shaped to be better problem solvers.
Similar to that, existentialism is based on the belief in human nature, free will and that
individuals are responsible to shape their own future. In educational aspects, it is up to the
students to make relevant decisions and evaluate those decisions thoughtfully. According to
Jean Paul Sartre, education should be about helping each other answer fundamental
questions. For example, “why am I here? What is my purpose?” Teacher’s play their part by
exposing students to the various paths that they may take in life and create environment
where they can choose their own way. Moreover, vocational education is regarded as
developing students’ potential than focusing on how to earn a living. Besides that, in art
education, existentialism encourages individual creativity and imagination more than drawing
based on established models. A teacher must also allow students to learn on their own pace
and ensure that enough time is spent with the students in facilitating and guiding them. In
addition, an educator must be able to provide honest feedback on the students’ progress.

On the other hand, reconstructivism focuses on a curriculum that highlights social reform as
the aim of education. Theodore Brameld was the founder of social reconstructivism who
emphasizes the addressing of social questions and a mission to create a better society and
world wide democracy. Reconstructivist suggests that the system of government, education,
social classes must be changed to overcome domination and improve human conditions.
Paulo Freire, a poor Brazilian who excelled in academically lead to social change. According
to him, teaching and learning is a process of inquiry in which the child must invent and
reinvent the world rather than "teaching as banking," in which the educator deposits
information into students' head. The education that is based on this philosophy can be
classified as community based learning which brings the world into the classroom. It also
directly confronts societal ills such as poverty racism, sexism, AIDS, abuse and violence.

Teachers who choose this teaching philosophy can teach the students by exposing them to
current issues which is happening in the country and world. For example, this can be done by
bringing newspaper articles to the class and conduct a brainstorming session with peers to
identify the causes, effects and solutions. Besides that, the school should encourage the
students to contribute a small part of what they can afford to fund the poor ones, especially
those who are suffering from the effects of war.
Hence, the application of this philosophy in schools and classrooms will instill good moral
values within the students and also creates individuals who are aware of his/her surrounding
and able to give appropriate feedback in daily communications concerning these issues.

We have selected a target group (form 2 – Science subject). The lesson was divided into 3
stages, pre, while and post. Therefore, the lesson is more organized and one step at a time is
taken so that students are clarified with the topic ‘senses’.

Pre stage- Topic is introduced by asking students questions based on the charts/pictures. They
are than divided into groups. Group collaboration is the main aim for division of groups.
Social interaction makes it easier for students to understand the subject matter. They acquire
and they will not be hesitant to seek extra information or ask questions. At this stage, students
will also feel comfortable because they are collaborating among their peers

While stage- Each group is given one sub-topic. There are 5- Eyes, Ears, Nose, Tongue, and
Skin. Every group is given an activity to do which involves their senses. It is a hands-on
activity whereby students will taste, see, hear, feel and smell different things that will trigger
their senses. Since every group is given 1 sub-topic, they will be given charts/diagrams that is
labeled which will able them to know the scientific terms and where they are located. The
aim of this activity is to help students engage with their peers in a hands-on activity that
would each and everyone to try different things. Thus, they would be able to identify and
label the sensorial parts that are given and their individual functions.

Post stage-In the final stage, students are given 10 minutes to draw the diagram that was
shown to them using colorful pens/pencils. They will they present to their classmate what
they have learnt. Since every group is given different sensorial parts, every group would have
to pay attention to what is being said by their peers. This is a process where students take
control of the classroom and the teacher manages the environment. Therefore, students will
think for themselves and enhance their confidence during their presentation. This is the
totally opposite of what is happening in school now days whereby teachers teach and students
jot down notes.