A NARRATIVE INQUIRY ON TEACHERS’ UNDERSTANDING OF CURRICULUM IMPLEMENTATION IN THE MALAYSIAN SECONDARY ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLASSROOM

1. A NARRATIVE INQUIRY ON TEACHERS’ UNDERSTANDING OF CURRICULUM
IMPLEMENTATION IN THE MALAYSIAN SECONDARY ENGLISH LANGUAGE
CLASSROOM
MOHANA RAM MURUGIAH
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION (Ed.D) CANDIDATE
(904563)
SUPERVISORS
PROFESSOR DR. NURAHIMAH BINTI MOHD YUSOFF
DR. MUHAMMAD NOOR ABDUL AZIZ
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2. 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
PROBLEM STATEMENT
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND QUESTIONS
THEORETICAL UNDERPINNING OF THE
STUDY
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
1
2
4
5
6
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
3
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3. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Prior to the launch of Malaysian Education Blueprint (MEB):
• The Malaysian education system was re-examined and revised. There
was an urgent need to revamp the KBSR and KBSM syllabi
• There was a need for curriculum change due to several shortfalls
• The MEB was launched to improve our education system towards a system that can
be on par with developed countries.
• Among the shifts in the MEB were the improvement of the English language
Education and development of quality teaching, which led to the development of
the English Language Education Reform 2015 - 2025
The aims of the English language education reform are to:
• improve the English language curriculum by aligning it with the CEFR – framework.
• remove the ‘washback effect’ of exam – oriented teaching.
• improve teaching practices
• improve teacher training and professional development courses
Reasons for the curriculum revision :
• Lacks quality in teaching
• Lacks understanding of the curriculum
• Exam – oriented practices
• Lacks in imparting HOTs in classroom
practices
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4. 4
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Teachers lack the understanding and misinterpret
the CEFR – aligned curriculum in terms of
delivering the content effectively. (Abidin &
Hashim, 2021; Darmi et al., 2017; Singh et al.,
2021; Sidhu et al., 2018)
The lack in the professional development
courses for the curriculum implementation.
(Aziz et al., 2018, Sidhu et al., 2018, Yusoff
et al., 2022)
Lack of understanding may lead teachers to teach for
exams rather than building skills which can affect the
objectives of the National Education Blueprint 2013-
2025 (Azman, 2016; Chong & Yamat, 2021; Kok &
Aziz, 2019; Lai, 2022; Ling & Iksan, 2019; Uri &
Aziz, 2019)
There is a need for improved intervention in
terms of training and classroom practices for
effective curriculum implementation. (Lo,2018;
Yasin & Yamat, 2021; Sidhu et al., 2018)
The implementation of the CEFR – aligned KSSM curriculum for secondary
schools since 2016 leads to several issues that need attention :
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5. 5
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND QUESTIONS
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES RESEARCH QUESTIONS
To explore how teachers understand the
implementation of the curriculum through the
professional development courses that they
have received.
To what extent do teachers understand the
implementation of the curriculum through the
training that they have received?
To understand how far the professional
development courses have helped teachers in
the implementation of their lessons.
How far have the professional development
courses helped teachers in the implementation of
their lessons?
To provide suggestions to improve
professional development courses to develop
better teacher understanding of the
curriculum.
What are the suggestions to improve professional
development courses for English language
teachers in regards to the cascade training that
was done for the implementation of CEFR –
aligned English language curriculum for
secondary schools?
To provide recommendations for teachers to
improve classroom practices in line with the
curriculum.
What are the recommendations for teachers to
improve classroom practices to be in line with the
curriculum?
1
2
3
4
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6. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
• Able to devise new strategies to enhance curriculum implementation
• Able to develop better training plan and module to improve teacher understanding and
their practices
• Help teachers to practice and reflect on their own teaching practices
• Help teachers to improvise their practices
• Able to provide focussed assistance for teachers to perform better
• Able to provide training programmes catering to the needs of the teachers
• Language skills is improved towards the target goal
• Pupils able to strive in global job market in future
Ministry of Education
Malaysia
Pupils
• Can suggest new directions for research
• Provide insights into creating a more learner – centred classroom
environment
Trainers/SISC+
Teachers
The Theories
6

7. 7
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Source : Ministry of Education, Malaysia. (2015). English language education reform in Malaysia: The
roadmap 2015-2025 (p. 14).
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8. 8
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
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9. THEORETICAL UNDERPINNING OF THE STUDY
COMMON EUROPEAN
FRAMEWORK FOR
LANGUAGES (CEFR)
ACTION – ORIENTED
APPROACH
TEACHERS’ KEY ROLES
CONSTRUCTIVISM
ASSESSING
PROGRESS
FOSTERING LEARNER
AUTONOMY
CREATING TASKS AND
ACTIVITIES
PROVIDING
FEEDBACK
FACILITATING
COMMUNICATION
• Vygotsky’s Constructivism (1979) emphasises
social interaction in developing knowledge
through learner-centred strategies.
The CEFR framework gains its fundamental
based on the theory of Constructivism
(Council of Europe, 2021; Picardo & North,
2019) • The CEFR framework emphasises on action –
oriented approach where the focus is on
learners’ ability to use the language in real – life
situations through the development of
communicative competence.
• It prioritises learners’ active participation in
learning process which makes it learner-
centred.
• This approach incorporates key principles of
Constructivism.
• Teachers’ understanding of the curriculum
relies on their comprehensibility of the
action – oriented approach
• For the curriculum to be successful teacher
classroom practices should be aligned with
the curriculum that is based on action -
oriented approach
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10. TRUSTWORTHINESS AND
VALIDITY
• Analyst Triangulation by SISC+
• Inter – rater reliability: Two content
experts will evaluate the data
collected.
• Credibility: Transcribed data are sent
to participants for feedback and
annotations
• Dependability: Interview transcripts
are confirmed by participants
PILOT STUDY
To test the comprehensibility of the
instrument and to check the ability of
the questions to help in finding answers
to the research questions. (Wiersma &
Jurs, 2009)
DATA ANALYSIS (ATLAS Ti.9)
• Thematic Analysis (Clarke & Braun, 2017)
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
RESEARCH DESIGN
• NARRATIVE INQUIRY Merriam & Tisdell (2015);
Clandinin (2006), Patton (2014)
• Allows the researcher to obtain rich and deeper
understanding of teachers’ experiences with
curriculum implementation
RESEARCH SETTING AND SAMPLING
• Secondary Schools in Kinta Utara District, in
Perak.
• Purposive sampling method: Five or more English
teachers depending on data saturation Creswell &
Creswell (2017); Clarke & Braun (2017).
• Heads of the English panel who have attended at least
two courses on CEFR curriculum implementation.
DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES
Permission from
EPRD
Permission from JPN
and PPD
• Notifications to school and
teachers,
• Request permission and
research briefings
• Meeting teachers and
building trust
• Filling in permission form
Data collection
adhering to the
procedures
Data Analysis
RESEARCH INSTRUMENT
• Open – Ended Interview (Merriam & Tisdell,
2015)
• Guided Reflection on lessons (Barkhuizen,
2017 ; Anthanases & Sanchez, 2020)
• Document Analysis – Lesson Plan & Students’
work (Creswell, 2014)
Familiarising data
Coding Data
systematically
Generating the
themes
Developing and
reviewing themes
Writing the report
Refining, defining
and naming themes
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11. A SUMMARY OF THE STUDY
ISSUES RESEARCH OBJECTIVES RESEARCH QUESTIONS
DATA COLLECTION
METHOD
DATA
ANALYSIS
Teachers lack the
understanding and
misinterpret the CEFR –
aligned curriculum in terms
of delivering the content
effectively.
To explore how teachers
understand the
implementation of the
curriculum through the
professional development
courses that they have
received.
• To what extent do teachers understand the
implementation of the curriculum through
the training that they have received?
• Open – ended
Interview
• Guided reflection
• Thematic
Analysis
The lack in the professional
development courses for the
curriculum implementation.
To understand how far the
professional development
courses have helped teachers
in the implementation of their
lessons.
• How far have the professional development
courses helped teachers in the
implementation of their lessons?
• Open – ended
interview
• Guided reflection
Lack of understanding may
lead teachers to teach for
exams rather than building
skills which can affect the
objectives of the National
Education Blueprint
To provide suggestions to
improve professional
development courses to
develop better teacher
understanding of the
curriculum.
• What are the suggestions to improve
professional development courses for
English language teachers in regards to the
cascade training that was done for the
implementation of CEFR – aligned English
language curriculum for secondary
schools?
• Open – ended
interview
• Document analysis
There is a need for improved
intervention in terms of
training and classroom
practices for effective
To provide recommendations
for teachers to improve
classroom practices in line with
the curriculum.
• What are the recommendations for
teachers to improve classroom practices to
be in line with the curriculum?
• Open – ended
interview
• Document analysis
11

12. Gratitude abounds as your attentive ears and
thoughtful minds have journeyed with me
through this presentation. Thank you for being
my compass, guiding the exploration of ideas
together.
Mohana
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