School science curriculum reforms in Malaysia

World Influences and National Context

Bibliographic Data

ID5783604
AuthorsMolly N N Lee (Universiti Sains Malaysia, corresponding author)
Year1992
Volume14
Issue3
Pages249-263
Publication date1992-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Science Education, Part B (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2154-8455 • E-ISSN: 2154-8463
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/0950069920140302
OpenAlexW1967836027
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited16

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 country's 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 be more universalistic than particularistic due to global influences

National curriculum · Educator Training and Historical Pedagogy · Global Education and Multiculturalism · Global Educational Policies and Reforms

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub