THE
TEACHING
OF
THINKING
IN MALAYSIA
ROSNANI HASHIM
SUHAILAH HUSSEIN
ed by:
. Centre
University Malaysia
la Lumpur
ysia
Fax: 603-2056-4862
[email protected]
CONTENTS
ion, 2003
:entre, HUM
List of Tables
Acknowledgements
Preface
>ublication may be reproduced, stored
ted, in any form or by any means,
ng, recording, or otherwise, without
lission of the publisher.
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
CHAPTER 2
The Teaching of Thinking: Perspectives and
Issues
9
An Islamic Perspective on Thinking
9
Issues in the Teaching of Thinking
15
The Teaching of Thinking
20
The Relationship between Thinking Skills, School
and Work Success
24
CHAPTER 3
Teachers' Perceptions and Practices in the
Teaching of Thinking
27
Teachers' Perceptions of the Teaching of Thinking 27
Teachers' Practices in the Teaching of Thinking
29
CHAPTER 4
Research on the Teaching of Thinking in Malaysia:
35
The Ministry of Education Projects
Introduction
35
Purpose of the Survey on Research in the
Teaching of Thinking
37
Research Projects Conducted by the Ministry
of Education
37
Ministry of Rural Development Project
40
Conclusion
41
ix
xi
xiii
1
Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Malaysia I Rosnani Hashim
eaching.
v
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
vi
Research on the Teaching of Thinking in
Malaysia: Local Educational Institutions
Research Involving Pre-service and In-service
Teachers
Research on Critical Thinking Skills
(CTS) in Secondary Education
Research on CTS in the Primary School
Research on Creative Thinking Skills
Research on the Teaching of Thinking in
Malaysia: Analysis and Conclusion
Research Methods
Teachers and the Teaching of Thinking
Secondary Education and the Teaching of Thinking
Primary Education and the Teaching of Thinking
Creativity in School
Challenges in the Teaching of Thinking
Conclusion
Teachers' 5,
of Thinkin!
Curriculum c
of Thinkin!
Teaching thE
Teaching the
Teachers' PI
Approache
Teaching St,
that Promo
Independent
Means:
Gender
Academic'
Course At1
School Ty~
Levels of ~
and Proce
Teaching E
Correlations
of Teacher
Results of tt
Multiple Reg
Content Anal
Analysis of I
43
43
49
56
60
63
63
64
64
65
66
66
67
Malaysian Teachers' Perceptions and Practices
in the Teaching of Thinking: Introduction
and Research Methodology
69
Purpose of the Study
70
Significance of the Study
71
Definition of Terms
71
Research Method
75
Population and Sample
75
Instrumentation
76
Data Collection Procedures
80
Data Analysis
81
Malaysian Teachers' Perceptions and Practices
in the Teaching of Thinking: Analysis and
Results
83
Demographic Variables
83
Approaches to the Teaching of Thinking
85
The Value and Importance of Thinking Skills
86
CHAPTER 9
Malaysian 1
in the Teacl
CHAPTER 10 Implications
Practice
Implications f
Implications f
Implications f
Bibliography
Appendices
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Appendix 0
Name Index
Subject Index
ng of Thinking in
onal Institutions
rvice and In-service
Teachers' Sense of Efficacy in the Teaching
of Thinking
Curriculum and School Support for the Teaching
of Thinking
Teaching the Lower Order Thinking Skills (LOTS)
Teaching the Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS)
Teachers' Practices of the Various Forms and
Approaches to Thinking Skills
Teaching Strategies and Teachers' Behaviours
that Promote Thinking
Independent Samples t-tests for Differences of
Means:
Gender
Academic Qualification
Course Attendance
School Type
Levels of Knowledge on Thinking Skills
and Processes
Teaching Experience
Correlations between the Six Sub-scales
of Teachers' Perceptions and Practices
Results of the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
Multiple Regression Analysis
Content Analysis of Open-ended Questions
Analysis of Interviews
43
43
'ng Skills
cation
rimary School
king Skills
49
56
60
ng of Thinking in
Conclusion
63
63
64
g of Thinking
he Teaching of Thinking 64
65
Teaching of Thinking
66
66
g of Thinking
67
rceptions and Practices
king: Introduction
logy
69
70
71
71
75
75
76
80
81
erceptions and Practices
king: Analysis and
83
83
ing of Thinking
85
of Thinking Skills
86
CHAPTER 9
87
87
89
90
91
92
95
95
96
97
98
99
101
102
104
108
109
109
Malaysian Teachers' Perceptions and Practices
in the Teaching of Thinking: Discussion
113
CHAPTER 10 Implications for Educational Theory and
Practice
Implications for Teacher Education
Implications for the School System
Implications for Theory
Bibliography
Appendices
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Appendix D
Name Index
Subject Index
119
119
121
122
125
137
139
141
143
145
147
vii
THE TEACHING OF THINKING IN MALAYSIA
TIle development of the intellectual potential and consequently the ability to think wisely has
always bc~n an impoltantgml of education. This imporont landn"kw of an educated person is
again mised today as a major issue in education, after many studies have begun to reve-a! symptom.,;
of a dedine in students' ability to think wisely, especially when schools began to tocus on the
mastery of facts, probably in the preparation for examinations rather than on the processes of
arriving at those facts. The ability to think well is critical to an individual's success in life, especially
in the age of Information and Communication Technology (ICn and Globalization whereby
individuals have to sieve through ma~,>ive information, which might not be necessarily relevant
at such a rapid pace, and the survival of indLL<;try and natiorrdepends on competitive, knowledge
capital. Should we teach thinking? Is it not a natural process and a matter of experience? After
all, we were able to classif)l, analyze, generalize, deduce, induc'e, evaluate, make decision'> and solve
problems without any formal instructions in thinking. It is no longer true that being able to
think spontaneously would Ie-del to tlle ability to think effectively and wisely, TIlinking could be
taught and good tllinking require; pmctice. Teachers in Malaysia al'e grappling with this lssue in
an etlort to be forerurrners in tlle country' . drive to attain the status of an industrial country and
a world centre ofeducational excellence. '!hi.,; work, theretore, examines me Malaysian educational
policy regarding the teaching of tllinking and studies mat have been conducted in this aI'ea and
tlleir irnplicatio.n<;, in pa.1ticular, for te--adler education.
Rosnani Hashitn - Profe, s r of Social Foundations of Education at tile Centre for Education
and Human Development, Intemationallslamic University Malaysia (HUM). She was fonnerly
the Head of the Department of Education and its founder Dean. She obtained her doctoral
degree in Social Foundation., of Education (Florida) in 1994, her master's degre in Curriculum
and Instruction (Wiscon.,;in) in 1978 and her lYachelor's degree in Matllematics (Northem Illinoi ')
in 1976. She wa,5 a member of the. Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Ltmbda Theta Honours' Societies, She
taught mathematic; at the Mara]unior Science College before joining HUM. In addition to
teaching and research, she is currently tile Assistant Editor oOumal Pendidikan Islam Goumal
of Islamic Education]. She was a member of the Malaysian Council of Deans of Faculties of
Education, and a consultant to the Curriculum Development Centre of the Malaysian Minisny
of Education for mathematics and pre-school curriculum development. She has published
bcx)ks, articles and presented papers in various journals and conferences respectively. hOtll at the
local and intemationallevel.,;. Her major works are Educational Dualism in .l\1alaysia: Implications
for Theoly and Practice (996) and Pengenalan kepada Ekonomi Pendidikan dari Perspektif
Islam [Introduction to Economics of Education: an Islamic Perspective] in 2000.
SuhaiIah Hussien - Lecturer at the Centre for Education and Human Development, International
Islamic Univ rsity M::tlay ·ia. She obtained her master's degree in Social Foundations (II~n in
2000, her lYachelor's degree in Philosophy mUM) in 10/)7 and her Diploma in Education (]]Uf',r
in 1998. Cun-endy she is pursuing her doctoral degree at me University of Sheffield.
ISBN 983-9727-94-X
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