Human resource for science and technology: The implementation of the 60:40 policy in selected secondary schools / Gan Joo Kong

Gan, Joo Kong (2014) Human resource for science and technology: The implementation of the 60:40 policy in selected secondary schools / Gan Joo Kong. PhD thesis, University of Malaya.

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Abstract

The aim of the study was to examine the implementation of the 60:40 policy in three selected regular day secondary schools. A research model together with four research questions was used to facilitate the research study. The multiple case study was adapted for the purpose of a qualitative study to gain an insight of how three selected groups of teachers implement the 60:40 policy in three different sites. Concurrently three groups of Form 4 students in the science stream in the three sites were also selected for the research study. The approach involved understanding and describing the activities of the selected group members in implementing the said policy. It was a flexible approach to deal with human behaviour in a complex and dynamic environment like the education system. The primary data was gathered by the use of observation, questionnaire and interview. The overall finding strongly suggests to the fact that the secondary schools were not ready to implement the 60:40 policy. The school settings were not ideal for the teaching and learning of science. The problem of not having enough trained and qualified science teachers persisted. Teacher’s attitudes, beliefs and values towards the students studying science subjects needed some transformation. The system of student selection for the study of science in Form 4 needed to be reformed in order to improve the teaching and learning process. MOE and parents had to be more aggressive to encourage more students to study science. The prevailing demand conditions in the industries needed improvement to encourage more students to study science. The science students were interested to study science but the teaching-learning process and the facilities were not conducive enough for the learning of S/T. The teachers had the perception of the science students short of the prerequisites for the study of science subjects at the Form 4 level. The inability to achieve the 60:40 policy so far was due to the wrong strategy for the implementation of the said policy. The need of intellectual capability had not been seriously considered before the implementation process. This iv aspect had a more serious impact on the implementation process than the tangible assets which could be rectified more readily. The human assets like the students and teachers had not been given the due recognition for the realisation of the policy. The success of the policy depended greatly on the performance of the teachers, the implementers but they had been left to hunt on their own without proper training, coordination and collaboration with the policy makers. It needed a team effort making up of the planners and implementers to ensure the success of the implementation of the national policy. Suggestions to facilitate the implementation of the 60:40 policy included centralisation of S & T schools, the supply and demand for science education, a systems approach, a spiral curriculum for science education from primary to secondary schools and the recognition of the teachers.

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