Science education in Malaysia: Challenges in The 21st Century

Abstract: This article analyses the development of science education in the Malaysian schools' context. Several big changes have shifted the direction of science teaching to Malaysian students over the last fifty years. It started with curriculum reforms adopted by western countries in the 1960s and 1970s. The introduction of a new curriculum with an underlying "˜child-centred' philosophy was developed and implemented in the 1980s. The importance of information technology and English as medium of instruction were characteristic in the late 1900s and 2000s. The impact of international study's such as TIMSS and PISA paved a new direction for science education. Dynamics of science education in Malaysia shows interesting developments that informs us how the education system has adapted to challenges and trends.
Keywords: Science Education, Malaysian School, information technology

PENGAJARAN IPA DI MALAYSIA: TANTANGAN ABAD 21
Abstrak: Tulisan ini menganalisis perkembangan pengajaran IPA di sekolah Malaysia. Beberapa perubahan besar telah mengubah arah pengajaran IPA pada siswa-siswa di Malaysia selama 50 tahun terakhir. Perubahan dimulai dari perombakan kurikulum yang dilakukan negara-negara barat pada tahun 1960-an dan 1970-an. Pengenalan kurikulum yang didasarkan pada filosofi "˜child-centred' dikembangkan dan diterapkan pada 1980-an. Pentingnya teknologi informasi dan bahasa Inggris sebagai media instruksional menjadi karakteristik pada akhir 1900-an and 2000-an. Dampak dari metode internasional seperti TIMSS and PISA menjadi arah baru dalam pendidikan IPA. Dinamika pendidikan science di Malaysia menunjukan perkembangan yang menarik yang membuktikan bagaimana sistem pendidikan telah menghadapi tantangan dan tren.
Kata Kunci: pengajaran IPA, sekolah Malaysia , teknologi informasi