Download or read book Decolonizing the History Curriculum in Malaysia and Singapore written by Kevin Blackburn and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-05-09 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Decolonizing the History Curriculum in Malaysia and Singapore is a unique study in the history of education because it examines decolonization in terms of how it changed the subject of history in the school curriculum of two colonized countries – Malaysia and Singapore. Blackburn and Wu’s book analyzes the transition of the subject of history from colonial education to postcolonial education, from the history syllabus upholding the colonial order to the period after independence when the history syllabus became a tool for nation-building. Malaysia and Singapore are excellent case studies of this process because they once shared a common imperial curriculum in the English language schools that was gradually ‘decolonized’ to form the basis of the early history syllabuses of the new nation-states (they were briefly one nation-state in the early to mid-1960s). The colonial English language history syllabus was ‘decolonized’ into a national curriculum that was translated for the Chinese, Malay, and Tamil schools of Malaysia and Singapore. By analyzing the causes and consequences of the dramatic changes made to the teaching of history in the schools of Malaya and Singapore as Britain ended her empire in Southeast Asia, Blackburn and Wu offer fascinating insights into educational reform, the effects of decolonization on curricula, and the history of Malaysian and Singaporean education.

Download or read book From Decolonization to Ethno Nationalism written by Santhiram R. Raman and published by Strategic Information and Research Development Centre. This book was released on 2022-11-24 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Santhiram’s critique of history education in Malaysia’s school system, past and present is both valuable and timely. His study reaffirms that history’s considerable value as an educative and academic undertaking is too often hijacked by political elites. This study is a salutary reminder why such tendencies should be challenged. S. Gopinathan Professor & Former Dean, National Institute of Education, Singapore Is it true, Santhiram asks, that the origin of the Malaysian nation is from the 1400s onwards? What of the earlier periods with the influence of diverse groups from across Southeast Asia; what of the contribution of more recent Chinese and Indian migration? As Santhiram comments, Malaysian historians and history teachers have some serious soul-searching to do. They might well begin that soul-searching by reading this powerful and important book. It deserves to be read widely, indeed, if Malaysian education is to move forward. John Furlong Emeritus Professor of Education, University of Oxford, United Kingdom Santhiram has put together a highly readable narrative of the history of curriculum development, from a past oppressive colonial to the present tribal periods of Malaysian history. Santhiram tells the story simply and straightforwardly avoiding controversies but not denying the contentious nature surrounding the shaping of policies regarding the subject, its curriculum design and the construction of textbooks to buttress the implementation of the curriculum in the nation’s primary and secondary school systems. This is a very readable work. Tan Sri Gajaraj M Dhanarajan Emeritus Professor, Penang, Malaysia

Download or read book Education in Singapore written by Yew-Jin Lee and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-04-06 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This edited book is a comprehensive resource for understanding the history as well as the current status of educational practices in Singapore. It is a one-stop reference guide to education and educational issues/concerns here. There are three sections: Part 1 provides a sectorial overview of how education has been organized in this country such as preschool, special needs, primary and secondary, and adult education divisions. In Part 2, contributors critically delve into issues and policies that are pertinent to understanding education here such as underachievement, leadership, language education, assessment, and meritocracy to question what Part 1 might have taken for granted. Part 3 contains the largest number of contributors because it offers a scholarly examination into specific subject histories. This section stands out because of the comparative rarity of its subject matter (history of Physical Education, Art, Music, Geography Education, etc.) in Singapore.

Download or read book Colonization and Epistemic Injustice in Higher Education written by Felix Maringe and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-03-08 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Providing coherence in understanding the role that education and higher education played in the colonizing purposes of the rich nations of the North, this book draws from multiple geopolitical spaces across the world to consider how epistemic injustice has characterized colonial higher education systems. Within this text, carefully chosen international contributors explore how colonialism, coloniality, and colonization have impacted indigenous people’s ways of knowing, feeling, behaving, valuing, being, and becoming in fundamental ways and how the West’s idea of education and schooling have been used as key instruments in the project of world domination and subjugation. Beyond these key entry concepts, chapters use ideas of modernity, post-modernism, globalization, internationalization, and neo-liberalism to examine how higher education in colonial and post-colonial societies still answers to a colonial narrative and what can be done to decolonize the system. Unpacking the historical and philosophical antecedents of higher education and critically examining the intentions and impact of colonial assumptions behind higher education in different parts of the world, this is suitable reading for postgraduates and scholars in the field of higher education, as well as senior management teams in universities and practitioners who work directly in the field of transformation in government, and university departments.

Download or read book Reforming Literature Education in Malaysia 1957 2020 written by Jia Wei Lim and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2024-08-12 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lim traces the complexities in construction and implementation of a school subject, namely Literature in English in Malaysia through a focused and grounded narrative where tensions regarding identity, reader response and conceptualisations about literature play out in a postcolonial context. The book demonstrates the need to think about school subjects as abstract concepts negotiated at various levels, be it during curriculum construction or in the classroom. These conceptualisations of the subject are further influenced by contemporary concerns and sociopolitical changes over time. As such, the scope of this book ranges from pre-independence Malaysia (then Malaya) from the 1950s till the current phase of the subject’s development in the 21st century. The volume illustrates the complex interplay of historical, cultural, and social influences on the conceptualisation of English literature as a school subject in Malaysia. Lim traces, examines, and interprets its development as an elective subject in the context of post-secondary Malaysian education, and engages with current trends in education such as internationalization and standardized assessment. Lim also highlights the importance of teacher and student lived experiences to argue that personal conceptualisations of the school subject are actualized and negotiated in classroom discourse. Offering unique insights into studying Literature in English in a postcolonial context, the book will appeal to researchers, students and practitioners in the fields of history of education, curriculum reform and literature education.

Download or read book The Malayan Emergency written by Karl Hack and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2021-12-16 with total page 529 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Malayan Emergency of 1948–1960 has been scrutinised for 'lessons' about how to win counterinsurgencies from the Vietnam War to twenty-first century Afghanistan. This book brings our understanding of the conflict up to date by interweaving government and insurgent accounts and looking at how they played out at local level. Drawing on oral history, recent memoirs and declassified archival material from the UK and Asia, Karl Hack offers a comprehensive, multi-perspective account of the Malayan Emergency and its impact on Malaysia. He sheds new light on questions about terror and violence against civilians, how insurgency and decolonisation interacted and how revolution was defeated. He considers how government policies such as pressurising villagers, resettlement and winning 'hearts and minds' can be judged from the perspective of insurgents and civilians. This timely book is the first truly multi-perspective and in-depth study of anti-colonial resistance and counterinsurgency in the Malayan Emergency.

Download or read book Rebuilding the Education Sector in East Timor during UNTAET written by Trina Supit and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-10-07 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This original volume examines the collaboration between East Timorese and international staff in the rebuilding of the education sector during the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) 1999-2002. Using interviews, contemporary newspaper articles and reports from UN sources and the World Bank, the book enables a comprehensive analysis of Timorese agency. Examining choices made by the Timorese and drawing comparison with other former Portuguese colonies, the text considers the power of the Timorese elite, the role of nepotism and corruption, the preservation of the Indonesian curriculum and the selection of Portuguese as the medium of instruction and official language - together with Tetum. Concluding with a contemporary discussion on the educational achievements for East Timorese children during UNTAET compared with those of today, Rebuilding the Education Sector in East Timor during UNTAET will be of interest to academics, researchers and post-graduate students in the fields of post-conflict studies, post-colonial education and language policy as well as East Timor more specifically. This book will also benefit graduate students and scholars in teacher education. Trina Supit completed her PhD at the University of Sydney, Australia. She was a member of the UNTAET Division of Education.

Download or read book The Decolonisation of the History Curriculum in the English Language Medium Schools of Singapore and Malaya written by ZongLun Wu and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Decolonizing the English Literary Curriculum written by Ato Quayson and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2023-11-09 with total page 533 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: George Floyd's death on May 25th 2020 marked a watershed in reactions to anti-Black racism in the United States and elsewhere. Intense demonstrations around the world followed. Within literary studies, the demonstrations accelerated the scrutiny of the literary curriculum, the need to diversify the curriculum, and the need to incorporate more Black writers. Decolonizing the English Literary Curriculum is a major collection that aims to address these issues from a global perspective. An international team of leading scholars illustrate the necessity and advantages of reform from specific decolonial perspectives, with evidence-based arguments from classroom contexts, as well as establishing new critical agendas. The significance of Decolonizing the English Literary Curriculum lies in the complete overhaul it proposes for the study of English literature. It reconnects English studies, the humanities, and the modern, international university to issues of racial and social justice. This book is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Download or read book Creating Greater Malaysia written by Tai Yong Tan and published by Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. This book was released on 2008 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Malaysia came into existence on 9/16/63 as a federation of Malaya, Singapore, Sabah (North Borneo), and Sarawak; in 1965 Singapore withdrew from the federation. Offers an in-depth and detailed analysis of the political processes that led to formation of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963. It argues that the Malaysia that came into being following the amalgamation of Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo was a political creation whose only rationale was that it served a convergence of political and economic expediency for the departing colonial power, the Malayan leadership and the ruling party of self-governing Singapore. 'Greater Malaysia' was thus an artificial political entity, the outcome of a concatenation of interests and motives of a number of political actors in London and Southeast Asia from the 1950s to the early 1960s. This led to a number of unresolved compromises between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur and did not obviate the possibility of future difficulties, and the seeds of dissension sown by the disagreements between the two governments were to sprout into major crises during Singapore's brief history in the Federation of Malaysia.

Download or read book From Citizenship Education to National Education written by King Man Eric Chong and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2017-06-14 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book makes a timely contribution to understanding perceptions on national identity and National Education, with both of them have become controversial topics in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China. In a so-called globalization era, national identity and National Education, with the latter having an aim of fostering a Chinese national identity in education, have been significantly pushed ahead by the Hong Kong SAR government since the early 2000s as a response to the return of sovereignty to China in 1997. Teacher perception matters to what they select and how they teach in the schools. By incorporating fieldworks of teacher interviews, observation and documentary analysis, this book argues for a multi-layered conception of identity, different aims, contents and diversified methods of National Education should be recognized. This book is likely to become a useful account of teacher perception on national identity and National Education in citizenship education literature, and it will be relevant to policymakers, teachers, trainers and researchers. Chapters include, 1. Different meanings of national identity of teachers and aims, contents and methods of National Education 2. From Citizenship Education to National Education in a Chinese society 3. Implications for understanding National Education in a globalization era: mixed identification, multi-layered identities, knowledge transmission, and ‘global identity’

Download or read book Coming Into Intelligibility written by Bee Kim Koh and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study examines how select aspects of art and practice are apprehended in Singapore, in terms of how they come into being, how they are known, lived and responded to. Situated within the broader context of postcolonial globalization, the study considers how art and practice can be understood within situated conditions in Singapore as a means towards decolonizing the pre-constitution of subjectivity of Singapore art in the curriculum.

Download or read book Education Culture and the Singapore Developmental State written by Y. Chia and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-04-07 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the role of education in the formation of the Singapore developmental state. The book provides a historical study of citizenship education in Singapore, whereby a comparative study of history, civics and social studies curricula, and the politics and policies that underpin them are examined.

Download or read book Decolonising the University The Emerging Quest for Non Eurocentric Paradigms Penerbit USM written by Claude Alvares and published by Penerbit USM. This book was released on 2014-11-25 with total page 399 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book of essays is a sequel to the ‘International Conference on Decolonising Our Universities’ held in Penang, Malaysia from June 27 to 29, 2011. The Conference was jointly organised by the Universiti Sains Malaysia and Citizens International in cooperation with the Higher Education Leadership Academy of the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education. At the Conference, speaker after speaker pointed out that education in Asia and Africa is too Westcentric. It blindly apes European universities, European curricula and European paradigms. The papers in this volume examine possible ways of overcoming this problem of intellectual enslavement in Asian and African citadels of learning. It must be pointed out at the very outset that this book is not meant to be a tirade against the West. Its aim is not to ask Asian and African universities to shut out Europe and North America or to be insular or to wear blinds. Its aim is positive – to make Asian and African tertiary education truly global and at the same time socially relevant. This cannot be done unless the intellectual monopoly of the West is broken and European knowledge is made to make way for the review, teaching and expansion of the vast knowledge of other societies and cultures. European knowledge may supplement, but never replace, other valid knowledge systems and traditions. The book is divided into eight parts. Part I creates the setting, provides an overview of the state of our universities, reflects on decolonisation of our intellectual heritage and explains how colonial education was used to assault our cultures. Part II contains a wish-list of the decolonised university. There are essays on the philosophical basis of an African university and about how the sacred and the secular can be integrated and how the community can be brought back into the university. Part III critically examines the promise and performance of UNESCO in decolonisation of Asian and African institutions of higher learning. Part IV discusses eurocentrism in social sciences, in mathematics and in science curricula. Part V highlights the state of social sciences and the law today and provides an alternative discourse in social theory, history, psychotherapy, psychology, law and language education. Part VI discusses regional decolonising initiatives in the Philippines, Taiwan, Turkey and Iran. Part VII provides insights into some experiments in transforming academic pedagogy. Finally, Part VIII contains some personal journeys in decolonisation of the self. This book of essays is meant to coincide with Malaysia’s Independence Day on August 31, 1957. The hope is that the timing will underline the point that the stains of cultural and intellectual imperialism do not end with the attainment of political freedom. Freedom is a state of the mind and, regrettably, throughout Asia and Africa, the enslavement of the mind has continued long after the coloniser has gone back home. This humiliating state of affairs must end, not only to give meaning to political independence but also to improve the quality of our education by giving to our students a better panorama of world knowledge and thereby to increase their choices. Decolonisation of our universities is not an exercise in flag-waving nationalism. Its aim is ameliorative. Diversity and pluralism of knowledge systems are vital for meeting many of the moral, social and economic challenges of the times and for avoiding the frightening economic, educational and cultural consequences of Europe’s near-total intellectual and educational monopoly over Asia, Africa and Latin America. For example, Western models of development have proved to be a nightmare and have not served Asia and Africa well. Economic theories from the West have brought the whole world to the brink of an environmental catastrophe. Asian universities should offer a critique of the ethnocentrism of Western scholarship by pointing out that a middle class Western lifestyle and what that entails in terms of the nuclear family, the consumer society, living in suburbia and extensive private space may neither be workable nor desirable on a fragile planet. The humiliating story of intellectual enslavement in each field and in each region is best told in the words of the authors. What must be noted is the ways in which this subservience manifests itself. Our university courses reflect the false belief that Western knowledge is the sum total of all human knowledge. The books prescribed and the icons and godfathers of knowledge are overwhelmingly from the North Atlantic countries. Titles written by scholars and thinkers from Asia and Africa are rarely included in the book list. This may indicate a pervasive inferiority complex or ignorance of the contribution of the East to world civilisation. Any evaluation of right and wrong, of justice and fairness, of poverty and development, and of what is wholesome and worthy of celebration tends to be based on Western perceptions. Eastern ideas and institutions are viewed through Western prisms and invariably regarded as primitive and in need of change. Despite decades of political independence, the framework assumptions of our law, politics, economics, education, history, science, art and culture remain dictated by our former colonial masters. Our concept of the good life and our views on human rights have very tenuous links to our indigenous traditions. Our cultural values, domestic relations, music, food and dressing – indeed our whole Weltanschauung is constructed on a Western edifice of knowledge. Our concept of beauty has been socially constructed by Hollywood media. In our professions, most of the icons we look up to are Western. In our universities, the syllabi we draft, the books we prescribe, the theories we blindly ape, the new abodes of the sacred we worship have very little connection with our own intellectual and moral heritage. It is fashionable in Asian universities to import expatriate lecturers, external examiners and guest speakers exclusively from North Atlantic countries. Asian scholars are generally not regarded as fit for such recognition. The underlying assumption is that Asians and Africans matter little and in all aspects of existence we need civilisational guidance from the overlords of humankind in Europe and America. How did we fall into such depths of enslavement and reverse racism? An essay in the volume points out that the colonisers conquered our mind by dismissing and deriding our cultures, alienating us from our roots and putting us in awe of the culture of the masters. They used the colonial education system for the production of a competent but submissive class. They replaced local languages with the English language extinguishing along with local languages, the cultural and moral nuances and perspectives that surround a language. The colonisers falsified and obliterated historical records of intellectual achievements by Asian and African scholars and inventors. They borrowed extensively from the East but shamelessly failed to acknowledge that debt. In many cases they Latinised Eastern names to make them sound European. The world does not know that during the European Dark Ages, scintillating educational developments were taking place in Asia and Africa. While Europe slept, China, India, Persia and Egypt practised science, invented algebra, furthered mathematics, metallurgy, law and logic. They conducted complex medical operations, invented rockets, wrote treatises in philosophy, sociology and astronomy. A more recent form of Western hegemony is the yearly university ranking lists. Western education, Western science and Western achievements are subjected to evaluation on criteria that are rigged in their favour. A host of Western consultants and experts unabashedly glorify American and European achievements and certify and celebrate the unique quality of their education system. A recent claim was made that American society symbolised ‘the end of history’ implying thereby that no further human progress was necessary anywhere else. The book’s ultimate aim is to discover what needs to be done to liberate our minds and our souls; to end this academic colonialism; to restore our dignity and independence. We must shed the slavish mentality of blindly aping Western paradigms. We must stop sucking up to the Western academic system. We need to send Columbus packing back home. Not only the Columbus outside but also the Columbus within. We need to rediscover the suppressed knowledge of our civilisations and to reconnect with our rich heritage. We must embark on a voyage of discovery of our ancestors’ intellectual wanderings and rediscover the wonders and heritage of China, India, Persia, Mesopotamia, Egypt and other Eastern and African civilisations. We must combat the many fabrications and plagiarisms of Western ‘innovators’ and we must give credit where credit is due to those in Asia and Africa who pioneered the ideas. It must be clarified that it is not part of our agenda to ask European and American universities to include the treasures of the East in their syllabi. Whether their world-views should be enriched by the insights and reflections of the East, or whether they should remain insular and wear blinds, is their own problem. Further, it is not our aim to shut out the West but to end blind and exclusive reliance on it. We need to root our education in our own soil; to tap our own intellectual resources first and to make our education relevant to our societal conditions. No amount of imported academics or theories can do this, only us. We are aware that our endeavour will be mocked by many in the West. We will also be opposed by many elites in the East who believe that ‘West is best’ and whose capitulation to Europe perpetuates Western intellectual hegemony. Such opposition to the basic thesis of this book will only serve to confirm the phenomenon of ‘legitimation and false consciousness’ whereby the oppressed are so brainwashed that they cooperate with their oppressors. ‘It is the final triumph of a system of domination when the dominated start singing its virtues.’ In preparing this volume, we received invaluable help from many individuals and institutions. Universiti Sains Malaysia and Citizens International provided the funds for publication. Ayesha Bilimoria helped with the editing of the bulk of the pieces. Jenessey Dias performed brisk transcription of the presentations from the DVDs. Shafeeq, Sameera and Noor Aini Masri gave secretarial assistance. Professor Dato’ Dr. Md Salleh Yaapar and his team from the USM Press did everything else with great courtesy, speed and professionalism. Citizens International’s S.M. Mohamed Idris and Uma Ramaswamy assisted with the printing. To all of them we owe a debt of gratitude. We hope that this book will highlight what is on any measure a shameful condition and that it will inspire at least some Asian educators to think afresh, to chart new directions, to search for the best in their indigenous traditions, yet to keep the windows of their mind open to the world.

Download or read book The Cultural Legacies of Chinese Schools in Singapore and Malaysia written by Cheun Hoe Yow and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2022-09 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Educational institutions have been a crucial state apparatus in shaping the cultural identity and ideology of ethnic Chinese in Singapore and Malaysia. This volume examines the historical development of Chinese-medium schools from the British colonial era to recent decades after the 1965 separation of Singapore and Malaysia.

Download or read book Globalization and the Singapore Curriculum written by Zongyi Deng and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-11-27 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume provides a multi-faceted and critical analysis of the Singapore curriculum in relation to globalization. First, it details reform initiatives established by the Singapore government to meet the challenges posed by globalization. Next, Globalization and the Singapore Curriculum presents how these reforms have been translated into programs, school subjects and operational frameworks and then examines, in turn, how well these have been implemented in schools and classrooms across the country. Through this examination, the book reveals how the initiatives, together with their curricular translation and classroom enactment, reflect on the one hand global features and tendencies and, on the other, distinct national traditions, concerns and practices. It brings to light a set of issues, problems and challenges that not only concern policymakers, educators and reformers in Singapore but also those in other countries as well. Written by curriculum scholars, policy analysts, researchers and teacher educators, Globalization and the Singapore Curriculum offers an up-to-date reference for postgraduate students, scholars and researchers in the areas of curriculum and instruction, comparative education, educational sociology, educational policy and leadership in Singapore, the Asia Pacific region and beyond. It also offers a vital contribution to the story of modern education around the globe: providing international students, scholars and researchers valuable insights into curriculum and curriculum reform for the 21st century.

Download or read book Decolonisation written by Ashley Wood and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: DECOLONISATION has been developed especially for senior secondary students of History and is part of the Nelson Modern History series. Each book in the series is based on the understanding that History is an interpretive study of the past by which you also come to better appreciate the making of the modern world. Decolonisation is the term used to describe the process of the breakup of empires and the establishment, or re-establishment, of nation states. After 1945, the European imperial powers, such as France, the United Kingdom, Belgium and the Netherlands, responded to the demands of their colonial subjects for independence. The nature of the demands for independence ranged from peaceful agitation and negotiation, as in British India, to bloody and protracted wars, as in French Indochina. Regardless of the path to independence, the outcome was the establishment of dozens of new nation states in Africa and Asia after the Second World War. This transformation is most clearly illustrated in the membership of the United Nations. Formed in 1945 with 51 member nations, drawn mainly from Europe and the Americas, by 1970 the United Nations' membership had more than doubled to include 127 countries. Most of these new members were recently decolonised nations in Africa and Asia. Developing understandings of the past and present in senior History extends on the skills you learnt in earlier years. As senior students you will use historical skills, including research, evaluation, synthesis, analysis and communication, and the historical concepts, such as evidence, continuity and change, cause and effect, significance, empathy, perspectives and contestability, to understand and interpret societies from the past. The activities and tasks in DECOLONISATION have been written to ensure that you develop the skills and attributes you need in senior History subjects.