LEADERSHIP AND TEACHER PROFESIONAL DEVELOPMENT

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Teachers are regarded as agents or facilitators of knowledge and at the same time
teaching is widely recognized as a stressful occupation (Lambert & McCarthy, 2006).
Socially, they are surrounded by criticism for their actions which is related to their teaching
and students. At present, the role and responsibility of a teacher is multitasking and
significantly developing year by year. Basically, a teacher has to take on his responsibilities
in lesson planning and teaching, accountability for student’s performance, classroom
management and discipline, supervisory role and conducting and monitoring extracurricular
activities. Besides that, the large number of students in a classroom, packed timetable,
uneven duties, uncomfortable working conditions, co-curriculum activities, meetings, inhouse trainings, courses to attend extra classes and the unnecessary amounted paperwork
are some of the main contributions to the increased workload among teachers.
With the increasing demand from students and parents, as well as the job
requirement made by Malaysia’s Ministry of Education, the stress levels are steadily
increasing. Job stress can be defined as the harmful physical and emotional responses that
occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of
the worker. Job stress can lead to poor health and even injury. Teachers in Selangor and
Kuala Lumpur areas have been categorized as ‘stressful teachers’ since they have to spend
74 hours per week in teaching, as well as involved in curriculum activities (Abdul, 2005).
Teachers’ stress is defined as experiences in teachers of unpleasant, negative emotions,
such as anger, frustration, anxiety, depression and nervousness, resulting from some aspect
of their work as teachers (Kyriacou, 2001). Teachers nowadays have to deal with so many
different demands and pressures, emotional, physical, and administrative and management
duties but also to some inconsiderate parents’ demands and wants. In this essay, I will
discuss on the factors that increases workload of teachers in the context of Malaysian
education system such as the over-capacity classes, ICT usage in the classroom, cocurricular activity, leadership issues and extra clerical work. In addition, recommendations to
address this issues will be discussed with the issue.
In our education system, a primary school class may consist of 35 to 45 students in a
class. In addition, the increasing number of student every year are one of the factors that
increases the workload of teachers. Class that is over-capacity causes the learning
effectiveness in a class to degrade. The number of teachers that is enough in a school also
are one of the factors that reduces the ratio between teacher and student in a class. To put it
into context, a teacher with a classroom of 45 pupils would spell chaos in the classroom. A
teacher would spend most of his or her time with classroom management rather than
teaching and learning. This disrupts the efficiency and performance of said teacher. As a

result, a teacher would be jaded with classroom management that he would have no time to
prepare teaching materials for the next teaching and learning session.
To address the increasing classroom capacity, The Ministry of Education has taken
steps to study the ratio between teacher and student in a class as a step to recognise the
best formula in decreasing the workload of teachers. Awang Mohamad, who is the President
of the Gabungan Majlis Guru Besar Malaysia (GMGBM) said that the government can
increase the number of teachers to meet the increasing workload of teachers. However, I
want to recommend that the Ministry of Education create a role of assistant teacher that has
existed for pre-schools. The assistant teacher could help ease the workload of the teacher
through assisting in classroom management and even in teaching and learning. In addition,
the assistant teacher may be assigned specifically to weaker students as a greater degree of
scaffolding. At the same time, the weaker students are able to follow the lesson and prevent
them from falling further behind. This will in turn double the effectiveness of a teaching and
learning session. Opening for this post should be made as an internship or or voluntary
programme to assist teachers in the classroom. Even parents that are willing can be invited
to assist teachers in the classroom. The Minister of Education should take a proactive step in
introducing methods to address the worrying ratio of teachers and students in a classroom.
Our education system are spearheaded with globalisation in mind, and with
increasing call for the use of technology in the classroom. The usage of ICT in the classroom
are encouraged by the Ministry of Education that they rolled out programs such as Frog-VLE
to address the need for technology age. However, most of our teachers are reluctant to use
ICT to their advantage. This is due to the lack of ICT skills amongst teachers or teachers
being content with the traditional method. The Ministry of Education in a 2013 memo stated
that Frog VLE is compulsory to be used at least once in every week for each class. Thus,
teachers that are not skilled in ICT considered Frog Virtual Learning Environment as an
extra workload. On the other hand, if the power of technology is harnessed properly, it can
make the teaching and learning more time-saving and ease the workload of the teacher.
Thus, incompetent teachers need to be given proper training, support and motivation
by the key players in the education system. Each teacher should be given at least basic
training to harness the use of technology to be used in the classroom. Furthermore, the
teaching and learning environment are changing in trends and methods. Teaching in the
classroom should be based on students rather than the teacher. This is supported by Brown
(2001) maintained that now that the paradigm shift from teacher-centered to learnercentered instruction is firmly in place, computer use in learning will assist pupils take
ownership of their own learning. With proper training, teacher can harness Frog Virtual

Learning Environment and use them to assess pupils easily and create a plan of action
based on pupils’ achievement much faster traditionally.
In meeting the needs of National Education Philosophy, co-curriculum are an
important aspect in creating a holistic individual. However, on a school level, co-curriculum
takes up most of teachers’ time and distracts them from the main job scope, which is
teaching and learning in the classroom. For each school, each teacher is given respected
co-curriculum role in the school. For example, if a school is nearing Sports Day, teaching
and learning will cease to happen for weeks. Without assistance or support, the teacher
would have to focus more on the co-curriculum activity. In addition, some teachers are called
to perform co-curriculum duty outside of school and they will be absent from the school.
When they return from their extra-curricular duty, the backlog of their workload will stress the
teacher out. Due to this, co-curriculum takes up most of the teachers’ time and this reduces
effectiveness in teaching and learning.
In my opinion, co-curriculum activities should include the community or society in the
implementation of co-curricular activities. I recommend including parents and public service
to assist in co-curriculum activities. To put it into perspective, parents will be given
responsibility and trust to arrange and manage the schools’ Sports Day. Due to pressure
from administration and without any support from the community, the sole burden falls on the
teacher and this increases the teachers’ workload as it involves workload outside of the
classroom. Parents could also help teachers train students for sports activity. The Ministry of
Education could also create a different job scope for academic teachers and sports teacher.
This will in turn ease the burden of teachers’ workload and teachers can focus more on their
assigned roles in the education organisation.
Principals’ leadership in schools play a key role in managing the workload of
teachers in schools. The current education trend in schools have shown that the current
selection criteria of principles are driven primarily by tenure rather than leadership
competency. According to statistics in the Education Blueprint 2013-2025 (2012), 55% of
today’s principals received no preparatory or induction training during their principalship.
This causes the principal to enter the administration ill-prepared and dishes out unnecessary
amount of workload on teacher that is irrelevant to teaching and learning. International
research on school leadership shows that an outstanding principal that is focused on
instructional and not administrative leadership - can raise student outcomes by as much as
20% (Education Blueprint 2013-2025, 2012).

To address this, the government is encouraging the leadership style in schools to be
more focused on instructional leadership. Cotton (2003) defined instructional leaders as
leaders who are intensely involved in curricular and instructional issues that directly affect
students’ achievement. If school principals’ are trained to carry out instructional leadership in
schools, it would ease the workload of the teachers as instructional leaders are often more
concerned with teaching and learning. The work of instructional leaders is to ensure that
every student receives the highest quality of teaching instruction every day. This requires
instructional leaders to lead for the improvement of students’ learning. Thus, teachers’
workload are less affected by unnecessary work that disrupts teaching and learning with
instructional leadership.

In recent years, teachers made headlines on being burdened with clerical work due
to new systems being introduced such as the Penilaian Berasaskan Sekolah (PBS). The
new assessment system is said to ensure our education system are not exam-orientated as
formative assessment are carried out during teaching and learning session. However,
teachers from all over the nation has voiced their concern as Penilaian Berasaskan Sekolah
(PBS) increases teachers’ workload. This is due to the need to prepare a data system and
filing that proves as evidence of students’ work for each student. The amount of files will
reach thousands and fills up tenths of shelves, and this is considered as extra workload for
teachers. The increasing number of students in a classroom even creates more burden on
teachers as they need to manage hundreds of files.
To reduce the amount of clerical work that needs to be done by the teacher, the
government should assign a cleric with a grade of N17 for every 5 teachers. By assigning a
cleric to perform clerical work for the teachers, teachers’ burden are eased and they can
focus more on teaching and learning. This is supported by the fourth shift in Malaysia
Education Blueprint 2011-2025, where the government aims to focus teachers on their core
function of teaching by reducing administration burdens. An alternative to having a cleric, a
dedicated administrative teacher could be appointed at the school level. Teachers will enjoy
a reduced administrative burden, so that they can focus the majority of their time on their
core function of teaching. This will in turn improve students’ achievement as the system and
learning can both take place efficiently.

Conclusively, the teaching career is under growing pressure and increasing workload
due to over-capacity classes, ICT usage in the classroom, co-curricular activity, leadership
issues and extra clerical work. Key players such as the Ministry of Education, administrative,

parents and teachers can play a role in addressing this issue as the most important objective
of an education system which is to educate the children of the nation
Section C
In October 2011, the Ministry of Education has carried out an extensive research on
Malaysia’s educational system. As a result, Malaysia Education Blueprint Plan 2013-2025 is
divided into three waves of change. The government has taken this step to address current
international education standard, nation’s aspiration and public’s expectation of the
education system. This is to ensure the production of citizens that are able to meet the
needs of the 21st century. The Education Blueprint aims are to understand the current
performance and challenges of the Malaysian education system, with a focus on improving
access to education, raising the standard of education, closing achievement gaps, promoting
unity amongst students and maximising the efficiency of the education system.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Education has outlined 11 shifts that will need to occur in
order to transform the country's education system. Each of these shifts should have an
impact on at least one of the five aspirations of the Malaysian education system namely
access, quality, equity, unity and efficiency. Moreover, it outlines a comprehensive
transformation programme for the Malaysian education system including key changes in
empowering administrator and teachers in customising solution to education issues based
on needs. In this document analysis, each shift and its effects will be discussed in context of
the Malaysian education system.
The first shift is designed to provide equal access to quality education of an
international standard. It aims to improve the learning of language, Science and
Mathematics to international standards through a revised curriculum such as Kurikulum
Standard Sekolah Menengah (KSSM) and revised primary curriculum, Kurikulum Standard
Sekolah Rendah (KSSR). In the context of primary schools, KSSR introduces a modular
system in which each subject are divided into modules that complements each other. The
shift encourages more focus on higher-order thinking skills in students and the education
system is less exam-oriented. To do so, the government has revamped examinations and
assessments through school-based assessment (SBA). As for education equality, students
with special needs are to be included in the mainstream through an increased investment in
physical and teaching resources. This is to ensure that our education system is a highperforming and high-achievement system so that future citizens of Malaysia can compete
globally. On top of that, students that requires extra care will be given the right level of
support to succeed in schools.

The second shift aims to ensure every child is proficient in Bahasa Malaysia and the
English language. Both languages are prerequisites for our students to compete in the
competitive market locally and globally. In this shift, the main focus is on the language ability
of both teachers and students. For teachers, upskilling of teachers and expanding teachers’
opportunities for greater exposure to the language. For example, English teachers are
required to pass the Cambridge Placement Test (CPT) within two years to ensure students
are taught by an English teacher that is proficient according to international standards. As for
students, programmes such as Literacy and Numeracy Screening (LINUS 2.0) and remedial
after-school Bahasa Malaysia are put in place to ensure students who fall behind will be
given remedial coaching until they are able to return to the mainstream curriculum. On top of
that, every students will be encourage to take up an additional language such as Mandarin,
Tamil or Arabic to equip them for the workforce of a globalising world.

The third shift ambitions are to develop value-driven Malaysians that has a solid
leadership skills and strong universal values such as integrity, compassion and justice. In
this shift, the moral values aspect are inculcated through strengthening of the Islamic
Education, Moral Education and civic elements in schools. This is included with the new
revised curriculum, KSSR and KSSM. By understanding the core values of Malaysia,
students will have the sense of willingness to embrace peoples of other religions or
ethnicities which is in dire need in our multicultural Malaysia. Furthermore, 1Sport, 1Club
and 1Uniformed Body initiative ensures students are developed holistically which is in line
with National Education Policy. Through this shift, students are provided with more
opportunities to develop their inner values, individual talents and interests.

The transformation of the teaching profession is the fourth and critical shift in
Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025.

The main reason behind the need for

transformation is because teachers’ quality is one of the determinant in a successful
education system. To address this issue, the entry bar for teachers are raised to only top
30% of the graduates. The entry standard are required to be high so as to produce best
teachers to be placed in schools. As for current teachers, they are required to upgrade the
quality of continuous professional development (CPD) in order to help them achieve their full
potential. To put in into context, teachers will be trained in-house where a network of
teachers will build teaching competency together. Teachers’ workload are also addressed as
teachers will enjoy less clerical work and more time to focus on teaching. This is done
through creating a central and dedicated administration in schools. In addition, The Ministry

of Education are also implementing performance-based career progression where
competency is assessed and meritocracy is awarded. Teachers are also offered an attractive
pathways such as leadership role, subject specialists and master teaching. These shifts are
needed to transform the teaching profession into an elite profession that is able to uphold
professional standards in helping students learn.

The fifth shift ensures high performing school leaders are placed in every school as it
is one of the key factor in determining students achievement. In the report of Malaysia
Education Blueprint 2013-2025 (2012), a successful shift would be described as “state,
district and school leaders will also have greater decision making power over day-to-day
operations to tailor interventions based on the school’s context and enable greater school
based management.” To achieve this, principals are required to practice instructional
leadership where the main focus of the administration is in students’ achievement. The main
focus in this shift is to ensure principals has greater support and sharper accountability in
managing the school administration. Thus, every school will be more focused in improving
students’ outcomes, both academic and non-academic.

The next shift will be to empower Jabatan Pendidikan Negeri (JPN), Pejabat
Pendidikan Negeri (PPD) and schools to customise solutions based on current needs. To put
it into perspective, different set of interventions are required in order to meet the different
needs of schools at different performance levels. Thus, the Ministry of Education are
addressing the issue depending on the specific issue of schools. By customising solution to
specific needs, school improvement can be accelerated through tailoring of support provided
to schools in the form of principal, teacher and resource deployment for lower-performing
schools. As for schools that meet a minimum performance criteria, principals are given
autonomy for greater school-based management in which principals have full authority over
budget allocation and curriculum implementation. Sabah and Sarawak are also receiving a
huge boost as the shift is aiming for 100% of schools in Sabah and Sarawak meet basic
infrastructure requirements. Consequently, this shift will create an education system that has
greater decision making power in addressing current needs and issues of schools.

The seventh shift goals are to harness Information and Communication Technology
(ICT) to produce quality learning in Malaysian schools. This is due to ICT usage in schools
are lacking in terms of quantity and quality. For example, a 2010 Ministry study found that

approximately 80% of teachers spend less than one hour a week using ICT, and only a third
of students perceive their teachers to be using ICT regularly. To address this issue, virtual
learning environments and internet access will be provided to schools. Through the
1BestariNet programme, each school will have internet to access Frog Virtual Learning
Environment that can be used for learning resources, interactive lesson and virtual
communication amongst teacher and students. As for teachers, video libraries of top Guru
Cemerlang delivering lessons as teaching resources can be accessed by teachers.
Furthermore, this shift is introducing access to high-quality teaching regardless of location
where students are able to pursue subjects and to learn directly from the best teachers in the
country. Conclusively, this shift intends to harness the power of technology in teaching and
learning to maximise efficiency and productivity.

The Ministry of Education delivery capabilities and capacity are to be transformed in
the eight shift of the Malaysia Blueprint Plan 2013-2025. To achieve this, the Ministry will
empower Jabatan Pendidikan Negeri (JPN) and Pejabat Pendidikan Daerah (PPD) with a
greater decision making power enabling JPNs and PPDs in making key operational
decisions such as budgeting, allocation and appointment in schools. Furthermore, the
Ministry is deploying teacher and principal coaches to provide hands-on engagement with
schools. Ultimately, this will results in the strengthening of key central functions that include
policy research and planning, teacher education, curriculum development, school
inspections and examinations. Irrefutably, the Ministry wants the shift to yield consistent and
effective policy implementation across schools.
The ninth shift aims to ensure learning to happen beyond school walls by partnering
with parents, community and private sector. Parents are able to monitor their students’
learning through a parent engagement toolkit and online access with School Examination
Analysis System (SEAS). This enables parents to work closely with teachers to improve their
children’s performance. As for the community aspect, the role of Persatuan Ibu Bapa dan
Guru (PIBG) will evolve into a collaborative school leadership to improve students
achievement. PIBGs and school leaders will work hand in hand to define solutions for the
identified issues. This is where parents can be involved in students’ learning by taking on
roles such as supplementary coach and teachers for school activities. Private sector are
included as well in this shift in order to involve the private entity in the school improvement
process. Without a doubt, parents will have an active part in their child’s learning, PIBGs
working hand in hand with schools and involving private sector in school improvement will
create a successful learning ecosystem.

The tenth shift attempts to maximise student outcomes for every ringgit invested in
the education system. The main initiative is spearheaded by linking every programme with
clear student outcomes in order evaluate a programme’s success. Through this initiative,
programmes with low impact are rationalised and replaced with a better education
mechanism. With this shift, the Ministry will review spending patterns and reallocate funding
to the most critical areas such as teacher training and upskilling current teachers. The
community also is positively affected as low-families will continue to receive education aid
with this initiative. By assessing the education funds, more funds can be diverted to the
education system and the returns on the investment is justified.
The goal of the eleventh shift is to increase transparency for direct public
accountability. With this shift, the key players and stakeholders are able to engage and
communicate with the public on types and progress of initiatives being undertaken. The
Ministry of Education will publish an annual public report on progress against Malaysia
Education Blueprint targets to ensure transparency on the education system. Furthermore,
all stakeholders of the education system can partake in a National Dialogue process held
annually to discuss on what is or is not working well within the education system. The input
from the stakeholders can provide input on future initiatives to be taken to improve the
Malaysian education system.
The Malaysia Education Blueprint is a comprehensive grand scheme planned by the
Ministry of Education in order to reform the Malaysian education system. The Education
Blueprint aims are to understand the current performance and challenges of the Malaysian
education system, with a focus on improving access to education, raising the standard of
education, closing achievement gaps, promoting unity amongst students and maximising the
efficiency of the education system. As teachers, we have to understand the increasing need
for reform in trends of education. From classroom teacher to community catalyst, teachers
have an imperative responsibility in making the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 a
reality.
In order to understand these responsibilities that teachers shoulder, I shall discuss on
how I will apply Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 in my career as a teacher. Firstly, I
need to hold a firm teacher belief that all students can learn and all students can succeed
under the education system. I need to have high expectations of students and provide them
with necessary support regardless of their background or prior achievement as to provide
equal education to all. With this belief, I can further realise the Malaysia Education Blueprint
by understanding the blueprints’ aims and shifts. Implementation of Kurikulum Standard

Sekolah Rendah (KSSR) will require myself to stress on student-centred approach and
differentiated teaching with a great emphasis on problem-based and project-based work in
order to promote high order thinking. As an English teacher, I need to boost students’
proficiency in the English language as a top priority. By understanding the blueprint, I can
realise it in the classroom by instilling thinking skills, inculcating leadership skills and
nurturing national identity amongst students.
As a teacher, the foundation of the knowledge or the subject matter is a critical
arsenal in teaching and learning. Thus, I need to further upgrade my professional
development continuously to improve my instructional teaching in the classroom. To realise
this, I need to be proficient according to international standards. I should also prepare myself
for a life-long learning experience in my career as a teacher. The Education Blueprint
provides pathways to hold greater responsibility in the education system. For example, I
could follow my interests in pursuing leadership roles through the career pathways. The
blueprint promotes a commitment into investment of professional development which will
help me in building professional accountability of my career in education.
As usage of ICT in the classroom is explicitly stated in the seventh shift in the
Malaysia Education Blueprint, I need to equip myself with the competency in ICT as it will
enhance my teaching and learning. My students would be able to access a wide range of
engaging and interactive content. Furthermore, I can enable an anxiety-free improvement by
providing a platform for my students to learn lesson at their own pace by using Frog Virtual
Learning Environment (Frog VLE). As for collaboration, learning materials and resources are
easily shared with other teachers with the use of ICT. On top of that, I could also use the
resource from the 2013 video library of Guru Cemerlang which is one of the shift’s initiative
as a benchmark compared to my teaching practice. The Malaysia Education Blueprint’s
seventh shift ensures that ICT is harnessed fully in schools and as a teacher, I have the
responsibility to use this technology to improve my teaching practice.
Based on the eight shift of the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025, it
encourages teachers to be engaged with parents on their child’s progress in schools. I have
to prepare to work closely with parents to improve my students’ performance. With the help
of the School Examination Analysis System initiative, I am able to share my students’ results
with parents and I can communicate with parents easily to further support their child’s
learning. This is because education of a children is a collective responsibility between
teacher and parents of the child. Additionally, I need to involve the community in by involving
parents in students’ school activities. This is in line with the eight shift as it aims to create a
learning ecosystem that contributes to student’s achievement.

Conclusively, education has always been of the highest priority in Malaysia as it
strives to attain the status of a developed nation. With globalisation and high paced
technological developments worldwide, Malaysia too heightens its endeavor to remain in the
forefront with the current developments. As teachers are under a growing pressure to
perform, teacher’s professionalism also needs a reform as teachers need to uphold the
profession, integrity and ethics. To address the increasing needs in the world of
globalisation, the government has taken steps to address the education issue in our country
with the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 in which can be realised if fully understood
and implement by every key players in the education system.

Abdul, R. A. (2002). Kajian ke atas Faktor-faktor yang Mempengaruhi Tekanan dan
Niat untuk Meninggalkan Profesion Perguruan di Kalangan Guru Sekolah
Menengah dan Sekolah Rendah di Daerah Kota Tinggi, Johor (Study on the
Factors that Influence Stress and the Intention to Leave the Teaching Profession
among Secondary School Teachers and District Primary School Teachers in Kota
Tinggi, Johor), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Master Thesis. [Online] Available:
http://www.fp.utm.edu.my/ePusatSumber/ (October 18, 2009).

Lambert, R., & McCarthy, C. (Eds). (2006).Understanding Teacher Stress in an Age of
Accountability. Information Age Publishing, Inc.

Kyriacou C. Teacher stress: directions for future research. Educ Rev 2001; 53: 27-35.

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