community - Association of Muslim Professionals

KARYAWAN
COMMUNITY
IN REVIEW
had always been about ensuring the supposedly weak students remain in school, and about improving their
performance in mathematics. ‘Upstream’ strategies on the other hand revolve around how the teachers’ beliefs
and classroom practices (pedagogy) affect students’ performance. Therefore, fixing the leaking tap requires first
the examination of the causal relation between teachers’ pedagogy and students’ outcome. This is based on the
assumption that students’ performance is a direct function of the teachers’ pedagogy.
Furthermore, it is plausible that the effectiveness of the ‘human agency’ approach and the utility of the
‘downstream’ programmes have plateaued and therefore over time actually sustained the current trend in the
performance of the Malay students in mathematics. This interpretation presents the opportunity to ponder
other contributing factors beyond the ‘human agency’, such as the school’s eco-system, teacher training and
beliefs, curriculum and pedagogy.
As it stands, very little public attention within the community has been given to discussing the impact of the
curriculum and pedagogy on the performance in mathematics of students from minority communities in a
multicultural society. In studying the nexus between mathematics and culture, researchers such as Marilyn
Frankenstein and Arthur Powell in their study of ethnomathematics, have explored the possibility that perhaps
the teachers’ pedagogy and beliefs, which translate into the classroom practices in mathematics education
have inadvertently led to the continued dismal performance
As it stands, very little
public attention within the
community has been given
to discussing the impact of
the curriculum and pedagogy
on the performance in
mathematics of students
from minority communities
in a multicultural society.
of students from certain socio-cultural backgrounds. They
opined that the teaching of mathematics in a multicultural
society should be sensitive to the “impacts of various cultural
conventions and inclinations – from daily activities and linguistic
practice to one’s social and ideological context – for doing
and learning mathematics.” This is because, mathematics as “a
cultural product ... is created by humans in the interconnected
midst of culture. The interactions are dialectical: people’s daily
practice, language, and ideology effect and are effected by their
mathematical knowledge”, according to these researchers.
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In summary, the teaching of mathematics in schools in a multicultural society, should consider the intricacies
and nuances of the students and teachers’ socio-cultural background. Otherwise, a socio-cultural disconnect,
which hinders learning and obstruct the transfer of knowledge may be intepreted as a by-product of behavioural
and cultural shortcomings on the part of the students and their parents.
Other Factors
All this is not to imply that the existing national curriculum isolates students from certain socio-economic and
cultural background. In fact, it has been shown over the years that academic success can be attained regardless
of one’s race and socio-economic background. However, sustained underperformance in mathematics at the
national level despite decades of intervention at the community level does beget the question of whether the
issue is more complicated than it appears in the mass imagination.
It is on this note that two issues need to be highlighted. First, the public discussion within the community on
the issue of mathematics performance amongst the Malay students has stagnated with almost no new insights.
Second, there is perhaps the possibility that the teaching of mathematics in our schools, within the settings of
a multicultural society, has a far stronger correlation and causal link with the performance of Malay students
in mathematics as opposed to the popular notions which merely highlights the lack of ‘human agency’ on the
part of the students and their parents.
Nur Azha Putra is a member of Young AMP’s Board of Management. He is also an Associate Research Fellow with the
S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University.
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