A Malaysian transformative education approach for Youth in the 21st Century

As a parent of 2 lovely girls, I strongly believe that we need to keep up and adapt to the environment. A fundamental change that is needed urgently is our education system. It should be ever-evolving to ensure that our children are prepared for the local and international work place. I think it's time to leave behind the traditional classroom mindset that we are all familiar with, and adapt new ways to engage students and raise creative and innovative children!

Thanks to a lovely invitation, I recently attended a press conference that unveiled the insights of the ‘Education in the 21st Century – Our Impact’ (‘Impact Study’) at LeapEd Services Sdn Bhd (‘LeapEd’). A brief background on LeapEd, it was established as a social enterprise in 2010 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Khazanah Nasional Berhad. They are also Malaysia’s first homegrown education service provider!

Their objective is to enrich lives through capacity-building and education transformation and have impacted over 71,000 students and in over 160 schools through its various intervention models such as the District Transformation Programme-AMAN (‘DTP-AMAN’), Islamic School Enhancement Programme (‘ISEP’), Ground-up School Transformation (‘GUSTO’) Programme, Program Sekolah Transformasi (‘PreSTasi’) as well as the nation’s first Trust Schools Programme (TSP 1.0) to date. In fact, it was my first time hearing about Trust Schools Programme and I found it to be an interesting approach to education! TSP 1.0 is LeapEd’s flagship programme designed to develop holistic students with 21st century capabilities.

In collaboration with Yayasan AMIR and the Ministry of Education, the programme is a customisable model to ensure its sustainability in Malaysian schools. Since its roll-out in 2011, TSP 1.0 has impacted over 5,300 parents and 65,000 students in 83 schools across 12 states in Malaysia.

Managing Director of LeapEd Services Sdn Bhd, En Zulhaimi Othman who was present at the press conference shared, “The Trust Schools Programme was designed with the future generations in mind. Over the past 9 years, we have worked closely with our strategic partners, Ministry of Education and Yayasan AMIR to develop and implement the programme across schools in Malaysia, equipping students with the critical life skills they require as well as transforming schools in a holistic manner by adapting international best practices.” This recent study was conducted to review the effectiveness of TSP 1.0, identifying opportunities to further enhance the model moving forward. These efforts initiated by LeapEd is aimed to cultivate 21st century individuals who will be equipped with critical life skills such as confidence, communication, co-existence, critical thinking and creativity. This is the holistic transformation that LeapEd is committed to and strive for – through training and capacity building via the school leadership team as well as the teachers.

As a parent, I like the concept of TSP 1.0 as it urges parents to instil faith in the public school education system, assuring that their children are being equipped with skills that prepare them for the 21st century. The programme also encourages parents to be involved in their children’s growth and development at school, as the Impact study findings indicate an increase in the frequency and level of interaction between students, teachers and parents. Over the years, more than 3,000 school staff, students and parents have responded to the Impact Study and reacted positively under the TSP 1.0, with key findings as below:

• 91% of Primary & 88% of Secondary Students perceive the quality of teaching to be high
• 66% of Senior Leadership in schools indicated they have progressed a minimum of 1 level
• 49% of Middle Leadership indicated they have progressed a minimum of 1 level
• 61% of Teachers indicated they have progressed a minimum progress of 1 level

In order to develop holistic students, the TSP 1.0 intervention model goes beyond academia and focuses on developing holistic individuals. Google has quoted that GPA is not a credible criterion of hiring in the current workforce. Hence, TSP 1.0 aims to create individuals that are equipped with knowledge and skills for thriving in the 21st century. The intervention model had a positive impact on professional competencies of senior leadership team (SLTs), middle leaders (MLs) and teachers.

A few key insights from the Impact Study showed that 61% of teachers indicated a progression of minimum 1 level and 25% of teachers indicated a progression of 2-3 levels. The progression level is evaluated following 5 levels of starting, developing, establishing, enhancing & extending. The Impact Study also indicated that parents have witnessed a palpable difference in their children post the programme as they observed increased opportunities for their children to be involved in the life of the schools. After which, a positive outcome of student well-being and overall growth was observed.

Having witnessed the success and learnings of this programme, LeapEd is driven to continue developing a new and enhanced model, TSP 2.0 that will be aligned with global trends and national aspirations. Now, I really do wish my girls' school and many other Malaysian public schools will implement TSP 2.0 soon. I hope more private companies will join in and provide the much needed funding as this is a public-private partnership that will definitely benefit our children, the future of tomorrow. Let's prepare our children to become active, successful, and contributing members of society with this 21st Century educational programme.

For more information on LeapEd, visit www.leapedservices.com

Let’s work together for an education transformation, because every child deserves a great future!