MY kudos to the organisers of the recent “Shaping First Steps” seminar at Bank Negara Malaysia for shedding light on long-simmering issues in early childhood education (ECE), none more so than the depressing statistic that a mere 18% of preschool teachers hold diplomas in their chosen vocation. 

For far too long have we banished this industry to the back burner of public discourse: an untenable state of affairs since quality ECE is vital to raising our children into well-adjusted, productive, self-actualised members of society.

As a career early years educator, I was delighted to hear on what ails preschool education in Malaysia, and the way forward on policy reforms and structural makeovers.

However, I must respectfully disagree with some of the experts’ big-picture conclusions. In their eagerness to pin the proverbial tail on the donkey called “meaningful education,” I sense they have misdirected their criticism; targeted their righteous hail of arrows at the wrong bullseye.

I dare say these esteemed academics may not have spent more than a few hours at a Malaysian private preschool in recent years, at least in a teaching capacity. Hence, in addressing issues they may not have experienced first-hand in a fair while, they have befogged in a cryptic jargon the problems plaguing ECE in Malaysia. Let me explain why.

To the best of my humble understanding, the core of their argument reads as follows: The quality of ECE teachers in Malaysia, even those possessing formal qualifications, is subpar because they lack critical thinking skills. They lack them because the colleges and institutes training preschool teachers use a substandard curriculum that doesn’t build or reinforce critical thinking skills.

Ultimately, this deficiency in critical thinking denies children the meaningful learning experiences they deserve. To solve this problem hence, the government must step in and earmark additional funding to uplift the quality of ECE teachers and, consequently, preschool education.

In my view, the above analysis is flawed because their broad assertions do not follow a linear logic, especially when applied to private preschools.

To begin with, how did these esteemed intellectuals define “quality” in preschool teachers? How did they define “critical thinking”? How did they measure these traits? What research paradigm was used to draw reliable conclusions?

In other words, what body of evidence do they possess to establish a statistically significant correlation between the absence of critical thinking skills and underperforming preschool teachers? And if they’re piggybacking on the World Bank’s recent review of preschool education in Malaysia, they mustn’t cherry-pick its findings and discuss them holistically.

Next, they are mistaken to think that local colleges offering ECE diplomas and degrees are indifferent to the development of critical thinking skills in students. As someone who holds both a diploma and degree in ECE, I can assure the experts that my alma mater drilled into us the imperative of reflecting upon our ideas on managing the classroom, designing activities, engaging with children, among others.

These report-length “reflections” helped us acquire a philosophical view of our profession in the grander scheme of raising children. We received constant feedback from our lectures to train our minds to self-assess our classroom practices and improve upon them. I’m certain my experience will be echoed by most of my peers who have undertaken formal training in ECE.

As for the third contention, I wish to inform the experts that what denies children a so-called meaningful education at private preschools is not the lack of critical thinking skills in teachers, but the non-stop race to achieve pre-mapped learning outcomes by any means necessary.

From the start of the school year, both child and teacher are forever chasing these immovable boulders called education milestones that prioritise completion of a heap of activity and text books by precise dates on the calendar. Critical thinking? Meaningful discussions? These kids barely have time to digest the info dump forced down their throats. Then is the preschool teacher to blame for a curriculum that champions timely paperwork over comprehensive child development?

While I agree with the experts’ view that the government must step up its efforts to help preschool teachers transform into ideal practitioners, this outlook is myopic. Yes, to train and retain talent, the government must stop treating private preschool teachers as step children and equalise their status in funding and resourcing with their public service peers. Yes, it must subsidise ECE education to add more qualified teachers in the industry, and yes, government agencies must improve their monitoring, evaluation, and regulation of ECE education providers.

Instead of blindly throwing taxpayer money at the supply side of the equation, the government should focus its energies on courting parents to both comprehend the value of ECE and commit themselves to cooperating with teachers across the board for the benefit of their offspring.

The longer parents treat preschools as mere daycares and preschool teachers as glorified nannies – which sadly too many do – the dimmer glows the light of this seminal candle in childhood development. 

Are we so divorced from our children’s needs to allow it to extinguish? – June 8, 2023.

* Jerrica Fatima Ann reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.