Malaysian Education System

The development and reformation of education system in Malaysia has always included values education as part of the Malaysian educational curriculum. The essence of this is clearly stated in the National Philosophy of Malaysian Education (NPME) which focuses on the values, beliefs and attitudes in relation to the growth process of individuals and society is based on belief in God as the first principle stated in the Rukun Negara (National Principles). Based on the National Philosophy of Malaysian Education, it is evident that the aim is to educate individuals for self-development in a holistic perspective to serve their community and nation as learned, responsible and ethical citizens, requiring values to be emphasized through the direct teaching of the subjects such as Islamic Education and Moral Education. The Integrated Curriculum for Secondary School or better known as KBSM (Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Menengah), emphasize the teaching of values across the curriculum, ensuring values to be integrated into the teaching of all subjects including mathematics as well as indirect infusion through the teacher as the role model. The main thrust is to adhere to the principle of holistic development of individuals through education which is firmly based on values based on faith and belief in God.

Integrating values in the teaching and learning mathematics demands for educators to become teachers of values who know which values are important to be integrated and how to teach them. The pinnacle of values development is to produce civilized individuals who would act and behave approriately according to specific guidelines and able to make righteous decisions of critical situations.

The values and ethical considerations were also stressed for the higher learning institutions of the country, as they face tremendous and increasingly more complex situations and challenges in their pursuit of preparing students to become professionals and future leaders. Ethics related courses were offered to students as a national requirement to enhance the quality of professional individuals who have high ethics and moral values and capable to compete and innovate at exceptional level to meet the nation’s aspirations and become a world citizen who is spiritually wise in making the correct decisions.

Mathematics subject can play a role in helping students develop values and ethics, however, although it may be relatively easier to integrate values in humanities subject. Values development in mathematics class required serious thoughts on questions pertaining values to be taught, how values should be taught, which methodologies to adopt to construct or uncover values, what types of trainings, how can values being assessed in class, what are the effective delivery methods, and factors influencing values of teachers and students are some of the aspects to ponder on before integrating and developing values in mathematics subject (Nik Azis, 2009a).