INTRODUCTION

The 21st century is a gruelling time; as we transit into a different shift of time; where
education has become a core for advancement, a virtue, a mission and an objective.
Education, considered as a pearl and seen as a precious resource of a country for global
competition (Diomidis H. Stamatis, 2011). With many personas appearing each decade that
passes, a different set of pupil come and go with different attitudes. With varying aptitudes
comes with unique pedagogies of dealing with them. Even so, methods are useless without
the proper equipment, a conducive environment and the characteristics worthy of a 21 st
century educator. Thus, having fulfilled the prerequisites of the 21st century classroom, it can
accomplish Malaysias National Philosophy of Education (FPK). Kurikulum Standard
Sekolah Rendah (KSSR) was implemented as a modernized restructured curriculum based
of Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Rendah (KBSR) to meet with contemporary standards set
by the Malaysia Education Development Plan (PPPM).
ENVIRONMENT
Assessing a 21st century classroom requires an environment proper for education.
Technology has been a major role for the futuristic classroom our education sought for.
Without it, the aspirations set by the countrys standard will not be achieved. A classroom
installed with the latest technological capabilities allows a teacher to achieve the full potential
of a 21st century classroom. The position of the students sitting also gives a significant effect
towards the output of the student. With a student-centred curriculum, every physical
environment counts. The colour of the classroom can also affect the cognitive process of a
child. Suitable colours can draw on both symbolic and cognitive powers to affect learning,
facilitating memorization and identification of concept (Oluwakemi Olurinola and Omoniyi
Tayo, 2015). From the statement, associating the environment with colours can affect the
learning outcomes. Relating this to Malaysias education philosophy, this can ensure that
every student can be balanced and harmonic being, in terms of intellectual and emotional.
Moreover, the setting of the table and chairs must be arranged according to the
needs of the students. A 21st century classroom is student-centred whereas the furniture are
arranged in groups and not the typical straight row that often being seen in classrooms in the
past such as seen in Appendix 1 (Tom McIntyre, n.d). A typical straight row arrangement is
used due to being a convenience to the custodian, schools should start setting their priorities
for the students instead and change classrooms according to the subject and suitability of
the arrangements towards the subject that is being thought whilst allow movement of the
teacher. The ventilation and comfort of the students should also be taken into consideration

4 | Page

because a comfortable environment will encourage the student to come to school and allow
boundaries of communication and collaboration to be enhanced.
Next, the architecture of the building must be flexible, in terms of able to change
according to the flow of time. What is meant by that is that the arrangements inside of the
building can be changed according to the students needs and educators need. Education is
not just a simple reformation of the abstract form of the philosophy but a country-wide
cooperation in changing the norm of how schools before. Reformation in changing the
countrys education will require a huge amount of resources in trying to renovate. This can
be seen in a report published in 2006, by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) on the amount of money invested for future institutions in the United
Kingdom has been set 5.1 billion.
According to an education report written by Commission for Architecture and the Built
Environment (CABE) and The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), a 21 st century
classroom should have a non-dedicated space which is supposed to be used for multiple
uses and can be used with flexibility. (See appendix 2) The space of a classroom should
always be flexible for multiple purposes. With a multipurpose outlet, the study session in
classrooms can be individualised and a learner-centred environment can be achieved.
Relating this to FPK, it can ensure that the student can become a holistic individual.
TEACHERs ROLE
There is nothing more important than identifying the roles of the teachers in
education as it is what helps the school to know where the education heading towards. As
accordance to the study of teleology, which is the study of ends and purpose, the role of a
teacher should take consideration of the objective and means. As what our current education
is, a curriculum which focuses on the process of the education and the ends of the
education, it is important in achieving the FPK.
The teacher as a facilitator, the teacher as the expert of the subject, maintaining his
or her authority in class, facilitates the students ensuring that they understand what they
learn. Without disturbing the students educational experience, the teacher can observe that
each student shows different reactions even when thought with the same thing while
retaining authority in class. The teacher must state their objective in every class to show
where the class will be heading without simply looking like the teacher is looking for control,
as to what Jane Bluestein(2014) has stated.

5 | Page

Moreover, the teacher has to be an expert in pedagogy and methodology as it is

essential in trying to ensure the instruction is perfectly carried out. Cognitive skills are of
equal importance within this framework and are similar to those employed in independent
problem solving tasks. Indicators of such skills can be summarised under two headings: task
regulation and knowledge building. (Esther Care, Patrick Griffin, et. al 2015) According to
what has stated, cognitive skills can be gained from good instruction and methodology. Even
so, it will not be effective if the teacher does not have the qualities beforehand.
The teacher should always set limits to ensure the process does not steer away from
the objective. Because of this, a teacher should have communication and collaboration skills
to master the ability of instruction towards the students. According to Guofang Wan and
Dianne M. Gut (2011), communicating and collaborating with people across cultural,
geographic, and language boundaries are a necessity in diverse and multinational
workplaces and communities. As what the Buletin ANJAKAN has stated in its 5th issue, The
fact is that no matter how superior an education system is structured and developed, it will
be obsolete if the quality of the teacher itself is not improved beforehand in both aspects of
commitment and competency. From the statement, it is clear that an educator should have
the proper skill set in dealing with students. In accordance to the FPK, this allows a student
to be approached holistically and result in admirable results.
IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES
The challenges faced by the teacher of 21st century are one of many challenges that
has yet to be overcome to ensure the 21 st century learning experience to be conducted. The
first wall that we must overcome is the quality of the teacher themselves. If the educator
themselves are not properly equipped, then the quality of the student will not improve no
matter how perfect the method of teaching is. From what is stated in PADU report, an
excellent teacher can increase an average students percentile up to 90%, whilst a teacher
whose performance is low can end up lowering the performance of the student.
Next, the adaptation to new technologies. Today, ICT has become a core component
in teaching and learning as it is a way to widen the boundaries of education to new heights.
With the advent of this new technology, it will attract the attention of the 21 st century child
whose mind has already been pre-exposed with technology at a young age. Thus,
increasing their competency in better handling of new technology. Teachers nowadays are
believed to have not fully master the usage of ICT due to the dependence of traditional
methods. Such a thing can be related to FPK as to trying to achieve an individual who is
accountable and responsible of his actions.

6 | Page

Moreover, the 21st century skills have been defined in multiple ways covering
attributes such as independent and critical thinking, collaboration, self-efficacy and selfregulated learning, and creativity. (David Hung, et. al 2014) From the statement, the skills
stated above can only be implemented into the minds of 21 st century learners if and only if
the teachers have the qualities mentioned. The issue seen today is that educators are not
properly equipped. The country invested effort into this matter by implementing VLE-Frog
and a classroom that encourages thinking among the students. Relating this to FPK, it
encourages students to become intellectual and holistically balanced.
Other than that, the amount required to execute these projects require an expensive
sum of money. The implementation of a 21st century classroom would require the
government to invest for the upheaval of the institutions. As what has been mentioned,
OECD countries such as Britain has invested 5.1 billion to renovate and build future
institution installed with 21st century classroom environments. Even though, the
implementation of 21st century classroom for 100 schools in Kelantan was successful, as
stated by PADU. To implement a 21st century classroom for the whole country would require
more than double the amount.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, a 21st century education system would require a full reformation of the
education system, not just in abstract form but also involve in the physical reformation, in
which require renovations and innovations. Varying from the architectural design to the
colour of the classroom, every aspect of the environment of the classroom has to be taken
into consideration to matter how small it is. Comfort and accessibility are the many aspects
that require attention to details. The value that must be instilled in the students must be
instilled by the distinct professionals who are melded with the values needed in the 21st
century arena. Qualities that are needed are all the qualities that has been stated in the FPK,
whereas it requires an individual to be holistic in every way. Communication and
collaboration are one of the many traits required in the construction of a holistic individual
due to the fact that the two skills are a must in the 21 st century. No matter what the business
is, communication and collaboration are key in the future jobs of the 21 st century. With the
implementation of KSSR, the wishes of the Ministry of Education in their philosophy of
education(FPK) has went up a big step forward in the process of overcoming the challenges
and achieving the many aspirations set by the ministry.

7 | Page

REFERENCES

Bluestein J. (2014). Managing 21st Century Classroom- How do I avoid ineffective

management Practices?. ASCD: Alexandaria.
Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment & The Royal Institute of British
Architects (2004). 21st Century Schools, Learning Environments of the Future. CABE
& RIBA: (n.p).
Guofang Wan & Gut D. M. (2011) Bringing Schools to the 21st Century. Springer
Science+Business Media B.V: New York.
Ministry of Education Malaysia (2015). Buletin Anjakan Vol 5 2015. Ministry of Education
Malaysia: Putrajaya.
McIntyre, T. (n.d) Environmental Engineering: Arranging Your Classroom Environment for
Optimal Functioning. Extracted from:
http://behavioradvisor.com/ClassroomDesign.html.
Oluwakemi Olurinola & Omoniyi Tayo (2015). Colour in Learning: Its Effect on the Retention
Rate of Graduate Students. Journal of Education and Practice Vol. 6 (No.14)
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2006). 21st Century Learning
Environments. OECD Publishing: (n.p).
Stamatis, D. H. (2011). 10 Essentials for High Performance Quality in the 21 st Century. CRC
Press:Florida.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sauvy, A. (1973). Access to Education- New Possibilities. European Cultural Foundation:
Amsterdam.
Hannah, R. (2013). The Effect of Classroom Environment on Student Learning. Honor
Thesis Paper. Paper 2375.
Marzano, R. J. & Toth M. D. (2013). Teacher EvaluationThat Makes a Difference: A New
Model for Teacher Growth and Student Achievement. ASCD: Alexandria.
MacDonald, S. B. & Lemco L. (2011). Asias Rise in the 21st Century. Praeger: Santa
Barbara.
8 | Page

Schmidt, R. and Thomas, P. L. (2008) 21st Century Literacy: If We are Scripted, Are We
Literate? Springer: Canada.

Appendix
9 | Page

(CABE&RIBA, 2004)

(OECD, 2006)
10 | P a g e