Situating the pedagogic discourse within the Malaysian education system

By Norulhuda ISMAIL

Bernsteins pedagogic discourse deals with the conversion of knowledge (such as

Mathematics or English) into pedagogic communication. According to Bernstein, there are
three main fields of an education system which are the Field of Production of knowledge, the
Field of Recontextualisation of knowledge and the Field of Reproduction of knowledge.
These fields are hierarchically related, where one field will not exist without the field
preceding it (Singh, 2002).

The Field of Production is where new ideas are selectively created, modified and
changed and creates the intellectual field of the educational system. This field is where
specialised discourse is developed and produced. The discourse of this field is called the
Specialised discourse as it is only accessible to research groups and individuals (Bernstein,
1990). Another field is the Field of Reproduction, which consists of four levels- tertiary,
secondary, primary and pre-school where educational discourse is selectively reproduced.
The context of this study focuses on secondary schools in Malaysia.

According to Bernstein (1990), there is a dislocation between the producers and the
reproducers of knowledge because there is a strong classification from those who produce
the discourse and those who reproduce the discourse. That is, agents who produce the
knowledge discourse are very rarely the same agents who teach the discourse in schools.
Because of this dislocation, the Recontextualisation Field is created. This field is concerned
with the movement of texts from the context of the Field of Production to the context of the
Field of Reproduction and to regulate the circulation of texts between the two fields (p.192).
The major activity of the recontextualising fields constitutes the what and how of the
pedagogic discourse. The what refers to the categories, contents and relationships to be
transmitted, that is their classification. And the how refers to the manner of their
transmission, essentially in their framing. The what entails recontextualising from
intellectual fields such as mathematics, English, physics, the how refers to the
recontextualising of theories from social science, such as psychology (p.196).
 Bernstein (1990) identifies that there are two major subfields in the Field of
Recontextualisation, the Official Recontextualising Field (ORF), and the Pedagogic
Recontextualising Field (PRF). Both fields have the same concerns which are on the
principles and practices regulating the circulation of theories and texts from the field of
production to the field of reproduction. However, the difference is that the ORF is controlled
and regulated by the state government (p.196) and all decisions by the ORF need to be
approved before they are disseminated to the public. On the other hand, the PRF has relative
freedom in determining its own recontextualising principles and its decisions do not always
need the approval of the government.

According to Bernstein (1990), the ORF consists of specialised departments and sub-
agencies of the state and local educational authorities together with their research and system
of inspectors (p.192). The Malaysian Ministry of Education is identified as an agency of the
ORF because all decisions made by the Ministry of Education need to be approved by the
state government before they are put into action. Furthermore, its discourse expresses the
official rule and dominant principles of mathematics education for Malaysia. According to
Bernstein, the Official Pedagogic Discourse consists of official rules regulating the
production, distribution, reproduction, interrelation and change of legitimate pedagogic text
(discourse), their social relations of transmission and acquisition (practice), and the
organisation of their contexts (organization) (Bernstein, 1990, p.193). Therefore, the texts
produced by the Ministry such as the National Mathematics Curriculum and the Mathematics
Curriculum Specification are part of the Official Pedagogic Discourse.

Meanwhile, the Pedagogic Recontextualising Field (PRF) consists of

positions/agents/practices drawn from university departments of education, colleges of
education, specialised media, journals, weeklies and publishing houses (Bernstein, 1990,
p.192). The University and its Faculty of Education is part of the PRF because they have
more autonomy than the ORF over recontextualisation of the discourses from the Field of
Production. That is, the recontextualisation is not strictly regulated by the state government.
Its agents are lecturers, its texts are course documents, notes and discussions and its practices
are teaching the courses and activities in the running of the faculties. The texts that are used
in this study are through class discussions, documents, and observations of the classes where
this study will derive the messages about teaching mathematics. These texts, which include
the messages conveyed, form part of the Unofficial Pedagogic Discourse.
 The texts are known as the Unofficial Pedagogic Discourse because the texts
produced are unique to this University and its Faculties. This discourse is not transferred to
all schools like the discourse of the ORF. Only student teachers and teachers who are in
relation with the University and its faculties may have access to this discourse to
recontextualise into their own practices. Occasionally, the University also handles short-
courses for teachers as part of a professional development program. However, the discourse
that is portrayed in these courses is also special and only teachers who have been involved in
these courses are exposed to them.

Despite these relative freedom of the PRF, the University is subject to occasional
regulation by the Malaysian Qualification Assurance Body, a statutory body under the
Ministry of Higher Education (another agency of the ORF) to ensure the courses fulfil the
standards set for undergraduate degree. These evaluations include ensuring the ratio of
courses that focuses on educational studies and mathematics subjects fit the criteria set, the
level of difficulty of knowledge is suitable for undergraduate work and the ratio of lectures
and independent learning in each course.

The lecturers of the University enjoy a high level of autonomy over the courses they
handle because they can compile their own content and impart their own messages about
mathematics teaching and learning. The lecturers also have the autonomy to evaluate students
in ways they see fit, as long as these decisions are approved by the administrations of the
Faculty. The courses may be owned, developed and handled personally by each lecturer. For
example, the lecturer for Laboratory in mathematics education has handled the course for
many years. The course has also evolved through teaching and learning of more and more
advanced technological tools, and different reaching- out projects without much interference
from other lecturers.

Some of the lecturers of the University are also involved in the decision making process of
the ORF, such as in the development of new policies in education. They may also be involved
in research funded and guided by the Ministry of Education. So the agents of the PRF have an
influence on the decisions of the ORF.
 This influence is not one sided. The discourse of the ORF also have an impact on the
emerging discourse of the PRF. For example, when the policy of changing the medium of
instructions for mathematics and science from Malay to English was officiated by the ORF,
instructions in the mathematics and science education courses in the University were also
converted to English. Lecturers were instructed to conduct classes in full English and student
teachers were encouraged to convey their ideas and practice teaching in English. In
conclusion, the agents of the PRF and the ORF assert influence onto each other (Bernstein,
1990, p.199), and this is observed in the Malaysian mathematics education.

According to Bernstein (1990, p.199), the degree of autonomy of the PRF can
profoundly affect the pedagogic discourse reproduced in schools, especially through initial
teacher education. However, more direct control over schools by the government in a
centralised education system seriously deters the autonomy of the PRF over schools. In
Malaysia, local education departments who are under the instructions of the Ministry conduct
quarterly observations of teachers which results in a stronger foothold of the Ministry over
teachers. The ministry also conducts frequent professional development programs for
teachers. This means that the Universitys messages about teaching mathematics may not
have a strong foothold in schools because schools are being directly assessed and regulated
by the Ministry.

Another subfield that exists within the field of recontextualisation is the Official
Pedagogic Recontextualising Field (OPRF). In this field, reside agents who are interested in
recontextualising the discourse of the Official Recontextualising Field into other texts which
can be utilised for learning. The texts are textbooks. For the authors of textbooks, they have
to compete in order for their textbooks to be selected and approved by the Ministry of
education and become the official textbook for several states in Malaysia meaning that
several states may be given the same textbook. So, these agents have a duty to express the
principles of the Official Pedagogic Discourse, but can also integrate their own principles and
regulations to influence the selection by the state department. Because the textbook selected
in school is officially certified by the ministry, it forms part of the Official Pedagogic
Discourse.
 A final sub-field is the Unofficial Pedagogic Recontextualisation Field (UPRF). In
this field also reside agents who are interested in recontextualising the discourse of the
Official Recontextualising Field into other texts which can be utilised for learning. However,
the texts produced are workbook and reference books which is not approved by the Ministry
of Education. However, there is a higher level of competition as these books are
commercialised to the public. Some of the publications have gained wide popularity and
confidence among teachers, students and parents and are the choice texts for revision, tuition
and classroom teaching. This is possibly because these publications not only comply with the
discourse of the ORF, they have also been able to meet the demands of teachers in which it
supports the current context of the school and its students. Because these texts are neither
officially endorsed nor approved by the ministry, the texts are called the Unofficial Pedagogic
Discourse, same as the texts produced by the University.

Various teacher associations also exist in Malaysia such as the National Union of
Teaching, Yayasan Guru Malaysia Berhad and Suara Guru Masyarakat Malaysia. These
associations are not necessarily endorsed and approved by the Ministry, suggesting that they
exist within the Unofficial Pedagogic Recontextualising Field. The members of these
associations are teachers and the main mission is to maintain the welfare of teachers. Other
associations also exist such as Persatuan Pendidikan Sains dan Matematik Malaysia
(Persama) and Persatuan Pendidikan Sains dan Matematik Johor. These associations are
interested in mathematics and science education and provide opportunities for research
involving mathematics education to be presented and shared in their conferences and
bulletins. Unlike associations in the west, such as the National Council of Teachers of
Mathematics (NCTM), these associations are not known to produce texts for the teaching and
learning of mathematics in Malaysia. Therefore, the actual impact of these associations on
teaching and learning mathematics in schools may be minimal.

In the Field of Reproduction, recontextualisation occurs as teachers select the

discourses from the fields of ORF, OPRF and possibly UPRF and transform them into
classroom practices. However, the primary context of the school such as school facilities,
work load, and communities such as parents expectations, and acquirers needs, influences
the ways in which teachers recontextualise the discourses from the various fields. The
complex situation in school may hinder teachers from reproducing the expected code of
transmission and teachers may find themselves to be unwilling or unable to reproduce the
expected code of transmission (p.200). According to Bernstein (1990), what is reproduced in
school itself is subject to its own recontextualising principles arising out of specific context of
the schools and the external control over the reproduction of the Official and professional
pedagogic discourse (p.199). What is reproduced is also affected by the power relationships
of the recontextualising field between the school and primary cultural context of the acquirer
such as families and communities (p.199). For example, if a particular community does not
support a new policy of the Ministry such as teaching mathematics in English, teachers may
be more reserved about the new policy. The result of teachers recontextualisation of the
policy of teaching mathematics in English may consist of simply highlighting crucial English
keywords to help students understand questions rather than a lesson in fluid English (Tan &
Saw Lan, 2011).

According to Singh (2002), the boundaries insulating the three fields may be
relatively strong. Strong insulation constitutes specialist identities of agents, agencies and
discourses within each field and weaker identification between each field. This statement may
imply that the agents from different fields represent differing messages about mathematics
teaching. For example, lecturers from the PRF may be interested in detailed mathematical
procedures which demonstrate a more complex understanding of mathematics knowledge;
whereas teachers may be interested in conventional or short-cut mathematical procedures
which students are familiar with. Another example of differing interests is that lecturers of the
PRF may bring messages about student-centred activities, whereas teachers of the Field of
Reproduction may bring messages about classroom control. In the Malaysian education
system, there is one condition where agents from the fields of PRF and Reproduction merge
and that is during teaching practicum. The next section will explain the different roles of
agents involved in the teaching practicum and its impact on student teachers.

Despite the pedagogic discourse appears to be able to be used to explain the

Malaysian education system, the theory itself is not flawless and immune from criticism.
Dowling (2009) in particular had highlighted some weakness in Bernsteins writing and ideas
of the pedagogic discourse. The first is that Bernstein fails to use key terms systematically
and to invent neologism when and only when it is needed p.82. Dowling also emphasises that
within the recontextualising field, it is doubtful that the agents of the ORF and the PRF
simply look only upon the Field of Production of knowledge in order to recontextualise
texts p.83. Despite these weaknesses highlighted, the pedagogic discourse has been used
many researchers to organise the education systems of respective countries. For example,
Sriprakash (2011) has used the pedagogic discourse to explain the Indian education context
and Xu (2011) to explain the Chinese education context. Therefore, the framing of the
Malaysian Education system through Bernsteins pedagogic discourse is a worthwhile
endeavour. This is because it not only allows making explicit the discourses of many different
fields within an education system, it also highlights that these fields are complex and highly
interrelated. It also helps to highlight the discourses from different fields and that student
teacher may draw on as they recontextualise the many messages available to them.

Table 3.1 is a representation of the various fields and sub-fields, its discourse,
agencies, agents and texts within the Malaysian context. Bernstein had identified three major
fields hierarchically related which is the Field of Production of knowledge, the Field of
Recontextualisation of knowledge and the Field of Reproduction of knowledge. In the Field
of Recontextualisation there are four sub-fields; the Official Recontextualising Field (ORF),
the Pedagogic Recontextualising Field (PRF), the Official Pedagogic Recontextualising Field
(OPRF) and the Unofficial Pedagogic Recontextualising Field (UPRF).

The Ministry or Education is one of the agencies of the ORF while the University is
one of the agencies of the PRF. Teacher societies and unofficial publishers are agencies of the
UPRF while special educational departments such as Educational Technology Division,
resides within the OPRF. Meanwhile, schools are an agency of the Field of Reproduction.
The discourse of the Field of Production is the Specialised Discourse while the discourse of
the Field of Reproduction is the Reproduced discourse. The discourse of the ORF and the
OPRF is named as the Official Pedagogic Discourse (OPD) because the discourses produced
are approved and officiated by the Ministry of Education. Whereas, the discourse of the PRF
and UPRF is called the Unofficial Pedagogic Discourse (UPD), as the discourse produced is
not official and not approved by the Ministry.

The texts produced by the Field of Production are knowledge. The text produced by
the ORF is Curriculum and Specification and by the PRF is University courses. Discussions
with the lecturers, as well as course notes and resources used by the lectures are also texts of
the PRF. The texts produced by the OPRF are school textbooks and the texts produced by the
UPRF are workbooks and reference books. Finally, the texts produced by Field of
Reproduction are lessons. Discussions conducted with teachers, and references they develop
and use are also texts produced by the Field of Reproduction. Finally, the agents of each field
respectively are researchers, ministry officers, lecturers and teachers for the Field of
production, the ORF, PRF and the Field of Reproduction respectively. Meanwhile, it is also
possible that the agents residing in the OPRF and the UPRF are teachers and lecturers.