The National Science Education Philosophy in Malaysia emphasises on nurturing a Science and Technology culture by focusing on the development of individuals who are competitive, dynamic, robust and resilient and able to master scientific knowledge and technological competencies. However, the way science curriculum is implemented in schools has been claimed as the cause of unsuccessful achievement of the mission and vision of Malaysian science education. On the other hand, the Steiner Waldorf curriculum is known for its educational emphasis on creativity and development of students.
This paper reports a study conducted by a group of Malaysian teacher educators and teacher trainees to compare the curricular practices in science education, namely the Malaysian Integrated Science Curriculum and the Steiner Waldorf curriculum. It investigates the science curriculum of Steiner education in the United Kingdom (UK) and compares the Steiner with the Malaysian science curriculum. The research employs a qualitative approach whereby data were obtained primarily through interviews and observations. General findings suggest that both public Malaysian and UK schools adhere strictly to a prescribed curriculum; teacher-oriented and the focus is given by the teachers to complete the syllabus and student's assessment. On the contrary, Steiner education has its own science curriculum which is dissimilar to other public schools in the UK albeit all their students will later have to sit for the same GCE O and A levels. Other findings suggest that the science taught in Malaysian public schools appear to be content-laden and puts emphasis on theorical before practical aspects while Steiner classrooms are more pragmatic, creative and practical-based, with the theories being covered much later after the students have conducted their own experiments on specific science topics. Cultural differences in learning are also observed between the public and Steiner classrooms in Malaysia. The paper highlights the strengths of both curricular practices that can be extracted to design an effective and viable science education teaching module for Malaysian teacher trainees. Guidelines for such a module will be presented as the recommendation of the research.
Keywords: Curricular practices, Science education, Steiner Waldorf education, teacher education