Page 44 - NSETERIn 2019

Transformasi Pendidikan Penjana Kecemerlangan Insan dalam Revolusi Industri 4.0
INFUSING INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH IN KSSR ADVOCATES
HIGHER ORDER THINKING AND KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT AMONG
PRIMARY STUDENTS

Balachandran Annamalai
Institute of Teacher Education, Batu Lintang Campus, Sarawak
balbramdass@gmail.com
ABSTRACT

KBSR.;’Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Rendah’, a new integrated curriculum
for primary schools, was introduced in 1983 and revised to KSSR.; ‘ Kurikulum
Standard Sekolah Rendah’, or to be known as ‘Standard Based Curriculum for
Primary School’, which is intended to promote necessary knowledge, skills and
values to face the rapid challenges of the current times(Jacobs, 1989). There are
some identified gaps in the new curriculum which might become the barrier for
not ensuring our student’s higher thinking abilities and to perform successfully
on a global platform(Sulaiman, Ayub, & Sulaiman, 2015). Previous Education
Minister, Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid, on 31 December, 2016, quoted as it is in the
st
Malay Mail online, “The curriculum emphasizes on the teaching that centered on
the students and focuses more on problem-solving, project-based assignment,
updating subject or theme and implementing formative assessments.” Many
remarks have been raised against the curriculum’s outcomes and achievements,
which were supposed to be achieved throughout the years, unfortunately, the
success rate is still at the lowest level. In-considering this, my research would
be focusing on exploring some of the potentials of this interdisciplinary/
Multidisciplinary approach in advancing cognitive abilities of the children in
making interconnection between different knowledge/contents, skills, lesson
and even the multiple subjects or skills. Therefore, interdisciplinary skills
were suggested to be the approach and to encourage teachers and students
to be more innovative in teaching and learning. Interdisciplinary subjects are
essential for this interdisciplinary education, teaching how to understand,
navigate and employ multiple and often contrary ways of knowing (Golding,
2009). In this approach’ students develop a meta-knowledge about different
disciplines, methods and epistemologies, and learn how to purposefully and
reflectively integrate and synthesize different perspectives in order to advance
understanding and solve problems. Through these interdisciplinary subjects,
students have the opportunity to explore and integrate various perspectives
from different disciplines, sub-disciplines and other areas of expertise by
combining multiple perspectives on the same topic with S.M.A.R.T. integration.
Generally, the interdisciplinary approach involves the synthesis or balance
of various perspectives to produce things such as deeper understanding or
brilliance, balanced judgment, feasible solutions or creative products that
accommodate different perspectives.

Keywords: interconnection, interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, integrate,
approaches and thinking

NSETERIn 2019 | Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Rajang, Bintangor, Sarawak 35