Understanding Classroom Practices

What teachers do in the classroom is one of the most significant school-based factors in shaping student learning. Yet the classroom is often referred to as a "black box" because there’s so little we know about what actually happens there.

This book provides insights into the "black box" by describing and then comparing classroom practices in Malaysia’s national public school system and that of a unique subsystem situated within it. Through analysis of hundreds of hours of classroom video data, as well as interviews, this book goes on to identify and discuss the forces that shape teachers' classroom practices from across the ecological system. What emerged were nuanced insights into how tightly and loosely coupled forces within the centralized Malaysian national system shaped these teachers’ classroom practices, which are illustrated in multiple case studies. Additionally, this volume uncovers micro disruptions to some tightly coupled forces within the system that could begin to change teachers’ thinking about their classroom practice.

These insights will be of interest to international and comparative education researchers, education policymakers and education professionals, as well as anyone who has ever asked the question, "Why do teachers do what they do in their classrooms?"