This paper discusses one part of the findings of a study that was aimed at exploring Malaysian primary school boys' and girls' literacy achievement. In this part of the study, the perceptions of the Bahasa Malaysia teachers were sought as to whether the boys and girls had different attitudes toward reading. Data in this qualitative study were gathered from focus group interviews with Bahasa Malaysia teachers, as well as from the teachers' reflections or journal entries that documented their personal perceptions, ways of dealing with students, and their suggestions on teaching boys and girls. The findings suggest that the teachers were generally aware of the difference in the attitudes of boys and girls toward reading, but do not employ specific teaching strategies to address the issue.

This paper discusses the types of knowledge, skills, and abilities that young generations of Malaysians should possess throughout their years of schooling and whether the current curriculum is adequate in enabling the students to face the challenges of the 21st century. Grounded in the Malaysian Educational Philosophy, Malaysian Educational Act, and its national Vision 2020, and taking into consideration the needs of the students and the nation in meeting these challenges, this paper proposes a curriculum for young Malaysians based on three key questions proposed by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority; a curriculum that promotes learning from multi-disciplinary studies and that encourages physical, emotional, spiritual, personal, and social competencies. In designing this curriculum, the authors stress on the importance of catering to the needs, interests, and aspirations of our multi-racial society and the importance of incorporating spiritual and moral values that would help young Malaysians to face these challenges. This paper concludes by proposing a framework adapted from the QCA that could be used as a starting point for the discussions on the 21st century curriculum.

Research has increasingly investigated the role of attitudes toward reading and language learning, and how it might be different in boys and girls. This paper reports on an investigation of Malaysian elementary school students' attitudes toward reading in the English language as perceived by their teachers. In-depth information of teachers' personal practices in teaching reading to the students, their ways of dealing with them, and their suggestions on the teaching of boys and girls were obtained through focus group interviews as well as journal entries. As manifested in the results of the interviews, the teachers felt that among the students that they taught, the boys and girls had different attitudes toward reading and that the girls generally did better than boys in the English class. However, the teachers also felt that boys from good classes seemed to have more positive attitudes toward reading in English.