Malaysia Embraces Cradle-to-Career Concept for Education

Malaysia has become the first country to adopt the Strive methodology, an innovative educational framework pioneered by Ohio education reformer Nancy L. Zimpher. Begun in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky in 2006, the Strive Partnership enlists early childhood specialists, K-12 superintendents, college presidents, private and public foundations, and business executives in a collaborative effort to maintain a “cradle to career” infrastructure for student learning. Too often, the levels of a school system resemble a series of disparate islands with few and chancy boat connections. Zimpher, the first woman chancellor of the State University of New York (SUNY), envisions it as a holistic process in which the entire community plays a role.

Strive’s methods have gained traction in 27 states and the District of Columbia, but Malaysia is planning to implement Zimpher’s ideas on a national scale. On May 16, SUNY officials met with representatives from Malaysia’s Ministry of Higher Education in New York City to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on upcoming reforms. As an emerging economy, Malaysia hopes to boost student services from an early age and stimulate interest in scientific fields. Rather than leaving education to the schools alone, the Strive-style roadmap entails strategic check-ins for personal development as well. For instance, not only are kids supposed to be reading by fourth grade, but they should also develop an adult attachment figure who is not a parent by seventh grade and participate in first-year seminars in the first year of college.

“Kids may do well in pre-school, for example, but unless that pre-school is working with the local school district to align expectations, most of them won’t be ready for kindergarten,” said Zimpher at the New York meeting. “The same holds true for the transitions to high school, college, and career. These absences of collaboration cause what we call ‘leaks’ in the education pipeline.”

Whereas Ohio school districts formerly trailed the nation in postsecondary attainment rates, college enrollment jumped ten percent in just four years. Though Malaysian education has been surging ahead in recent years, poor teaching and a lack of attractive career options is still holding back many bright graduates. According to Zimpher, the nation’s educational problems are similar “in kind and in scale” to those of New York City, whose school district is the largest in the United States. The partnership between New York schools and Malaysia is expected to result in a proliferation of data sharing. Hopefully, it’ll set a precedent for developed and developing countries working in tandem—after all, their goals aren’t all that different.

Creative Commons Love: Asian Development Bank on Flickr.com

Written by Tiffany Tsai