Educare 5-2 2013.indb EDUCARE: International Journal for Educational Studies, 5(2) 2013 173 Dr. Ramli Ismail is a Lecturer at the Social Studies Department, Institute of Teachers Training, Sultan Mizan Campus, Besut, Terengganu, Malaysia; and Norwaliza Abdul Wahab is a Counsellor at the SMK (State Senior High School) Seri Pagi, Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. They can be reached at: rameysyis@gmail.com and lyzaalogan@gmail.com Teachers’ Education Curriculum towards Establishment of Patriotism in Malaysia Ramli Ismail & Norwaliza Abdul Wahab ABSTRACT: This study aims to identify and analyse the elements contained in the objectives of academic curriculum and co-curricular content in terms of differences, relationships, influences, and understanding of learning skills, thinking skills as a mediator to the confidence to apply the elements of patriotism among students of Post-Graduate Teaching Course for Primary School (PGTC PS) and Bachelor of Teaching for Primary Schools (BT PS) in Institute of Teachers Education (ITE) in Malaysia. This survey study used questionnaires on 289 PGTC PS and BT PS students of the North Zone and East Zone ITE in Peninsular Malaysia. The t-test results showed that there was a significant difference between PGTC PS and BT PS students in terms of understanding on learning skills and thinking skills, but do not have any significant difference in terms of confidence to implement the elements of patriotism. Pearson correlation analysis shows that there was a moderate relationship between the variables of learning skills, thinking skills, academic curriculum, co-curriculum, and the confidence to apply the elements of patriotism among PGTC PS and BT PS students. These findings serve as evidence to the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Malaysia to make recommendations to the ITE to serve as a guide in improving the confidence of trainee students in applying the elements of patriotism. KEY WORDS: Teaching the patriotism, learning skills, thinking skills, mediator, students, and Institute of Teachers Education in Malaysia. Introduction The global-natured education of Malaysia could cross locations and ideologies because the characteristics of nationhood, nationalism, culture, and spirituality are embodied within it. According to Abd Rahim Abd Rashid (2005), globalization that swept over the world now has a big impact on the world educational development, including in Malaysia. In this case, the Ministry of Education in Malaysia will need to shift and make changes in the teachers training as a preparation for implementing the Education Development Master Plan (EDMP) and the success of Vision 2020. This current shift is to support the implementation of EDMP and Vision 2020 so that people are prepared to face the globalization, which will destroy the country RAMLI ISMAIL & NORWALIZA ABDUL WAHAB, Teachers’ Education Curriculum 174 that was built through consensus for sustainable progress and development. The education system practiced in Malaysia is believed to be able to build physical strength, cognitive, spiritual, and productivity-oriented attitude. Cognitive and spiritual strength, that is applied and incorporated in education, is believed to change the attitude of Malaysia’s population from the negative to the positive attitude to increase the economic development and performance-oriented education system and quality improvement which could be transformed through human capital programs. Division of Teachers Education introduced the Bachelor of Teaching (Primary School) is to improve the quality of teaching and learning as envisioned in the EDMP. Aspirations and recommendations of this development are in line with the Cabinet Committee Report of 1979 which suggested that the teachers have academic and higher professional qualifications as well as the personal characteristics that are appropriate to the functions and their role as teachers (Hussain, 2004). The growth of the teachers’ quality is determined by the teachers training program provided by the Teachers Education Division (TED). According to Abu Bakar Nordin and Ikhsan Othman (2008), the lecturers in ITE (Institute of Teacher Education) should transform the skills and techniques of thinking, various intelligence, and learning techniques to install patriotism and love towards the country. According to Abd Rahim Abd Rashid (1997) and Bar-Tal and E. Staub eds. (1997), patriotism is not only referring to the feelings of deep love for the country but also the aspects of awareness, loyalty, idealism, nationalism, citizenship, responsibility, sacrifice, endurance, commitment, and contribution to the country. Some researchers interpreted that patriotism, the trainee teachers should have, is in relation to their confidence to integrate elements of patriotism such as feelings of pride (Doob, 1963; Mac Intyre, 1994; Gordon, 2000; and Kay Kim, 2002) as a Malaysian, sacrifice or loyalty (Hollis, 1996; Abd Rashid, 1997; Reykowski, 1997; and Berns, 2001), confidence (Feshbach,1987; Viroli, 1995; and Parker, 2002), spirit of belonging (Tajfel, 1981; and Tamir, 1997), and efforts and worship (Bar-Tal & Staub eds., 1997) once they become a teacher. These patriotism elements are contained in the Buku Panduan Program Pengukuhan Pemupukan Patriotisme Sekolah Rendah or Handbook of Patriotism Nurturing Program for Primary Schools (MOE Malaysia, 1994). Problem Statement, Aims, and Objectives of the Research Patriotism is an important element in the implementation of curriculum and co- curriculum. Elements of patriotism should be preached to students, particularly through the teaching and learning in schools. The younger generation should be inculcated with the concept of compassion and love for the country more than anything else, because it is here where they were born and this is where they expressed the life and death for the country. The younger generation must be guided EDUCARE: International Journal for Educational Studies, 5(2) 2013 175 by teachers who have the courage and patriotism of high value in serving a lesson to their students through Primary School Integrated Curriculum / Primary School Standard Curriculum and Secondary School Integrated Curriculum. Therefore, teachers have a greater significant responsibility to ensure the application of patriotism values to achieve the goals of holistic human formation as described in the National Education Philosophy (MOE Malaysia, 2001). Country’s education system emphasizes the construction of patriotism. This value is transmitted to teachers through teachers training provided to trainees before being sent to serve directly throughout Malaysia. Teachers will use the techniques and strategies of adoption and assimilation to reinforce the elements of patriotism as envisaged in the national education goals and vision. In this regard, the Ministry of Education Malaysia has developed several strategic implementations to incorporate the value of patriotism among students through curricular and co-curricular activities, especially at the teachers’ training level. The elements of patriotism should be incorporated gradually starting from pre-schools to primary schools (Yusuf, 2005). The elements of patriotism can be applied directly in the subject of Local Studies (MOE Malaysia, 2005) and the subject of Civic Education starting from standard four, standard five, and standard six (MOE Malaysia, 2006). While at secondary school level, this patriotism element is merged directly into History subject (MOE Malaysia, 2002) and Civic Education (MOE Malaysia, 2004). Thus, the element of patriotism to be cultivated in the primary level will be the foundation of students’ character building, especially in terms of leadership, culture, national pride, and a willingness to sacrifice for the progress and prosperity of the country. Inculcation of patriotism begins with patriotism towards self-confidence and ability which then moves to the patriotism of the families, schools, communities, and leads to progress and prosperity. At the secondary level, the elements of patriotism expands to a broader element, including pride in being Malaysian, vibrant loyalty to country, passionate sense of belonging, discipline, and productive. Ministry of Education Malaysia in 2001 gave a different perspective to the usual assumptions of a segment of society that the understanding of the community related to patriotism is confined to only a deep love for the country. The value of the ideal patriotism should be developed and embedded earlier in the souls of Malaysians to become dynamic and resilient citizens to enable the development of the country (MOE Malaysia, 2001). Construction of patriotism among the people, especially students, need a strategic and systematic planning. Hence, a conceptual model of patriotism construction in Malaysia was developed by Ishak Ramly, Mohd Daud Hamzah and Zakaria Kassim (2004), and Mohamad Noor Mohamad Taib (2006) which describes briefly about the strategic construction of patriotism and weltanschauung, especially among people living in urban and rural areas. Ministry of Education Malaysia, through the school agencies and teachers training, should coordinate and provide more effective and innovative strategies to implement the action plan for RAMLI ISMAIL & NORWALIZA ABDUL WAHAB, Teachers’ Education Curriculum 176 the construction and strengthening of patriotism among the younger generation in Malaysia. In this case, the function and role of educational institutions and other institutions are very important and should be ready to fulfil the responsibilities to ensure loyalty and devotion for the progress and prosperity of the nation. Patriotism passed through the educational institutions need to start with understanding and practice of positive cultural thinking and productive and efficient and smart learning skills to meet the needs of mastering the knowledge and achieve success in education. These two key elements are the cores of the National Education Philosophy applied to the students through the curriculum, co-curriculum, the culture of school or institute, and environmental elements. Institutions other than educational institutions also play an equal role in cultivating the elements of patriotism through socio-cultural activities, economy, and politic. Malaysian Ministry of Education, through the Institute of Teachers Education (IPG, Institut Pendidikan Guru), provides Post-Graduate Teaching Course for Primary Schools (PGTC PS) and Bachelor of Teaching for Primary Schools (BT PS) since 2007. These programs provide generic skills, especially learning skills and thinking skills; and the elements of patriotism to the trainee teachers through the process of teaching and learning (MOE Malaysia, 2007). So far, there are no studies on the learning and thinking skills and associated with values of patriotism, especially in terms of effectiveness and contribution of these elements to the construction and development of teacher education to convey the elements of patriotism among the trainees. A study on the level of understanding of patriotism among the trainees conducted by Nadarajan Marimuthu (2006) in the Raja Melewar ITE (Institute of Teacher Education), Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia which found that the trainee teachers’ understanding of patriotism was very low. Among the justifications given by the trainee teachers on why they are not confident to apply the elements of patriotism was due to lack of emphasis on some elements of patriotism in the curriculum area being studied, disturbance in time and learning strategies that are not focused on elements of patriotism, does not have clear guidelines to plan the application of the elements of patriotism during learning session, and limited resources on patriotism references. According to Abd Rahim Abd Rashid (1999), the factor of individual self-confidence in doing something is related to the process of affective-cognitive reasoning process and converted into generic skills. Studies on understanding and confidence to apply the elements of patriotism in the areas of curriculum and academic co-curriculum are very limited at the level of teacher service and pre-service teacher training colleges. Based on the above discussion, there is a need to conduct a comprehensive study to identify and analyze the elements contained in the objectives of the academic curriculum and co-curricular activities in the Institutes of Teachers Training based on the understanding of generic skills (learning skills and thinking skills) and confidence to implement the patriotic elements from the aspects of difference, relationships, and influences. This study also aims to identify whether aspects of EDUCARE: International Journal for Educational Studies, 5(2) 2013 177 the understanding of learning skills and thinking skills serve as a mediator to the confidence to apply elements of patriotism among the trainee students in six ITE (Institute of Teachers Education) in the East Coastal Zone and North Zone in Peninsular Malaysia. Among the aims and objectives of this study are as follows: (1) Identify and analyze the mean differences between PGTC PS, Post-Graduate Teaching Course for Primary Schools, and BT PS, Bachelor of Teaching for Primary Schools, students in terms of understanding of factor to incorporate elements of the teaching patriotism in six ITE; (2) Identify and analyze the relationship between the understanding of learning skills and thinking skills with confidence to incorporate the elements of patriotism among the PGTC PS and BT PS trainees in six ITE; (3) Analyze the extent to which academic curriculum and extra-curricular activities, learning skills and thinking skills affect the confidence to apply the elements of patriotism among the PGTC PS and BT PS trainees in six ITE; and (4) Analyze the extent to which aspects of understanding of the learning skills and thinking skills function as a mediator in the relationship between academic curriculum and co-curriculum with the confidence to apply the elements of patriotism among the PGTC PS and BT PS trainees in six ITE. The Concept of Patriotism The word “patriots” comes from the Greek word referring to “a fellow countrymen”, while the word “Patrice” referred to the “fatherland” or “country” from the “pater” which means “father”. But the term “fellow countrymen” refers to the group, and the word “country” refers to those regions and units within the group (Bar-Tal & Staub eds., 1997). The term “patriot” was first used in the English Dictionary in Europe in 1676 with reference to the importance of a country’s political influence (Putman, 1998). The concept of patriotism is defined and discussed in various forms depending on the situation of time and place of a person such as a generation that was in the days before independence has a different spirit of patriotism by the generation after independence. However, the purposes are the same which are unequivocal loyalty and love for the country. There are only mission statements in different contexts, to Khoo Kay Kim (2002), loyalty to the country includes the aspects of politics, economics, and sports. Meanwhile, according to Idris Mohd Nor (2003), patriotism does not refer to only the country but also as an opportunity to obtain freedom of worship, fun, freedom to express opinions, and to make choices about things. Nationalism is seen as a brain-based action, while patriotism is behaviour based and often reactive in nature. This statement was supported by J.L. Machia (2000) summarizing that the concept of patriotism is related with the feelings of patriotism, race, and religion with a sense of responsibility in order to uphold the dignity, honour the survival of the nation. This spirit also forms the basis of an individual capacity that gives the loyalty to the country, having given citizenship in a modern country. RAMLI ISMAIL & NORWALIZA ABDUL WAHAB, Teachers’ Education Curriculum 178 According to D. Bar-Tal and E. Staub eds. (1997) and Uzi Arad and Gal Alon (2006), patriotism began with the presence of a patriotic person in the group through an appreciation of local values and characteristics of the feeling in the group. Thus, emerged the sense of belonging in the group and became a symbol of strength that can influence human behaviour and become the basis of the value of patriotism. Patriotism to be inculcated to the people of Malaysia, especially to the students would need to be taken into account the situation, is in an area and refers to the time setting. The significance of patriotism for the generation before independence is not the same as post-independence generation (1957). This position can be distinguished by the classification of patriotism on five areas, as described by Hurwitz and Peffley, which are: (1) Iconoclastic Patriotism refers to an individual’s love for the country through positive actions such as a persistent attitude, courage, discipline, knowledge, and vision to move forward and develop the country; (2) Symbolic Patriotism refers to the level of patriotism which is symbolized by respect for national symbols such as flags, anthems, and national principles; (3) Capitalistic Patriotism emphasis on involvement in developing the competitiveness of the country’s economy and being proud of the achievements attained; (4) Instinctive Environmental Patriotism focuses on the spirit to preserve and protect the environment so that it remains preserved to be enjoyed by future generations; and (5) Nationalistic Symbolic Patriotism is the high level of individual loyalty to a certain race and willing to sacrifice for the country (cited in Embi, 2009). Based on the five aspects of patriotism that has been discussed, it is clear that the concept of patriotism is so broad by definition and can cover all aspects of life. Iconoclastic Patriotism aspect is suitable for discussion at the educational institution level because it involves the inculcation of patriotism through the change of attitude, discipline, and students’ commitment. The Symbolic Patriotism refers to the patriotism of a person described by the respect and appreciation of national symbols like the flag, national song, and the national principles that can lead to a sense of pride of the country so as to arouse patriotism and unity among students. According to Abd Rahim Abd Rashid (1999), patriotism itself is an abstract concept that needs to be translated through writing, reading materials, curriculum, co- curricular activities, and learning environment. These abstract messages require students to use cognitive and effective reasoning to understand it. Literature Reviews Social Identity Theory. The spirit of patriotism in a person begins with the process of identity formation and, then, expanded to the formation of social identity. This development occurs in accordance with the cognitive development of children and finally evolves into patriotism. One’s social identity development process was explained theoretically by H. Tajfel and J.C. Tunner (1986) which states one’s social identity were derived based on the individuals or members within each group will seek to achieve and maintain a positive social identity by looking at the internal elements of his/her own group compared with the group outside. Naturally, human EDUCARE: International Journal for Educational Studies, 5(2) 2013 179 like to think positively about themselves and their group. A person will contribute positively to the group and, hence, bring the sense of belonging to the group and raise his/her self-esteem and the country in general. Teaching the Patriotism. The sense of belonging towards one’s self and can be channeled through the field of education. Based on the discussion presented by Mohd Janib Johari (2001), Esah Sulaiman (2003), Yahya Buntat and Zainuddin Masran (2003), Sufean Hussain (2004), Abd Rahim Abd Rashid (2005), Foo Say Fay (2005), Mohamad Noor Mohamad Taib (2006), and Noriah Mohd Ishak and Mohammed Sani Ibrahim (2007), it can be concluded that feelings of love and responsibility towards the profession is an element of patriotism and should be practiced by all teachers. This can be implemented if a teacher has a high degree of confidence to implement the elements of patriotism so that people can develop the feeling of proudest in being citizens of a country, loyalty, passionate comradeship, discipline, and productive in every student. High confidence and understanding of the elements of patriotism will produce teachers who can bring changes in society towards a more democratic, fair, liberal, and scientific (Fat, 2004). Therefore, according to Omar Hisham Mohd Baharin (2005), greater confidence to apply the elements of patriotism among the trainees can be achieved if they have a good understanding of the theory and the importance of cultivating these values in teaching and learning. Element of patriotism should be instilled in children before entering school; and for this, the family should play an important role in preaching the understanding to the child. The above statement was in accordance with the findings of the study which was carried out by Abu Bakar Yusuf (2005). He felt that the factor family is a main distributor of information to students compared to the mass media and schools. When children are at school, the value of patriotism applied directly in the subjects, particularly the subject of Local Studies and Civics, while at the secondary level subjects like History, Geography, and other subjects also has elements and values and patriotism (Yusuf, 2005). According to Mohamad Noor Mohamad Taib (2006), direct application in the teaching and learning in the classroom can improve the understanding of patriotism among students. A study on the understanding of patriotism at the level of Public Higher Education Institutes (PHEI) was carried out by Asmadi Mohamed Naim et al. (2003) and found that PHEI students of religious background at all levels of primary and secondary school education have a high level of patriotism compared with the students from national or vernacular schools. Their study covered the ideological aspects (which are commitment to the nation, in terms of attitude measure of cognitive, effective, emotional state towards elements such as history, religion, and the National Principles); practical aspects (appreciation of national events such as celebration of independence, the Sultan’s birthday); aspects of continuity and consistency (the practice of daily life, speech, language, clothing or art activities); and aspects of the understanding (of the feelings and concerns on issues affecting the country, conflict, and intervention of foreign countries). RAMLI ISMAIL & NORWALIZA ABDUL WAHAB, Teachers’ Education Curriculum 180 The awareness of the application of understanding the value of patriotism among students should be given to teachers first and this process should begin at ITE (Institute of Teacher Education) or universities that train future teachers. Accordingly, the trainee teachers must establish compact teaching techniques so that the message of patriotism to be cultivated in the students can be accepted significantly, because referring to Ku Hasnita Ku Samsu and Mohd Haizan Mohd Nor (2009) that the younger generation already have basic knowledge about patriotism. This statement is consistent with the findings of Jaizah Mahamud (2001) that during a practicum, trainee teachers cannot plan the appropriate activities to apply the elements of patriotism, although they are aware of its importance. However, quite in contrast with the results of the study by Nadarajan Marimuthu (2006) which states the understanding of the elements of patriotism among trainee teachers at the Institute of Teachers Education in Raja Melewar was low and moderate, while attitudes toward elements of patriotism was positive. This research also found that the influence of peers and mass media have a positive relationship with the appreciation of the elements of patriotism, but gender factor did not show any difference in the appreciation of the elements of patriotism among those trainee teachers. The study of patriotism is not only limited within a country but also at the international level, where Uzi Arad and Gal Alon (2006) studied on Israeli Jewish citizens who showed that only 77 percent Israeli felt proud in being an Israeli as compared to other countries. Instead, they are more proud of the achievements of the country in terms of scientific and technological progress (97%), defense systems (86%), 38 percent towards the democracy works, and only 22 percent towards the social welfare system. For the Arab descent Israel citizens, only 56 percent were proud to be the people of Israel and 73 percent were ready to defend the country compared to 85 percent for the Jewish Israeli citizens. It was clear that technological and scientific achievements are the main pride of the country rather than the urge to defend Israel, their own country. Following this, in order to face the challenges of 21st century, Israel focused on education as a platform to inculcate ideologies that can enhance the spirit of patriotism among the people. The findings of L. Huddy and N. Khatib (2007) on the citizens of United States of America showed a good correlation between the four constructs used which were the national identity, symbolic patriotism, constructive patriotism, and uncritical patriotism (r = .744). This study described national identity has a good correlation with the symbolic patriotism r = .74 in 2004 compared to r = .68 in 2002, but poor correlation between the factor of national identity with uncritical patriotism r = .51 in 2004 and r = .56 in 2002. This means there is a good relationship between factors of national identity and symbolic patriotism for being complementary in the process of increasing the spirit of patriotism. Result of the discussion that has been described by local and foreign researchers, it can be concluded that the elements of patriotism can be applied to individuals in EDUCARE: International Journal for Educational Studies, 5(2) 2013 181 different ways. That includes through teaching and learning, highlighting the aspects of economic progress, achievements in technology, the integrity of national defense, and superior appreciation of local culture. This application aims to produce a host of enthusiastic loyal citizens, proud of being Malaysian, vibrant sense of belonging, discipline, and working and productive. All these elements were made into the main constructs in the construction of the questionnaire items in this study. Research Method This study used a survey method to obtain information about the relationship between the independent variables with the dependent variable. Next, it will identify whether the two variables are mutually influence to each other. The data collected through the questionnaire used to gather information from overall respondents. The research framework is briefly described in figure 1. Mediator Variables: Learning & Thinking Skills Independent Variables: Curriculum & Co- Curriculum Dependent Variables: Confidence & Cultivation of Elements of Patriotism Figure 1: Research Framework Overall, the t-test was used to find the difference between dependent and independent variables. The correlation analysis was used to identify the relationship between all variables in this study, but not to explain the relationship of cause and effect (Gravetter & Wallmau, 2002). Apart from that, the correlation analysis method is used to identify the relationship between the variables. Subsequently, the hierarchical multiple regression models taken as a statistical procedure to identify the influence of independent variables through mediators on the dependent variable. Procedures done in stages where independent variables included in the regression for step one (block 1 in the regression), while step two (block 2 in the regression) included an independent variable and the mediators (Ndubisi & Jantan, 2003). Multi-stage sampling method used in selecting samples for this study based on three levels. In the first stage, the researchers classified the 27 ITE (Institute of Teachers Education) according to zones such as Zone of Sabah and Sarawak, East Coast Zone, South Zone, Central Zone, and North Zone of Peninsular Malaysia. Of the six zones, two zones were randomly selected as samples which are the RAMLI ISMAIL & NORWALIZA ABDUL WAHAB, Teachers’ Education Curriculum 182 East Coast Zone and North Zone of Peninsular Malaysia. The total number of students of both zones are 817 trainee teachers whom doing full time PGTC PS (Post-Graduate Teaching Course for Primary Schools) in June 2009 intake and BT PS (Bachelor of Teaching for Primary Schools) in January 2007 intake (MOE Malaysia, 2009). This sampling method has taken into account factors such as time, cost savings, and easy access for researchers. This statement is consistent with the recommendations of K. Leahy (1988), W.R. Borg and M.D. Gall eds. (1989), and J. Cohen (1992). At the third level, the trainee teachers from six ITEs (North Zone and East Coast Zone of Peninsular Malaysia) was randomly selected through a list of students from various fields to determine the sample size based on the formula recommended by R.V. Krejcie and D.W. Morgan (1970). Based on the calculation, the number of samples needed for this study was 261 trainee teachers. This sample size is almost exactly the amount found in the determination of sample size table given by R.V. Krejcie and D.W. Morgan (1970) that for a population of 850 people, the sample size required is 265 people only. Findings and Discussions Practically, all the hypotheses and objectives of the study have been answered clearly based on statistical analysis procedures that have been identified through appropriate research questions. The results showed a difference of understanding on the concept of learning skills and thinking skills between students of PGTC PS (Post-Graduate Teaching Course for Primary Schools) and BT PS (Bachelor of Teaching for Primary Schools). The mean difference indicates PGTC PS trainees understand the concept of learning skills and thinking skills, even though only one year at ITE (Institute of Teacher Education) compared with trainees of BT PS who are almost five and a half years, including one year and a half in preparation class. The result indicated that there is a consistency with the objectives of teacher education curriculum to produce graduate teachers who have knowledge of pedagogy, learning skills, thinking skills, highly valued interpersonal skills comparable to the trainee teachers produced by other educational institutions (MOE Malaysia, 2007/2008). The PGTC PS trainees, although have underwent the training for a year in ITE, their learning and experience in the universities before studying in ITE has made them matured and enabled them to easily understand the concept of learning skills and thinking skills. However, for trainees pursuing BT PS for five and a half years has provided an avenue for them to understand the concepts of learning skills and thinking skills on par with PGTC PS who are older and have experience in various fields before applying as a trainee teacher. The results showed that the period of study is sufficient for PGTC PS trainees in order to understand the concept of learning and thinking skills because they have experience of studying at an university. Results of analysis are consistent with the results of a study conducted by Chee Kim Mang (2008) on the quality of beginner EDUCARE: International Journal for Educational Studies, 5(2) 2013 183 teachers between PGTC PS trainees and Diploma in Teaching Course Malaysia (DTCM) trainees. It was found that PGTC PS teachers have performed better in terms of personal qualities and teaching and learning in the classroom from the perspectives of school administrators. The research result 1 showed that there was a difference in terms of confidence to implement the elements of patriotism among students of PGTC PS and BT PS. Finding is in line with recommendations made by Nadarajan Marimuthu (2006) who found no significant differences in confidence to apply the elements of moral values and patriotism between the PGTC PS and BT PS trainees in several ITE in the North Zone. The findings also clarify that the factors of age, location, location of ITE, and early educational background does not help a group to have a higher confidence of a particular concept in question related to patriotism. The results showed that all PGTC PS trainees graduated from the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) from local or overseas have the same level in terms of confidence to implement the elements of patriotism to the student when they were appointed as teachers soon. Confidence of PGTC PS trainees to apply the elements of patriotism shows local universities produce graduates with a good sense of patriotism and have the capability to cultivate it in others. Results showed that ITE can fulfill part of the Ministry of Education’s wish to produce BT PS students who have high confidence to incorporate elements of patriotism. Greater confidence to apply the elements of patriotism among the trainees to be backed by a good understanding of the theory and the importance of values in teaching and learning (Mohd Baharin, 2005). The next finding shows that there is no difference between students of PGTC PS and BT PS on students’ understanding of what is contained in the objectives of the curriculum and co-curriculum courses in their respective programs. This finding is quite different from the views expressed by Lam Kah Kei et al. (2007) which states that the PGTC PS students are less able to appreciate and understand in depth the content of the curriculum and co-curriculum implemented to their students while at the ITE. BT PS students, who spent five and a half years in the institute, understand and appreciate the content of the curriculum and co-curriculum effectively. It is clear that different curriculum and co-curricular contents for four and a half years between PGTC PS and BT PS students gives a positive impact to understand, interpret, and translate the curriculum and co-curriculum content as a teacher. The research result 2 showed a moderate correlation between students’ understanding of curriculum and co-curriculum with the understanding of learning skills and thinking skills. This moderately positive correlation indicates changes in the understanding of the curriculum and co-curriculum of PGTC PS and BT PS students. This medium response resulted in a parallel change in the understanding of learning skills and thinking skills. The findings also support previous studies associating a logical relationship to the curriculum and co-curriculum content in a program of study undertaken with the understanding of thinking skills and learning skills in generic skills RAMLI ISMAIL & NORWALIZA ABDUL WAHAB, Teachers’ Education Curriculum 184 components (OOA, 2006; and Leonard, 2007). Although the relationship is at a moderate level, but it reflects that the desire of MOE (Ministry of Education) and ITE (Institute of Teacher Education) to implement and integrate the elements of the generic skills such as thinking skills and learning skills through curricular and co-curricular activities can be achieved at an average level even though it was introduced in 1993. The achievement of a moderate relationship is related to the research findings of Rajendran Nagapan (2000) who found that only 60 percent of teachers in schools are directly exposed to the elements on how to cultivate thinking skills among students during the teaching and learning session. The trainee teachers should master these skills because it will be used to integrate the knowledge of pedagogy, theoretical teaching with other knowledge in the areas of specialization in order to reach students more effectively (Mohd Yasin & Rahman, 2009). Meanwhile, A. Woolfork (2004) pointed out that to achieve effective learning skills needs appropriate meta-cognitive strategies in order to stimulate the development of students’ knowledge. The study also found that there was moderate correlation to changes in the understanding of the objectives of the curriculum and co-curriculum between PGTC PS and BT PS students. This finding is in line with changes to the confidence of students to apply the elements of patriotism when they are in the actual environment. This finding shows that there is consistency with the study by Jaizah Mahamud (2001) and Mohamad Noor Mohd Taib (2006) which identified several reasons on why ITE students are not able to appreciate and understand the elements of good patriotism while at the institute. One of the reasons was that emphasis on cultivation of elements of patriotism was not highlighted during lectures, instead, according to Ku Hasnita Ku Samsu and Mohd Haizan Mohd Nor (2009), our younger generation actually have a basic national knowledge and understanding of the elements of patriotism. Therefore, this group has a good potential in increasing their patriotism from time to time. The findings revealed a moderate positive relationship between the variables of learning skills and thinking skills, and this moderate relationship bring the same changes to the confidence to cultivate the elements of patriotism among PGTC PS and BT PS students in ITE. These findings emphasize that individuals or students with a good understanding of thinking skills and learning skills would be more confident to apply the elements of patriotism. This finding supports the research findings and assumptions made by E.D. Putman (1998), Abd Rahim Abd Rashid (1999), and L.R. Williams, L.M. Foster and R.K. Krohn (2008). However, this finding is quite in contrast with the views expressed by Rajendran Nagapan (2000) that some of the teachers admitted they are confident to teach the subject content but not confident to teach and apply critical thinking skills during classroom sessions. The research result 3 shows both the variables which are academic curriculum and co-curriculum, thinking skills, and learning skills are the factors that influence the EDUCARE: International Journal for Educational Studies, 5(2) 2013 185 confidence to apply the elements of patriotism among PGTC PS and BT PS students in ITE. This result was consistent with the views of Abd Rahim Abd Rashid (1999), Idris Mohd Nor (2003), Mohamad Noor Mohd Taib (2006), and L.R. Williams, L.M. Foster and R.K. Krohn (2008) that the aspects of thinking skills, learning skills, curriculum and co-curriculum are the factors that serve as comprehensive channels in cultivating values and patriotism to students. This research also found that aspects of thinking skills and learning skills influence the student more compared to understanding of the academic curriculum and co-curriculum in terms of confidence to implement the elements of patriotism. This result is related to thinking skills and learning skills significantly that the relationship is stronger than understanding of the academic curriculum and co- curriculum in the aspects of confidence to apply the elements of patriotism among PGTC PS and BT PS students in ITE. Subsequently, the results of this study allow the ITE to plan for activities and teaching methods that can be applied towards enhancing the ability of thinking skills among students. This has been proven through research that the learning skills and thinking skills are the elements of cognitive, affective, and spiritual that is so important to generate students’ thinking ability. The research result 4 proves that the aspect of understanding the learning skills and thinking skills function as mediators in the understanding of the relationship between aspects of the curriculum and co-curriculum with the dependent variable, namely the confidence to apply the elements of patriotism among PGTC PS and BT PS students in ITE. But these mediators are only partial mediators when tested by the method of Hierarchical Multiple Regression and supported by software decisions MedGraph by P.E. Jose (2008). This finding is correlated with what was discussed by Abd Rahim Abd Rashid (1999) and L.R. Williams, L.M. Foster and R.K. Krohn (2008) which refers to the students’ mastery of cognitive skills as the main channel to receive the moral values, particularly patriotism. This finding fits the aim contained in the curriculum and co-curriculum objectives of PGTC PS and BT PS that includes elements of thinking skills and learning skills as a means to implement the elements of patriotism (MOE Malaysia, 2007). But it is not easy to stimulate and train students to expand and enhance their cognitive ability, particularly in critical skills. This difficulty was described by Rajendran Nagapan (2000) that some teachers claim they are confident to teach the content of a subject, but not confident to teach thinking on the critical thinking. Conclusion Overall, this study provided significant implications for PGTS PS (Post-Graduate Teaching Course for Primary Schools) and BT PS (Bachelor of Teaching for Primary Schools) students, lecturers, ITE (Institute of Teacher Education), and towards research. The findings may be an indicator that the level of understanding of learning skills and thinking skills are at low and moderate levels among the PGTS RAMLI ISMAIL & NORWALIZA ABDUL WAHAB, Teachers’ Education Curriculum 186 PS and BT PS students in ITE. Therefore, PGTS PS and BT PS students should have massive skills in handling learning skills and thinking skills so that teaching and learning would be more effective. In addition, to an overview of the level of learning skills and thinking skills results show that the trainee students in six ITEs have fairly high confidence to cultivate the elements of patriotism among their students when they start to teach. The hopes and confessions given by the students of these institutions can at least be the initial measurement that values and the teaching patriotism elements can be inculcated to the students. Research questions did not focus on the ITE lecturers, but in reality, they are the communicators of knowledge and the key informant to the students. The comprehensively designed curriculum, that was meant to be implemented on the students, needs to be interpreted by the lecturers more accurately so that the real meaning can be understood clearly. Understanding of learning skills and thinking skills among teacher educators can become a bridge to the ability to implement the moral values and patriotism. These studies have shown that to implement the values and patriotism, one must have substantial learning skills and thinking skills as it is connected with the thinking process. The desire of MOE (Ministry of Education) and ITE (Institute of Teacher Education) in Malaysia is to see students have self-esteem and a high level of patriotism could be achieved, if the prospective teachers produced by the institutions have a high ability and confidence to implement the spirit of patriotism. High spirit of patriotism should be planted as early as the school students hoping to accelerate the process towards the achievement of the concept of “One Malaysia” in nurturing self-esteem and unity of all Malaysians. The following statements are suggestions for future research based on the aspects of the limitations of this study: (1) the Period of data collection may be extended, so that the respondents have the opportunity to answer the questionnaire properly and not in a rush to complete it. These factors may affect the results produced; (2) Data collection methods can be varied and not limited to the questionnaire, but may be made in interviews, observations, and documents reviewed. This method of triangulation is expected to produce more accurate and reliable results; (3) Apart from survey studies, researchers can do researches by quasi-experiments or complete experiments. May be this will produce more consistent results with higher reliability and validity; (4) In this study, population and sample selection method was through the cluster and simple random sampling method based on a list of the institutes and the list of selected students in the institute. Simple random sampling method was used to select samples. Researchers suggest other methods as well, such as strata sampling and purposive sampling which ever would be consistent with the objectives of the study; (5) In this study, only three major variables have been studied which were independent variables i.e. academic curriculum and co-curriculum, mediator variables i.e. learning skills and thinking skills, and the dependent variable i.e. the EDUCARE: International Journal for Educational Studies, 5(2) 2013 187 confidence to apply the elements of patriotism. In the future, other aspects like ICT or Information and Communication Technology’s skills, communication skills, facilitating skills, and the elements of professionalism such as expertise in teaching and learning can be studied. The findings are expected to bring a new dimension within the scope of the study; and (6) Researchers’ expertise is also a limitation because the researchers are merely practitioners, not full-time researchers. Thus, many things and research procedures cannot be met wholly in terms of research ethics and discipline. Researchers felt that if this study scope was carried out by full-time researchers, they might have received more accurate and higher quality results because they have the expertise and high professionalism. Based on the recommendations above, the researchers believe that the quality of a study could be improved so as to enrich and expand the existing body of knowledge related to the theory and methodology in research. Conclusions from the study results showed that PGTC PS and BT PS students have different level of understanding about learning skills, thinking skills, the content of academic curriculum and co-curriculum. Moderate relationship between the variables depicts that the academic curriculum developed by the ITE can still be improved in order to place it on par with the aim of Teachers Education Philosophy Model. The aspects of knowledge, skills, and values need to be more detail for it to be comprehensive and easily understood. Significantly, the understanding aspect of learning skills and thinking skills are more dominant compared to the understanding of curriculum and co-curriculum in influencing PGTC PS and BT PS students’ confidence to incorporate elements of patriotism. 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