A study on the effectiveness of the teacher support teacher programme in Kota Tinggi district, Johore / Saadon Saman

This qualitative study is designed to explore the effectiveness of the Teacher Support Teacher (TST) programme in Kota Tinggi District in the State of Johore. The programme is introduced in Malaysia and it is tailored to meet the need of ESL teachers in this country. It is carried out nationwide with the aim to upgrade the standard of English performance in the country especially among the rural schools. TST programme is school-based and being carried out in every district.
A total number of 80 ESL teachers were involved in this study. Apart from that, the Resource and Key personnel from Primary and Secondary schools, Principal, Headmasters, District Education Officer, State Education Officer and an Officer from the Ministry of Education were also involved in this study.
A total of 98.0% or 49 of the 50 Primary school ESL teachers and 100.0% or all 30 Secondary ESL teachers perceived the TST programme as effective and that they received adequate support from the TST team. In addition, the sharing and support which lead to collaboration between teachers lead to confidence building and as a result the respondents were more positive, enthusiastic and open-minded in carrying out their duties.
Over 90.0% of the respondents indicated that the TST team visits were helpful in planning, supporting, organizing and managing change in the teaching and learning process in school. The high percentage given to the organizing of the English Language Panel and Student-centred Language activities shows an encouraging improvement of overall English climate in the school However, the initial programme should be reviewed in term of its design to suit the ever-changing needs of the school system especially in the era of Information Technology.
Several suggestions for improving the TST programme were:
i) more activities be planned.
ii) more frequent visit by the TST team.
iii) every school should have their own team.
iv) Headmasters and Principals should contribute actively to support the programme.
v) INSET courses should be conducted more often.
vi) TST programme should be continued.
vii) School visit should be at least twice a year per school.
In conclusion, the study indicated that TST programme is a successful “Malaysian made” programme and it should be implemented in all schools in the country. The improvement in examinations result could be an indication that the TST programme does play an effective role as it was intended to be.