ABSTRACT

In Malaysia, out-of-field teaching has not been systematically researched (Aini Hassan & Wan Hasmah Wan Mamat, 2007). However, it is prevalent today in Malaysia as is shown by 2002-2005 data from the Intensified Research in Priority Areas Study (IRPA) (Aini Hassan & Wan Hasmah Wan Mamat, 2007). For example, the findings show that many students from the Diploma of Education Program who major in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) lack content knowledge in the subject. The situation in History is similar. Data from the Ministry of Education

in 1991 indicated that out-of-field teacher teaching in History was 46.4 per cent. This showed that almost half of those teaching History in secondary schools in Malaysia lacked appropriate training in the subject (Ministry of Education, 1991 cited in Aini Hassan et al., 2007). More recently, the findings from a total of 401 teachers surveyed, indicated that from the 17 respondents teaching History only five of them had majored in History and thus 12 of the teachers were out-of-field teachers (Aini Hassan  & Wan Hasmah Wan Mamat, 2007). Aini Hassan (1998) claimed that these figures suggested a low effectiveness in teaching and learning History in the classroom.