Page 48 - Jurnal Kurikulum BPK 2020

Kadazandusun Teachers’ Attitudes towards the Implementation of Kadazandusun
Language as a Subject in the District of Penampang, Sabah, Malaysia

Sandra Logijin
Sektor Bahasa dan Kesusasteraan,
Bahagian Pembangunan Kurikulum
sandra.logijin@moe.gov.my

Abstract

This paper conveyed the findings of a study that surveyed Kadazandusun teachers’ attitudes
towards the implementation of Kadazandusun Language (KDL) as a subject in the primary
school. At present, most KDL teachers are not option teachers hence, this study is conducted
to gain their insights on the implementation of KDL as a formal subject in the primary school.
This quantitative descriptive study was carried out in the district of Penampang, Sabah and
involved KDL teachers teaching in the 21 primary schools. Samples were chosen through
purposive sampling and a questionnaire was used to collect data. This study discovered that a
majority of teachers teaching KDL in the primary schools of Penampang district were not
speakers of the dialect chosen for the teaching and learning of KDL, which was Bunduliwan.
Nonetheless, they found joy in their teaching and they felt that teaching this subject could
spread the use of KDL, maintained other Dusunic dialects or languages and preserved cultural
heritage that were linked to those dialects/languages. KDL teachers in this district also
believed that the Standard Document and Assessment was a useful document for planning
lessons and for assessing learners’ progress.

Keyword: Kadazandusun, teachers’ attitude, implementation

INTRODUCTION

The teaching and learning of KDL was first introduced in the primary schools in Sabah in
January 1998 (Kadazandusun Language Foundation, 1999). It was then formally implemented
in secondary schools in January 2006 (Ministry of Education Malaysia, 2005). The teaching
and learning of KDL is now operating in 24 districts throughout the state of Sabah, Malaysia
and has reached its second decade of formal implementation. The teaching and learning of this
subject both in primary and secondary schools have always been recorded as a historical event
and considered as a great achievement for the Kadazan and Dusun communities of Sabah,
Malaysia. This is because, Kadazandusun Language is the first indigenous language in Sabah
to be offered as a subject in the Malaysian education system.
The process of teaching and learning of this language was first planned by the Ministry
of Education Malaysia (MOE) as a People’s Own Language (POL) subject, which was in
tandem with what was requested by the Kadazan and Dusun communities at that time. At this
point of time, while the curriculum was being designed and developed, the policy concerning
the implementation of this subject also went through a change. Hence, when the curriculum
was finally ready to be implemented in schools, it was implemented as an additional language
under the Integrated Primary School Curriculum or Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Rendah
(KBSR) in 1998 (MOE, 1997). The primary school curriculum was revised in 1999 and by the
year 2000, it was ready to be taught to suit the needs of the Kadazan and Dusun communities
and for Malaysian nation building in general. KDL was first taught in the secondary school
under the Integrated Secondary School Curriculum or Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah
Mengengah (KBSM) in 2006 (MOE, 2005).
38