Abstract-The programme for international student assessment (PISA) is a 3-year assessment for students aged 15 and 16 years old on the subject of Mathematics, Science and Reading. Its aim is generally to PISA stands in a tradition of international school studies by the International Association for the evaluation of educational achievement (IEA). The global world has seen the participation of OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) member countries and partner countries, and this programme is to stress that what is communicated by the international assessment organizations is just a tip of the iceberg, but participating countries are advised not to overly interpret the PISA results. Malaysia is one of the countries that subscribed to the assessment with a benchmarking of its education system. In the past 2 sessions that Malaysia had participated namely 2009 and 2012, the results were welcomed with mixed reaction. To resolve the mixed reactions of the Malaysian society, the society's perception of PISA, particularly students aged 15 and 16 years old is necessary. A qualitative case study on the stakeholders' concepts behind PISA showed differences. The differences were detected, and the impact of the differences was discussed.

Ethnography, in general, is a methodology that has been well known to many as conducted to study a culture-sharing group that could provide an understanding of a larger issue. However, ethnographic research in an educational setting is defined as research on and in educational institutions based on participant observation and/or permanent recordings of everyday life in naturally occurring settings. Then again, classroom ethnography who possess a family resemblance to ethnography is not well understood to many qualitative researchers in this region. Its value in the body of knowledge is not well understood also. In order to appreciate the value of this methodology, the history and development of this research with relation to science education could better enlighten the research community of its value and appropriateness in this region rich in its diverse culture and ethnicity. Different scholars have different scope and perspectives in understanding ethnography. The aim of this article is to open up new research directions in research methodologies for potential local postgraduates.

This article discusses the economic aspect of the Malays in multiethnic perspective in Malaya in the late 19th century. It focuses on the central issue associated with the slow pace of Malay economic development and their reaction to the changing economic orientation from subsistence to capitalism. The main concern here is the assumption based on the general consensus that the involvement of the Malays in commercial activities in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was less eminent compared to other communities. This assumption is referred to the historical development which indicates that the immigrant Chinese community was closely associated with the economic development which had taken place in Malaya during this period. In another respect, the Malay economic activities as a whole were also manifested by the economic integration with the Europeans, the Chinese as well as the Muslim immigrant communities of Indians and Arabs. Nevertheless, it still gave the impression that the pace of economic change of the Malays was considerably slow by comparison to those immigrant communities. Accordingly, they were still unable to adapt themselves to the commercial orientation in their economic activities. This new phenomenon was necessary for them to penetrate into trade and commercial plantation which were dominated by Europeans and Chinese merchants and planters.

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Much has been written about the foreign travels of Sultan Abu Bakar of Johor (r.1862–1895). A comparison of the various versions reveals that early Malay accounts of these foreign trips tended to be uncritical, fragmentary, partial, to praise and glorify him unreservedly, to invent and exaggerate facts, while contemporary non-Malay accounts, especially those written in English, were more rounded, comprehensive, and objective and included detailed facts, comments and criticisms on his extensive travels, lifestyle and his yearning for recognition. This paper intends to unravel fact from fiction in the Malay accounts, especially those written in the form of the Malay long poem, the syair, about his private and official life. It will also examine to what extent the early Malay accounts still reflected features of traditional Malay historiography, and critically evaluate Abu Bakar's reception of foreign guests in Johor and his observance of Islamic practice and Malay tradition at social functions, which have not previously been raised by other scholars.