Academic standards and changing patterns of medical school admissions: a Malaysian study

Abstract

Changing social demands made it necessary for the Medical Faculty of the University of Malaya to accommodate students with a wider range of academic experience than before. However, teachers sought to achieve comparable academic standards to those in the West by striving to maintain a close resemblance to the Western model of medical education in other respects. As a result teachers failed to adapt their teaching methods, assessment techniques and curriculum design to meet the educational needs of the students, thus compromising academic standards. Many students lack basic academic skills and do not know how to learn effectively. In order to help students overcome their learning difficulties innovative teaching was required during the first year at university, designed to foster the joint development of knowledge and basic skills. In the case of less well-prepared students who lack self-confidence, a caring and supportive learning environment is crucial to the achievement of meaningful learning. Lecturers needed to become facilitators of learning rather than transmitters of knowledge. However, teachers' objective to retain international recognition of the degree, which presumably reflected the importance of teaching, was not operationalized in terms of its incentive structure such that teachers were constrained not to try to fill the new roles demanded of them. It was assumed that academic distinction accrued through scientific research was essential for the achievement of academic excellence. However, under the prevailing circumstances the two aims were mutually exclusive and incompatible and teaching quality deteriorated.

An evaluation of the use of continuous assessment in the teaching of physiology

“…This being the case the first-year experience must be taken far more seriously than it is today. However, there are no inducements to change; universities offer no incentives for lecturers to improve their teaching skills (Tan 1990c).…”

“…Teachers teach for good exam results so that continuous summative assessment constrains them in their approach to teaching; it limits innovation and inhibits their willingness to consider new teaching strategies (Tan 1990c), all efforts being directed at preventing students from failing rather than improving the quality of learning.…”

“…Thus, there are two modes of entry into the Medical Faculty: direct entry from Form V1 and which is highly competitive, and indirect entry from Form V via the University's two-year matriculation course (Tan 1990c). Several studies suggest that many first-year medical students lack prerequisite reasoning skills (Tan 1988(Tan , 1990a(Tan , 1990b.…”

“…It is therefore necessary for classroom instruction to provide students with both content and cognitive processes (Mitchell 1988;Tan 1990c), and this involves showing how, rather than merely telling. Subject matter must be taught in-depth with sufficient detail for learners to develop the concepts, and such that the thinking process is made accessible to the students (Hutchinson 1985;Alexander and Judy 1988;Eylon and Linn 1988).…”

“…Such instruction has more to offer less well-prepared students and those constrained by development or ability than does more superficial instruction (Eylon and Linn 1988). As such it holds promise for ameliorating the persistent problem of unequal success for the various ethnic groups which make up the Malaysian student population (Tan 1990c).…”