Malay Language Teachers’ Concern In Implementing Critical And Creative Thinking Skills

This article discusses the findings of a study undertaken to evaluate the concerns of Bahasa Melayu teachers to integrate Critical and Creative Thinking Skills (CCTS) in their teaching. This evaluative case study employed the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) involved three subjects and focused on two dimensions of CBAM; that are Stages of Concern (SoC) and Levels of Use (LoU). The quantitative data was collected using a Stage of Concern Questionnaire (SoCQ) to identify subjects’ SoC towards CCTS and interpretations were delineated based on scores for each level of concern to generate a profile of Stages of Concern of each subject. Qualitative data was obtained through structured interviews with each subject. The quantitative findings indicated that subjects were at the Awareness Stage (Stage 0) with the highest mean score, followed by Refocusing (Stage 6) and Information (Stage 1). The pattern of SoC suggested that subjects were at the stage of self-concern in implementing CCTS but showed interests to know more about CCTS and to learn the skills related to CCTS and its applications in teaching. Data of the qualitative findings showed that subjects were at Level III (Mechanical Use) which indicated that they were incorporating CCTS but not in a well planned manner. The study illustrated that CCTS has not been realized effectively and that interventions are urgently needed to support the teachers in implementing CCTS.