Getting out of the ‘comfort zone’
Teachers who stay too long in one school may become complacent and it could impact their productivity.
TO improve efficiency and productivity among teachers, which is the largest sector of the civil service, teachers within a district should be moved between schools after serving a number of years.
Generally primary and secondary schools are close to each other and the teachers can be moved from one school to another after a period of time.
When teachers are in a school for a number of years, they can become complacent and create “comfort” zones that can rob them of their creativity and productivity.
They could also get “bored” with the teaching and learning process in that school that has become routine and perfunctory.
This can impact their performance and output in the school.
When they are moved to a new school they need to adapt and learn the “culture” of the new school.
Being in a new environment with a different batch of children, colleagues and headteacher would present new challenges and insights to their personal and professional development.
A new school can reinvigorate and rejuvenate teachers who have become complacent.
A new school can expose teachers to different leadership styles (headteachers) and to different learning and teaching strategies.
Teachers need to be able to teach and work in different types of schools.
Whether the schools are small or big, the enrolment can be different too.
Low enrolment schools (sekolah kurang murid) usually have less than 50 children in the school while some have less than 10.
Teaching in a low enrolment school or a regular school presents different challenges and problems.
A bigger class can mean it is harder to maintain discipline with more books to prepare and mark.
Teachers in a low enrolment school may be fortunate to have an ideal teacher-pupil ratio from which they could build a closer rapport with the children.
When teachers are in a school for more than five to 10 years, they may take things for granted. Change is necessary to boost their performance in order to give them a new vision and direction.