Abstract

In the year 2003, The Malaysian Ministry of Education through its Curriculum Development Centre implemented the Contemporary Children’s Literature Program (CCL, hereafter) in primary schools across the country. This intensive reading program is a supporting program aimed to help students to fare better in the teaching of math and science in English, as more exposure to English language is hope to bring positive outcomes to students’ mastery of the language. This qualitative research looks at the implementation of the CCL program in the city of Shah Alam, Selangor. Interviews were conducted with the different stakeholders, which includes policy makers, trainers, head teachers, teachers and students. Apart from the interviews, classroom observations and document analysis was carried out on documents published by the MOE and also teacher record books. Through the interviews conducted, it was discovered that there were issues regarding stakeholder’s perception regarding the implementation of the CCL program. All the various parties involved were unanimous in agreeing to the fact that in terms of content, the CCL program is indeed a good program which, if properly carried out, would be beneficial for students. However, the only reservation voiced by the stakeholders, particularly by the head teachers, teachers and also trainers is the issue related to the management of change – and this include the extent and speed in which changes are implemented in schools.