Addressing Recent PISA Rankings: The potential role of preschool physical environment design quality in Malaysia

Mariam Felani Shaari; Sabarinah Sheikh Ahmad; Izaham Shah Ismail; Yazid Zaiki

doi:10.21834/e-bpj.v5i13.2057

Authors

Mariam Felani Shaari Centre of Studies for Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Puncak Alam Campus, 42300 Bandar Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.
Sabarinah Sheikh Ahmad Centre of Studies for Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Puncak Alam Campus, 42300 Bandar Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.
Izaham Shah Ismail Centre of Postgraduate Studies, Faculty of Education, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Puncak Alam Campus, 42300 Bandar Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.
Yazid Zaiki Institute of Pharmacology, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v5i13.2057

Keywords:

Preschool Physical Environment, Cognitive School Readiness, Piagetâ€™s Theory of Cognitive Development, PISA

Abstract

Recent PISA assessments revealed unsatisfactory cognitive abilities among Malaysian children. Poor cognitive development, stemming from inadequate preschool cognitive school readiness (SR), is an underlying factor. Well-designed preschool physical environments (PPE) could potentially enhance cognitive SR and subsequently improve childhood cognitive development. This study aims to highlight the importance of PPE design quality on childrenâ€™s cognitive SR in Malaysia. A cohort study involving 336 children at 16 Ministry of Education (MOE) preschools was conducted. PPE design quality demonstrated a significant positive association with cognitive SR. Conclusively, better PPE design is hoped to improve cognitive development by ensuring cognitive SR among Malaysian preschoolers.

Keywords:Â Preschool Physical Environment; Cognitive School Readiness; Piagetâ€™s Theory of Cognitive Development; PISA

eISSN: 2398-4287 Â© 2020. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peerâ€“review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v5i13.2057

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