Informal education and cultural learning in Malaysia: a case study from Kelantan

Abstract

This study explores the acquisition and maintenance of Malay cultural values through informal education. It builds from an ethnographic research design that examined aspects of informal education in the way children learn cultural values in the Semerak villages of Kelantan, Malaysia. Informal education is defined as a lifelong process in which every individual acquires attitudes, values, knowledge and skills through daily experiences in his or her environment. The study employed participant observation methods and key informant interviews as an "insider" returning to the home villages of Semerak as compared with an "outsider" learning about Malay village life for the first time. The New Zealand reader is introduced to the social, religious and economic life of the villages of Semerak, setting the scene for understanding more about the way informal educational processes operate in Malay community life. Five major themes were highlighted as having a significant influence in the way cultural values are passed on to Malay children through informal education. These include: social structures, social relationships and behaviour (kinship obligation, etiquette and co-operation), religion and belief systems, cultural traditions (adat), and education. The principle of peace and harmony serves as a unifying influence binding each of these themes together to promote acquisition and maintenance of Malay cultural values for children through informal education.