A teacher conducting a session with preschool children using one of the picture books
The Ministry of Education’s (MOE) recent announcement on enhancing the national preschool curriculum has been welcomed by early childhood education researchers and experts from TAR UMT. Dr Norazly bin Nordin from TAR UMT Sabah Branch welcomed the announcement, which highlighted a holistic content and approach.
The announcement highlighted that the new preschool curriculum would focus on six key learning areas — socio-emotional development, physical development and personal wellbeing, language and literacy, spirituality, values and citizenship, creativity and aesthetics, and cognitive development — using fun and engaging approaches to support holistic child development.
“This is a holistic direction that the Ministry has set in place, as all these areas are vital in the development of children. My team and I, including fellow researchers Ms Joanne Lo, Deputy Branch Head of TAR UMT Sabah Branch, and Mr Muhammad Hilmi Abdul Rashid from TAR UMT Pahang Branch, have been researching and studying these key areas, particularly in developing research-proven delivery methods that ensure children’s effective learning process. While the Minister’s statement outlines what the curriculum aims to achieve, this research focuses on how teachers can realistically implement those goals in everyday teaching,” he detailed.
The team’s research led them to develop a comprehensive, curriculum-aligned framework that enables preschool teachers to teach humanities through picture books effectively
“Our work focuses on humanity development, which includes self-understanding, understanding others, and building respectful relationships with the environment,” Dr Norazly said. “These elements are very much reflected in the Ministry’s emphasis on socio-emotional development and positive behaviour from an early age.”
The module comprises 30 structured lesson plans built around carefully selected picture books. The picture books’ contents are based on the Head, Heart and Hand approach, which integrates thinking, feeling and doing in children’s learning experiences. This ensures that children are not passive recipients of information. They are encouraged to think critically about stories and situations (Head), feel and internalise values such as empathy, respect, and responsibility (Heart), and act through hands-on, collaborative activities (Hand).
“For example, one lesson uses a picture book centred on local festive celebrations during the ‘Baca Bersama’ reading session. After listening to the story, children discuss the meaning of the celebration, take part in simple crafts, role-play festive scenes or sing related songs. Through this process, they learn respect for cultural diversity and develop social awareness, which directly supports national learning standards.”
Another lesson focuses on care for nature, using a story about animals or plants to guide discussion and reflection. Children are then encouraged to express empathy by taking part in hands-on activities such as watering plants, creating nature-themed artwork or discussing how to care for living things in their surroundings.
“These activities help children understand responsibility and compassion in a very concrete way,” Dr Norazly explained. “They are not just listening to values being explained — they are practising them.”
The lessons are mapped directly to national preschool learning standards and conducted within existing classroom structures, such as the minimum weekly 30-minute reading sessions, ensuring that literacy development, values education and socio-emotional learning are integrated without adding to teachers’ workload.
In line with the Minister’s call for fun and engaging approaches, the module moves away from rote learning by encouraging active participation through storytelling, discussion, music, movement, visual arts and drama. Children may, for instance, act out story characters to explore emotions, draw scenes that reflect kindness or cooperation, or work in groups to solve simple problems presented in the story.
“Through role-play and creative expressions, children can explore different perspectives and emotions,” he continued. “This makes values education more meaningful and helps children internalise positive behaviour naturally.”
The module also aims to support teachers who may feel challenged by the expanded focus areas in the new curriculum. The team developed the CHERISH teaching model, which provides step-by-step guidance, from selecting suitable picture books to facilitating reflection and helping children apply values in everyday situations.
When put to the test, the team was very encouraged by the feedback from pilot teaching sessions in Malaysian classroom settings. “We observed that children actively participated in the discussions and hands-on activities. We also received reports that some children asked their parents to purchase and read the storybooks to them at home, suggesting that learning extended beyond the classroom,” Dr Norazly further shared. In addition, Dr Norazly and team were also approached by the Malaysia Board on Books for Young People to share their work with key players in the children’s book industry—an acknowledgement that the research is relevant and needed beyond academia. Dr Norazly concluded that such outcomes indicate that picture books, when used purposefully, can serve as effective tools for implementing the Ministry’s vision at the classroom level.
Dr Norazly
