The new preschool curriculum introduced at the start of the current school session will focus on six key learning areas to support holistic early childhood development, says Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek.
She said the six focus areas are socio-emotional development, physical development and personal wellbeing; language and literacy; spirituality, values and citizenship; creativity and aesthetics; and cognitive development.
Fadhlina said the socio-emotional domain emphasises nurturing children’s ability to recognise and manage their emotions, as well as build positive relationships with others and their surroundings.
“For physical development and personal wellbeing, the focus is on health awareness, including healthy nutrition, hygiene and safety. Reproductive and social health education is also incorporated,” she said in a Facebook post.
She said the language and literacy component aims to strengthen communication skills, with children learning basic literacy and language skills while cultivating an interest in reading.
Meanwhile, the spirituality, values and citizenship domain are divided into three sub-components: Islamic education, moral education and citizenship education.
She then added, “In Islamic education, Muslim children will be taught basic religious knowledge, values and practices in daily life, including the fundamentals of Jawi writing.”
Fadhlina said moral education focuses on instilling core values such as compassion, honesty, respect and diligence through fun and engaging approaches to promote positive behaviour.
Citizenship education, she stated, seeks to foster awareness of rights and responsibilities, cultivate patriotism and encourage children to contribute to the well-being of their families and communities.
In the creativity and aesthetics domain, children are given opportunities to explore and appreciate their environment while developing imagination and creativity through visual arts, music, movement and drama, Fadhlina said.
“The cognitive domain encourages curiosity and exploration, with children guided to think systematically, interact, share information and solve problems,” she said.