GRADUATE employability is a pressing issue in Malaysia, with graduates struggling to secure suitable employment despite holding academic qualifications.
Among the myriad reasons for this predicament is the lack of self-confidence among graduates. According to a 2018 report by Jobstreet.com, about 60% of employers cited poor personality as the reason for not hiring graduates.
In the same year, Khazanah Research Institute highlighted that employers generally expect graduates to possess 50% soft skills, 31% working experience and 27% technical skills.
These findings were subsequently referenced in the Higher Education Ministry’s Graduate Employability Strategic Plan 2021-2025, a continuation of the National Graduate Employability Blueprint 2012-2017.
The document outlined four key strategies to produce marketable graduates. This includes strengthening talent excellence, expanding students’ career scope, enhancing teaching, and learning and improving industrial relations.
These strategies were developed by considering measures deemed implementable within the purview of the ministry. Herein lies the problem. Although the ministry is the relevant body for graduate outcomes, not all solutions fall under its jurisdiction.
The problem of low graduate self-confidence is a prime example. The issue’s origins are more complex than assumed, involving school-level power dynamics that fall under the oversight of the Education Ministry.
Michel Foucault’s concept of the Panopticon presents an anthropological viewpoint that expands on this phenomenon of power.
The Panopticon, inspired by Jeremy Bentham’s architectural design for a prison, is a circular building with an observation tower at the centre from which a guard can observe all inmates without them knowing precisely when they are being watched.
Foucault extends this idea beyond the prison to demonstrate how modern institutions operate in a similar way, where individuals self-regulate their behaviours and internalise disciplinary norms due to the possibility of constant surveillance.
In the education system, the Panopticon is exemplified in the methods employed by schools to monitor students. Classroom design, standardised tests and online activity-tracking create an environment of continuous observation. The possibility of being perpetually watched fosters self-discipline and compliance with institutional rules, mirroring the Panopticon’s effects on prisoners.
Though not detrimental at the outset, the fact that it involves exertion of power over students, albeit indirectly, warrants careful consideration of its implications. This is not to be seen as a critique of institutional power.
It is a common feature of all regimes to enforce some level of control over their population to ensure order. The different ways in which power is exercised over vulnerable groups, such as young students, may have implications that contribute to current challenges.
In Malaysian schools, teachers commonly enforce strict behavioural standards for students. While this may be well-intended, it inevitably contributes to an atmosphere where students feel they are always being watched and judged, not just by teachers but also by their classmates.
This is corroborated by an ethnographic and observational study conducted in a public school in the east coast of Malaysia. The outcome is best conveyed through a recreation of the classroom scene:
Teacher: Any questions?
Students: (silence)
Teacher: None at all?
Students: (silence)
It was the silence that spoke volumes. Throughout the time, students exchanged glances, curious to see who would be bold enough to speak up. Some seemed willing but it was as half-hearted as their reluctant, half-raised hands. This exemplifies the internalisation of surveillance, where students self-regulate and conform to expected behaviours to avoid disapproval or ridicule.
In fairness, the teacher in this case did make efforts to elicit student participation. Some have been more proactive, demonstrating initiatives par excellence.
Samuel Isaiah, the finalist of the 2020 Global Teacher Prize who was recognised for adopting various innovative teaching methods to uplift the Orang Asli community is a case in point.
However, such instances are few and far between, often inhibited not by individual will but by structural challenges. To begin with, teachers should not be expected to exhaust their resources to push boundaries, the system should be designed to optimally support them.
Navigating the system requires an understanding of power distance, a concept pertaining to the extent to which less powerful individuals in society accept and expect unequal distribution of power.
In high power distance societies such as Malaysia where hierarchical relationships are accepted as a norm, the functioning of the Panopticon becomes more evident.
The combination of hierarchical structures and high power distance in schools provides a form of conditioning that erodes students’ sense of agency, thereby creating a breeding ground for low self-confidence. When these students transition to higher education and eventually enter the workforce, the ingrained lack of self-confidence becomes a major impediment.
Graduates struggle with job interviews, self-promotion and networking, all of which require a strong sense of self-assurance. It thus needs to be established that unlike employability challenges pertaining to job-skills mismatch, underdevelopment of graduate personality is not so much a university issue as it is a school issue.
How do we address this?
Over the years, discussions on graduate employability challenges have primarily centred on graduates’ poor command of English. While valid, it is essential to recognise that the problem is multidimensional.
English proficiency, though undeniably crucial, is not the sole contributing factor. The lack of persona and soft-skills among graduates as cited in employer perception reports do not stem from a deficiency in linguistic skills, per se.
Other variables, including teaching pedagogies, ought to be reviewed in parallel with efforts to improve language competency. Though these are broadly highlighted in the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025, the recommendations lack strategic edge. Crucially, the implications of institutional power on graduate outcome remain unacknowledged.
While Foucault’s concept is useful as a framework for understanding this issue, a complete eradication of the Panopticon effect entails a cultural shift that may not be realistically possible. Such a shift is likely to attract heavy criticism for disrupting established Asian values of hierarchical respect. For example, students in the West address educators by their names instead of honorific titles such as “Sir” or “Professor”.
Psychologically, this fosters an equal relationship that balances power dynamics and allows students to articulate their thoughts confidently. However, in cultures such as ours, this would be regarded as a socially unacceptable display of disrespect. The crucial question then becomes: What can be feasibly pursued within the current ecosystem?
In his book, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, sociologist Erving Goffman introduces the Dramaturgical Theory which notably likens social interactions to theatrical performances.
He argues that people role-play in different aspects of their daily lives by continuously adjusting their self-impressions to meet social expectations.
While maintaining a degree of authenticity, the personality and individual foregrounds at work differ significantly from those displayed at home or social gatherings. Just as actors perform on a stage, individuals present themselves in ways that they believe are suitable for the audience they are addressing.
Unfortunately, traditional classroom conditioning prevents students from smoothly transitioning to the personalities required of them in the job market. Interestingly, education is one field where the theatre is not just metaphorical, it potentially serves as a practical solution.
Incorporating drama-in-education (or “process drama”) into the curriculum provides opportunities for students to express themselves in ways that circumvent hierarchical power. This should not be confused with drama as a subject. While the latter is focused on the study of the art form, drama-in-education utilises drama as a method to facilitate learning across multiple disciplines.
Rather than being relegated to the status of extracurricular club and society activities where participation is voluntary, drama and theatrical elements are woven into core classroom pedagogical practices aimed at enhancing students’ learning and soft skills. This is hardly a novel viewpoint.
Drama-in-education has long been recognised globally for its effectiveness as a teaching strategy. Arguably, it holds increased importance in Asian societies where traditional power imbalances necessitate delicate countermeasures.
Hong Kong was among the first in the region to acknowledge this, as reflected in its early 2000s education reforms. Taiwan and Singapore have since followed suit and refined their curricula by employing drama-based pedagogy in subjects like language, physics, geography and history.
Comparable initiatives in Malaysia have largely been restricted to language subjects and lack the extensive application seen elsewhere.
Moreover, skepticism persists among teachers owing to legitimate concerns such as time constraint, heavy workload, classroom control and the fear of not meeting learning objectives.
We are faced with a structural issue. A remodelling of the institution is required to address these pain points. For that, the higher-ups at the ministry must step up with well-defined strategic objectives, failing which teachers too will soon be prisoners of the system, if they are not already.
This is the second instalment in a three-part series on Anthropologically Speaking. The writer is a recipient of the UK government’s Chevening Scholarship and holds a Master of Arts in Social Anthropology (Distinction) from the University of Manchester. He also has a Master of Science in Marketing and Business Analysis from the University of Edinburgh. An advocate of interdisciplinary studies, he has held academic, non-academic and consultancy positions at a few universities in Malaysia and India.
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