Disparity in School's Literacy Practices and That of Home: Understanding Orang Asli Children's Educational Needs in Malaysia

This paper is based on an ongoing literacy project in an Orang Asli school in Peninsular Malaysia. The Orang Asli, or literally translated as ‘Original People’ are the indigenous minority community of Peninsular Malaysia. In this paper we explore how different perspectives are held by various community members as to the literacy and schooling needs of the Orang Asli children. By exploring schooling as part of the broader everyday social practices within the Orang Asli community, we aim to illustrate how the various perspectives held by these community members influence the educational needs of the Orang Asli children. We hope the readers of this paper are able to recognize the difficulties and complexities involved in the education of the Orang Asli children.
Keywords: literacy, social practice, Orang Asli, indigenous, indigenous schooling