Bumiputera Parental Support in Chinese Primary School Selection in Malaysia

Abstract

This study aims to identify Bumiputera parental support in Chinese primary school selection in Malaysia from the aspects of family, local community, school reputation and career potential. Sample of the study consisted of 720 Bumiputera parents whom send off their children to 18Chinese primary schools in Sarawak state, Malaysia. Pilot study results based on Cronbach's Alpha analysis revealed that all items in the overall constructs is at high reliability level between0.92 and 0.95.data were analysed using SPSS 22.0 involving descriptive and inferential analyses. Findings show that career potential and school reputation were the main factors in school selection and reported to be at moderately-high levels. Meanwhile, MANOVA analysis illustrated that there were significant differences for the aspects of family, local community, school reputation and career potential based on parents' socio-economic status. Implications of the study show that knowledge and environment related to social provide great influence on parents' decisions in determining their children's future education. Hence, any information on school reputation is ought to be focused on by all parties to enhance stakeholders'' confidence regarding academic excellence in their respective school.