Discovering Social Actors’ Experiences to different Schooling System in Malaysian Multicultural Society: ‘National Unity’ Perspective

This paper investigates the insights and experiences of multiple social actors towards different streaming school and to examine in what ways ‘national unity’ is affected by a different streaming school in Malaysia particularly within a multicultural society. Although the discussion in this paper is related to the Malaysian educational system, the social actors that contribute to this discussion are not the ones involved in policy making or policy executing. Data from the study came from twenty semi-structured and six focus group interviews with social actors of different ethnic groups (Malay, Chinese, and Indians). The use of thematic analysis in analyzing interview data for this study reveals the paradoxes in social actors’ perceptions and different experiences towards the schooling system. The findings show that there should be a dynamic and peaceful coexistence of diversity of culture so that none of the members of the society feel marginalized especially the minority and subcultures.