The management of teacher activity centres(TACs): A case study of selected centres in Sabah, Malaysia

Abstract

This dissertation presents a case study of six selected Teacher Activity Centres (TACs) in Sabah, one of the eastern states of Malaysia. The study endeavours to analyse the roles of coordinators of the TACs in terms of management, the collection development as well as the utilization of the centres by primary and secondary school teachers. It is also aimed at identifying difficulties experienced by users of TACs. The perception of teachers with reference to the functions of the TACs was sought with the aim of providing strategies for making the TAC a more effective place for information retrieval and use. The study is done based on the Ministry's TAC's Guidelines, The yearly Reports, books, journals and magazines related to the TACs. Questionnaires were administered to coordinators of the six selected TACs and interviews were employed to sixty teachers. Discussions and unstructured interviews were conducted among teachers at random. Observations were done during some workshops and training sessions. The study discovered that the TAC coordinators need to up-date their management skills such as leadership and communication, besides upgrading their academic qualification. It was also discovered that the TACs are only frequently visited and used by primary school teachers and not the secondary school teachers.